Barbagallo V8s: Lowndes charges to stunning Race 1 win

The two-stop strategy proved crucial for the Triple Eight driver, who started at the front, dropped to the back by making an extra stop, charged back into the lead – and then still had to survive a final lap rain storm on slick tyres to win the 120-kilometre race.

After running in the top five in the damp early stages of the race, Lowndes pitted on Lap 12 to take on slicks. While that was in line with the rest of the field, it was his next move that turned heads.

Sitting fourth, and easily as quick as Shane van Gisbergen, Chaz Mostert, and Cam Waters in front of him, Lowndes dived back into the pits on Lap 28 to take on another fresh set of tyres.

It put him way back in the field, at the back end of the top 20, and seemingly left him with too much to do.

But as the abrasive Barbagallo surface started to take its toll on those who only pitted once – the majority of the field – Lowndes cut his way through.

In the end he comfortably made it to the front, passing team-mates Jamie Whincup and van Gisbergen for second and the first on Lap 47, and then streaking away to a 5.8s win – despite a last-lap downpour.

““I questioned [the strategy],” admitted Lowndes.

“But it really came to us. The car is really good. It looked after its tyres. It was a great strategy by the boys, it could have gone either way.”

Van Gisbergen held on the finish second, having led from Lap 2 when he barged past Waters until he was passed by Lowndes with two laps to go.

In the end he almost lost P2 to Whincup, an impressive second stint bringing the #97 and the #88 nose-to-tail at the finish.

Will Davison finished fourth, while Holden Racing Team pair Garth Tander and James Courtney systematically worked their respective way up to P5 and P6 respectively.

Todd Kelly, who went two stops like Lowndes, finished seventh, while Chris Pither was – surprisingly – best of the Prodrive runners at the finish.

Waters and Mostert, meanwhile, who ran at the front from much of the race dropped off dramatically as the tyres ran out of steam.

Mostert dropped all the way to 12th, having been racing van Gisbergen hard for the lead mid-way through the race, while pole-sitter Waters was 13th, despite driving a smart race from pole.

Still, that was significantly better than what Mark Winterbottom could manage. The reigning champion had a shocker, running off at Turn 7 while running 10th on Lap 21, before being tagged by Dale Wood and spinning again on Lap 27.

He wound up passing the majority of the front-runners as he re-emerged with fresh tyres – but was a lap down and finished 22nd regardless.