James Courtney leads V8 Supercars after Adelaide opener
James Courtney claimed an early V8 Supercars championship lead with a hard-earned victory in the main leg of the series' Clipsal 500 opener in Adelaide
Holden Racing Team driver Courtney withstood huge pressure from Tekno's Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander in the second HRT entry to win Sunday's 78-lap race at the long-time Australian Grand Prix Formula 1 venue.
Reigning champion Jamie Whincup had dominated Saturday's opener and shrugged off a last-minute safety car restart, but then finished only 21st in race two after a puncture.
He was fourth in the finale, despite a last-lap collision with Chaz Mostert in which the Ford driver was collected heavily by James Moffat. Those results leave Whincup fifth in the standings at present.
Fabian Coulthard won race two, having been third behind Mostert - who jumped him in the pits - in race one. Sixth behind Mark Winterbottom in the long-distance race places Coulthard second to Whincup in the championship after Adelaide.
Courtney was only 10th in the first race following a pit delay, but second to Coulthard in race two and then his win in the headline race gives him an early 17-point championship lead.
Scott McLaughlin had a painful weekend in the Volvo. A oil leak sent him into the wall on the parade lap in race one, an early race two lead became only ninth place after a jump-start penalty and another penalty for taking the first during a safety-car period, and then alternator problems spoilt his Sunday.
Returning two-time champion Marcos Ambrose made steady progress through the weekend to finish 12th in the final race for DJR Penske, having qualified ninth.
RACE ONE - 33 LAPS:
Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight | Holden | 48m28.7493s |
2 | Chaz Mostert | Prodrive | Ford | 0.8572s |
3 | Fabian Coulthard | Brad Jones | Holden | 1.2519s |
4 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight | Holden | 1.4641s |
5 | Mark Winterbottom | Prodrive | Ford | 1.9777s |
6 | Shane van Gisbergen | Tekno | Holden | 2.5012s |
7 | Garth Tander | HRT | Holden | 3.0179s |
8 | Tim Slade | Schwerkolt/HRT | Holden | 3.2935s |
9 | Lee Holdsworth | Walkinshaw/HRT | Holden | 3.8712s |
10 | James Courtney | HRT | Holden | 4.1201s |
RACE TWO - 39 LAPS:
Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Fabian Coulthard | Brad Jones | Holden | 59m05.6809s |
2 | James Courtney | HRT | Holden | 1.9574s |
3 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight | Holden | 8.8547s |
4 | Garth Tander | HRT | Holden | 10.0055s |
5 | Jason Bright | Brad Jones | Holden | 15.0016s |
6 | Rick Kelly | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan | 15.6811s |
7 | James Moffat | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan | 16.4196s |
8 | Ashley Walsh | Erebus | Mercedes | 17.7007s |
9 | Scott McLaughlin | GRM | Volvo | 18.2067s |
10 | Lee Holdsworth | Walkinshaw/HRT | Holden | 18.2884s |
RACE THREE - 78 LAPS:
Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | James Courtney | HRT | Holden | 1h56m00.5102s |
2 | Shane van Gisbergen | Tekno | Holden | 0.7602s |
3 | Garth Tander | HRT | Holden | 1.8961s |
4 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight | Holden | 13.2981s |
5 | Mark Winterbottom | Prodrive | Ford | 13.8968s |
6 | Fabian Coulthard | Brad Jones | Holden | 14.6242s |
7 | Rick Kelly | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan | 16.4239s |
8 | Tim Slade | Schwerkolt/HRT | Holden | 20.7523s |
9 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight | Holden | 24.4635s |
10 | Todd Kelly | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan | 28.6176s |
11 | Jason Bright | Brad Jones | Holden | 40.8307s |
12 | Marcos Ambrose | DJR Penske | Ford | 41.2677s |
13 | Dale Wood | Britek/BJR | Holden | 45.2078s |
14 | Michael Caruso | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan | 48.8831s |
15 | David Reynolds | Rod Nash/PRA | Ford | 49.2805s |
16 | David Wall | GRM | Volvo | 51.8516s |
17 | Tim Blanchard | Dumbrell | Holden | 1m02.5968s |
18 | Scott McLaughlin | GRM | Volvo | 4 Laps |
19 | Will Davison | Erebus | Mercedes | 5 Laps |
20 | Nick Percat | Dumbrell | Holden | 8 Laps |
21 | Andre Heimgartner | Super Black/PRA | Ford | 16 Laps |
- | Chaz Mostert | Prodrive | Ford | Retirement |
- | James Moffat | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan | Retirement |
- | Lee Holdsworth | Walkinshaw/HRT | Holden | Retirement |
- | Ashley Walsh | Erebus | Mercedes | Retirement |
LEADING CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER THREE OF 37 ROUNDS:
Pos | Driver | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | James Courtney | 258 |
2 | Fabian Coulthard | 241 |
3 | Garth Tander | 237 |
4 | Shane van Gisbergen | 222 |
5 | Jamie Whincup | 216 |
6 | Craig Lowndes | 208 |
7 | Mark Winterbottom | 202 |
8 | Rick Kelly | 177 |
9 | Jason Bright | 161 |
10 | Todd Kelly | 143 |
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