Race: Skaife/Longhurst take thrilling win

The race was one of the best ever seen at Mount Panorama, with cold and occasional wet weather and a punishing pace contributing to the drama. Skaife took his third win and Longhurst his second, while Greg Murphy/Todd Kelly Holden took third from the Cameron McLean/Greg Ritter Ford.

Skaife and Jones, who qualified 22nd, staged a slug-fest at the end of the race, the Holden Racing Team Holden and OzEmail Ford running virtually qualifying pace for the last hour of the event. Skaife also had his championship lead to consider and, by winning the race, he is almost assured of his second successive title with two races to go.

In unseasonably cold conditions, the race started like a sprint, taking a record toll on reliability. Only 21 of the 41 starters finished, and many of those only did so after earlier delays.

The die for the race was cast on lap 127 when Larry Perkins was pressuring Todd Kelly for the lead. In damp conditions, Kelly and third-placed Steven Richards speared off while behind, Tomas Mezera, Simon Wills and Alan Jones bunkered their cars, prompting a Safety Car.

But when making his final pitstop under yellow on the next lap Perkins hit the wall on the pit entry. In the delayed and damaged Holden, Russell Ingall soldiered on to finish a distant eighth.

That set the race up between Skaife, Jones and Steven Richards, but the latter had to make an unscheduled pit stop after cutting a tyre during his final stint, leaving him in ninth position.

It was a tough race for polesitter Marcos Ambrose, who car was hampered by a pre-race engine miss fire before he lost control on the pit entry road, while race favourites Paul Radisich and Steven Johnson stopped on lap 60 when the oil pressure dropped in their Ford.

Mark Skaife/Tony Longhurst (Holden) 6h50m33.178s
Brad Jones/John Cleland (Ford) 6h50m35.457s
Greg Murphy/Todd Kelly (Holden) 6h50m51.123s
Greg Ritter/Cameron McLean (Ford) 6h50m59.293
Jim Richards/Dean Canto (Ford) 6h51m03.962s
Garth Tander/Jason Bargwanna (Holden) 6h51m07.518s
Steve Ellery/Geoff Brabham (Ford) 6h51m19.752s
Russell Ingall/Larry Perkins (Holden) 6h51m55.786s
Glenn Seton/Steven Richards (Ford) 6h52m11.786s