Fabian Coulthard scored a surprise victory in an action packed second race at the Clipsal 500 Adelaide.
Race 1 winner Jamie Whincup looked set for a double success before handing Coulthard the ascendancy by running wide at Turn 9 with 15 of the 39 laps to run.
Whincup had been battling a deflating left-rear tyre which eventually punctured heading into Turn 8, requiring a miraculous save from the six-time champion to keep the car off the wall.
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James Courtney overtook Craig Lowndes and Whincup to emerge as Coulthard’s only threat in the closing stages, but could not make inroads on the Kiwi’s three second lead.
Scott McLaughlin finished third on the road but dropped to ninth in the final results thanks to a 10 second post-race penalty.
Starting second, the Volvo driver had taken the lead off the start, but was soon handed a 10 second addition to his pitstop for jumping the start.
That penalty was eventually served illegally under Safety Car, which earned the driver a second penalty.
McLaughlin had appeared fortunate, however, not to have received a mechanical black flag as his car – which received a rapid engine change between heats – burnt oil throughout the race.
Lowndes was elevated to the final podium spot ahead of Garth Tander, Jason Bright, Rick Kelly, James Moffat and Ashley Walsh.
The gradually slowing Whincup had created a frantic few laps as those behind scrambled for positions.
Moments after taking Lowndes for fourth, Shane van Gisbergen was turned around in the pack by Tim Slade, who had been diving to the inside of the Red Bull Holden into Turn 9.
Van Gisbergen eventually finished 13th, while Slade joined the retirements list after his Holden took left-front damage.
Michael Caruso brought out the race’s single Safety Car on lap 19 when damage from an earlier hit on David Reynolds caused a puncture and subsequent crash at Turn 8.
Chaz Mostert clouted the Turn 8 wall in the early stages, while Will Davison failed to complete the warm-up lap due to a clutch failure.
The V8 Supercars will return to the circuit for Race 3 qualifying at 1055 on Sunday.
VIDEO: Clipsal 500 Adelaide Race 2 highlights
Result: V8 Supercars Race 2, Clipsal 500 Adelaide
1 |
Freightliner Racing |
Fabian Coulthard |
Holden Commodore VF |
39 |
59:05.68 |
2 |
Holden Racing Team |
James Courtney |
Holden Commodore VF |
39 |
59:07.64 |
3 |
Red Bull Racing Australia |
Craig Lowndes |
Holden Commodore VF |
39 |
59:14.54 |
4 |
Holden Racing Team |
Garth Tander |
Holden Commodore VF |
39 |
59:15.69 |
5 |
Team BOC |
Jason Bright |
Holden Commodore VF |
39 |
59:20.68 |
6 |
Nissan Motorsport |
Rick Kelly |
Nissan Altima |
39 |
59:21.36 |
7 |
Nissan Mororsport |
James Moffat |
Nissan Altima |
39 |
59:22.10 |
8 |
Erebus Motorsport V8 |
Ashley Walsh |
Mercedes E63 AMG |
39 |
59:23.38 |
9 |
Wilson Security Racing GRM |
Scott McLaughlin |
Volvo S60 |
39 |
59:23.89 |
10 |
Walkinshaw Racing |
Lee Holdsworth |
Holden Commodore VF |
39 |
59:23.97 |
11 |
Pepsi Max Crew |
Mark Winterbottom |
Ford Falcon FG/X |
39 |
59:24.46 |
12 |
Nissan Motorsport |
Todd Kelly |
Nissan Altima |
39 |
59:24.86 |
13 |
Team TEKNO Darrell Lea |
Shane Van Gisbergen |
Holden Commodore VF |
39 |
59:25.69 |
14 |
Repair Management Aust Racing |
Nick Percat |
Holden Commodore VF |
39 |
59:26.13 |
15 |
Wilson Security Racing GRM |
David Wall |
Volvo S60 |
39 |
59:28.32 |
16 |
DJR Team Penske |
Marcos Ambrose |
Ford Falcon FG/X |
39 |
59:29.79 |
17 |
The Bottle-O Racing Team |
David Reynolds |
Ford Falcon FG |
39 |
59:30.91 |
18 |
Team GB Galvanizing |
Dale Wood |
Holden Commodore VF |
39 |
59:32.08 |
19 |
Team Cooldrive |
Tim Blanchard |
Holden Commodore VF |
39 |
59:32.89 |
20 |
Super Black Racing |
Andre Heimgartner |
Ford Falcon FG |
39 |
59:33.25 |
21 |
Red Bull Racing Australia |
Jamie Whincup |
Holden Commodore VF |
39 |
00:01.25 |
DNF |
Supercheap Auto Racing |
Tim Slade |
Holden Commodore VF |
25 |
39:55.78 |
DNF |
Nissan Motorsport |
Michael Caruso |
Nissan Altima |
16 |
22:45.19 |
DNF |
Pepsi Max Crew |
Chaz Mostert |
Ford Falcon FG/X |
3 |
04:20.57 |
DNF |
Erebus Motorsport V8 |
Will Davison |
Mercedes E63 AMG |
V8 Supercars Championship standings after Race 2
1 |
Fabian Coulthard |
139 |
2 |
Craig Lowndes |
124 |
3 |
James Courtney |
108 |
4 |
Garth Tander |
108 |
5 |
Jamie Whincup |
96 |
6 |
Mark Winterbottom |
91 |
7 |
Jason Bright |
89 |
8 |
Shane Van Gisbergen |
84 |
9 |
James Moffat |
84 |
10 |
Lee Holdsworth |
81 |
11 |
Rick Kelly |
81 |
12 |
Chaz Mostert |
69 |
13 |
Ashley Walsh |
67 |
14 |
Todd Kelly |
65 |
15 |
David Reynolds |
60 |
16 |
David Wall |
57 |
17 |
Marcos Ambrose |
56 |
18 |
Nick Percat |
56 |
19 |
Tim Blanchard |
48 |
20 |
Tim Slade |
45 |
21 |
Dale Wood |
44 |
22 |
Scott McLaughlin |
42 |
23 |
Andre Heimgartner |
40 |
24 |
Michael Caruso |
21 |
25 |
Will Davison |
0 |