Holden goes out on top at the 2022 Bathurst 1000

The final fight between Ford and Holden at Mount Panorama has resulted in a knockout win and a 1-2 finish for the red lion brand.

The history of Holden finally has a happy ending after Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander took an emotional win for the ZB Commodore in its last appearance in Australia’s greatest motor race.

Victory for the Commodore took the final score in the historic Ford-vs-Holden rivalry at Mount Panorama to 35-21, in favour of Holden.

It was the two toughest men in Supercars, Shane van Gisbergen and his co-driver Garth Tander, who did the job for the Holden heartland as they survived a day of carnage to claim another Bathurst 1000 victory – the second for van Gisbergen and fifth for Tander.

The best-placed Ford Mustang was driven by Cam Waters, who qualified fastest for the race, sharing with James Moffat for third place. They had to fight back from 15th in the early running, but lost track position and paid the penalty in the final 14-lap sprint to the chequered flag.

Van Gisbergen went into Bathurst as the odds-on favourite and, despite a tough build-up – he was penalised three grid spots after crashing a rival during qualifying – and a pit-lane penalty during the race, he and Tander were a cut above their rivals, as they were on their last win in 2020.

After smoking through his signature tyre-smoking ‘donut’ celebrations, van Gisbergen reflected on the significance of the win.

“I learned a lot this week about what the Holden brand means to people. It was great to share it with the fans,” van Gisbergen said at the official press conference.

“Adelaide (where the final race of the season will be run) will be a massive one, as the home of Holden, so I hope we can have another good one there.”

Both of the other podium finishers had reasons for coming up short, with Chaz Mostert – last year’s winner – complaining about a lack of speed, and Waters and Moffat highlighting the dust-up with Brodie Kostecki’s Holden that dropped them to 15th before half distance.

“I gave it everything. That was it,” said Mostert.

“Cam drove the wheels off it. So to get back on the podium is nice, but we probably weren’t quite fast enough,” said Moffat.

Six cars retired from the race – including three in one crash on Lap 4 – and eight safety cars were called following incidents over the course of the 161 laps raced.

Racing in Bathurst next year will be a different sight, as the Supercars Championship’s new Gen3 regulations will see the new-generation Ford Mustang – which made its on-track debut during demonstration runs this weekend – face off against the Chevrolet Camaro coupe.

1. Shane van Gisbergen/Garth Tander – Holden Commodore

2. Chaz Mostert/Fabian Coulthard – Holden Commodore

3. Cam Waters/James Moffat – Ford Mustang

4. Brodie Kostecki/David Russell – Holden Commodore

5. Broc Feeney/Jamie Whincup – Holden Commodore

6. Lee Holdsworth/Matt Payne – Ford Mustang

7. Anton De Pasquale/Tony D’Alberto – Ford Mustang

8. Craig Lowndes/Declan Fraser – Holden Commodore

9. Bryce Fullwood/Dean Fiore – Holden Commodore

10. Will Brown/Jack Perkins – Holden Commodore

11. Richie Stanaway/Greg Murphy – Holden Commodore

12. James Golding/Dylan O’Keefe – Holden Commodore

13. Macauley Jones/Jordan Boys – Holden Commodore

14. Jack Le Brocq/Aaron Seton – Holden Commodore

15. Mark Winterbottom/Michael Caruso – Holden Commodore

16. Scott Pye/Tyler Everingham – Holden Commodore

17. Jake Kostecki/Kurt Kostecki – Ford Mustang

18. Matt Chahda/Jay Robotham – Holden Commodore

19. Tim Slade/Tim Blanchard – Ford Mustang

20. Todd Hazelwood/Jayden Ojeda – Holden Commodore

21. Chris Pither/Cam Hill – Holden Commodore

22. Nick Percat/Warren Luff – Holden Commodore

23. Will Davison/Alex Davison – Ford Mustang – Retired

24. Jack Smith/Jaxon Evans – Holden Commodore – Retired

25. James Courtney/Zane Goddard – Ford Mustang – Retired

26. Andre Heimgartner/Dale Wood – Holden Commodore – Retired

27. David Reynolds/Matt Campbell – Ford Mustang – Retired

28. Thomas Randle/Zak Best – Ford Mustang – Retired

Paul Gover has been a motoring journalist for more than 40 years, working on newspapers, magazines, websites, radio and television. A qualified general news journalist and sports reporter, his passion for motoring led him to Wheels, Motor, Car Australia, Which Car and Auto Action magazines. He is a champion racing driver as well as a World Car of the Year judge.

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