Adelaide V8 Supercars: Shane van Gisbergen storms to race two win
Shane van Gisbergen gave his new Tekno Autosports team its maiden V8 Supercars victory in the second race of the Adelaide season opener
The result was the first time a team outside the dominant Triple 8 and Ford Performance Racing duo had won since owner/driver Rick Kelly's November 2011 Sandown triumph.
Van Gisbergen, who controversially joined Tekno after 'retiring' from the sport when he split with previous team Stone Brothers at the end of 2012, repeated his race one pole in Sunday morning qualifying.
He lost the lead to front row partner Mark Winterbottom off the line, but was soon back past the FPR Ford into the Turn 9 hairpin.
Champion Jamie Whincup replicated van Gisbergen's move on Winterbottom a lap later and then began a race-long battle with the Kiwi.
Whincup was able to take the lead by making his first pitstop five laps before van Gisbergen, but the positions were reversed at the final stops.
Van Gisbergen then pulled away, opening a 10-second cushion before a late safety car when Alex Davison crashed trying to pass Scott Pye on the way onto the backstraight.
A wild restart worked in van Gisbergen's favour. Whincup, Triple 8 team-mate and Saturday winner Craig Lowndes and Russell Ingall engaged in a spectacular battle that included contact between the Triple 8 cars and Ingall briefly getting up to second.
By the time they had sorted themselves out in the order Whincup-Lowndes-Ingall, van Gisbergen had enough of a gap to seal victory.
Winterbottom and team-mate Will Davison were delayed by wheelnut problems in FPR's final stops, finishing fifth and sixth.
Saturday frontrunners Alex Premat and Fabian Coulthard encountered trouble early on, with a smoky power steering problem hitting Premat and Coulthard hitting the wall.
Rick Kelly was on the cusp of the top 10 in the leading Nissan before a punt from Jason Bright (pictured above) spun him into the path of brother Todd and Garth Tander.
Qualifying:
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap
1. Shane van Gisbergen Tekno Holden 1m20.7148s
2. Mark Winterbottom FPR Ford 1m20.8233s + 0.1085s
3. Jamie Whincup Triple 8 Holden 1m20.8553s + 0.1405s
4. Will Davison FPR Ford 1m20.9329s + 0.2181s
5. Fabian Coulthard Brad Jones Holden 1m20.9338s + 0.2190s
6. Alexandre Premat GRM Holden 1m21.1051s + 0.3903s
7. Scott McLaughlin GRM Holden 1m21.1071s + 0.3923s
8. Craig Lowndes Triple 8 Holden 1m21.1406s + 0.4258s
9. Russell Ingall Walkinshaw/HRT Holden 1m21.1900s + 0.4752s
10. James Courtney HRT Holden 1m21.3450s + 0.6302s
11. Tony D'Alberto D'Alberto Holden 1m21.4110s + 0.6962s
12. Alex Davison Schwerkolt/FPR Ford 1m21.4325s + 0.7177s
13. David Reynolds Rod Nash/FPR Ford 1m21.4386s + 0.7238s
14. Garth Tander HRT Holden 1m21.4568s + 0.7420s
15. Scott Pye Dumbrell Holden 1m21.5321s + 0.8173s
16. Rick Kelly Nissan 1m21.5378s + 0.8230s
17. Dean Fiore Dumbrell Holden 1m21.5578s + 0.8430s
18. Jason Bright Brad Jones Holden 1m21.5747s + 0.8599s
19. James Moffat Nissan 1m21.7091s + 0.9943s
20. Jonathon Webb Tekno Holden 1m21.7143s + 0.9995s
21. Tim Blanchard DJR Ford 1m21.9685s + 1.2537s
22. David Wall Britek/BJR Holden 1m22.1783s + 1.4635s
23. Michael Caruso Nissan 1m22.2016s + 1.4868s
24. Todd Kelly Nissan 1m22.2814s + 1.5666s
25. Tim Slade Rosenberg/Erebus Mercedes 1m22.3014s + 1.5866s
26. Jonny Reid DJR Ford 1m22.3925s + 1.6777s
27. Lee Holdsworth Erebus Mercedes 1m22.3968s + 1.6820s
28. Maro Engel Erebus Mercedes 1m23.3731s + 2.6583s
Results - 78 laps
1. Shane van Gisbergen Tekno Holden 1h51m52.4116s
2. Jamie Whincup Triple 8 Holden + 2.2193s
3. Craig Lowndes Triple 8 Holden + 3.8293s
4. Russell Ingall Walkinshaw/HRT Holden + 7.0731s
5. Mark Winterbottom FPR Ford + 7.3886s
6. Will Davison FPR Ford + 7.9701s
7. James Courtney HRT Holden + 8.9026s
8. Tony D'Alberto D'Alberto Holden + 12.5191s
9. Scott McLaughlin GRM Holden + 14.3227s
10. Jonathon Webb Tekno Holden + 14.6458s
11. Scott Pye Dumbrell Holden + 18.0410s
12. Dean Fiore Dumbrell Holden + 18.8045s
13. James Moffat Nissan + 19.9581s
14. Rick Kelly Nissan + 53.4477s
15. Tim Blanchard DJR Ford + 1 lap
16. David Wall Britek/BJR Holden + 1 lap
17. Lee Holdsworth Erebus Mercedes + 1 lap
Did not finish:
Jason Bright Brad Jones Holden 68 laps
Garth Tander HRT Holden 68 laps
Todd Kelly Nissan 68 laps
Alex Davison Schwerkolt/FPR Ford 63 laps
Jonny Reid DJR Ford 52 laps
Tim Slade Rosenberg/Erebus Mercedes 32 laps
Michael Caruso Nissan 27 laps
Maro Engel Erebus Mercedes 17 laps
Fabian Coulthard Brad Jones Holden 7 laps
David Reynolds Rod Nash/FPR Ford 6 laps
Alexandre Premat GRM Holden 3 laps
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