Clipsal 500 in Adelaide kicks off 2014 V8 Supercars season
The 16th V8 Supercars Championship season starts this weekend with the iconic street race Clipsal 500 in Adelaide. 25 cars and drivers from Holden, Ford, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and newcomers Volvo make up the grid for the 2014 season.
Triple Eight Race Engineering driver and Holden ace Jamie Whincup is the defending champion, eyeing to become the first ever driver to claim six V8 Supercars titles. Whincup is, as last year, partnered by 2013 runner-up Craig Lowndes. The duo are undoubtedly the favourites for this year’s championship, but with many strong rivals wanting to prove them wrong.
Holden has got a total of eleven Commodores on the grid with front runners such as Garth Tander, James Courtney, Shane Van Gisbergen and Fabian Coulthard who topped the official pre-season test session at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Ford are represented by six drivers this year, with Ford Performance Racing duo of Mark Winterbottom and newly signed rising star Chaz Mostert as the spearheads.
Nissan is just as last year represented by four drivers in teams Jack Daniel’s Racing and Norton Hornets. The Japanese manufacturer, which made its return to the championship last year, is looking to take a step up to regular top finishes with a new aerodynamic package and showed a strong form in the pre-season test.
Erebus Motorsport had a tough début season last year and have moved down to just two Mercedes E63 AMGs for this season. Lee Holdsworth continues with the team and is joined by former Ford driver Will Davison who finished third overall in 2013. The team has completed many changes during the winter and is keen to improve from the struggles of last year.
All eyes were on newcomers Volvo Polestar Racing in the pre-season test. Young Kiwi Scott McLaughlin and Swede Robert Dahlgren, who has been factory driver for Volvo since 2004, represents the Swedish manufacturer this year in a pair of Volvo S60s. While being 1.7 seconds from the top time in testing, the new Volvos ran without major issues despite being completed only days before.
Last year’s season premiere in Adelaide saw Triple Eight taking a strong grip on the championship top with Lowndes winning the first race and Whincup claiming two podium finishes. But it was Tekno Autosports driver Van Gisbergen who set the pace with two pole positions and victory in the second race.
The game is wide open for this year’s Clipsal 500 in Adelaide which features a new ”Super Street” format with two 125 km races on Saturday and a single 250 km race on Sunday. Holden and Ford are of course the favorites for the top fight, but with Nissan looking like a strong challenger and with Mercedes and Volvo capable of pulling a surprise or two later in the year.
2014 V8 Supercars Entry List
#1 Jamie Whincup Holden Commodore
#2 Garth Tander Holden Commmodore
#4 Lee Holdsworth Mercedes E63 AMG
#5 Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon
#6 Chaz Mostert Ford Falcon
#7 Todd Kelly Nissan Altima
#8 Jason Bright Holden Commodore
#9 Will Davison Mercedes E63 AMG
#14 Fabian Coulthard Holden Commodore
#15 Rick Kelly Nissan Altima
#16 Scott Pye Ford Falcon
#17 David Wall Ford Falcon
#18 Jack Perkins Ford Falcon
#21 Dale Wood Holden Commodore
#22 James Courtney Holden Commodore
#23 Russell Ingall Holden Commodore
#33 Scott McLaughlin Volvo S60 Polestar
#34 Robert Dahlgren Volvo S60 Polestar
#36 Michael Caruso Nissan Altima
#47 Tim Slade Holden Commodore
#55 David Reynolds Ford Falcon
#97 Shane van Gisbergen Holden Commodore
#222 Nick Percat Holden Commodore
#360 James Moffat Nissan Altima
#888 Craig Lowndes Holden Commodore
Clipsal 500 Timetable
(UTC +10.5H)
Friday February 28th
10:15 – Practice 1
11:55 – Practice 2
13:40 – Practice 3
15:00 – Qualifying Race 1
15:25 – Qualifying Race 2
Saturday March 1st
13:50 – Practice 4
16:20 – Race 1 (39 laps)
17:50 – Race 2 (39 laps)
Sunday March 2nd
12:00 – Qualifying Race 3
12:35 – Top Ten Shootout
15:15 – Race 3 (78 laps)
