The wild conclusion of the 2025 Repco Bathurst 1000 has race fans eager for another repeat in 2026, with the action going right down to the wire.
A controversial clash between James Golding and Cooper Murray with five laps to go set up a remarkable run to the flag. Golding caught and passed Matt Payne entering the last lap, but David Reynolds was right there.
Payne and Golding duelled up the Mountain, and Reynolds had a sniff. Ultimately, Payne got the job done, in a climax fitting of a remarkable race.
As we count down to the 2026 Great Race, Supercars.com highlights some of the best last gasp showdowns of the modern era.
2006
Craig Lowndes bested Rick Kelly an emotional conclusion to what had been a dramatic day. Lowndes and Kelly broke away from the pack after a series of Safety Cars, and Lowndes fittingly won by 0.5s on a day the Mountain farewelled Peter Brock.
2011
Five years later, Lowndes missed out on victory by 0.3s to Garth Tander, who withstood the blowtorch to claim a second win in three years. Tander won three more times, the third coming last year. 14 years on, Lowndes revealed by he didn’t have a dive on the final lap.
2012
David Reynolds also missed out by 0.3s, with Jamie Whincup the winner in a thrilling 50th anniversary race. Whincup just made it home on fuel, perhaps foreshadowing scenes of what was to come.
2013
Mark Winterbottom denied Whincup in a last lap showdown in 2013. Whincup attacked his nemesis into Griffins Bend, and Winterbottom held firm. “Hold your breath Australia,” bellowed Neil Crompton in commentary. Winterbottom held his nerve, and won.
2014
Whincup again missed out, but this time, it was self-inflicted. Whincup ran out of fuel on the final lap, and an attacking Chaz Mostert got the job done through Forrests Elbow. We’ve never seen a race like it since.
2016
Whincup’s penalty over the redress chaos revealed Will Davison and Shane van Gisbergen as the effective leaders of the race. Davison’s Holden coughed over the line, but kept van Gisbergen just at bay.
2019
A late crash set up a one lap dash for victory. Old rivals Scott McLaughlin and van Gisbergen had it all to do, and save for a van Gisbergen dive into Griffins Bend, McLaughlin had it covered.
2020
Van Gisbergen turned the tables 12 months later, holding out Cam Waters after a series of late Safety Cars. The end margin was 0.5s, which was just on the margin van Gisbergen lost the 2019 race by.
2025
Golding officially pulled off an overtake for the lead in the closing stages of last year’s race, but fought for track position with Payne. It nearly paid off for Reynolds, who hit Payne exiting The Cutting. A bit more overlap, and we’re talking about a different winner.
