Photo: V8 Supercars

Jamie Whincup wins 2014 V8 Supercars season opener

Jamie Whincup claimed the first victory of the 2014 V8 Supercars in the season opener at Clipsal 500. The reigning champion headed team-mate Craig Lowndes home to a Triple Eight Race Engineering 1-2.

Shane Van Gisbergen made a strong effort in the race and pushed Lowndes hard for second position before the first pit stop. The Tekno Autosports driver dropped back after the pit stop, despite changing four tyres compared to Lowndes’ two, and had to settle for third position.

Mark Winterbottom had a lonely race to fourth position for Ford Performance Racing ahead of the Brad Jones Racing Holden Commodore of Fabian Coulthard in fifth position.

Nissan’s Rick Kelly headed a three-car fight for sixth position with Volvo’s Scott McLaughlin and BJR Holden driver Jason Bright right behind. McLaughlin and Bright made their way past Todd Kelly after the pit stop sequence and chased down brother Rick Kelly towards the end of the race. Despite McLaughlin’s best efforts to get past Kelly and Bright’s best efforts to get past McLaughlin, the held station behind the Nissan to finish seventh and eighth respectively.

James Courtney and Scott Pye rounded out the top ten while Ford Performance Racing’s new charge Chaz Mostert retired on the first lap after hitting the wall, slipping off with a power steering problem. Ford colleague and Rod Nash Racing driver David Reynolds suffered a similar fate on the first lap and had to retire his Ford Falcon.