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Having an exhaust fall off your car, especially at a place such as the daunting, undulating Mount Panorama circuit is an adversity in itself.

Add to it a unbelievable mix of changing weather conditions, including rain, hail and shine, and you will find that adversity soon becomes disaster! But not for the skilled RPM International Racing duo of Christian D'Agostin and Phillip Scifleet, the two young guns battling from 34th on the grid to finish an impressive 19th, in Australia's greatest race, the V8 Supercar 1000. After an inspired double-stint by reigning Commodore Cup champ D'Agostin, the the 25-year old made up for lost ground after the Falcon lost it's exhaust on three different occasions. Despite losing 13 laps due to the problem, the D'Agostin and Scifleet battled through a race of adverse weather and attrition to cross the line in the top 20, staving off fancied Level One combinations such as Dugal McDougall/Andrew Miedecke, and Rodney Forbes/David Parsons. Not only did the RPM duo fight to the finish in what was arguably one of the most gruelling Bathurst endurance classics in history, but they managed to clock up one of the fastest speeds in the field, a lightning fast 296.4kph along Conrod straight. "There were a lot of good drivers who didn't finish the race today!" exclaimed a happy D'Agostin. "Had it not been for the problems with the exhaust we would have finished much higher up the order, but we're still happy to have finished where we did." "It's very assuring to have now competed in three Bathurst races, with two decent finishes and no crashes."