Garth Tander has joined Australian racing’s elite with a sixth Bathurst 1000 win after Kiwi Matt Payne survived one of the most dramatic finishes ever seen on the mountain on Sunday.

Payne crossed the line behind James Golding in the wet conditions that caused pure carnage throughout the 1000-kilometre epic.

But because Golding made contact with then-race leader Cooper Murray, turning him around with five laps to go, he copped a five-second penalty.

And when that time penalty was applied, it dropped Golding to third.

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Golding given 5 SECOND PENALTY! | 00:39

It’s a remarkable victory for Payne’s Penrite team who started the day in 18th – and it’s Ford’s first Bathurst 1000 win since 2019.

Tander now joins Mark Skaife and Larry Perkins as the only six-time winners of the event – with just three other drivers claiming more Bathurst crowns.

“I thought screw it, I’m just going for it,” Payne said of those thrilling final moments.

“A win’s a win – we’ll take it.”

While it was jubilation for the Payne/Tander entry, with David Reynolds/Lee Holdsworth taking second, it was heartbreak for young Murray who had led late before that Golding contact.

In his first full-time drive, and with teammate Jobe Stewart in his Bathurst debut, the Erebus entry had looked on track to go back-to-back before that moment of drama.

While Golding copped the five-second penalty, Murray was still knocked off the lead as he somehow managed to avoid the fence at turn two.

The finish capped off what was one of the most dramatic races where visibility was almost completely gone by the final lap.

Chaz grabs beer off fan after crash out | 00:39

While it was all sunshine in the opening hours, rain hit about 65 laps into the race and sparked huge drama at Mount Panorama.

Both Triple Eight stars were out of the running in separate crashes, while pole starter Brodie Kostecki endured a horror 30-minute period where electrical drama was compounded by a nasty crash to ensure his reign as champion was over.

But the most brutal race exit belonged to young Kiwi Ryan Wood who, while running second with less than 30 laps to go, suffered an apparent engine failure and couldn’t get going under safety car conditions.

His Walkinshaw Andretti united crew sprinted down pit lane in the pouring rain in a bid to try and help a stalled Wood into the garage.

Luckily, the no-result didn’t cost the 21-year-old his spot in the new-format top 10 finals.

Shell V-Power Racing’s Tony D’Alberto sparked the first safety car on lap 55 when he crashed heavily into the concrete at Forrest’s Elbow. The nasty collision saw medical crews quickly get to the 39-year-old’s aid, and that was the moment to spark an absolute frenzy.

And as the rain started to tumble, star Chaz Mostert couldn’t get his car 25 going – sparking another yellow flag.

Kostecki v Waters! Rain ignites WILD lap | 02:37

But instead of taking a lift back to the pits, the WAU star opted to walk back through the paddock while accepting a beer from fans on the way.

“Can only be Bathurst. Can only be this country,” Neil Crompton said in commentary as Mostert knocked back his beer.

It was after the second safety car that Brodie Kostecki and Cam Waters engaged in a heated battle for the lead.

Rain hit as expected around lap 65, as Kostecki and Waters dived into the pits for wet tyres – Waters then pitting again and gambling back on slick tyres, tumbling down the order.

A third safety car hit allowed cheap stops for those who didn’t pit, and Jamie Whincup hit the lead ahead of David Russell – but the Triple Eight star then quickly backtracked on that tyre decision.

Unfortunately for Waters his gamble proved devastating when after opting to return to slick tyres, Mark Winterbottom crashed sliding down the Dipper.

“That was the tyre change that triggered this,” Crompton lamented.

“So impossibly difficult to drive in these conditions on a slick tyre.”

Lowndes & Tander have close call early! | 00:37

After clutch and electrical drama, Kostecki’s day copped the knock out blow he failed to pull up at turn one with 60+ laps still to run and drilled the back of Kai Allen’s Penrite entry.

As a result, Kostecki copped a drive through penalty and dropped to the back of the pack.

“It’s turned out to be a shocker for Brodie Kostecki,” Crompton said.

Fellow favourite Broc Feeney’s hopes ended in tears late when on cold tyres he went nose-first into the barrier at Forrest’s Elbow.

“Unfortunately he was pushing too hard on the colder tyres… it’s so easy to do. It’s treacherous out there,” Jamie Whincup said as a fourth safety car was deployed.

Feeney’s teammate Will Brown then sparked the fifth safety car when he speared into the tyre barrier at turn two, causing his bonnet to fly up onto the windscreen.

Heartbroken Feeney jammed in barrier | 01:14

Unable to see and directed to the pits by his crew, Brown’s day was done in devastating fashion.

Earlier in the day, Brad Jones Racing’s Brad Vaughan was the only entry not to get off the starting grid due to a mechanical issue.

The crew spent an hour on the Camaro in the garage before being able to get Bryce Fullwood back into the race.

In that time, veterans Garth Tander and Craig Lowndes went toe-to-toe in an early dramatic tussle that almost ended in tears.

Tander later apologised to the seven-time winner claiming he never saw him down the inside.

Thomas Randle served a five-second penalty for his “bump and run” on Jack le Brocq, while Aaron Cameron shrugged off big contact with the concrete at turn 2.

Despite a Ford one to four to start the Great Race, it was the Camaros who pounced early in the dry conditions as Broc Feeney and Will Brown claimed the one-two before the rain tumbled and chaos ensured.

Brutal crash ends Shell star’s day | 00:42

STARTING GRID

Kostecki/Hazelwood

Waters/Winterbottom

Mostert/Coulthard

Wood/Odeja

Feeney/Whincup

Murray/Stewart

Randle/Moffat

Hill/McLeod

de Pasquale/Jones

Percat/Slade

Jones/Boys

Brown/Pye

Golding/Russell

Davison/D’Alberto

Reynolds/Holdsworth

Lowndes/Bates

LeBrocq/Hughes

Payne/Tander

Heimgartner/Fraser

Cameron/Best

Allen/Wood

Courtney/Perkins

Stanaway/Morris

Evans/Smith

Fullwood/Vaughan

Crick/Seton

Gray/Dalton

SUNDAY’S TRACK SCHEDULE (AEDT)

7.40am – GR Supra Test laps

7.55am – SuperUte Series Race 4

8.30am – Supercars warm-up (20mins)

9am – GR Cup Race 3

9.35am – Porsche Carrera Cup Race 3

11.45am – Bathurst 1000 race begins