Lee Holdsworth. Image: Richard Gresham
Co-driving with Anton De Pasquale, the 43-year-old appeared set for his second Great Race crown before the Team 18 Camaro ran out of fuel on the final lap.
Holdsworth opened up about the crushing blow on the latest Rusty’s Garage podcast.
“I’m not over it yet but I don’t know if I’ll ever get over it,” he told host Greg Rust. “It keeps hitting me every day that we lost that race.”
The defeat will not deter the veteran, who these days works as a commercial real estate agent, from returning for another start next year.
“I’ll be back next year. I’ll definitely be on the grid at Bathurst and Tailem Bend, and I’m looking forward to that,” he said.
“Obviously I want to go back there and win that race again, and I don’t want to say that I want to get revenge or redemption or whatever.
“I just want to go back and have the same opportunity with a speedy car again that we had this year.
“I had one of the best weeks, so to fall on our face at the end of it was just so hard to take because you’ve got to capitalise in those situations.
“But it was my 23rd Bathurst, so I’ve done a fair few of them and really only had a true opportunity to win the race twice.
“Once we did it and once we didn’t.”
While Holdsworth stopped short of confirming he’ll be back with Team 18, it’s understood the squad will take up an option on his services.
Holdsworth rejoined Team 18 last year following his exit from Walkinshaw TWG Racing, finishing second in the 2025 Bathurst 1000 alongside David Reynolds.
He was moved into De Pasquale’s car this year amid the arrival of James Courtney and his Snowy River Caravans backing.
Holdsworth’s previous Great Race victory came alongside Chaz Mostert at the Walkinshaw team in 2021.
What really went wrong for Team 18 at Bathurst
De Pasquale said earlier this week that Team 18 is still reeling from its Bathurst blunder, whereby it under-filled the car in its final pit stop and did not realise until it was too late.
Holdsworth revealed he had been completely oblivious to the situation until just moments before De Pasquale pulled to the side on Mountain Straight.
“There was never any worry for me about the fuel. I didn’t have any idea what was going on with the fuel because I wasn’t tuned in to the comms,” he said.
“But I think JC (James Courtney) leaned across to me and he said, ‘mate, you’re going to be a two-time winner here’. This was with about two laps to go, after the Safety Car.
“And it was about 30 seconds after that when I heard Adrian Burgess talking to the Chevrolet guys behind us.
“And someone said, ‘we’re not going to make it. We’re going to have to pit’. And at that point, my heart absolutely sank to my feet.
“I just couldn’t believe it. It just caught me by surprise.”