Craig Lowndes has sensationally won the second race of the V8 meet at Phillip Island after passing teammate and championship rival Jamie Whincup with five laps to go.

Whincup looked a sure thing in front with seven seconds on Lowndes after 14 laps but a safety car erased his lead and gave Lowndes the chance to pass his teammate.

A well executed pass at turn four on lap 18 gave Lowndes the win, and narrowed Whincup’s championship lead to just six points.

The established qualifying order was junked by the first bend as the Red Bull Racing duo asserted their authority.

Whincup surged to the front from the second row, eclipsing Jason Bright and Fabian Coulthard.

Lowndes joined in the fun, leaping from eighth to settle in the top four, while Mark Winterbottom slid from third to eighth.

Whincup made the most of his clear road, growing a lead by half a second a lap.

In his wake a tense battle for podium positions developed between Shane van Gisbergen, Lowndes and Chaz Mostert.

Lowndes overtook Mostert on lap 11 and van Gisbergen on lap 13 to take second place and when the safety car arrived on lap 14, before erasing Whincup’s seven-second lead.

Van Gisbergen joined the Red Bull drivers on the podium, while the two Ford title chasers Mark Winterbottom and Will Davison finished further back in seventh and eighth.

The final race of the Phillip Island series begins at 4.20pm AEDT.

AAP bmc/rf/