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00:00Welcome back to Sydney's Oran Park Raceway. It's grand final day up in Sydney and Craig
00:08Lowndes, boy what a way to fight for your second championship. You've taken pole position
00:12and you've led from start to finish. Well start to anyway for that safety car, obviously
00:15a big accident just before the bridge and they brought the safety car out, obviously
00:18brought us all back up to a bunch. I'm sure, well I got rumours that Russell made I guess
00:23good inroads on that and picked up the fifth, I'm not sure where, but yeah definitely an
00:26interesting race. I don't think we had the safety car much this year and grand final
00:30day and out it comes. Now in that race you were talking to your engineers when you got
00:34out of the car, how's the whole race package feeling? Is the VT Commodore feeling good?
00:38Well it is, it's definitely changing from an understeer to an oversteer car through
00:41the race, but obviously with the adjustments we got in the car, we're able to I guess adjust
00:46that out, but definitely the car is a bit of a handful at the moment. The rear tyres
00:48here really take a working and they do go away towards the end of the race and luckily
00:52enough I think we got the speed and early on we can get that gap and just maintain our
00:56speed and that's really what we can do and that's all we can do and just hopefully it'll
00:59last the next two races. Well watch with interest. Thank you.
01:02Well Holden fans, here you go, this is what you've been waiting for, the limited edition
01:06personally autographed print and it's Russell Ingle's turn. There's been a lot of enquiries
01:10about this one, very special print, the first win in a VT for Russell Ingle, so get hold
01:16of that one, 1-800-888-321. We're getting ready for race two, it should be an absolute
01:22ripper. Craig Lowndes will start from the number one position alongside his team mate
01:26Mark Scaife. Jason Bright held steady for third ahead of Longhurst. Keep in mind, these
01:30are their finishing positions from race one.
01:32Stephen Ingle alongside there, Mark Larcombe, Jason Barguano out of 10, John Faulkner and
01:36Paul Romano out of 12.
01:37Steve Johnson came from 17 up to 13, Ellery, Mazera and Bao.
01:41Ashby, Smerdon, Nash and Chambray, that rounds out the top 20.
01:45Cotter, Conway, Alan Jones had some problems in race one and Dick Johnson back in 24.
01:49Contact with Larry Perkins there for Dick, Anthony Tratt, Paul Wheel, Nick Donagher,
01:52Terry Finnegan, Larry Perkins, Danny Osborne and Simon Hermazidis.
01:56The list goes on, it's a chock-a-block field, a maximum grid of 32, we've got some reserves,
02:00we had 41 entries for this round. The revs rise, we get set, this is race two of three.
02:06Could Lowndes wrap it up here, away we go, look at Russell Ingle start, that was a pretty
02:10good one but he's got a lot of work to do. The Valvoline car's dicing out but it's Craig
02:14Lowndes who gets away to the best start.
02:15Ingle said to me just before the start, watch me at the...
02:18Oh, couldn't have done it, he's taken out Ingle.
02:21Oh, and Longworth.
02:23Oh, goodness me, three cars involved in that. Ingle, championship chaser and he's just seen
02:28it go out the window, will we see a safety car?
02:31Well, if Russell can't get out of there, it is all over.
02:34Well, look at him.
02:36It's high speed contact, he's still got the engine running, he's trying to drive his way
02:39up but that's a deep bunker there.
02:41There's no chance there.
02:42The whole idea of that is to catch a spinning car and it catches them very effectively.
02:46Once you're in there, you are there.
02:48Well, he got away to such a magnificent start, was coming through the pack and Jason Bright
02:52was the one who went sideways. Here's the replay, let's have a look at it.
02:55Watch Bright on the right hand side of your screen in the blue car.
02:58Ingle's come through Longhurst and Scaife.
03:00Oh, Scaife's come together with Scaife.
03:02There's the contact there between Scaife and Jason Bright as they come down into the first turn.
03:08Scaife had nowhere to go, he was getting squeezed.
03:10So Bright's come across, he's caught Ingle and then Tony Longhurst right on the outside.
03:15There's spins.
03:16Well, they were both passengers, weren't they? Longhurst and Russell Ingle.
