Davison denies Lowndes in Barbagallo finale

Will Davison mounted a late charge to score a surprise win for Erebus Motorsport in a Barbagallo finale dominated by tyre strategy.

Craig Lowndes led for much of the final stint and appeared in the box seat for his 100th victory before being chased down by Davison in the closing laps.

“I don’t know what to say, a podium would have been incredible,” said Davison.

“It has been a dry spell and we have had a good car and after the disappointment of Tassie I would have been thrilled with a top 5, I just wanted a clean weekend.”

“I knew CL was on number 99 and I knew how much he would have wanted it. But I was thinking about it being a long while for me.”

Fabian Coulthard made the most of his tyres to carve his way through from the back of the grid to score third.

Prodrive duo Chaz Mostert and Mark Winterbottom dominated for much of the day before a Safety Car with just over 30 of the 83 laps remaining ruined their strategy.

All four Prodrive Fords had been among a small group that executed a soft-hard-soft tyre strategy.

The timing of the Safety Car, which was ironically triggered by a spin for the second Erebus entry of Ash Walsh, triggered the final stops to take place earlier than planned.

While the likes of Davison, Lowndes and Coulthard charged through on new softs, the two Fords eventually struggled home fourth and 15th respectively on their worn out rubber.

James Courtney took fifth after also saving his softs until the end, while team-mate Garth Tander’s sixth place came after running hard-soft-hard.

Shane van Gisbergen ran near the front early but elected for three stops and eventually finished 14th.

Andre Heimgartner and Scott Pye both failed to see the chequered flag after clashing at Turn 1 in the closing stages.

Race control left the two cars under local yellows, avoiding a Safety Car finish.

It was also a rough afternoon for Jamie Whincup, who spent the race at the back of the field after an early mistake saw him skip through the sand trap at Turn 6.

The six-time champion has now fallen back to fifth in the standings behind Lowndes, Courtney, Winterbottom and Coulthard.

Result: V8 Supercars Race 9, Barbagallo 

Championship Standings