Coulthard takes maiden V8 Supercars win in Race 1

Brad Jones Racing has carried on its dominant form at Albert Park, with Fabian Coulthard leading home team-mate Jason Bright for a one-two finish in Race 1 of the weekend.

Coulthard made the most of his pole position to lead the opening laps, but an early Safety Car as the compulsory pitstop cycle was unfolding soon gave the order a minor shakeup.

Shane van Gisbergen and Jason Bright were two of six drivers that were yet to pit when the yellows were called, and subsequently returned to the track ahead of Coulthard.

The Lockwood Holden asserted its authority after the restart, quickly moving by Bright before eventually taking Van Gisbergen with just two laps remaining.

THE FINAL RACE OF THE 2023 REPCO SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP ON ONE OF THE WORLD’S BEST STREET CIRCUITS.
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Van Gisbergen pulled into pitlane with a broken gearbox soon after losing the lead, leaving the Kiwi to start Race 2 from 26th.

Will Davison took third behind the two BJR Holdens, while Jamie Whincup survived last lap contact with team-mate Craig Lowndes for fourth.

Lowndes slid from third to fifth on the final lap as his rear tyres went away, leaving the Red Bull Holden to only narrowly edge out Mark Winterbottom and Scott McLaughlin.

James Moffat and Rick Kelly put in strong performances for Nissan Motorsport in eighth and 10th respectively, split by Garth Tander’s Holden Racing Team Commodore.

Alex Premat’s Fujitsu Holden was the cause of the Lap 3 Safety Car – the Frenchman colliding with a defensive Lee Holdsworth at Turn 1 after exiting pitlane. The contact sent Premat into the concrete wall on the outside of the circuit.

The #34 Holden will not return to the track for the three remaining races.

There had also been carnage on the opening lap, with Tony D’Alberto spinning Michael Caruso amid a three-wide squeeze at Turn 3, scattering the pack in the process.

D’Alberto failed to finish due to the damage sustained to his Holden. Caruso recovered to ensure all four Nissans finished in the top 16.

Holdsworth was the best of the Mercedes entries in 19th despite his collision with Premat.

Having been excluded from qualifying for causing an incident with Premat, Jonny Reid’s weekend didn’t get much better in Race 1. The Dick Johnson Racing Falcon finished in 25th and last position after a mid-race tangle with Scott Pye.

The second of four races for the weekend will get underway at 1420 local time, with the grid set by the Race 1 finishing order.

UPDATE: Winterbottom was dropped to 25th in the result due to an unsafe pit release, while D’Alberto has been deducted 15 points for causing the opening lap incident.

V8 Supercars Race 1 

Pos	Team	Driver	Car	Best Lap
1	Lockwood Racing	Fabian Coulthard	Holden Commodore VF	1:57.1541*
2	Team BOC	Jason Bright	Holden Commodore VF	1:57.3077
3	Pepsi Max Crew FPR Ford	Will Davison	Ford Falcon FG	1:57.4978
4	Red Bull Racing Australia	Jamie Whincup	Holden Commodore VF	1:57.8713
5	Red Bull Racing Australia	Craig Lowndes	Holden Commodore VF	1:57.3918
6	Fujitsu Racing GRM	Scott McLaughlin	Holden Commodore VF	1:58.0275
7	Pepsi Max Crew FPR Ford	Mark Winterbottom	Ford Falcon FG	1:57.9921
8	Norton 360 Racing	James Moffat	Nissan Altima	1:57.8648
9	Holden Racing Team	Garth Tander	Holden Commodore VF	1:58.4969
10	Jack Daniel’s Racing	Rick Kelly	Nissan Altima	1:58.7437
11	Holden Racing Team	James Courtney	Holden Commodore VF	1:58.4211
12	Jack Daniel’s Racing	Todd Kelly	Nissan Altima	1:58.8783
13	Tekno Autosports	Jonathon Webb	Holden Commodore VF	1:58.3736
14	The Bottle-O FPR Ford	David Reynolds	Ford Falcon FG	1:58.5974
15	Wilson Security Racing	Tim Blanchard	Ford Falcon FG	1:59.0548
16	Norton 360 Racing	Michael Caruso	Nissan Altima	1:59.4228
17	Supercheap Auto Racing	Russell Ingall	Holden Commodore VF	1:59.5918
18	Dodo Insurance Racing	Dean Fiore	Holden Commodore VF	1:59.2464
19	Irwin Racing	Lee Holdsworth	Mercedes E63 AMG	1:59.3442
20	Wilson Security Racing	David Wall	Holden Commodore VF	1:59.2732
21	Jeld-wen FPR Ford	Alex Davison	Ford Falcon FG	1:59.4059
22	ekol Racing	Scott Pye	Holden Commodore VF	1:59.7026
23	Heavy Haulage Australia Racing	Tim Slade	Mercedes E63 AMG	1:59.3380
24	SP Tools Racing	Maro Engel	Mercedes E63 AMG	2:00.5572
25	Wilson Security Racing	Jonny Reid	Ford Falcon FG	1:59.6942
DNF	TEKNO Team VIP	Shane Van Gisbergen	Holden Commodore VF	1:57.3301
DNF	Fujitsu Racing GRM	Alexandre Premat	Holden Commodore VF	3:00.6720
DNF	Team HIFLEX	Tony D’Alberto	Holden Commodore VF