Five surprise Albert Park victories
Albert Park has featured many a Supercars shock result in 25 years of competition.
The Grand Prix venue will host this weekend's Beaurepaires Melbourne 400.
The Albert Park event has been a championship round since 2018, but drivers have always pushed hard for victory.
That has come at a cost for some, with the circuit the scene of several major incidents over the years.
For others, Melbourne has been the scene of some breakthrough results, some heralding the start of some successful eras.
Supercars.com has picked five surprise winners from the category's time at Albert Park.
BJR’s shock one-two: 2005
Brad Jones Racing won its first championship race in 2011, but it broke through much earlier.
In Race 2 of the 2005 non-points event, John Bowe led home team owner Brad Jones in a one-two finish.
BJR pulled off the result thanks to a bold tyre gamble.
The two Team BOC Fords opted for slicks as the rest of the field started on wets.
Bowe and Jones raced through the field, despite the former screaming for wets on the warm-up lap.
SVG and SBR: 2012
A young Shane van Gisbergen won the final race of the 2012 event.
Van Gisbergen only had two wins to his name, having won in Hamilton and Darwin the previous season.
In a scene of what was to come, the Stone Brothers Racing driver managed his tyres and beat Garth Tander home by 2.7s.
Van Gisbergen wouldn’t win a points-paying race in 2012, but he would later seal a shift to Tekno Autosports.
Coulthard’s breakthough: 2013
Fabian Coulthard stormed to a maiden pole and his first three Supercars race wins at the 2013 event.
It marked a new dawn for Coulthard and BJR, who combined to win two points-paying races in Tasmania afterwards.
Only Scott McLaughlin and Garry Rogers Motorsport prevented a Coulthard sweep in the finale.
McLaughlin and Volvo: 2014
McLaughlin returned in 2014 in the afterglow of his and Volvo’s shock debut podium in Adelaide.
The young Kiwi beat Jamie Whincup in an Adelaide thriller, and the blue S60 was one to watch at Albert Park.
McLaughlin converted to a maiden victory for the car after van Gisbergen dropped out due to an anti-rollbar failure.
The Volvo was later carried to victory lane in a championship race by McLaughlin in Perth.
Perfect Pye: 2018
Scott Pye secured a maiden victory for himself and the revamped Walkinshaw Andretti United in a 2018 thriller.
Under fading light and rainy skies, Pye held off a charging Whincup.
Pye claimed the lead after McLaughlin bowled a wide and dropped down the order.
To date, it remains Pye’s only victory, which came in front of McLaren boss and WAU co-owner Zak Brown.
Can a new name rise to the top on the streets of Melbourne?
Find out this weekend at the Beaurepaires Melbourne 400, which will stage four 100km-long races.
