Ambrose, closely following Ingall, locked up and punted his team-mate, damaging the rear end of the green Havoline car and the front aero/cooling system of the blue Pirtek vehicle. Todd Kelly, at the wheel of the lead Holden Racing Team Commodore, was chasing Ambrose when this unfolded, and passed the championship leader on the same lap.
Moments later, Ingall and Ambrose pitted for a driver, tyre, and brake pad change. However, once Luke Youlden and Warren Luff had taken over for their full time counterparts, it wasn't long until they found themselves under serious pressure from none other than Craig Lowndes, who then lapped both SBR entrants, effectively taking them out of race contention.
Luff brought the #1 car into the pits with an overheating engine; subsequent maintenance cost the team dearly, losing even more time to Lowndes, who continued to build his lead with every lap.
Sixty laps into the 161 lap thriller, the junior Kelly brother ducked into pit lane, putting an on-form Garth Tander in the hot seat.
Five laps later, Todd Kelly handed the car all HRT hopes were riding over to team owner and multiple championship winner Mark Skaife. Crucially, Skaife elected to fit slicks to the car, even though the rain was falling with increasing intensity.
Lowndes had by now passed the race lead into the able hands of Frenchman Yvan Muller. Muller pitted to fit wet tyres, a moved that relinquished the race lead to Skaife but aided Muller in the slippery conditions. In an opposite move to Lowndes' Triple Eight outfit, Dave Brabham moved aside for regular driver Jason bright, after a few close calls on the greasy racetrack.
Warren Luff, no longer a regular driver in the championship, was struggling with the combination of a heavy, high powered V8 sedan on slick tyres, in wet conditions. After losing race positions, and having several ‘moments', Luff pitted for treaded tyres, followed closely by Youlden in the team's second car.
