Van Gisbergen threw everything he could at Mostert, but the Supercars champion suffered tyre troubles with seven laps remaining and slid from just two seconds behind the leader to 18th spot.

Mostert and his Walkinshaw Andretti United co-driver Lee Holdsworth - who is finally a Bathurst 1000 champion at his 18th attempt - were the quickest and most consistent drivers at Mount Panorama all weekend.

But their golden run from pole appeared to be in tatters after Mostert was forced to bring his Commodore into the garage on lap 49 of the 161-lap epic due to a left-wheel puncture.

However, there was no panic in the WAU ranks as Mostert recovered and was able to cross the line almost four seconds ahead of Ford ace Cameron Waters, who finished runner-up for the second year in a row.

Erebus' Brodie Kostecki achieved his best result on the mountain by coming in third.

Seven-time Supercars champion Jamie Whincup was fourth, narrowly missing out on the podium, in his final race before transitioning into off-track management as Red Bull Ampol's new boss.

It was Mostert's 16th win of his Supercars career and his first Bathurst 1000 victory in a Commodore after an extraordinary 2014 triumph while driving a Ford Falcon.

This year was the first Supercars season after General Motors decided to retire the iconic Holden Brand.

Mostert has mixed memories at Mount Panorama, with his maiden Bathurst 1000 win - achieved from 25th and last on the grid - was followed up by an horrific crash in 2015 that left him with a broken leg and wrist.

"When we did that tyre, I thought it going to be a tough slog," Mostert said.

"But this car has been speedy all weekend.

"We started on pole and we won the race and every time you start on pole, you never think you're going to win it.

"After I had the tyre drama, I changed my driving style to stay away from all the kerbs and still try to extract speed.

"It's one of those things when you're leading the race with eight laps to go, you start hearing all these funny noises in the car and you never think you're going to get there."

The 64th running of the race was relatively incident-free until a wild echidna wandered onto the track during lap 105.

Several cars, going at more than 250 kph, narrowly missed hitting the spiny anteater as it slowly made its way across the width of the track, before the second safety car of the race was called.

But the safety car was then called out another four times in the last 56 laps, as tired drivers started to make mistakes.

The Dewalt Racing Team 18 of Scott Pye and James Golding was the first entry to withdraw, completing just six laps.

Erebus rookie Will Brown's maiden Bathurst 1000 as a main driver ended in a disappointing 20th place, after earlier claiming provisional pole, with teammate Jack Perkins experiencing steering issues.

Five cars - Feeney, Golding, Zane Goddard, Anton De Pasquale and Andre Heimgartner - failed to finish.

BATHURST 1000 TOP-10

1. Chaz Mostert/Lee Holdsworth (Walkinshaw Andretti United)

2. Cameron Waters/James Moffat (Tickford)

3. Brodie Kostecki/David Russell (Erebus)

4. Jamie Whincup/Craig Lowndes (Red Bull Ampol)

5. Bryce Fullwood/Warren Luff (Walkinshaw Andretti United)

6. Nick Percat/Dale Wood (Brad Jones Racing)

7. James Courtney/Tom Randle (Tickford)

8. Todd Hazelwood/Dean Fiore (Brad Jones Racing)

9. Tim Slade/Tim Blanchard (Blanchard)

10. Will Davison/Alex Davison (Shell V-Power)

Australian Associated Press