Craig Lowndes scores Ipswich V8 double for Holden

CRAIG Lowndes was crowned the king of Queensland Raceway after powering to his fifth straight win at the Ipswich circuit.

Lowndes wins at Ipswich

CRAIG Lowndes was crowned the king of Queensland Raceway on Sunday after powering to his fifth straight win at the Ipswich circuit.

On a perfect weekend of racing for the 38-year-old, Lowndes blasted to the lead on the third lap of the 200km race and was not headed.

Ford's Mark Winterbottom hung on to the back of the Team Vodafone Commodore to claim second.

Lowndes' second win of the weekend kept alive his bid for a fourth V8 championship.

"This was a very important weekend," Lowndes said.

"All four drivers at the top are under huge pressure, and it is critical that we perform. I think we still have a lot of work to do, but it has been a very satisfying weekend."

Starting from fourth on the grid, Lowndes shot past teammate Jamie Whincup off the line and wasted no time attacking championship contender Will Davison.

The Queenslander had no problem sliding past Davison and was soon on Winterbottom's tail before taking the lead on lap three.

Lowndes negotiated two pit-stops and lapped traffic to rack up his third win of the season and maintain fourth place in the championship.

"There was certainly plenty of pressure there," Lowndes said.

"We had a test here last week and we knew we were coming with confidence and we were expected to do well because it is our home track.

"But you never know here, because of the way the competition is. It is so competitive and we knew FPR were going to bounce back from their performance last year.

"I am just really happy with the result. I was a bit disappointed after qualifying because we only got one bite at the cherry.

"I improved the car overnight and I was really satisfied with the pace in the car and how the race played out.

"Winterbottom kept me honest and I was able to make a gap, but I couldn't stretch it."

Continuing his tough V8 Supercars initiation, former Formula One world champion Jacques Villeneuve was sent on a high-speed hurtle through the dirt on lap three.

Series leader Whincup finished third, more than 15sec behind Lowndes, and admitted he had work to do in his title defence.

"I thought my team did a good job," he said.

"I am very happy but the competition is crazy tough.

"I just have to congratulate the guys who beat me and fight back in Sydney at the next round."

Whincup leads Winterbottom by 82 points in the standings after finishing behind his Ford rival in both races.

Championship Points
1. Jamie Whincup (Holden) 2052
2. Mark Winterbottom (Ford) 1970
3. Will Davison (Ford) 1876
4. Craig Lowndes (Holden) 1796
5. Shane Van Gisbergen (Ford) 1472
6. Tim Slade (Ford) 1344
7. Garth Tander (Holden) 1323
8. Fabian Coulthard (Holden) 1261
9. Lee Holdsworth (Ford) 1217
10. David Reynolds (Ford) 1017
11. James Courtney (Holden) 989
12. Michael Caruso (Holden) 984
13. Todd Kelly (Holden) 983
14. Jason Bright (Holden) 981
15. Steve Johnson (Ford) 965
16. Rick Kelly (Holden) 943
17. Russell Ingall (Holden) 917
18. Steve Owen (Holden) 877
19. Michael Patrizi (Ford) 850
20. Jonathon Webb (Ford) 808
21. Dean Fiore (Ford) 776
22. Tony D Alberto (Ford) 737
23. Taz Douglas (Holden) 593
24. Karl Reindler (Holden) 584
25. David Wall (Holden) 547
26. James Moffat (Ford) 545
27. Alexandre Premat (Holden) 532
28. Greg Murphy (Holden) 315
29. David Russell (Holden) 42