Team Betta Electrical's Craig Lowndes has scored his second-straight win in the V8 Supercar Championship Series with victory at the Sky City Triple Crown at Darwin's Hidden Valley Raceway.

Lowndes took out the previous round at Winton Motor Raceway in Victoria.

The win in Darwin was his 24th career win, but was his first at the Northern Territory circuit. His previous best round result was seventh (1998 and 2004).

His victory has closed him within eight points of championship leader Garth Tander, who finished second overall in Darwin.

Ford has now taken a three-two lead over Holden in the Manufacturer's Championship.

Lowndes qualified sixth, before finishing fourth in the opening race; third in the reverse-grid race #2, and took victory in the final race of the weekend.

"The car was OK for qualifying, but clearly very good in the races," said Lowndes.

"Winning in Darwin is a bit of a monkey of my back, as I enjoy the track and the event.

"It's been nice to have back-to-back wins, especially at tracks where I had not previously enjoyed success.

"The reverse-grid race was clearly important. We stayed clear of any trouble and raced to the front.

"I felt it was important to win the final race of the weekend to justify our car speed. Plus I believe it's important to win that final race to clinch the round.

"The next race is back at our home in Queensland. I won there last year, so I guess people are looking at a repeat performance. We'll give it everything as this championship is far too close to take it easy.

"The championship itself is wide-open. I want to win every round; it's the only way to control your destiny."

Ford finished with five in the top-10, including Mark Winterbottom (Ford Credit Ford Performance Racing) in fifth, defending V8 Supercar Championship Russell Ingall (Caltex Racing) in seventh, Jason Bright (CAT Ford Performance Racing) in eighth and James Courtney (Jeld-Wen Motorsport) in 10th.

Jason Bright was the hard luck story of the weekend. He scored his second-straight pole position, but a puncture in race #1 saw him finish 24th. He won the reverse-grid race, before placing fourth in the final race.

Mark Winterbottom can also feel robbed after a pit-lane infringement in race #2 brought him a drive-through penalty and 17th place finish. A slow pit-stop in race #3 saw him finish eighth.

Craig Lowndes team-mate Jamie Whincup was also on-course for a top-five result, but a puncture in the final race saw him finish 13th for the round.

The V8 Supercar Championship Series next foes racing at Queensland Raceway outside Ipswich on 21-23 July.

Skycity Triple Crown - Darwin - Overall Results

1. Craig Lowndes : Team Betta Electrical : Ford Falcon
2. Garth Tander : Toll HSV : Holden Commodore
3. Rick Kelly : Toll HSV : Holden Commodore
4. Jason Richards : Tasman Motorsport : Holden Commodore
5. Mark Winterbottom : Ford Credit FPR : Ford Falcon
6. Mark Skaife : Holden Racing Team : Holden Commodore
7. Russell Ingall : Caltex Racing : Ford Falcon
8. Jason Bright : CAT FPR : Ford Falcon
9. Cameron McConville : Super Cheap Auto Racing : Holden Commodore
10. James Courtney : Jeld-Wen Motorsport : Ford Falcon

Championship after 5 of 13 rounds

1. Garth Tander : Toll HSV : Holden Commodore 1324 pts
2. Craig Lowndes : Team Betta Electrical : Ford Falcon -8 pts
3. Rick Kelly : Toll HSV : Holden Commodore -13 pts
4. Russell Ingall : Caltex Racing : Ford Falcon -122 pts
5. Mark Winterbottom : Ford Credit FPR : Ford Falcon -133 pts
6. Steven Richards : Jack Daniel's Racing : Holden Commodore -190 pts
7. Mark Skaife : Holden Racing Team : Holden Commodore -216 pts
8. Paul Dumbrell : Jack Daniel's Racing : Holden Commodore -228 pts
9. Jamie Whincup : Team Betta Electrical : Ford Falcon -278 pts
10. Steven Johnson : First Rock Racing : Ford Falcon -323 pts

Go the Lowndes miester.

Nice to see him win Bathurst in a Ford and the championship.

yeah we were robed last year but bring on bathurst this year

go ford and 888!

would be nice to see ingall win a few more rounds