The Toll Holden Racing Team’s Garth Tander and Will Davison were crowned 2009 Bathurst 1000 champions today after a gruelling 161 laps around Mount Panorama.

 

The two battled through all that was thrown at them including rain, safety car interventions and a late race battle for the team’s first win since 2005.

 

An ecstatic Garth Tander and Will Davison accepted the Peter Brock Trophy to claim HRT’s sixth Bathurst 1000 victory. Davison and Tander worked remarkably well all weekend and yesterday’s pole position was just the start of greater things to come.

 

Davison was handed the keys to the #2 Commodore after Tander stepped out post qualifying and he stepped up to the mark. Starting the race in wet conditions, Davison’s first lap was a roller coaster journey.

 

A nervous Tander watched his team-mate drop back to third in the first two corners of the 161 lap race, only then to force his way back past Lowndes and Richards, placing the Toll HRT #2 car back in the lead.

 

With good speed, unfortunately he wasn’t able to break out too much of a lead early on, with the first safety car intervention happening on lap 2.

 

The first round of pit stops rolled out early and not even Triple Eight’s Whincup and Lowndes being issued a drive through penalty was enough to take the pressure off. Davison’s first stint lasted 30 laps before he pitted to hand over to Tander.

 

Tander was able to maintain strong pace in his VE Commodore, completing 39 laps over his stint. Davison’s second stint proved to be more challenging than the first. The predicted rain fell onto the circuit and Davison took a gamble.

 

While the majority of the field dived into pit lane for wet weather tyres around lap 81, Davison opted to stay out. Tander, watching on from the pits, backed up his team-mates decision as he managed to hold it together.

 

Eventually the track became just a little too damp and the #2 car was forced to pit on lap 83 for wet tyres.

 

Davison battled on through the wet and despite an extra stop for fuel on lap 98, which ate into the lead, and he handed the car back to Tander on lap 111 in a strong position, albeit behind car 888.

 

Tander ramped up the pace over his last stint determined to catch the Triple Eight Falcon and he did, manoeuvring past on lap 125.

 

A final stop on lap 137 would see out Tander to the end of the race but not before another safety car interrupted stint.

 

Tander took the lead after muscling past Kelly and despite another safety car with 4 laps remaining he held on.

 

After 6 hours 40 minutes and 2 seconds Garth Tander triumphed and crossed the finish line first for his second Bathurst 1000 win and Davison’s first.

 

Toll HRT have now broken Triple Eight’s hold on Australia’s greatest motor race. But it just wasn’t to be for the team working on car 22, a disappointed Dumbrell and Baird finished the race in 21st place.

 

Car 22 was forced to make a few unscheduled stops during the race, one to assess the steering after Baird clipped the wall at the top of the mountain which unfortunately put the pair three laps down.

 

Despite being a tough race the two battled on and they were forced into the pits again with less than 20 laps to go for the team to make a few running repairs.

 

Dumbrell and Baird ended the day in 21st place. It was a 1-2-3 for Holden with Brad Jones Racing’s Jason Richards and Cameron McConville second and Garry Rogers Motorsport’s Lee Holdsworth and Michael Caruso were third.

 

The next event on the V8 Supercar Championship is in two weeks time on the Gold Coast.

 

Garth Tander, 2 Toll Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore VE:

 

“A fantastic race for us, we had really good car speed in all conditions and a great job to our guys to give us a car that was able to go fast all day. Throughout the day it was just a matter of lining up the fuel stops to the end. Will had to struggle around on wet tyres on a dry track, but that opened up a window to get us to the end."

 

“It all seemed easy; the decisions came easy and the right decisions were made at the right time. Our stops were fantastic – it was one of those races when ‘if it’s your day it’s your day’."

 

“We had to make sure we got through when we needed to. I thought Rick [Kelly] was pulling up to have a wave because we’re old team-mates ... apparently he’s not happy, but it’s Bathurst."

 

“In the end, it was a TV finish which worked out well for the Toll Holden Racing Team. It’s a very special day that its 40 years since Peter Brock and the factory Holden Dealer Team made their debuts at Bathurst and we’re the first Holden drivers to put our hands on the Peter Brock Trophy – it seems quite fitting.”

 

Will Davison, #2 Toll Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore VE:

 

“[The win] hasn’t sunk in as yet. We came into the weekend with a one-eyed attitude to win the race, probably too one-eyed. I had this great feeling about this weekend, but you’ve got to keep those under wraps as you’ve got a job to do."

 

“I had a comfortable run, but then I got stuck out on the wets and we lost a lot of time. I was peaking when I got out of the car as we wanted to win this race so badly for everyone on the team and Holden. Somehow everything’s turned out just perfect. “This is up there with anything, you don’t forget about it tomorrow ... it feels incredible.”

 

Craig Baird, #22 Toll Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore VE:

 

“Today was definitely not the day I was hoping for. I made a mistake on the start of my second stint, we were lapping one of the Jack Daniels cars and took a bit of a risk at Forrest’s Elbow and just clipped the wall on the inside and basically we lost two laps through it. We had a few dramas at the end of the race as well which cost us time so it probably didn’t make that much difference anyway but it is just disappointing to make such a silly mistake. But I guess if the day was easy everyone would have a Bathurst trophy and we just proved how hard it is. The other two guys drove really well and the team was still able to get a great result.”