Adelaide V8 Supercars: Craig Lowndes equals record with victory
Craig Lowndes dominated the first race of V8 Supercars' new era as he took a record-equalling victory in Adelaide on Saturday
The three-time champion's win drew him level with Mark Skaife on 90 victories in the category, giving Lowndes a share of the sport's record victory tally.
Lowndes's Triple 8 Holden finished 20.5 seconds clear of runner-up Will Davison's Ford Performance Racing Falcon, having broken clear of the pack at the end of the first stint and pulled away thereafter.
Davison came through from seventh on the grid for second, with Lowndes's champion team-mate Jamie Whincup third.
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Polesitter Shane van Gisbergen lost a lot of ground when his Tekno Holden stalled at the start. He recovered well but had to retire late on with an apparent oil leak.
Fabian Coulthard burst through to lead the first stint before Lowndes took control and was still on course for second place until brake problems forced a pitstop for repairs.
After a punishing rookie season in 2012, ex-DTM and Audi Le Mans driver Alexandre Premat showed that he can get on top of V8s as he chased Whincup home in fourth.
Premat's Garry Rogers team-mate Scott McLaughlin also began his rookie season strongly as he finished between Holden Racing Team duo James Courtney and Garth Tander in fifth.
Best representatives of the new manufacturers were Rick Kelly in 11th for Nissan and Tim Slade in 15th in the Rosenberg/Erebus Mercedes
Results - 78 laps:
Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Craig Lowndes Triple 8 Holden 1h49m37.312s
2. Will Davison FPR Ford + 20.5203s
3. Jamie Whincup Triple 8 Holden + 32.1287s
4. Alexandre Premat GRM Holden + 35.5821s
5. James Courtney HRT Holden + 37.3925s
6. Scott McLaughlin GRM Holden + 38.6829s
7. Garth Tander HRT Holden + 39.0363s
8. Jonathon Webb Tekno Holden + 48.4746s
9. Alex Davison Schwerkolt/FPR Ford + 49.2109s
10. Russell Ingall Walkinshaw/HRT Holden + 1m06.0578s
11. Rick Kelly Nissan + 1m08.5664s
12. Tony D'Alberto D'Alberto Holden + 1m11.4827s
13. Scott Pye Dumbrell Holden + 1m13.2353s
14. James Moffat Nissan + 1 lap
15. Tim Slade Rosenberg/Erebus Mercedes + 1 lap
16. David Wall Britek/BJR Holden + 1 lap
17. Lee Holdsworth Erebus Mercedes + 1 lap
18. Tim Blanchard DJR Ford + 2 laps
19. Fabian Coulthard Brad Jones Holden + 3 laps
20. David Reynolds Rod Nash/FPR Ford + 6 laps
21. Dean Fiore Dumbrell Holden + 7 laps
22. Jason Bright Brad Jones Holden + 11 laps
23. Michael Caruso Nissan + 14 laps
24. Maro Engel Erebus Mercedes + 19 laps
Retirements:
Shane van Gisbergen Tekno Holden 62 laps
Jonny Reid DJR Ford 53 laps
Todd Kelly Nissan 16 laps
Mark Winterbottom FPR Ford 11 laps
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