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| Round 9 of 13 in the2006 V8 Supercar Championship Series | ||||||||||||||
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| Date | 5–8 October 2006 | |||||||||||||
| Location | Bathurst,New South Wales | |||||||||||||
| Venue | Mount Panorama Circuit | |||||||||||||
| Weather | Fine | |||||||||||||
| Results | ||||||||||||||
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The2006 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 was an endurance race forV8 Supercars, held on 8 October 2006 at theMount Panorama Circuit nearBathurst inNew South Wales,Australia. It was Round 9 of the2006 V8 Supercar Championship Series. The event was the tenth running of the "Australia 1000" race, first held after the organisational split over theBathurst 1000 that occurred in 1997. It was also the 49th race in a sequence of endurance events beginning with the1960 Armstrong 500 held atPhillip Island.
The race was won byCraig Lowndes andJamie Whincup driving aFord Falcon (BA) entered byTeam Betta Electrical. It was Whincup's first "Bathurst 1000" win following on from his second place in the2005 Supercheap Auto 1000. Whincup became the 51st driver to win in the combined history of the race. It was Lowndes second win, achieved ten years after his1996 AMP Bathurst 1000 victory. It was also the first "1000" win for Triple Eight Race Engineering, which first contested the event in1997, and the first for aFord since1998. The race winners were awarded thePeter Brock Trophy, commemorating the recent death of nine time "Bathurst 1000" winner,Peter Brock.
31 cars were entered for the race, with 15 of them Ford Falcons and 16 Holden Commodores. 2005 winnersMark Skaife andTodd Kelly were split between the two factory Holden teams, despite racing as team-mates during the regular season.
During Race 1 of theFujitsu V8 Supercars Series There was a multiple-car crash involvingMark Porter, who was seriously injured and would die Monday after the race. Porter qualified the #12 Falcon forBrad Jones Racing. His name was left on the window of the BJR Falcon as a mark of respect.
| Pos | No | Team | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pole | 2 | Holden Racing Team |  Mark Skaife | Holden Commodore (VZ) | 2:07.4221 |
| 2 | 6 | Ford Performance Racing | Jason Bright | Ford Falcon (BA) | 2:07.7292 |
| 3 | 15 | Toll HSV Dealer Team | Rick Kelly | Holden VZ Commodore | 2:07.7919 |
| 4 | 3 | Tasman Motorsport |  Jason Richards | Holden VZ Commodore | 2:08.0657 |
| 5 | 7 | Jack Daniel's Racing | Steven Richards | Holden VZ Commodore | 2:08.5399 |
| 6 | 888 | Team Betta Electrical | Craig Lowndes | Ford BA Falcon | 2:08.5403 |
| 7 | 34 | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Dean Canto | Holden VZ Commodore | 2:08.5841 |
| 8 | 51 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Greg Murphy | Holden VZ Commodore | 2:08.6663 |
| 9 | 1 | Caltex Racing | Russell Ingall | Ford BA Falcon | 2:09.0987 |
| 10 | 17 | Dick Johnson Racing | Steven Johnson | Ford BA Falcon | 2:09.5437 |
The following table represents the final starting grid for the race on Sunday:
*Mark Porter practiced in the #12 Falcon, but was injured in a serious crash in a support race on the Friday before the race.Michael Caruso was drafted into the team so the car could race. Porter would die on the Sunday afternoon from the injuries in the crash.
Network 10 broadcast the race for the tenth consecutive year, dating back to the1997 5.0L race.
| Network 10 |
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| Host:Bill Woods Booth:Neil Crompton,Leigh Diffey Pit-lane:Daryl Beattie,Mark Howard,Greg Rust |
| Supercars Championship | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous race: 2006 Betta Electrical 500 | 2006 Supercars Championship | Next race: 2006 Gilette V8 Supercar Challenge |
| Previous year: 2005 Supercheap Auto 1000 | Bathurst 1000 | Next year: 2007 Supercheap Auto 1000 |