03:19Well, can you believe that? Let's have a look at it in the Shell Helix replay from inside Russell Ingle's car.
03:23There's the front of Bright's car, Ingle left with nowhere to go.
03:26He's spinning toward the sand trap and Tony Longhurst right on the outside, defenceless to do anything.
03:31Oh, Scaife played a major part in this.
03:33You watched, he had nowhere to go.
03:35Look, he touches Bright or Bright touches him or whatever.
03:39OK, we've got a red flag situation. They're stopping the race.
03:42Well, this is a good situation for Russell Ingle.
03:45Can you believe it? If he'd been stuck in there, his championship was over.
03:48But obviously, Clark, of course, Tim Schenken has decided those cars are too dangerous sitting in that sand trap.
03:54And they're going to restart the race.
03:56Well, it is, because if anybody had a brake failure or anything, it'd be straight off the end of the straight.
04:00They're at 260 k's an hour confronted with a bunch of parked cars.
04:06What a start from Russell Ingle. That would have been interesting if they got through the first corner.
04:10Russell said to me, watch the first corner, because he had everything to gain and nothing to lose.
04:16He does make some phenomenally good starts, and he was an innocent bystander in that one.
04:20A little tangle between Scaife and Bright.
04:23Launched a chain reaction. Tony Longhurst caught up in that, too.
04:26I think Tony got out of the sand trap under his own steam.
04:29And there's Russell Ingle. He will live to fight another day.
04:31Well, I think it was very good the way they got out of it.
04:34There was no rolled cars. They just slid off the circuit.
04:37It's all happening at Oran Park. This is Grand Final Day.
04:40We'll be back with more right after this on your home of motorsport, Network 10.
04:48Now, the race has been reduced to 15 laps, and there is Jason Bright.
04:52A very dejected and disappointed Jason Bright.
04:55He was going so well, flying up the inside there.
04:58And both he and Mark Scaife were both peddling for that same piece of ground.
05:03Well, he is out of it, but the thing is, this guy isn't.
05:06Russell Ingle is still very much in.
05:09Yeah, there's a few more gaps on the grid there, too.
05:11Jason Bright leaves a big hole there for Russell Ingle to try and leap across to his left.
05:18And you think he's not going to have a go.
05:20Well, just look at the start he got the first time around.
05:22Yeah, exactly.
05:23He made a sensational start to Heat 2.
05:25Caught up in that tangle between Scaife and Bright, but he's back there.
05:29It's going to be really interesting to see if Mark Bright's shotguns have proleted to come over towards Greg on the inside there.
05:37We'll get ready.
05:39Green at the back, we're going to have green at the front any tick of the clock now.
05:42Look at Russell Ingle, he's keen to go.
05:44Oh, the clutch he's got.
05:45Oh, his clutch he's got.
05:47Russell Ingle is in big trouble and a stall.
05:49And clutch, for sure.
05:50Wow.
05:51Yeah, he was signaling to the officials very early on there.
05:53He's having trouble getting their car up.
05:55Yeah, I think the clutch was just getting hot and starting to bite and there was nothing he could do about it.
05:59And that's what he was saying.
06:00So Lowndes takes him through the first corner.
06:02Russell Ingle is right at the back of the pack.
06:04There he is there.
06:05Larkham got away to a good start.
06:06So too did Garth Tanner as they come on through.
06:08Well, more and more this just plays into the hands of Craig Lowndes.
06:12He leads his field down under the Dunlop Bridge for the first time of this reduced 15 lap.
06:17But look at this, a good battle here between Longhurst and Glen Seaton.
06:20It looks like Bargwarn is in there as well.
06:22So we've still got a good race on our hands.
06:24Yeah, a lot of battle damage on one of the Ford Credit Falcons there coming under the bridge.
06:28Oh, and Russell Ingle continuing to charge up through the pack.
06:32Now, it's going to be interesting to see the way Tim Schenkelkamp, of course, determines that start.
06:36Well, that was pretty obvious that Russell wasn't putting a punch there.
06:39He had his hand out the window and you could see the car creeping.
06:42Now, he's got his hand out going, oh, it's creeping.
06:44I can't do anything about it.
