Shane van Gisbergen has roared home to a second Bathurst title and a win for Holden in their final race around Mount Panorama in a thrilling and chaotic Bathurst 1000.

The reigning Supercars champion beat a desperate chasing field in what transformed into a 39-lap sprint, then a 16-lap gallop home after Todd Hazelwood and Will Davison forced two late safety cars after six had come earlier in the 1000-kilometre race.

SVG had previously enjoyed a 12.3-second margin aided by teammate Garth Tander before Hazelwood’s incident, then Davison went into the wall two corners after his final pit stop.

The New Zealander heroically defended his slim margin ahead of Chaz Mostert, who hounded him to the final corner, crossing the checkered flag for his second Bathurst triumph, which counted as victory number five for teammate Tander.

The Great Race has delivered once again!

In a perfect farewell to Holden at the Mountain, @shanevg97 and @GarthTander have won the Repco Bathurst 1000 🏆 #RepcoSC #Bathurst1000 pic.twitter.com/8WYJEQKgR9

— Supercars (@supercars) October 9, 2022

The win was record setting for van Gisbergen and cements the most dominant season in Australian Touring Cars and Supercars history.

He now has the most wins in a season with 19, eclipsing the previous record of 18 by Scott McLaughlin.

The next highest win by any driver in 2022’s competition is three, shared by Mostert, Waters and Davison.

Triple Eight Racing’s terminator has won almost two-thirds of races this year and 10 of the past 12 since the July NTI Townsville 500.

He has room to extend his record with legs at the Gold Coast, Adelaide and Newcastle remaining.

The Davison brothers are out of the race 😢#RepcoSC #Bathurst1000 pic.twitter.com/sHiM1Stnrl

— Supercars (@supercars) October 9, 2022

But van Gisbergen, even with a 525-point lead before the race, will need to wait till the next leg to wrap up the championship as Waters’ podium finish means he’s still mathematically in the hunt for the season title.

Sunday’s win in the sunshine after days of rain in Bathurst is van Gisbergen’s 73rd of his career and the 57th for Tander.

Mostert finished second and pole-sitter Waters third, as Holden capped off a dream farewell on the mountain with two of three cars on the podium.

Davison’s late crash meant his teammate and brother Alex’s record of finishing every start at Bathurst came to an end.

-AAP