The quirks of Tickford's first Supercars victory

On this day 20 years ago, Craig Lowndes delivered the very first victory for the team now known as Tickford Racing in treacherous conditions at Phillip Island.

Cam Waters’ Race 1 victory in Newcastle last month was the 81st for the Campbellfield squad, which debuted as Ford Performance Racing in 2003.

The team hit the top in just its second round in Supercars, having taken over Glenn Seton Racing via Prodrive.

Lowndes’ victory was his first for FPR, and his first round victory for Ford.

However, there were a number of quirks to the result that ensured Tickford’s first win remains one of its most memorable.

A red flag finish

The race is most notable for the remarkable downpour that ultimately saw the race suspended and later declared.

The majority of the race, which was scheduled for 67 laps, was held under gloomy skies as rain threatened.

Rain arrived with 20 laps remaining, and turned into a deluge that created rivers across the circuit.

A number of drivers were caught out, such as eventual champion Marcos Ambrose, with the Safety Car deployed.

The race was suspended and declared after 54 laps, with Lowndes taking victory.

Speaking after the race, Lowndes praised his team’s call to switch to wets, and was thankful the race wasn’t restarted.

“We had five or six laps where it was drizzling, it wasn’t too bad,” Lowndes said after the race.

“I was keeping an eye on the cars in front of me to see how much movement they had, how much brake and grip they had.

“We had to make our tyre choice, and as soon as I got to Siberia, she bucketed down.

“It was a great decision by the guys, it was great strategy — but it was silly.

“I said to the guys, ‘If they’re going to restart this race, it’s bloody silly’.

“Thank god they didn’t, because there’s a lot of water everywhere.”

Skaife’s penalty

Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly secured an all-Holden Racing Team front row, with Lowndes qualifying sixth.

Skaife, the three-time defending series champion, had won the season-opening Adelaide 500 and was eyeing title No. 6.

The Holden star was three seconds ahead of the field after just three laps, and looked set for another victory.

However, it unravelled when Skaife was hit with a drive-through penalty for speeding in pit lane.

Skaife recovered to sixth by the time the race was declared, and finished third overall in a season marred by his infamous Eastern Creek run-in with Russell Ingall.

Ambrose and Bright’s bizarre collision

With Skaife penalised, Jason Bright inherited the lead, and was in the box seat to win the race as showers reached Phillip Island.

However, the pendulum swung again when Bright and Ambrose collided as the latter tried to turn into pit lane.

Ambrose was sent into a spin, with Bright ploughing through a styrofoam board as he slid through the grass.

Bright’s Commodore picked up steering damage, but with the race ending under Safety Car, he somehow finished second.

Ambrose, meanwhile, slumped to 17th, having later bowled wides at Hayshed and pit entry as the rain intensified.

The muted celebrations

Rain continued to fall as Lowndes greeted his crew in pit lane after the race.

Such was the rainfall, that that the podium-getters - Lowndes, Bright and Greg Murphy - accepted their trophies in the media centre.

Lowndes would have to wait until Eastern Creek in 2005 to stand on a podium as a winner, which was Triple Eight Race Engineering’s first win.

FPR would have to wait another three years for victory — ironically, it came courtesy of Bright at Winton.

The Ford team’s first Bathurst win came 10 years after Lowndes’ victory, courtesy of Mark Winterbottom and Steven Richards.

Winterbottom — who will celebrate 600 race starts in Perth this month — delivered the team’s first championship in 2015.

The 2023 Repco Supercars Championship will resume at the Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint on April 28-30.