Why Lowndes refused to move Tander in dramatic Bathurst finish
Garth Tander defeated Craig Lowndes by 0.3s in thrilling 2011 race
Lowndes had overlap exiting The Cutting on final lap, pulled out of move
Tander held on to deny Lowndes fifth Bathurst win in six years
Craig Lowndes has revealed what went through his mind during the final stages of the 2011 Bathurst 1000, which saw Garth Tander cling on in a grandstand finish.
After 161 laps and 1000 kilometres of racing, Tander and Lowndes were separated by 0.3s in one of the most thrilling Bathurst finishes of all time.
Lowndes fought back after a number of double stack hurdles in pit lane to put Tander under major pressure in the closing laps of the race.
On the final lap, Lowndes went with Tander, and the former almost ranged alongside the Holden Racing Team Commodore as they exited The Cutting.
Rarely are overtakes made between The Cutting and Reid Park, with the fast left-hander labelled after the tree that sits at corner apex.
Try as he might, Lowndes was unable to dislodge Tander across the top of the Mountain, and with oil down at The Chase, Lowndes ran out of credits to pull off a last-lap heist.
Tander and Lowndes were joined on the upcoming Drivers Only episode by fellow Bathurst winners Mark Winterbottom and Will Davison, and while debating late-race battles, Tander had a bone to pick with his old rival.
“Lowndesy, we've never spoken about this,” Tander begins.
“But when you were behind me in '11, did it cross your mind? 'Oh, I'm gonna relocate this bloke, I'm just gonna just move him out of the way.’"
Lowndes replied: "No, because if I was in that mindset, I probably would've done it under the tree, because we had overlap, but you would've crashed.”
Lowndes insisted he had more pace across the top of the Mountain, but after missing out at Reid Park, he knew he risked throwing it all away at The Chase.
“We had overlap, I came out of The Cutting well, but Garth was three quarters in front,” Lowndes continued.
"We were better across the top of the Mountain. And then the only other corner we had an opportunity, but it had oil down, was The Chase. So there was no other opportunity.”
The upcoming Drivers Only episode will be released this week on Supercars’ official website and YouTube, and on Listnr.
Track action at the Repco Bathurst 1000 commences on Thursday October 9.