06:45Well, his fate in this championship now rests in the hand of the officials.
06:48We'll wait with bated breath and see if any action is going to be taken.
06:51Meanwhile, he's continuing his charge through the pack, chasing this man, Craig Lowndes.
06:55The dominant winner of Heat 1 and looking like he's going to do it again in Heat 2.
06:58He's got Mark Scaife and Tony Longhurst right behind him.
07:01Yeah, Longhurst is very well placed there in third spot.
07:04Looks like Glen Seaton's still back there in fourth.
07:06As we watch Russell Ingle weave his way through from the back of this grid, here's the battle.
07:10Alan Jones, Dick Johnson's in there as well as they make their way past the two wins cars.
07:14Alan Jones had some problems in Race 1.
07:17He had to come into the pits.
07:18He ended up finishing 23rd.
07:20He's on his way back in Race 2.
07:23Jones and Mazera, that battle for 12th position.
07:26So the order now.
07:27Lowndes, Scaife, Longhurst, Seaton, Bo, Warner up there in 5th position,
07:31Tander in 6th, his teammate.
07:32Markham in 7th, John Faulkner in 8th, Paul Romano in 9th,
07:35and Stephen Ellery in the Konica Young Lions Commodore.
07:38He's up in 10th position.
07:40Well, in Race 1, Russell did everything he could to come.
07:43He worked his way from 9th up into 6th position.
07:45There's a good scrap on there between Scaife and Longhurst for that third spot.
07:48Long way back.
07:49Looks like Jason Barr and Warner are inside the top 5 as well.
07:53There he is, right behind the boss, Larry Perkins.
07:55Larry got caught up in that tangle with Dick Johnson in Heat 1.
07:58Bent the differential housing.
07:59There's a lot of work by the boys.
08:00And he's going to sneak down inside the boss.
08:02That's another position he needs.
08:04You'd have to say he's doomed not to get this win.
08:06Oh, well, he's certainly got the odds against him taken out in Heat 2 on the first quarter.
08:11Oh, he's had some problem, some difficulty getting the car off the start line.
08:15But you're on board now with Ian Corser.
08:17Russell Engle, he is a fighter.
08:19He'll take this one right to the last lap of Heat 3.
08:24Well, he's worked his way up as we wait for our timing to come across.
08:28He's into 17th now and he is on the charge.
08:30Coming up on the back of Terry Finnegan in the Sony Auto Sound Commodore.
08:33Inside Terry, so add another one to that.
08:35That means he's up to 16th position.
08:37Russell Engle charging from the back as we saw in Darwin.
08:40He's a great effort from 13th to 1st.
08:43It's a long way from 1st as we see him work on board the triple ammetry.
08:47He's been doing our sums on this championship situation too.
08:50It's a nail-biter.
08:51If Lowndes wins this race, Engle must finish at least 10th to take the battle to Heat 3.
08:56So, I'm sure if you're getting the word from his tactician on the headsets,
09:00doing their sums in the Castrol Perkins pit.
09:03And there it is.
09:04If he did that, if he finished in the first 10, then he'd have to win the second race.
09:07Well, and something drastic happened to Lowndes.
09:10He's got some tough customers ahead of him as well.
09:12Bower's in 11th, Mazira's in 12th, Allen-Jones is in 13th, Dick Johnson's in 14th.
09:17And he's got Darren Pate right in front of him right now.
09:19So, it's as if he's got some easy beats to get through.
09:23Yeah, it looks like he's carrying plenty of speed.
09:25He makes his way through this slow competition.
09:27It's going to be harder and harder as he gets toward the pointy end of the field
09:30to find his way past.
09:31We saw that in Heat 1.
09:33His most outspoken after Heat 1 situation here.
09:37His tyres not working as well as the Bridgestone rubber,
09:39but not taking anything away from the Mobile 1 Halton Racing Team's efforts.
09:42But he said, well, basically, this is down to a tyre championship,
09:46not a driver championship.
09:48Well, Neil Cromden is out in the Triple 1 Ford credit card.
09:51Not quite sure of the problems there.
09:52He was going extremely well in the first race, finished in 7th position.
