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Whincup benefits from Lowndes V8 blunder

29th March, 2015
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A gutted Craig Lowndes missed a golden chance to make history and sweep the V8 Supercars round at Symmons Plains.

Starting from his third pole of the weekend and chasing a third victory that would have moved him to 100 V8 Supercars victories, Lowndes took just two turns to ruin his race.

Beaten from the blocks by David Reynolds from the front row of the grid, Lowndes hit the Ford man at turn two, spinning Reynolds around and earning himself a pit lane penalty.

With the front-rowers removed from the equation, it was Jamie Whincup who stormed to victory ahead of Chaz Mostert and Shane van Gisbergen.

Lowndes was devastated after the race and admitted fault, despite struggling to accept the result.

“We threw it away,” he said.

“I copped the penalty, it was deserving, and we move on … but I’m gutted because I know the car was fast.

“When you get a good car and you don’t deliver it’s a real big failure.”

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The five-time Bathurst champion was able to move through the field to finish sixth in the 200km race.

But it was his Red Bull Racing teammate Whincup who was re-writing the history books with an 11th race win at the rural Tasmanian track.

Whincup triumphed in a strategic pit-stop battle with Mostert, who did well to improve from sixth on the grid.

“I didn’t expect to be sitting here this weekend,” Whincup said.

“This weekend was owned by my teammate, who I would have liked to have seen get the triple.”

Garth Tander finished in fourth place, with Mark Winterbottom in fifth.

Kiwi teenager Andre Heimgartner impressed with an eighth place finish, his best result in his debut Supercars season.

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The result lifts Whincup to the championship lead, ahead of former pace-setter James Courtney and Lowndes in third.

Whincup’s victory makes it six straight Red Bull race wins in Tasmania after he and Lowndes swept last year’s meet at Symmons Plains.

It also takes Whincup into second place on the all-time race victories chart with 91, eight short of Lowndes’s 99.

V8 SUPERCARS: ROUND TWO RESULTS
RACE SIX RESULTS

1. Jamie Whincup (Holden)
2. Chaz Mostert (Ford)
3. Shane van Gisbergen (Holden)
4. Garth Tander (Holden)
5. Mark Winterbottom (Ford)

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

1. Jamie Whincup (Holden) – 483
2. James Courtney (Holden) – 464
3. Craig Lowndes (Holden) – 460
4. Garth Tander (Holden) – 457
5. Shane van Gisbergen (Holden) – 456

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