The Grid: Race One, Clipsal 500 Adelaide
Welcome to the first race of the 2013 V8 Supercars Championship.
The 28-car field, featuring 15 Holden Commodores, 6 Ford Falcons, 4 Nissan Altima’s and 3 Erebus Motorsport AMG E63s, will tackle a 78-lap race on the world famous 3.22km Adelaide Parklands circuit this afternoon – the first of two for the weekend.
The Clipsal 500 is known as a car and driver breaker – a season-opening challenge that might not define your season, but enjoy a successful weekend here and the remainder of the season all of a sudden seems all the more achievable.
End up parked against the turn eight fence, and the season opener turns into a two-week thrash to rebuild for the Grand Prix in two weeks.
Twelve months ago in Adelaide Jamie Whincup took a thrilling victory in the opening race of the season, as FPR ace Will Davison spluttered and ran out of fuel on the final lap of the race, allowing Whincup through to a stunning last-gasp victory.
Davison returned serve the following day, taking the victory and his first Clipsal 500 Adelaide crown.
Today’s race will be held in fine and warm conditions, with a forecasted top of 30-degrees – ensuring the first race of the year will be a significant physical challenge for the drivers and teams involved.
The race will be broadcast live on the Seven Network around Australia via the Seven Network, and into New Zealand live on Sky Sports.
You can also catch the action via V8supercars.com.au brand new IPTV service, which is free to race fans this weekend.
The action commences at 2:35pm local (Australian Central) time.
Here’s how the 28-car grid will line up when the Car of the Future becomes the Racing Car of Now!
Shane van Gisbergen (TEKNO Team VIP - Holden)
Mark Winterbottom (Pepsi Max Crew FPR - Ford)
Craig Lowndes (Red Bull Racing Australia – Holden)
Fabian Coulthard (Lockwood Racing – Holden)
Jamie Whincup (Red Bull Racing Australia – Holden)
Jonathon Webb (TEKNO Autosports – Hoden)
Will Davison (Pepsi Max Crew – Ford)
Alex Premat (Fujitsu Racing GRM – Holden)
James Courtney (Holden Racing Team – Holden)
Scott McLaughlin (Fujitsu Racing GRM – Holden)
Scott Pye (e’kol Racing – Holden)
Russell Ingall (Supercheap Auto Racing – Holden)
Michael Caruso (Norton 360 Racing – Nissan)
James Moffat (Norton 360 Racing – Nissan)
Dean Fiore (Dodo Insurance Racing – Holden)
Alex Davison (Jeld-wen FPR – Ford)
Todd Kelly (Jack Daniel’s Racing – Nissan)
Garth Tander (Holden Racing Team – Holden)
Rick Kelly (Jack Daniel’s Racing – Nissan)
Jason Bright (Team BOC – Holden)
David Reynolds (The Bottle-O Racing FPR – Ford)
Tony D’Alberto (Team HIFLEX – Ford)
Lee Holdsworth (Irwin Racing – Mercedes)
Tim Slade (Heavy Haulage Racing – Mercedes)
Tim Blanchard (Advam Racing – Ford)
David Wall (Wilson Security Racing – Holden)
Jonny Reid (Wilson Security Racing – Ford)
Maro Engel (SP Tools Racing – Mercedes)
