SCOTT McLaughlin and Alex Premat are celebrating their first taste of Bathurst 1000 glory following a dramatic final lap dash to the finish line.
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McLaughlin took his DJR Team Penske Mustang home ahead of Triple Eight Race Engineering's Shane van Gisbergen after a single lap of green flag racing to round out another thrilling edition of the Great Race.
The exciting ending was set up by a short safety car period with four laps to go, which brought the field back together.
McLaughlin said the pressure of having the van Gisbergen-Garth Tander entry breathing down his neck was immense.
"I could see the people on the safety car waving their Ford flags and being really excited but for me it was about knowing there was work still to do," he said.
"I had Shane behind me pushing on and I'd been saving as much fuel as I could so I could go flat out.
"That ended up with me having no tyre pressure, so the first two corners were a bit skatey but over the top was full commitment. With low fuel and low tyre grip I was sliding it around. It was unreal."
Prior to the sprint for home the race was shaping up as a fuel-based battle.
It all began with a crash at Murray's Corner for Alexander Rossi, which brought out the safety car 27 laps to go.
Majority of the field came in to pit lane during the yellow flag period to fill up their tanks.
However, it left teams on a knife's edge for whether they could reach the finish without another stop.
Jamie Whincup lead McLaughlin out at the green flag to resume the battle, with fuel now a major concern.
Van Gisbergen gave pursuit in third.
Then, with 11 laps remaining, Richie Stanaway and Garry Jacobson collided on Hell Corner, which prompted Whincup to duck into pit lane for fuel under the safety car.
McLaughlin opted to stay out and take the lead, knowing he would still have to drive conservatively.
Van Gisbergen, James Courtney and Whincup followed closely behind to form a four-car battle pack at the green flag.
However, the race wasn't done dishing out drama with the ending in sight.
Andre Heimgartner's crash at Forrests Elbow with four laps to go took fuel problems out of the equation, and pitted the front runners against each other in a frantic one lap sprint.
McLaughlin held van Gisbergen at bay in a nerve wracking run to the line.
It's McLaughlin's 18th win of the season, and makes it possible for him to wrap up the championship next round at Surfers Paradise.
The DJR Team Penske driver hopes there's more good times to come with the team.
"I've got more to achieve here and I want to do the best job I can for my team," he said.
"It's been unreal. During the driver's parade on Wednesday I saw so much Shell V-Power red out there.
"I'll enjoy this one. In couple of weeks we're back to business but I'll have a few beers, that's for sure."
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Alexander Grant
Part of the Western Advocate's sports desk in Bathurst.
Part of the Western Advocate's sports desk in Bathurst.
