R3 PREVIEW - Title contenders must go the distance
7/4/2000 0:57 (Press Release) - This weekend's Clipsal 500 Adelaide is the third round of the 2000 Shell Championship Series and will have a significant say in who will go on the win the title, just ask the Holden Racing Team pair of Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife.
This first of three endurance events in the 2000 Shell Series, the Clipsal 500 Adelaide presents two gruelling 250km races for the V8 Supercar field and precious double points for those who survive. Run on Adelaide's F1 street circuit for the second year, the event will test all entrants.
"I'm approaching the race from the "big picture" point of view. In other words if I want to win the overall Shell Championship, then I have to finish both races in Adelaide," said Skaife who trails Shell Series leader, Garth Tander, by just two points.
"Winning would be great, but that's almost a bonus as long as I can maintain my current strong points position."
In the inaugural event in 1999, Skaife battled for a tenth place in race one and was forced to retire from race two with back soreness.
Conversely, in excess of 50,000 fans saw Lowndes take line honours in race one on Saturday and then be stripped of the win by stewards and relegated to the back of the grid for the second leg. He then produced a magnificent last to first win on Sunday in front of more than 60,000 fans. A successful appeal left Lowndes with maximum points for his efforts.
"It was a fairly emotional couple of days," said Lowndes. "Overall it's an event I will remember for a long time."
"The crowd reaction was incredible, to the point that on the Sunday when I was coming up through the field, you could hear the roar from the fans over the car's engine," said Lowndes who sits third in the points after two rounds.
"It was the biggest crowd I'd ever raced in front of at a V8 Supercar meeting and it, event wise, is probably the biggest race on the calendar, but also the hardest. I think we learned a lot last year as to the importance these double-points races have on the Championship," he said.
While Skaife went on to accumulate an astonishing six round wins in 1999, his crucial misses at the double points enduros saw him finish third in the title chase while Adelaide hero, Lowndes, took his third Shell Series crown.
Shell Series leader, Garth Tander is also acutely aware of the importance of these endurance events for any driver who aspires to take the title. The young Valvoline Cummins Holden driver seems to be coming of age this season as he shows great composure at the top of the toughest motorsport competition in the country.
"The Adelaide race is a huge event. The double points offer me the chance to establish myself as a leading contender as Craig did last year, but a failure here will give everybody the chance to get a jump on me which could be tough to claw back," said Tander.
"We think we have the right ingredients to win this weekend. We have the pace, the reliability and the consistency, coupled with real strategic strength in our pits, which we think, can get us a win," he said.
With two compulsory pit stops one for fuel and one for tyres in each leg, race strategy will play a vital role in the outcome. The Ford camp has promised that the Holden leaders will not have it all their own way.
"This event will require a very comprehensive team effort and I think we can expect a better result from the Ford teams over the long distance as a result of better team work and organisation," said Ford Racing General Manager, Howard Marsden.
Paul Radisich has battled hard to take the fight up to the Holden camp and sits fourth in the current standings. Few would be surprised if "The Rat" was to steer his Shell Helix Racing Falcon to the front this weekend.
"A careful yet aggressive approach to this race is needed. I am fourth in the Shell Series at the moment and I'd love nothing more than to knock a few of those Holden blokes down a place or two in the points standing by Sunday afternoon," said Radisich.
The battle on the streets of Adelaide will commence with qualifying from 12.35pm on Friday, followed by the excitement of the top ten shootout at 3.15pm. The two races will commence at 2pm on both Saturday and Sunday.
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