09:57But Cromden's going nowhere this time.
09:59We go back to the Mobile 1 HRT cars, Lowndes and Skate.
10:02Got a familiar ring to it, hasn't it?
10:05As it was in Race 1.
10:06It's looking pretty strong for that to happen the same in Race 2.
10:09And Craig Lowndes was saying he was so relieved to get across the line
10:13in the opening one because he had a very big moment.
10:15We didn't get to see it.
10:16And he said that he almost lost it.
10:19So good for Longhurst.
10:20Look at that.
10:21I mean, he's matching Skate at the same time.
10:24It's so nice when a plan comes together for something.
10:28Just typical of the Halton Racing Team operation.
10:32Bridgestone tyre technician, Graham Brown, in consultation with them after.
10:36I think the decision was to go to a brand new set of tyres.
10:38And he too had really rubbed their nose in it.
10:40And they're certainly doing it at the moment.
10:41This is the battle between...
10:44This is Dick Johnson now.
10:45Eagle making up positions.
10:48Challenging him.
10:50For 14th position, I think.
10:51We'll check that on our timing monitor.
10:52But he's continuing his move up the order.
10:54Let's hope he can climb into that top 10
10:56and take this championship battle to Heat 3.
10:58Yeah, you're spot on there, Mark.
10:59That is 14th position.
11:00Russell Engle has just taken over.
11:02So he is on his way to 10th.
11:03And you just joined us.
11:04We're in Race 2 of 3.
11:06This is grand final day at Oran Park
11:08for the Shell V8 Supercar Championship.
11:10Craig Lowndes easily won the first race.
11:12And he's got a commanding lead in this.
11:14The second, Russell Engle, was involved in a first corner accident.
11:17This race was restarted.
11:19And he had clutch problems off the line.
11:20Drifted right to the back of the field.
11:22And has worked his way through into 14th position.
11:25And he must finish at least 10th
11:27to take the series to Race 3,
11:29to still keep his hopes alive.
11:31And he's doing extremely well.
11:32But he's still got to get past Alan Jones,
11:34Thomas Mazera and Steve Ellery.
11:36You couldn't have a worse list, really, could you?
11:38You can see the speed advantage too, Baz,
11:40of the Bridgestone Shot Global Commodores.
11:42The last lap around, the only two cars
11:44running in the one-minute, eight-second bracket.
11:46Everyone back in the one-nines and slower.
11:48They really are grinding them into the ground here.
11:51Just make such a difference, Mark,
11:53if they had a control tire on this series.
11:55It would just make it so much better for everyone.
11:57Well, I think it's got to the point of Russell Ingalls
11:59saying it's ridiculous.
12:00It's become a tire championship,
12:01not a driver's championship.
12:02I think they should be listening to him.
12:04The proof of that is Tony Longhurst, isn't it?
12:06I mean, you can't have any better proof than that.
12:08Here's a good battle.
12:09This is the battle for 7th, 8th and 9th.
12:11Mark Larcombe in the minor 10 Ford.
12:13John Faulkner in the better electrical
12:15Fisher and Paykel Commodore.
12:17And we go back to Paul Romano,
12:18who sits in 9th position.
12:20He's just ahead of John Bauer.
12:22It's a close top 10.
12:23There is John Faulkner's Bridgestone profile.
12:27He's been around for quite some time now.
12:2956 starts in the championship.
12:32And he's battling there with Mark Larcombe.
12:34He had some bad luck.
12:35He's had some bad luck this year, actually.
12:37He's been involved in quite a few accidents
12:39that haven't been his fault.
12:41But he hasn't winched.
12:42He's just soldiered on.
12:43The better electrical Commodore.
12:44And he's done a terrific job.
12:46Battle for 7th position.
12:48Mark Larcombe, John Faulkner and Paul Romano.
12:50Yeah, it was a remarkable effort, this car.
12:53After a hidden valley, it looked really, really bad.
12:55It was two-thirds its normal distance.
12:58Or length, I should say.
12:59Really did copper hammering in the back.
13:01And there was a lot of doubt
13:02whether they were going to get the car done in time.
13:03They just made it.
13:04John has a big contingent of better electrical people
13:06here this weekend.
