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The results might not have been forthcoming but Sprint Gas Racing goes to Bathurst with increased confidence following its run at the Phillip Island L&H 500 today.

 The driver pairing of Greg Murphy and Mark Skaife improved ten places to finish the race just outside the top 10 in 11^th place while Jason Bargwanna and Mark Noske saw a potential top ten placing disappear with a mechanical failure.

 Skaife started the race and got as high as fifth before handing the #51 Sprint Gas Racing Holden over to Murphy.

 "It was great to get back behind the wheel," Skaife said.

 "Murph and I forged our way forward through the weekend running as high as fifth after gridding up in 21^st.

 "The car felt good, particularly in the latter stages of my stint and we ran competitively with the guys up front.

 "It was good to grab some match fitness for Bathurst, while both Murph and I will be fired up for a big effort."

 Murphy echoed the sentiments of his endurance co-driver.

 "The car wasn't great today, but it wasn't bad either, we've got something to work with heading to Bathurst," Murphy said.

 "We got through the race unscathed and we were competitive in parts of the race today.

 "I was happy to make up a little ground in the closing stages of the race; we seemed to be catching Van Gisbergen. I'm not sure if he had a problem, but we made up ground.

 "If the race had gone an extra lap we might have caught him. With what happened to Craig (Lowndes) we might have made ninth.

 "But what ifs aside, I'm a little more confident going to Bathurst today than I was prior to the event."

 The hard luck story of the day sat with Jason Bargwanna and Mark Noske.

 Bargwanna was placed sixth when a power steering failure filled the cockpit with smoke and forced premature retirement.

 "We were really competitive today, really competitive, it was one of the best races that we've had this year, I'm absolutely shattered that we were unable to keep going," Bargwanna said.

 "The car filled with smoke and I could smell oil, which is never good. The power steering failed following a touch up early in the race.

 "I'm so disappointed; the car was so good today, we were fast and very competitive, it is a credit to the entire team that we were able to tune a car into something so good."

 The accident that caused the steering damage occurred on the opening lap when Mark Noske was driving.

 "I copped a knock on the front of the car on the first lap and then got hit by another car," Noske said.

 "It was not a big knock but it has unsettled the car somehow. I'm amazed we went as long as we did before it died.

 "Other than that, the car was bloody good to drive; we had a top six car I reckon.

 "We didn't have the outright speed, but it was very consistent. We had one of the fastest cars on the track prior to Bargs garaging the car.

 "We didn't reinvent the wheel this weekend, we just kept chipping away and we made a good race car."

 Sprint Gas Racing now heads to Bathurst for the Super Cheap Auto Bathurst 1000.