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V8 Supercars Clipsal 500: Shock Percat win in wild Adelaide finale

Nick Percat and Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport emerged as shock winners of a wild and bizarre main race at V8 Supercars' Clipsal 500 opener in Adelaide

Sunday's 250km showpiece was disrupted by a long safety car period and red flag when a storm left the former Australian Grand Prix Formula 1 venue awash.

Though it was restarted, only 48 of the scheduled 78 laps could be completed within the allotted time window.

Under V8 Supercars rules, cars still needed to take on the full 140 litres of fuel for the race despite its truncated finish and many of the frontrunners had not done so, handing the advantage to drivers who had made additional stops to top up earlier on.

Percat therefore rose to the front as leaders Scott McLaughlin, Will Davison and Craig Lowndes pitted in quick succession during the brief final period of green flag racing.

DJR Team Penske drivers Fabian Coulthard and Scott Pye stayed out despite not having sufficient fuel and crossed the line second and third - Coulthard having muscled ahead of Percat briefly in a final-lap tussle - but were given post-race time penalties that dropped them to 16th and 17th.

Percat's win is the first for the LDM Holden team, and his first solo victory after previously triumphing in the 2011 Bathurst 1000 alongside Garth Tander.

Nissan driver Michael Caruso emerged with a surprise championship lead as he was elevated to second in the main race, having been only 13th and sixth in Saturday's heats. Tander completed the podium.

Even before the fuel rules further complicated matters, Sunday's race had already been topsy-turvy.

A pre-race rain shower sent strategies into confusion and meant wild early battles on a slippery track, before the circuit dried for a spell prior to the downpour that caused the stoppage.

James Courtney's fortunes typified the race - despite being spun in a tangle over first with Shane van Gisbergen and later sliding into the barrier in the slippery pit entry, he was back in the lead when the rain returned only to aquaplane into the wall moments before a safety car was called due to the conditions.

Courtney had previously been second behind commanding victor Jamie Whincup in the first of Saturday's 125km heats, then fended off the six-time champion to win the second.

Whincup was among those who had to make last-gasp pitstops on Sunday and ended up 16th.

Reigning champion Mark Winterbottom had a muted start to his title defence with eighth, 11th and ninth-place finishes across the weekend.

His Prodrive Racing Australia team-mate Chaz Mostert marked his return to racing after being injured at Bathurst last year with pole and third place in Saturday's second race, but crashed out while in the lead battle on Sunday.

RACE THREE RESULTS - 48 LAPS:

Pos Driver Team Car Gap
1 Nick Percat Dumbrell Holden 1h49m03.6598s
2 Michael Caruso Nissan Motorsport Nissan 7.1095s
3 Garth Tander HRT Holden 8.7639s
4 Cameron Waters Prodrive Ford 11.2829s
5 David Reynolds Erebus Holden 12.9074s
6 Todd Kelly Nissan Motorsport Nissan 13.5218s
7 Rick Kelly Nissan Motorsport Nissan 13.9870s
8 Jason Bright Brad Jones Holden 15.1646s
9 Mark Winterbottom Prodrive Ford 16.4074s
10 Shane van Gisbergen Triple Eight Holden 17.0926s
11 Tim Blanchard Britek/BJR Holden 27.1369s
12 Scott McLaughlin GRM Volvo 27.3038s
13 Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Holden 27.6512s
14 Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Holden 44.7880s
15 Will Davison Tekno Holden 59.6229s
16 Fabian Coulthard DJR Penske Ford 1m00.2417s
17 Scott Pye DJR Penske Ford 1m06.5191s
18 Lee Holdsworth Schwerkolt Holden 1m08.5901s
19 Andre Heimgartner Dumbrell Holden 3 Laps
20 Tim Slade Brad Jones Holden 5 Laps
21 James Courtney HRT Holden 7 Laps
22 James Moffat GRM Volvo 10 Laps
- Dale Wood Nissan Motorsport Nissan Retirement
- Chaz Mostert Rod Nash/PRA Ford Retirement
- Aaren Russell Erebus Holden Retirement

LEADING RACE ONE RESULTS - 39 LAPS:

Pos Driver Team Car Gap
1 Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Holden 56m43.1447s
2 James Courtney HRT Holden 3.9266s
3 Shane van Gisbergen Triple Eight Holden 7.5750s
4 Scott McLaughlin GRM Volvo 8.4653s
5 Garth Tander HRT Holden 11.0611s
6 Todd Kelly Nissan Motorsport Nissan 14.5524s
7 Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Holden 18.1015s
8 Mark Winterbottom Prodrive Ford 18.8276s
9 Rick Kelly Nissan Motorsport Nissan 19.3622s
10 Fabian Coulthard DJR Penske Ford 21.0549s

LEADING RACE TWO REUSLTS - 39 LAPS:

Pos Driver Team Car Gap
1 James Courtney HRT Holden 59m37.1268s
2 Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Holden 0.6310s
3 Chaz Mostert Rod Nash/PRA Ford 2.5254s
4 Scott McLaughlin GRM Volvo 3.1846s
5 Shane van Gisbergen Triple Eight Holden 6.2934s
6 Michael Caruso Nissan Motorsport Nissan 12.7098s
7 Scott Pye DJR Penske Ford 16.4450s
8 Jason Bright Brad Jones Holden 17.1323s
9 Will Davison Tekno Holden 18.7421s
10 Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Holden 20.5421s

LEADING CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:

Pos Driver Points
1 Michael Caruso 222
2 Jamie Whincup 207
3 Shane van Gisbergen 197
4 Scott McLaughlin 189
5 Garth Tander 187
6 James Courtney 186
7 Cameron Waters 184
8 Todd Kelly 181
9 Nick Percat 171
10 Rick Kelly 171
11 David Reynolds 166
12 Mark Winterbottom 165
13 Jason Bright 159
14 Craig Lowndes 153
15 Will Davison 138


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