13:07Putting on a good show for his sponsors.
13:09Right up behind Mark Larcombe.
13:11More than a couple of love taps there.
13:13Come on, get a move on.
13:14John Faulkner's on the charge.
13:16It's a great battle for 7th position.
13:18Great battles all through this top 10.
13:20I think that John Faulkner's looking forward to, too,
13:22as the Enduro's coming up.
13:23The Tickford 500 and the Australian 1000 Classic.
13:26He's been a very consistent runner in those two events
13:29over the past few years.
13:30And he'll be looking forward to that.
13:32So too will Tony Long,
13:33as when he teams up with Alan Jones in the Castrol Ford.
13:38It's going to be interesting to see how Tony goes
13:41on Mount Panorama this year.
13:43That remarkable drive last year
13:44with Charlie O'Brien from 39th to 2nd.
13:47Then mechanical failure let them down.
13:49But Tony's coming good at the right end of the season,
13:52that's for sure.
13:53Let's look at his lap times there.
13:55He's only a few hundredths of a second away
13:57from Skave in 2nd.
13:58With a couple of tenths behind Lowndes
14:00that previous lap around.
14:01So he's matching them for pace.
14:02Bit slower that time around.
14:03The gap between Tony Longhurst and Craig Lowndes
14:06up to 2.6 seconds.
14:08But he's looking far more competitive here
14:10than he has in a long, long time.
14:12You're riding alongside Jason Barguanas,
14:15Valvoline Cummins Commodore.
14:17And you're right on top of his head here.
14:19Now look at him.
14:20Right on top of his helmet, looking through.
14:23Got a feel for just how much movement
14:27there is inside one of these cars.
14:29Tremendously high G-forces,
14:30particularly under braking and cornering.
14:32Drivers really do get a workout.
14:34Look at how hard that front tyre's working too.
14:37Rolling off the rim and sidewall of the tyre
14:39under enormous cornering loads.
14:41Well, we've got to say it again.
14:43I know we've said it quite a few times
14:45about this young guy, Jason Barguana,
14:46but he just keeps doing it.
14:48He doesn't necessarily have such a good first race.
14:50He comes back very strong in the second and third.
14:52He has come from tenth up into fourth position,
14:55Jason Barguana.
14:56He is working hard.
15:16Starting to bridge the gap to Tony Longhurst.
15:27They come under the Dunlop Bridge.
15:29Engle up to eleven.
15:31Well, he's one away.
15:33Stephen Ellery's going to be the make-or-break man
15:36for Russell Engle to keep this championship alive
15:38in heat three.
15:39You've got to hand it to the guy.
15:41Well, he's never so nice.
15:43He just keeps attacking and attacking
15:46No more laps left.
15:47That's exactly what he's doing here.
15:49Giving it his all.
15:50I just, I like the philosophy, you know, of Russell's.
15:54As we see here, here's the gap.
15:55This is the Konica Commodore.
15:56The Holden Young Lions entry of Steve Ellery.
15:58He is right on the hammer of John Bower.
16:00But you can see the lights in the background there.
16:02That is Russell Engle.
16:03Here he comes.
16:04So if he can catch up to Steve Ellery,
16:06he's going to be right there in the battle
16:08and in the thick of it with John Bower as well.
16:09But he's got quite a gap to make up there.
16:11Well, so far we've heard nothing about
16:13any kind of penalty for Russell Engle creeping up the start.
16:16And for one and all, there's no way you could be that theatrical,
16:20is there really?
16:22Oh, John Bower.
16:23Oh, he was just having a great run in that battle for seventh.
16:26Now, a tangle with Paul Romano.
16:28Let's hope he didn't get caught up in the accident there.
16:31Looks like he may have got away.
16:33Okay, let's hope so.
16:34Because the damage at Hidden Valley
16:36really knocked the team's finances around.
16:39Here's the battle, though.
16:40Russell Engle at the bottom of his squeeze.
16:42He's in 11th position.
16:43The Konica Commodore driven by Stephen Ellery.
16:45He's in 10th.
16:46Russell needs to get in front of that Konica car
16:48to keep his championship hopes alive.
