Mount Panorama’s new fast man Fabian Coulthard hopes fans will ‘name’ his record-smashing 2min05.6080 lap from the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 event many are calling history’s best.

While Craig Lowndes technically held the lap record from practice in 2010 at Mount Panorama until this year’s hit-out, it is Greg Murphy’s 2003 ‘Lap of the Gods’ that is most memorable, given he was able to pilot his Kmart Commodore one second quicker than nearest competitor John Bowe in the Top 10 Shootout 11 years ago.

But four-time Bathurst winner Murphy’s 2min06.8594 was clearly obliterated by fellow Kiwi Coulthard at this year’s classic 1000 – and now the endurance season is over and he has had more time to reflect, Coulthard does see it as a meaningful moment in his V8 Supercars career.

“It was called the Lap of the Gods, I’m not sure what it’s called now,” Coulthard mused to v8supercars.com.au. “Hopefully someone will make a name for it and I’ll be informed!”

The Pirtek Enduro Cup was challenging for the Lockwood racer, but his qualifying lap around Mount Panorama is a bright spark across those three long-distance events.

He admits holding the lap record seemed like a consolation prize after he and co-driver Luke Youlden were unable to feature in Sunday’s 1000km race. But as time has passed, with the endurance season now complete, Coulthard has realised just how meaningful it is to be known as the fastest man around Australia’s most celebrated racetrack.

“At the time, I didn’t think it was going to stand,” he said of his lap-time.

“We’d gone with the decision that a low five [2min05] was good enough for pole. For it to be a mid-five, it’s still an awesome lap.

“To have that on the CV – lap record holder at Bathurst – it’s pretty special.

“And it was obviously a consolation prize, I guess, for not getting the result we were after up there.

“But the more and more people talk about it, it’s starting to sink in that it was a pretty special lap and to come away with the lap record at one of the greatest tracks in the world in a V8 Supercar is obviously pretty special.”

Another positive is the qualifying lap record still stays in the Kiwi corner.

“That’s good!” Coulthard said.

“It must be something with Kiwis and Bathurst – but as far as it goes, Murph’s got the king mantle of us lot for at least four years to come.

“If a Kiwi wins the next one [they need] back-to-back four weekends to win it.

“So Murph is still the king in New Zealand’s eyes, but if I can have the lap record as something I can take away from Bathurst – I think Murph’s happy it’s with another Kiwi.”

The lap-time was not eclipsed in Saturday’s ARMOR ALL Top 10 Shootout at Bathurst, but another New Zealander took pole position in Shane van Gisbergen, with Coulthard ending up fifth on Sunday’s starting grid.

Coulthard currently sits fifth in the Championship after the Pirtek Enduro Cup, 45 points ahead of Bathurst winner Chaz Mostert.

While the last event at the Gold Coast was challenging for the Brad Jones Racing team – which Coulthard puts down to the style of circuit, requiring a lot of kerb use – he believes his Lockwood Commodore will be more suited to the free-flowing Phillip Island circuit.