FORD'S James Courtney has won his first V8 Supercar title following the season-ending 250km race at Sydney's Olympic Park on Sunday.
While Holden's Lee Holdsworth claimed the win on the 3.4km street circuit at Sydney's Olympic Park, the day belonged to Courtney, who secured the title with a 14th place finish.
Holdsworth's victory, his first in three years, came after New Zealander Shane Van Gisbergen's Falcon ran out of fuel when he was leading on the last lap.
Van Gisbergen managed to limp home in third place with Ford's Steven Richards coming in second.
Courtney entered the race needing to finish 22nd or better to take the title ahead of two-time defending champion Jamie Whincup.
A botched pitstop early in the race caused some flutters within the Dick Johnson Racing outfit but in the end a relatively conservative race by Courtney was enough for him to become the team's first champion since John Bowe in 1995.
Whincup, who started the day 113 points behind Courtney, finished fifth and will be left to rue a costly failure to finish Saturday's 250km race.
Past 10 V8 Supercars champions
2010 - James Courtney (Ford)
2009 - Jamie Whincup (Ford)
2008 - Jamie Whincup (Ford)
2007 - Garth Tander (Holden)
2006 - Rick Kelly (Holden)
2005 - Russell Ingall (Ford)
2004 - Marcos Ambrose (Ford)
2003 - Marcos Ambrose (Ford)
2002 - Mark Skaife (Holden)
2001 - Mark Skaife (Holden)
Wins by manufacturer
Ford - 23
Holden - 15
Jaguar - 4
Nissan - 3
Chevrolet, BMW - 2
Mazda, Volvo - 1
Most championships
5 - Ian Geoghegan, Dick Johnson, Mark Skaife
4 - Allan Moffat, Bob Jane, Jim Richards
3 - Peter Brock, Craig Lowndes
2 - Norm Beechey, Glenn Seton, Marcos Ambrose, Jamie Whincup
1 - David McKay, Bill Pitt, Colin Bond, Bob Morris, Robbie Francevic, John Bowe, Russell Ingall, Rick Kelly, Garth Tander, James Courtney.