Mark Skaife has begun racing in his two-hundredth round with a strong second place finish in the opening 120 kilometre sprint at Phillip Island this weekend.
The five time champion and Bathurst winner, who this year also claimed the record for round wins, finished behind Garth Tander in this afternoon's opening race.
Skaife led for much of the race, but succumbed to Tander's faster Toll HSV Dealer Team Commodore in the final stages of the race.
Driving a brand new car, Skaife is now looking to consolidate today's performance with wins in tomorrow's final two races.
“It was a great debut from a brand new car but you can't expect miracles,” said Skaife.
“Our first segment was great but we used the tyres hard and it hurt us by race end.
“Garth got me through a switch-back manoeuvre with better grip level.
“Tyre consistency makes a huge difference in these races where everyone is so competitive.
“Tomorrow we should be in the mix for race wins, but there will be nothing silly regarding the Championship contenders.”
Whilst Skaife enjoyed a trouble free race, his team mate Todd Kelly struggled against the two championship contending Team Vodafone Falcons for much of the race.
He conceded fourth place to championship leader, Jamie Whincup, on lap twenty four, and later that lap collided with Craig Lowndes, as the latter attempted a pass which also saw his brother Rick Kelly move through.
“We were going okay early and hanging onto 4th but losing two and a half car lengths going down the front straight,” said Kelly.
“Chasing down Jason Richards was a chance until my tyres went off and I got swallowed up by the Vodafone Fords.
“Lowndes fed me off the track with a move that broke a mirror and window trim. I won't try it on him as I wouldn't enjoy a drive through pit-lane.
“We will do some tweaking and things should improve tomorrow.”
Skaife will start from the front row for tomorrow's penultimate race.
![Mark Skaife (centre) sandwiched by Rick and Todd Kelly in Darwin [pic credit: HRT media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/351386.jpg)
