Whincup applies heat but Frosty doesn't melt Jamie Whincup of Red Bull Racing Australia Holden. That was an intense and enthralling denouement to the Bathurst 1000, with a handful of fast drivers taking it to the max until there were just two in a fight to the flag. Four-time Bathurst winner Jamie Whincup unrelentingly applied the blowtorch, as he can and does, including the mandatory last-lap lunge at the top of Mountain Straight. Mark Winterbottom took the heat, kept his head, drove centimetre-perfect to land a stunning maiden victory (and a third win for co-driver Steve Richards). It was also the first Bathurst triumph for his Ford Performance Racing Team, so often denied success by very public stuff-ups. It was a classic Bathurst race, one of the best in years, and mercifully without a contrived finish created by an opportune safety car stacking the field. There were two safety car interventions compared to six last year and eight in 2011. First car out of the race, and proving no mere motor vehicle should mess with an Australian marsupial on its own turf, was one of the four Nissans, its undercarriage too badly bent to continue. Don't ask about the roo. Greg Murphy's Mishap of the Gods on lap 86 led to the second and final time the field trundled behind the safety car after the concrete wall inflicted widespread damage to James Courtney's HRT Commodore. In all 26 of the 29 starters were finishers, a remarkably long list given there were concerns about the new-generation cars which had never raced over 1000km on a track that applies massive loads on suspensions several times across the top of the mountain, and again at the Dipper and finally when they fire into the Chase approaching 300km/h. Nineteen of the 29 cars finished on the lead lap too. The only all-visitor pairing of Andy Priaulx and well-credentialled Bathurst rookie Mattias Ekstrom in the third Triple Eight Commodore were strong, their ultimate 10th place impressing the regulars. Eschewing the usual approach of creeping up on Mount Panorama at your first visit, Ekstrom went hard and fast straight out of the box, like a good pro can. The Swedish gun pulled off two magical passes on the inside of the fastest corner in Australian motor sport off Con Rod Straight. Bold, skilled stuff. The usually reserved team boss Roland Dane declared Ekstrom the best newcomer he'd seen at Mount Panorama. One mystery was the lack of pace of Will Davison/Steve Owen aboard the sister FPR Falcon to the winners. This fancied combo was never really in the fight. Davison's future is up in the air. He wants to stay at FPR but there is some concern the Ford factory outfit has become Team Frosty, more so now Winterbottom has also claimed a Bathurst win. Davison has received a serious offer from Betty Klimenko's Erebus AMG squad to replace the departing Tim Slade. Erebus also has Steve Johnson under consideration. The surprise packet last Sunday was the duo of Scott Pye and part-timer Paul Morris, who stayed out of trouble and made a fuel-saving strategy work to finish sixth. The good result may have just saved the career of Pye, a youngster who has endured a patchy season. Not quite as thrilled with the Bathurst outcome are the fine folks from Nissan Australia and Erebus AMG, both of whom have spent massively on engine and car development this year. The first AMG E63 home was 14th and the best placed Nissan 18th. Methinks that performance parity will be the lead item at the next V8 Supercars Commission meeting. After an illustrious string of Australian riders to the fore in world championship motorcycle racing, it's heartening to see youngsters Jack Miller and Arthur Sissis showing real potential in Moto3. Both are fired up to hopefully do well at their home grand prix on Sunday.