Craig Lowndes takes record breaking win

Craig Lowndes recorded his 91st victory in the opening race of the Chill Perth 360 at Barbagallo, and claimed the all-time record for V8 Supercar wins from close friend Mark Skaife. In what was a flawless outing for Red Bull Racing, Jamie Whincup took second place to make it a one-two victory for the Queensland based outfit.

Ford Performance Racing pilot Mark Winterbottom rounded out the podium, resisting the temptation to make a last minute lunge up the inside of fierce rival Jamie Whincup on the final corner. Winterbottom preserved his tyres well throughout both legs of the race, and looked comfortable at the Wanneroo based circuit after enduring a difficult opening to the season.

In an interrupted qualifying session, Jamie Whincup took another pole position, while Brad Jones Racing pilot Jason Bright closed out the front row of the grid. The twenty minute session was interrupted by an incident involving Wilson Security Racing driver David Wall, who wound up beached on the outside of the final corner after tangling with Russel Ingall and James Courtney in the final minutes.

Whincup made a perfect start to the first sixty kilometre leg of the race, convincingly jumping Jason Bright off the line. He quickly set about gapping the rest of the field, as Red Bull Racing team mate Craig Lowndes found a way through on Jason Bright in the early laps. The order at the front of the field remained relatively unchanged at the chequered flag of the first segment of race 10, however Mark Winterbottom was able to sneak into the top three for Ford Performance Racing after passing Jason Bright.

Jamie Whincup again led the field away from the start in the second 60 kilometre leg of race 10, with Craig Lowndes hot in pursuit after the frantic rolling start. However, Lowndes clearly had the pace after the restart, and never looked back after slipping up the inside of Whincup early in the second segment. The reigning champion took the chequered flag a further 1.8 seconds off Lowndes and only a tenth ahead of Mark Winterbottom.

Brad Jones Racing had mixed fortunes in the 120 kilometre sprint. The in-form Jason Bright narrowly missed a podium finish in 4th, while Fabian Coulthard could only muster 27th after suffering at the hands of a left front puncture.

Former championship leader Will Davison also suffered a puncture in the early stages of the first segment, but managed to recover in the following 60 kilometres to bring his FPR Falcon home in 14th. However, he did surrender the championship lead to Jamie Whincup who now sits at the top of the standings by a mere 29 points.

Alex Davison added to the strong showing from Ford Performance Racing after crossing the line 5th in his Jeld-Wen sponsored Falcon, while 7th placed David Reynolds made it three FPR entries in the top 10. Alex Premat steered his Garry Rogers Commodore to 6th position, while James Courtney and Shane van Gisbergen took 8th and 9th for HRT and Tekno Autosport respectively. Rounding out the top 10 was James Moffat, who greatly impressed in his Norton 360 sponsored Nissan Altima for Kelly Racing.

Scott Pye experienced another frightening incident in the closing stages in the first leg of the race. The 23 year-old was spun after becoming involved in a three wide squeeze with Garth Tander and Rick Kelly, and ended up flying sideways across the grass at 200 kilometres an hour. The Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport driver walked away from the scene physically unscathed, however understandably taken aback after his second alarming crash of the season.

The Kelly Brothers suffered a difficult 120 kilometre outing in their Jack Daniels sponsored Nissan Altima’s. Both experienced tyre difficulties, and consequently didn’t threaten to achieve a strong points finish. Maro Engel achieved the best qualifying result of any Erebus Motorsport Mercedes thus far this season, starting from 9th on the grid. However, the German was swamped from the get-go, and could only manage 25th after the 50 lap event.

Newly signed Dick Johnson Racing recruit, Chaz Mostert, made an impressive debut in the main V8 Supercar series. The 21 year old guided his Wilson Security Falcon home in 15th position, after mixing it with the top 10 drivers for much of the race.
The Chill Perth 360 resumes tomorrow, with the running of races 11 and 12 of the season. Both 100 kilometre events will feature a qualifying session beforehand to determine the grid.