For the second year running, Craig Lowndes comes out of the Clipsal 500 with the V8 Supercars championship lead for Red Bull Racing Australia.
In this afternoon’s 250km marathon under the searing Adelaide sun, Jamie started from second on the grid, getting the jump on pole-sitter Shane Van Gisbergen into the first corner.
A chaotic race ensued with plenty of action to fill up the 2014 highlights reel, from more flying doors to rolling cars and everything in between.
Thankfully the No.888 car avoided the mayhem and Lowndesy got stuck into a thrilling sprint to the finish with fellow Holden driver James Courtney, which saw him cross the line a close second.
“We put the car on the line till the end to try and make an opportunity in that final lap but coming into turn eight I understeered, kissed the wall, lost a mirror and away we went,” said Craig.
“ We had to come into our second pit stop five laps early with a delaminated tyre which threw out our strategy but we were lucky enough to be in a good position to come straight in either way.
“Overall it was a fantastic weekend. We had multiple winners, multiple manufacturers on the podium and I think the category is really healthy.”
Meanwhile, teammate Jamie Whincup had a slightly more eventful race.
After pitting from a strong lead, the No. 1 Commodore was issued with a pit lane drive-through penalty for a breach of pit lane rules.
Re-emerging into the pack in ninth, J-Dub proceeded to start his fight back armed with excellent car speed, only to damage his steering while trying to make a pass.
“We did everything we could to be in the best position with good tyres and we were well up the road,” he said.
“After the drive through I was just trying to make up spots and unfortunately when you’re trying to make up spots you’re way out of your comfort zone and you’re forced into difficult situations.
“We’ve got good car speed which is a silver lining but we’re down the order and going to have to start by fighting our way up.”
The crew worked incredibly to get Jamie back onto the track in a relatively short time to come home 15th.
Although the next championship round isn’t until Tasmania, fear not race fans as we’re hitting Albert Park for the Australian Grand Prix in less than two weeks’ time.
