Fighting to the end: Bathurst's closest finishes

For a race that goes beyond six hours in length, the Great Race often comes down to fine margins.

Next weekend's Repco Bathurst 1000 will be the 61st Great Race to be staged at Mount Panorama.

Such is the competitive nature of the 161-lap classic, that the race is run like a sprint race.

Dating back to 2006, 11 of the last 15 races have been decided by 1.4 seconds or less.

It's a far cry from the massive margins of yesteryear; Peter Brock notably combined with Jim Richards to win the 1979 race by six laps.

Craig Lowndes outlasted Rick Kelly in the emotional 2006 running of the race, held in the weeks after Brock's passing, by 0.586s.

The last two races, in 2019 and 2020, were settled after late-race Safety Cars.

In 2019, Scott McLaughlin beat Shane van Gisbergen by 0.680s, before van Gisbergen defeated Cameron Waters by 0.866s last year.

Lowndes scraped victory in 15 years ago

Jamie Whincup's four Bathurst winnings margins combine to just 4.021s.

If you remove the 2008 race, which he and Lowndes won by 2.497s, Whincup's three other wins (2006, 2007 and 2012) were claimed by a combined 1.523s.

Arguably the greatest finish of them all, when Chaz Mostert overtook an out-of-fuel Whincup in 2014, saw a winning margin of 4.0936s.

Officially, the closest finish remains the Moffat Ford Dealers one-two in 1977; that day, Allan Moffat led Colin Bond by 0.1s in a non-competitive finish.

Tander and Lowndes separated by nothing in 2011

Triple Eight’s own formation run of 2010 is third on the all-time margins list at 0.1733s.

The 2016 race will forever be remembered for the late clash involving Whincup, McLaughlin and Tander.

Whincup earned a 15-second penalty and crossed the line first, meaning Will Davison and van Gisbergen fought for victory and conducted the closest competitive finish in the history of the race.

Davison managed to cross the line just 0.143s ahead of van Gisbergen, with his Tekno Autosports entry coughing at the final corner.

Nothing in it in 2016

What will the 2021 finish look like come Sunday afternoon on December 5?

The 2021 Repco Supercars Championship and Dunlop Series seasons will conclude at the Repco Bathurst 1000.

Foxtel’s coverage will start on Wednesday 1st December at 8:25 am AEDT on channel 503 and Kayo.

The Seven Network will provide live free to air coverage of the event. Tickets for the event and camping are on sale now.

Closest Bathurst 1000 finishing margins (non form finishes)

0.1434s: Will Davison def. Shane van Gisbergen (2016)0.2917s: Garth Tander def. Craig Lowndes (2011)0.3129s: Jamie Whincup def. David Reynolds (2012)0.4744s: Mark Winterbottom def. Jamie Whincup (2013)0.5868s: Craig Lowndes def. Rick Kelly (2006)0.6238s: Craig Lowndes def. James Courtney (2007)0.6800s: Scott McLaughlin def. Shane van Gisbergen (2019)0.7599s: Garth Tander def. Jason Richards (2009)0.8662s: Shane van Gisbergen def. Cameron Waters (2020)