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.

AUTOSPORT’s V8 Supercars season guide

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
  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
 

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/real-world-racing/3rdparty/lowndes-equals-record-with-victory

Z Line Designs Toyota Parker Kligerman Trevor Bayne Out! Pet Care Toyota Jason Leffler