AS enviable as Triple Eight’s 10-from-22 Bathurst 1000 record is, there’s a persistent feeling it could have been even better had it not snatched defeat from the jaws of victory on many an occasion.
Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup’s bid for a four-peat in 2009 was trucking along well until a clutch problem reared its head while the #888 Falcon was leading.
Compounding that was a final pitstop in which the roll centre was dialled the wrong way, leaving them to settle for fifth as Holden snapped its drought with a 1-2-3-4.
Come 2011, Lowndes and Mark Skaife’s victory defence got off to a shaky start when the latter ran off in the opening stint, losing crucial track position that forced them to keep double-stacking behind the sister #88 car of Whincup and Andrew Thompson.
The #88 dominated the race before being brought unstuck by an alternator failure.
Two years later, Paul Dumbrell speared off at the Chase during his final stint, handing an advantage to Ford Performance Racing’s #5 Falcon that it would never cede – despite Whincup’s best efforts to overhaul Mark Winterbottom on the last lap.
Then came a trio of years where Whincup and the Mountain did not see eye-to-eye.
The now-seven-time champion infamously ran out of fuel in 2014, was penalised for illegally passing the Safety Car in ’15 (although Triple Eight still won through Lowndes/Steve Richards), then crossed the line first in ’16 but with a time penalty hanging over his head for that unforgettable redress mess with Garth Tander and Scott McLaughlin.
More Triple Eight heartbreak followed in 2017 when Shane van Gisbergen blotted his copybook at Murray’s Corner while leading the field to a late restart.
Then in 2019, Whincup/Lowndes led with 10 laps remaining before blinking for a splash-and-dash, only for another Safety Car period to come that maybe could have got them home on fuel.
It’s very much a game of ifs, buts and maybes, but a case can be made that had the stars aligned, Triple Eight could genuinely have won 15 Great Races on the trot from 2006 to 2020!
This excerpt is from a comprehensive feature looking at Triple Eight Race Engineering’s final Bathurst 1000 with General Motors, with the full story available in the official program for the 2025 Repco Bathurst 1000.
You can secure your copy via the V8 Sleuth Superstore, or via your local newsagency – a full list can be found here.