What a weekend of racing!
13/4/2005 18:13 (Press Release) -
Record crowds thronged the sun-drenched parklands of central Adelaide as the 2005 V8 Supercar season roared into life around the old Formula One street circuit in the South Australian capital.
But while it might have been a new year, it was the same old result, as dual V8 champion Marcos Ambrose in a Stone Brothers Racing Falcon got his title defence off to a perfect start with two wins in two races to cement a weekend of Ford dominance. It was the fourth successive race that Ambrose has won around the daunting Adelaide street track.
Fans trackside and millions of television viewers in Australia and around the world were treated to a weekend of thrills and drama in two incident packed races which featured huge crashes for Ford drivers Steve Ellery and Jason Bargwanna, a mixture of good and bad luck for former titleholder Mark Skaife, a stunning return to form for ex champon Craig Lowndes and further confirmation, if any were needed, that SBR is the sport's pre-eminent team.
Ambrose took the glory with the round win, but the honours must equally belong to Holden Racing Team boss Skaife and Triple Eight Racing debutant Craig Lowndes who both produced tremendous drives from the back of the field in the second race to secure podium finishes.
Skaife started from 31st position on the grid and battled his way through the field, whle Lowndes, who started from third place would have feared his race was over before it had begun after being spun at the first chicane. The Ford star had to wait until the whole of the field had streamed past before he could rejoin the race and begin the long battle to work through the pack. Lowndes was good enough to fight through for second place, Skaife for third.
The unlucky man was Ambrose's team-mate Russell Ingall. Second in Saturday's first race, Ingall was heading for second place and another SBR quinella when he suffered a puncture just 12 laps from the end, dropping him back to the rear of the field.
Ambrose's remorseless performance gave the lie to any suggestion that he would be lacking in motivation following his decision to quit Australia and move to the US at the end of this year.
While he had to give way to Holden's dual Bathurst hero Rick Kelly during the top ten shoot out, when the HSV Dealer Team driver took pole, he gave such a virtuoso demonstration through the rest of the weekend that his odds for a third consecutive championship will have shortened dramatically.
He beat Kelly offline in race one and was only headed as the pit stops unwound, leading an SBR quinella with Ingall second. Lowndes with third place ahead of Steve Johnson made it a Ford 1-2-3-4 in race one. Steve Richards , in the Perkins Racing Commodore, was the first Holden home.
It was a similar display of domination in race two. But while Ambrose could sail serenely off into the distance it was a different story for the rest of the field.
Release Date: 19/03/2005
Ford Racing Australia
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