The eighth wonder: All Walkinshaw Bathurst wins
The Walkinshaw Andretti United name came into effect in 2018, but the famous Walkinshaw name has been a staple of motorsport for some time.
Sunday's Repco Bathurst 1000 victory was the biggest result yet for the team under its WAU guise.
The team was originally created by Tom Walkinshaw Racing as the Holden Racing Team, and debuted under driver/team manager Win Percy.
Under the HRT banner between 1990 and 2016, the team won six drivers' titles and seven Bathurst 1000s. In 2021, as WAU, it scored Bathurst win No.8.
WAU is now level with the Holden Dealer Team/HDT Racing and Triple Eight Race Engineering on eight Bathurst wins.
Chaz Mostert and Lee Holdsworth's historic victory was the team's 183rd race win, and Holden's 35th win in the Great Race.
Mostert took his second Bathurst win, with Holdsworth becoming the 63rd driver to win the Great Race.
It was also the first Bathurst pole for the #25 since 1977, and first win for the number since 1988.
1990) Allan Grice/Win Percy
Started: 6th
Race time: 6h40m52.6s
The turbocharged Ford Sierras and Nissan GT-R were no match for veterans Grice and Percy, who delivered one of Holden's most significant triumphs. Briton Percy and 1986 Bathurst winner Grice ground down the opposition to help Walkinshaw to its first Great Race win.
1996) Craig Lowndes/Greg Murphy
Started: 2nd
Race time: 7h9m28.3s
Lowndes had sailed to a remarkable rookie championship, which was headlined by 16 race victories. At the time, Lowndes and Murphy combined to become the youngest pairing to win the Great Race.
2001) Mark Skaife/Tony Longhurst
Started: 5th
Race time: 6h50m33.1s
Skaife had won the 2000 title, but was still searching for his first Bathurst win as a Holden driver. It came in 2001 alongside 1988 winner Longhurst. Eight Safety Car periods soaked up 36 laps of the race, with 21 of 39 starters classified.
2002) Mark Skaife/Jim Richards
Started: 1st
Race time: 6h58m41.02s
Skaife went back-to-back in 2002, and had help from legend Richards, who won the 1991 and 1992 races with Skaife in Gibson Nissans. Richards, at 55, became the oldest driver to win the Great Race.
2005) Mark Skaife/Todd Kelly
Started: 4th
Race time: 6h37m17.0s
Skaife was on another level in 2005, setting a new lap record and helping Kelly win on his birthday. The race saw several favourites drop out; pole man Lowndes crashed early before copping a stray wheel, before Marcos Ambrose and Murphy infamously clashed at the end of the race.
2009) Garth Tander/Will Davison
Started: 1st
Race time: 6h40m2.4s
Tander and Davison were officially credited as the last drivers to win from pole position before Mostert and Holdsworth. Tander and Davison negated a wet start and rain-affected middle of the race to hold firm when late Safety Cars made for a tense finish.
2011) Garth Tander/Nick Percat
Started: 9th
Race time: 6h26m52.2s
Two years later, Tander held out Lowndes by less than 0.3s in an all-time finish. Percat became just the second rookie - and first since Jacky Ickx in 1977 - to win the Great Race.
2021) Chaz Mostert/Lee Holdsworth
Started: 1st
Race time: 6h40m52.6s
Mostert and Holdsworth survived a mid-race puncture to lead over 100 laps and score victory. It was Holdsworth's first win in 18 attempts, and Mostert's second following his epic 2014 triumph for Ford Performance Racing.
The 13-event 2022 Repco Supercars Championship will commence in Newcastle next year. Tickets for the event are on sale now.
The 13-round draft calendar was released on Sunday.
