Matt Payne and Garth Tander have won the Bathurst 1000 after prevailing in an enthralling wet-weather race.
James Golding crossed the finish line first at Mount Panorama, but he couldn’t claim victory after copping a five-second penalty.
Payne did not lead until four laps remained of Sunday’s 161-lap classic, when he was the beneficiary of a stoush between Golding and Cooper Murray.
Golding almost ended Murray’s race as he smacked into him while trying to overtake on the inside on the journey up the mountain, but the Erebus driver somehow managed to avoid putting his car into the wall, and carried on.
Payne held on to claim the holy grail of Australian motorsport for the first time, while Tander won his sixth title at the Great Race.
Team 18 driver and 2017 Bathurst 1000 winner David Reynolds finished second after crossing the line third in the nearly seven-hour epic.
Matt Payne (left) and Garth Tander celebrate after taking out a chaotic Bathurst 1000 that will go down as one of the all-time classics at Mount Panorama
Pictured: Payne’s pit crew go crazy as he crosses the finish line
James Golding (pictured) crossed the line in first place, but was hit with a five-second penalty for his wild overtaking move on Cooper Murray
Murray was fourth across the line.
‘It’s absolutely insane,’ Payne told Fox Sports.
‘When I got back in the car, it felt like forever. We kept getting safety cars, and it kept stalling our race.
‘And then I saw Jimmy get into the side of Cooper, and I kind of predicted that was going to happen.
‘I managed to get through, I sort of felt like I ran out of tyres at the end.
‘A win’s a win. We’ll take it.’
Earlier in the race, Broc Feeney was running third before slamming into the wall at Forrest’s Elbow, bringing out one of several safety cars as the wet weather introduced more than a little chaos to proceedings.
Ryan Wood led the race for Walkinshaw Andretti United at one stage and looked set to defend against a dogged James Golding across the final 35 laps.
The victory was the sixth time Tander (left, with Payne) has been crowned the king of the mountain
The wild conditions saw multiple crashes and retirements, including by Dick Johnson Racing star Brodie Kostecki (pictured)
Last year’s Bathurst 1000 winner and pole-sitter Brodie Kostecki was 22nd after copping a penalty for running rookie Kai Allen off track.
The Dick Johnson Racing star first endured a lengthy driver swap with co-driver Todd Hazelwood on lap 96 before locking his wheels and slamming straight into the back of Allen.
It was Kostecki’s first lap in the rain, and he rejoined the contest in 15th place after serving the drive-through penalty.
He then ran off at The Chase to avoid James Courtney on lap 108, all but ending his hopes for back-to-back victory.
Tickford star Cam Waters also suffered a huge setback after a crash by co-driver Mark Winterbottom in the rain.
Chas Mostert is pictured saluting the crowd as he’s cheered for drinking a beer with fans just seconds after his race ended with engine failure
Waters had traded blows for the lead with Kostecki in an enthralling wet-weather duel before handing over the No.6 car on lap 66.
Winterbottom had veered into the tyre wall at Forrest’s Elbow on lap 71.
The 2013 Bathurst 1000 winner was able to drive the Ford Mustang back to pit lane, but the damage was done.
Winterbottom dropped a lap behind the pack, with a battery-powered saw needed to hack parts of the car’s right-hand side off as Waters watched from the garage.
The Tickford pair were 23rd past the halfway mark.
Hazelwood started the race for Kostecki and lost the front-running when Feeney jumped him using the undercut on lap 26.
A crash by co-driver Tony D’Alberto in DJR teammate Will Davison’s car momentarily restored Kostecki to top spot.
D’Alberto caused the first safety car on Sunday after ricocheting off the inside corner wall at Forrest’s Elbow and slamming into the opposing concrete barrier on lap 55.
Walkinshaw Andretti United star Chaz Mostert was next to suffer heartache, with his Ford Mustang suffering an engine failure on lap 59.
Mostert, who won the great race in 2014 and 2021, jumped out of the car and wasted no time in cracking open a beer with spectators.
Nick Percat and co-driver Tim Slade, in the No.10 Matt Stone Racing car, were also out of contention after losing a cylinder.
