Holden veteran Craig Lowndes has pipped teammate Jamie Whincup in Darwin to claim his first win of the 2012 V8 Supercar championship.

Lowndes passed Whincup with three laps remaining in the 200km race at Hidden Valley on Sunday to re-ignite his own title challenge.

Whincup, the winner of Saturday’s race, finished second to extend his championship lead with Ford rivals Mark Winterbottom and Will Davison finishing third and sixth respectively.

The defending champion now holds a 38-point lead over Davison after coming to the Top End trailing by 10 points to the Ford Performance Racing driver.

Winterbottom, who has battled a virus all weekend, remains a title contender, just 11 points behind Davison in third on the standings while Lowndes is fourth, 247 points off the lead.

The next round of the V8 Supercars is in Townsville from July 6 to 8.