Whincup wins chaotic race one

Whincup, who started 20th, took advantage of an early safety car period to make his compulsory pit stop, moving up the order as other drivers pitted under green or later safety car periods, as the track dried following a wet start to take Ford's first win of 2007.

Second was Ford Performance Racing's Steven Richards, who like teammate Mark Winterbottom, took on slicks when they made their pit stops. At the time of their stops, it looked like a losing bet, but a late safety car played into Richards hands, as he moved from 13th to second in the final four laps!

Toll HSV filled the next two places, Rick Kelly just holding off Garth Tander for the final podium position with Lee Holdsworth close behind in fifth.

The race was full of incident and accidents. Cars went off at turn one and turn three on lap one, before Jason Richards went flying off from second place at turn eleven before the lap was over.

Lap three saw Todd Kelly hit race leader Garth Tander in the rear at turn seven, spinning Tander who rejoined in tenth place. Somehow Kelly escaped penalty for the incident but this became somewhat moot when he spun into the turn eleven gravel while leading, bringing out the first of four safety cars. The race restarted for less than a lap as a flat tyre from contact saw Russell Ingall end up in the turn six gravel.

Mark Winterbottom led at the restart on lap 12, temporarily losing the lead to Lee Holdsworth before taking it back, Rick Kelly taking second from Holdsworth a lap later. Having opened up a six second lead, Winterbottom's advantage disappeared when Todd Kelly went off again at turn eleven.

Most of those yet to pit took this opportunity to do so, Winterbottom and James Courtney the only ones gambling on slicks, with Winterbottom's teammate Steven Richards the new leader but yet to pit.

Lap 22 saw a restart, while lap 25 saw contact between the two leading cars who had pitted. Andrew Jones was spun by Dean Canto, Jones losing places and suffering damage, while Canto received a drive-through for his part in the incident. Meanwhile Winterbottom, who restarted in ninth, was struggling on a damp track and fell as far as 19th before he began to move back up the order as quickly as he had fallen.

Leader Richards eventually pitted on lap 27 of 40, handing over the lead to Whincup ahead of Rick Kelly, Craig Lowndes, Steven Johson, Tander, Holdsworth and Mark Skaife, who remarkably was in seventh after going off twice on lap one, once on lap five and again on lap 22.

Winterbottom, while moving back up the order, had contact with Max Wilson which damaged his steering, sending him off into the turn eleven gravel to bring out the final safety car of the race, Whincup losing a ten second lead.

With four laps to go, it was green. Whincup leading Rick Kelly, Tander and Lowndes. Those on slicks now had the advantage, Courtney in seventh and Richards in 13th. In one lap they were fifth and eighth.

Courtney moved briefly into third on lap 38 before running wide and handing fourth back to Lowndes, just before Lowndes spun at turn ten, possibly as a result of a late move on Tander, contact from Courtney or both.

Both drivers lost places, Lowndes down to 16th while Courtney dropped to sixth despite having to come to a complete halt. Before the lap was over Greg Murphy went off at turn eleven, also complaining about possible contact from Courtney.

Regardless, Courtney stormed on, Richards now ahead of him in fifth and flying, both passing Holdsworth on the penultimate lap. The final lap saw Richards take Tander at turn three, then Kelly at turn six, Courtney making the same move at turn six to take fourth from Tander.

At the front it was smooth sailing for Whincup who took the win, with Richards in second place. Third was still up for grabs, Courtney stealing the place exiting the second-last turn from Kelly, with Tander almost taking fourth from his teammate at the finish.

After the race, Courtney was assessed a 27 second penalty for passing Kelly under yellow, and fell to 17th. Had he not been tangled up with Lowndes, he may have won.

As a sign of how bad a day they had had, Lowndes went off on lap 39 while Skaife had an off on the final turn of the final lap.

Pos  Driver                Car                   Laps
 1.  Jamie Whincup         Ford Falcon BF         40
 2.  Steven Richards       Ford Falcon BF         40
 3.  Rick Kelly            Holden Commodore VE    40
 4.  Garth Tander          Holden Commodore VE    40
 5.  Lee Holdsworth        Holden Commodore VZ    40
 6.  Steven Johnson        Ford Falcon BF         40
 7.  Jason Bright          Ford Falcon BF         40
 8.  Paul Morris           Holden Commodore VE    40
 9.  Max Wilson            Ford Falcon BF         40
10.  Shane Price           Holden Commodore VE    40
11.  Jason Bargwanna       Ford Falcon BF         40
12.  Cameron McConville    Holden Commodore VZ    40
13.  Steve Owen            Holden Commodore VZ    40
14.  John Bowe             Ford Falcon BF         40
15.  Alan Gurr             Ford Falcon BF         40
16.  Simon Wills           Ford Falcon BF         40
17.  James Courtney        Ford Falcon BF         40
18.  Craig Lowndes         Ford Falcon BF         40
19.  Dean Canto            Holden Commodore VE    40
20.  Fabian Coulthard      Holden Commodore VZ    40
21.  Mark Skaife           Holden Commodore VE    40
22.  Jack Perkins          Holden Commodore VE    40
23.  Jason Richards        Holden Commodore VE    40
24.  Paul Radisich         Ford Falcon BF         39
25.  Paul Dumbrell         Holden Commodore VE    39
26.  Mark Winterbottom     Ford Falcon BF         39
27.  Todd Kelly            Holden Commodore VE    37
DNF  Greg Murphy           Holden Commodore VE    37
DNF  Andrew Jones          Ford Falcon BF         29
DNF  Russell Ingall        Ford Falcon BF         14
DNF  Will Davison          Ford Falcon BF          4