16:49Well, how much ground has Russell made up in the last lap?
16:52He's on fire.
16:53This is great stuff.
16:54Under brakes.
16:55Right up on Stephen Ellery.
16:56This is the back of John Bower's Shell Helix Ford.
16:58Engle is right there.
17:00He has an inside look.
17:01He's got Ellery.
17:02So he's there.
17:03Engle is in 10th,
17:04and his championship hopes stay alive for the meantime.
17:07He's got to stay there, though.
17:09This is lap 10 of 15.
17:10We've still got a bit to run.
17:11He's catching J.P. pretty quickly as well.
17:13Yeah, he's carrying plenty of speed on that car.
17:15We were a bit worried after he had that spin
17:16that he might have flat-spotted the tyres,
17:18but the car's performing pretty well.
17:20Sid Crone-Proto on board camera.
17:22Russell Engle.
17:25Gas roll.
17:26Car number 8.
17:28He's up over this very fast change in direction,
17:30this dog leg here,
17:31and then down the hill into the final turn
17:33before they come onto the main straight.
17:34Let's see how much ground he can make on John Bower.
17:37The big drag down the main straight,
17:39both on Dunlop tyres.
17:41Ford versus Holden.
17:43Here is his heart rate monitor.
17:45They come down the main straight.
17:46We've got just five laps left to run.
17:49Engle zeroing in on the back of John Bower.
17:52On the brakes. Good on the brakes.
17:53I tell you, Tom, speed-wise,
17:54there's nothing wrong with John Bower's car.
17:57No.
17:58Well, really, what Russell Engle's going to need now
18:00is keeping his championship hopes alive,
18:02but it's a slim chance,
18:03looking at the domination
18:04of the Mobile One-Holton Racing Team Commodores here.
18:07So he'll really need another hiccup
18:09like the factory team suffered at Hidden Valley.
18:11He's really going to need a disaster.
18:13At the end of the day, Mark,
18:14you'd have to say that Lowndes and Scaife
18:16are only going as quick as they have to at the moment.
18:18Yeah.
18:19Controlling the pace at the front.
18:21It looks like Scaife just sitting in there,
18:23carbon copy, as he did in Heat 2,
18:25just a second or so behind his teammate,
18:27playing any rear-guard action
18:29in case someone closes up to challenge,
18:31but they're just doing it pretty easily.
18:33Well, I asked Lowndes after Race 1,
18:35I said, you know, did you do that easily?
18:37He said, no.
18:38I said, I actually pushed very, very hard early on.
18:40I said, then I eased off once I knew that I had it in the bag.
18:42Oh!
18:43On the inside, he's got him!
18:45Russell Engle as we go on board
18:47with Russell on the inside of John Bauer.
18:49So he's up in the ninth position now.
18:51So he continues his surge forward.
18:53He is fighting for his life in this championship,
18:55and he is not giving in one little bit.
18:58Four laps left to run for Russell Engle.
19:00Up to 187 feet per minute.
19:03So he is cracking.
19:04It makes you wonder, this race reduced to 15 laps.
19:06It was originally an 18-lapper.
19:08What he could have done if he had another three laps to go.
19:10It's a pretty cool championship bike.
19:12Look at his heart rate.
19:13Up around 185, 190 beats a minute.
19:16This man is working hard.
19:18Well, we don't know exactly how far he got back.
19:21We're assuming it was almost dead last.
19:24190 miles through that corner.
19:26When he lost it off the start,
19:28and he has worked his way back.
19:30Just a remarkable run by Russell Engle.
19:32Up into ninth position now.
19:34He's got Romano and Larkin ahead,
19:36and I don't think they would be too far ahead either.
19:39So Russell Engle could still improve.
19:41Lap 12 of 15.
19:43I'll tell you what he's doing.
19:44Some quick times.
19:45He's the fastest man on the circuit at the moment.
19:46He's just got a 1.10.30.
19:48Our race leader now is at a 1.10.51.
19:50He's back to 1.10.04.
19:52So he's matching the pace,
19:53even quickening the pace of the leaders.
19:56But they've got so much real estate on him now,
19:58it's really going to take a major drama for them to catch up.
