The 2018 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 was a

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of tw ...

event for

Supercars A supercar – also called exotic car – is a loosely defined description of street-legal, high-performance sports cars. Since the 2010s, the term hypercar has come into use for the highest performing supercars. Supercars commonly serve as t ...

, held on the weekend of 4–7 October 2018. It was staged at the

Mount Panorama Circuit Mount Panorama Circuit is a motor racing track located in Bathurst, New South Wales, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is situated on Mount Panorama (Wahluu) and is best known as the home of the Bathurst 1000 motor race held each October ...

in Bathurst,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia and featured of a 1000 kilometre race. The event was the thirteenth of sixteen in the

2018 Supercars Championship The 2018 Supercars Championship (known for commercial reasons as the 2018 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship) was an FIA-sanctioned international motor racing series for Supercars. It was the twentieth running of the Supercars Championship a ...

and incorporated Race 25 of the series. It was also the second event of the 2018 Enduro Cup. The race was won by

Craig Lowndes Craig Andrew Lowndes (born 21 June 1974) is an Australian racing driver in the Repco Supercars Championship competing in the Holden ZB Commodore for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He is also a TV commentator. Lowndes is a three-time V8 Su ...

and

Steven Richards Steven James Richards (born 11 July 1972) is a New Zealand-Australian racing driver, currently competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship. Richards, the son of seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Jim Richards, is himself a five- ...

driving a

Holden Commodore ZB The Opel Insignia is a large family car (D-segment in Europe) developed and produced by the German car manufacturer Opel since 2008. Taking its name from a 2003 concept car, the model line serves as the flagship Opel car line, slotted above the ...

for

Triple Eight Race Engineering Triple Eight Race Engineering, (branded as Red Bull Ampol Racing) is an Australian motor racing team competing in the Supercars Championship. The team has been the only Brisbane based V8 Supercar team since its formation, originally operating ...

Report

Background

The event was the 61st running of the

Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most re ...

, which was first held at the

Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit The Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit is a motor racing circuit located near Ventnor, on Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia. The current circuit was first used in 1956. History Road circuit Motor racing on Phillip Island began in 1928 with ...

in 1960 as a 500-mile race for Australian-made standard production sedans, and marked the 58th time that the race was held at Mount Panorama. It was the 22nd running of the

Australian 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most re ...

race, which was first held after the organisational split between the Australian Racing Drivers Club and

V8 Supercars Australia The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport. Supercars events take place in all Australi ...

that saw two "Bathurst 1000" races contested in both 1997 and 1998. It was the 20th time the race had been held as part of the Supercars Championship and the sixth time it formed part of the

Enduro Cup The Enduro Cup (formally known as the Pirtek Enduro Cup for sponsorship reasons), was an award given out to the highest points scorers over the three endurance events in Supercars; the Sandown 500, Bathurst 1000 and the Gold Coast 600. Format Q ...

. The defending winners of the race were David Reynolds and

Luke Youlden Luke Youlden (born 28 January 1978) is an Australian Supercars series racing driver. He is the son of two-time Australian Production Car champion Kent Youlden. Youlden currently drives for Kelly Grove Racing as a co-driver alongside David Rey ...

Shane van Gisbergen Shane Robert van Gisbergen (born 9 May 1989) is a New Zealand racing driver in the Supercars Championship racing in the Number 97 Holden ZB Commodore car for Triple Eight Race Engineering. With three Supercars Championship wins (2016, 2021, 202 ...

entered the event as the championship leader, 55 points clear of

DJR Team Penske Dick Johnson Racing (formerly DJR Team Penske), is Australia's oldest motor racing team competing in the Supercars Championship. The team currently fields the #11 and #17 Ford Mustang GTs for Anton de Pasquale and Will Davison respectivel ...

Scott McLaughlin Scott Thomas McLaughlin (; born 10 June 1993) is a New Zealand racing driver. He currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 3 Dallara-Chevrolet for Team Penske. He previously raced in the Supercars Championship, in which he ...

. Van Gisbergen's

team-mate

Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup (born 6 February 1983) is an Australian professional racing driver competing in the Supercars Championship. He currently is team principal for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He has driven the No. 88 Holden ZB Commodore, won a reco ...

was third in the points standings, 338 points from the lead. In the Teams' Championship, Triple Eight held a 656-point lead over DJR Team Penske. In the

standings, Triple Eight team-mates Jamie Whincup and

Paul Dumbrell Paul Dumbrell (born 1 September 1982) is an Australian business executive and retired racing driver. Racing history Junior career Son of former racing driver Garry Dumbrell, Paul Dumbrell started racing in karts in 1996 and by the end of 1997 ...

led the pairing of Van Gisbergen and

Earl Bamber Earl Anderson Bamber (born 9 July 1990) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, currently competing as a factory driver for Porsche Motorsport in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTLM class. He is the 2014 Porsche Supercup a ...

by 24 points.

Entry list

Twenty-six cars were entered in the event. As in 2017, there were no additional "Wildcard" entries entered in the race. Four drivers would make their first start in the Bathurst 1000 - two-time

Le Mans 24 Hours The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose w ...

winner

, Super2 drivers Will Brown and

Bryce Fullwood Bryce Fullwood (born 11 May 1998 in Darwin, Australia) is an Australian racing driver currently racing in the Repco Supercars Championship with Brad Jones Racing Brad Jones Racing is an Australian motor racing team owned by Brad Jones b ...

, and 'main-gamer' Anton de Pasquale. Teams

Matt Stone Racing Matt Stone Racing is an Australian racing team competing in the Supercars Championship with two Holden ZB Commodores. Jack Le Brocq drives the No. 34 car, while Todd Hazelwood drives the No. 35 car. They are also competing in the second-tier ...

and 23Red Racing would also make their debuts in 'the Great Race', however the former contained many crew members from the former

Stone Brothers Racing Stone Brothers Racing (SBR) was an Australian motor racing team that competed in the International V8 Supercars Championship between 1998 and 2012. The team was formed in 1998 when Ross and Jim Stone bought Alan Jones's shares in Alan Jon ...

outfit and the latter was a continuation of

Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport was an Australian motor racing team that competed in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. The team was sold to Phil Munday and re-branded as 23Red Racing at the end of 2017. Background Lucas Dumbrell comes f ...

under new owners. It was the last start in the Bathurst 1000 for

and

Jason Bright Jason Bright (born 7 March 1973) is a retired Australian racing driver who competed in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. He drove the No. 56 Ford FG X Falcon for Britek Motorsport, a satellite team of Prodrive Racing Australia, ...

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Results

Practice

Qualifying

Top 10 Shootout

Race

Championship standings after Race 25

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Teams Championship ;Enduro Cup * Note: Only the top five positions are included for three sets of standings.

References

{{Bathurst 1000 races Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 Motorsport in Bathurst, New South Wales