Adelaide V8 Supercars: Whincup holds off Lowndes in race one
Jamie Whincup began his bid for an unprecedented sixth V8 Supercars title with a win in the season opening race in Adelaide
Triple Eight team-mate Craig Lowndes had beaten the reigning champion as they entered Turn 1 for the first time, which forced Whincup to adopt a different race strategy.
On lap four of 39, Whincup made his compulsory pitstop in an attempt to benefit from running in clean air at the back of the field, and it paid off.
A succession of fastest laps allowed him to filter his way through the pack and he eventually took command of the race on lap 14 when Lowndes encountered a slow stop after a problem removing his right-rear tyre.
The Triple Eight duo then held their positions until the chequered flag, with Shane van Gisbergen claiming the final podium spot after a relatively muted race for the Kiwi driver.
Mark Winterbottom also experienced a fairly lonely afternoon to finish fourth while Fabian Coulthard put in a determined drive to gain five places from 10th on the grid.
Most of the action was found in the battle for sixth. It was eventually won by the Nissan of Rick Kelly, who was forced to fend off Scott McLaughlin during the closing stages of the race.
The young Kiwi relentlessly hounded Kelly in his Volvo S60, which was also involved in a pushing-and-shoving contest with eighth and ninth place finishers Jason Bright and James Courtney.
Scott Pye rounded off the top 10 on his debut for the Dick Johnson Ford outfit after losing two places during the opening lap.
Results - 39 laps:
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Holden 53m57.5158s
2. Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Holden +2.7772s
3. Shane van Gisbergen Tekno Holden +7.8426s
4. Mark Winterbottom FPR Ford +13.9061s
5. Fabian Coulthard Brad Jones Holden +19.2367s
6. Rick Kelly Nissan +24.0208s
7. Scott McLaughlin GRM Volvo +24.4619s
8. Jason Bright Brad Jones Holden +24.7487s
9. James Courtney HRT Holden +31.1724s
10. Scott Pye Dick Johnson Ford +32.8042s
11. Garth Tander HRT Holden +33.4300s
12. Russell Ingall Dumbrell Holden +35.9946s
13. Will Davison Erebus Mercedes +36.4485s
14. David Wall Dick Johnson Ford +39.7287s
15. Tim Slade Walkinshaw/HRT Holden +40.4982s
16. Todd Kelly Nissan +43.7055s
17. Lee Holdsworth Erebus Mercedes +44.6962s
18. Michael Caruso Nissan +59.0822s
19. Jack Perkins Schwerkolt/FPR Ford +59.3871s
20. James Moffat Nissan +1 lap
21. Robert Dahlgren GRM Volvo +1 lap
22. Nick Percat Rosenberg/HRT Holden +4 laps
23. Dale Wood Britek/BJR Holden +7 laps
Retirements:
Driver Team Laps
Chaz Mostert FPR Ford 21
David Reynolds Rod Nash/FPR Ford 12
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