20:01Well, these guys, they're just cruising out in front.
20:03The Mobile One HRT cars.
20:05Now, Jason Barguana has got himself into third,
20:07ahead of Tony Longhurst, who now sits fourth.
20:09Seaton is still fifth.
20:10And Garth Tander, a great run by him today.
20:12He's been so consistent.
20:14He's sitting there in sixth position.
20:15Then we get to the battle that we were talking about.
20:17Larkin, Romano.
20:18Just how far ahead of Russell Engle are they?
20:21We'll wait and see as they come through.
20:23Here's these two.
20:24Very close, Longhurst and Seaton.
20:26So Glenn Seaton has a shot of getting up into fourth position.
20:32So the order now allows.
20:34Just holding that half a second buffer over his teammate,
20:36Skate Barguana, on a charge.
20:39He's taken Tony Longhurst for third position.
20:41Longhurst in fourth.
20:42Seaton fifth.
20:43Tander still in sixth.
20:44Larkin seventh.
20:45Romano.
20:46Engle still in ninth.
20:47And Bauer rounds out the top ten.
20:48Well, while we're getting caught up in the battle
20:50for the Shell V8 Supercar Championship,
20:53let's not forget about our privateers,
20:54because there's been a tremendous battle going on there
20:57between Trevor Ashby and Chris Smerdon.
21:00Those two guys are fighting to take out top privateer for 1998,
21:04and that battle continues.
21:06Ashby currently is the top privateer on the circuit.
21:09It's interesting, Mark.
21:11The Perkins lot must have done some tricky changes to the car,
21:15because obviously Russell's tyres are working a lot better this time.
21:18They were, he said, after six laps in the first race, they were shot.
21:21Yeah.
21:22I said they were going to do a bit of fiddling there.
21:24He said, I've got to try.
21:26The Australian 1000 Classic is coming up.
21:28It's going to be a big end of the year.
21:29You can get your tickets from Ticketmaster 136122.
21:34It's going to be fantastic, and don't forget,
21:36we've travelled to Queensland for the Gold Coast Indy.
21:38It's at the end of the year at this time.
21:401300 303 103.
21:43You can get your tickets from Ticketing for the Gold Coast Indy.
21:54Tony Longhurst in Glenn's seat.
21:55The battle continues.
21:56Have a look who's come up right on the back of these guys.
21:58It's Garth Tander.
21:59This is great.
22:00So Tander's got a real shot at getting through here.
22:03But Tony Longhurst seems his pace has slowed.
22:06See, Tander got right out of shape coming over the dog leg there.
22:09Thought he was going to lose it.
22:10He managed to catch him.
22:11That was a pretty hairy moment.
22:13Pretty high speed part of the circuit there.
22:15They've got 180 miles an hour coming over there.
22:17The car gets very light.
22:18And not an awful lot of place to go if you buck it up.
22:20Exactly.
22:21Well, this is it.
22:22We're on our way home.
22:23Race two of three.
22:24This is the battle at the moment for fourth, fifth, and sixth.
22:27Garth Tander comes right up on Glenn Seaton now.
22:30Longhurst.
22:31Tony Longhurst is at the front of this battle.
22:33And on our computer timing monitor, the positions have stayed the same.
22:37Further back in the pack, in terms of Larkham staying in seventh.
22:40Romano eighth and Russell Ingle is still in ninth position.
22:43But his championship is still alive.
22:44And have a look at this battle.
22:46Tander's gone around the outside.
22:47That'll be the long way through that part of the track.
22:49Seaton is pressuring all the time trying to get through on Tony Longhurst.
22:53Tony trying to drive the conservative line down the inside of the circuit.
22:56Giving Glenn Seaton even the chance, even a sniff, getting alongside him.
23:00It's going to be pretty tough to hold him out, though.
23:02Seaton's really on a charge.
23:03And he's got Tander breathing down his neck.
23:05Well, he's trying to just get it home, isn't he, Tony Longhurst?
23:07Half a lap left to run, not even that.
23:09They're on the back part of the circuit.
23:11This is it.
23:12The dogleg is our race leader.
23:14Brings it into the main straight.
23:15Craig Lowndes makes it.
23:17Two starts, two wins today at Oran Park.
23:19Things are looking good for the Mobile One HRT outfit.
23:22There's his wife, Natalie.
23:24She is wrapping that one, and why shouldn't she be?
23:27Her husband's done a terrific job.
23:29Lowndes in for yet another win from his teammate, Mark Scape.
23:31Another Mobile One HRT one, two.
23:34Jason Barguana in for a good third.
23:36He worked very hard.
23:37He came from tenth right up into that third position.
23:40So the Valvoline Cummins Commodore going extremely well also.
23:44There's the two boys.
23:45They'll pull side by side.
23:46Mark says, well done, mate.
23:48Because Scape's got plenty to smile about also.
23:50Because Larry Perkins' problems earlier today.
23:53And Scape's two seconds so far.
23:55He has really got a firm grip on that third spot in the championship
23:59with just one race left to go.
24:01But on screen, that is the main man.
24:04He's done the business the best so far today.
24:07Craig Lowndes feeling on top of the world at the moment.
24:13As he just cruises back around.
24:18Taking it easy and waving to the fans.
24:24Shell Helix race score for you.
24:26Let's check the final placings, of course.
24:28The one, two.
24:29Lowndes and Scape Barguana there for third.
24:31Tony Longhurst did hang on for fourth.
24:33Glenn Seton in for fifth.
24:34Tanda, Larkin, Romano.
24:35Importantly, Ingle inside the top ten.
24:37And John Bauer.
24:38Some great motorsport action.
24:40And there's plenty more to come on your home of motorsport,
24:43including the Tickford 500 and much, much more.
24:48Stay tuned to Network 10 as the big guns of motorsport
24:51head down under for a smorgasbord of high-octane excitement.
24:55Join us when Aussie Nick Doohan tries to win
24:57his first Australian 500 GP at Phillip Island
25:00against the cream of the world's two-wheeled talent.
25:04See all the concrete-crunching thrills and spills
25:06of the Gold Coast Indy as America's best
25:08tackle the streets of surface paradise.
25:11Head west when the Formula Ones of the forest
25:13hit Perth for round 13 of the World Rally Championship
25:17at API Rally Australia.
25:19And to cap it all, the 600-horsepower Aussie V8s
25:22return to Mount Panorama Baptist November 14 and 15
25:26for Australia's greatest motor race,
25:28the Australian 1000 Classic.
25:30Live and exclusive to your home of motorsport,
25:33Network 10.
25:38Seven.
25:42Well, two heats down, one to go
25:44in the battle for the Shell Series for 1990.
25:47Russell Engle, we use the terminology
25:49hanging on by your fingernails.
25:50Do you feel like you're doing that right now?
25:52Yeah, just a bit.
25:53I can't actually believe how calm I am at the moment.
25:56Everything's pretty calm down here.
25:58I mean, we had a lot of trouble in that session,
26:00but we got speared off at the end.
26:03I think Bright got turned around
26:04and tagged me on the way through.
26:06We bogged it, and it's filled the clutch up with dirt
26:08and buggered a seal.
26:09So I had no clutch, actually, in the whole race.
26:11That's why I stalled on the line.
26:12But I'm just very glad no one ran out my back.
26:15Now, the interesting thing is with the points,
26:16you've got yourself back inside the top tens.
26:18That means the championship's still alive
26:20going into this final heat.
26:21But, boy, you really need almost like a DNF
26:23for Craig to win it from here, don't you?
26:24Ah, for sure.
26:25But, I mean, that's why it's important for me
26:26to get out in that race and just get as many points
26:28because, look, we've said it before and we'll say it again,
26:30look what happened at Darwin.
26:31I mean, it's only still only 36.
26:32Like, if he DNFs and I have a win, we're there.
26:35So we'll keep going.
26:37Well, keep up that fighting spirit, mate.
26:38We're riding with you.
26:39Absolutely.
26:40I think I'm drinking some of Brocky's tea,
26:41so I'll be back in a minute.
26:43I think I'm drinking some of Brocky's tea,
26:44so I'll keep going.
26:46Congratulations.
26:47Thanks, mate.