R1S RACES - Skaife untouchable in Island opener
25/3/2001 20:53 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
Mark Skaife began his title defence in resounding fashion today, dominating the opening round of the Shell Championship Series at Victoria’s Phillip Island Raceway.
Skaife was commanding, dictating terms from the front of the pack to record a perfect two-from-two result. An inspired Craig Lowndes finished a remarkable second overall in the Ford, while Holden Racing Team comeback kid Jason Bright was third.
Despite a tumultuous summer that saw Ford’s ranks considerably bolstered, Skaife proved the more things change the more stay the same. Not even a kamikaze seagull, which fractured Skaife’s windscreen early in the final race, could halt the unstoppable juggernaut.
"I saw two of them fly out from behind the armco and one was smart enough to get out of the way, but the other one didn't even see me coming,” Skaife quipped.
The 33-year-old was as close to perfect as the sport has seen in some time, leading by the first turn in both races and never looking back. His ability to show a clean pair of heels so early (lapping half a second quicker than anyone else in the opening laps) ensured he remained in front following the mandatory tyre change and could cruise to a comfortable victory, conserving precious rubber towards the end.
"After a pretty close qualifying session, I didn't foresee the races panning out as they did," Skaife said. "We were flexible on the pit strategy and the team made great calls for me. It's the best start we could have got and that's really important for us to make a strong start to the season."
No more can the rebel Gibson Motorsport team play down their chances after maverick Craig Lowndes took the fight right up to his former employer. The slickest of pit stops gave Lowndes a third and second from today’s two 45-minute races, affirming his position as a serious championship heavyweight.
"Our result today is a credit to the whole team," Lowndes said.
"The Gibson Motorsport pitstops definitely were the best of all the teams, and the valuable seconds gained pushed us through a high calibre field,” he said.
Jason Bright was solid throughout the day to claim a podium position on his return to the sport, while stable-mate K-Mart racer Greg Murphy deserved special commendation after his fourth overall. Murphy began the day outside the top ten but picked off many stars to climb up the results board in entertaining fashion.
Rookie Marcos Ambrose mixed it with the lead pack while still keeping his nose clean to record an impressive fifth on debut – a result that could have been better had it not been for lost time in pitlane.
It was a forgettable weekend for Paul Radisich, forced to play catch-up with chronic understeer after a costly pitstop in the first race. However, clocking the fastest lap in race two showed plenty of promise.
"We had some dramas during the tyre change in the first race this morning which really put us back through the field, and that obviously left us in a less than ideal position for the start of race two," ‘the Rat’ explained.
Mark Larkham fared decidedly worse in his new-look Falcon, coming together with Jason Bargwanna in the first heat and breaking his suspension in the second.
Last year's Phillip Island victor Garth Tander (power steering problems) and CAT Racing’s John Bowe (helped off the circuit in race one by a reckless David Besnard) were less than pleased with their weekend’s work.
Skaife's faultless weekend has him sitting pretty atop the championship table, 50 points ahead of his former team-mate Craig Lowndes. Jason Bright is a mere three points adrift.
21,000 fans made the trip to the Island today, under uncharacteristically blue skies.
The V8 Supercars’ biggest annual party, Adelaide’s Clipsal 500, is in a fortnight’s time.
**RACE ONE - TOP TEN**
1st MARK SKAIFE (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore
2nd JASON BRIGHT (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore
3rd CRAIG LOWNDES (Gibson Motorsport) - AU Falcon
4th MARCOS AMBROSE (Pirtek Racing) - AU Falcon
5th GREG MURPHY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore
6th STEVEN RICHARDS (Ford-Tickford Racing) - AU Falcon
7th STEVEN JOHNSON (Shell Helix Racing) - AU Falcon
8th TODD KELLY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore
9th RUSSELL INGALL (Castrol Perkins Racing) - VX Commodore
10th GLENN SETON (Ford-Tickford Racing) - AU Falcon
**RACE TWO - TOP TEN**
1st MARK SKAIFE (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore
2nd CRAIG LOWNDES (Gibson Motorsport) - AU Falcon
3rd GREG MURPHY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore
4th JASON BRIGHT (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore
5th STEVEN RICHARDS (Ford-Tickford Racing) - AU Falcon
6th MARCOS AMBROSE (Pirtek Racing) - AU Falcon
7th TODD KELLY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore
8th RUSSELL INGALL (Castrol Perkins Racing) - VX Commodore
9th STEVEN JOHNSON (Shell Helix Racing) - AU Falcon
10th GLENN SETON (Ford-Tickford Racing) - AU Falcon
**CHAMPIONSHIP TABLE**
1st MARK SKAIFE (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore [288]
2nd CRAIG LOWNDES (Gibson Motorsport) - AU Falcon [238]
3rd JASON BRIGHT (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore [235]
4th GREG MURPHY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore [201]
5th MARCOS AMBROSE (Pirtek Racing) - AU Falcon [200]
6th STEVEN RICHARDS (Ford-Tickford Racing) - AU Falcon [191]
7th TODD KELLY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore [163]
8th RUSSELL INGALL (Castrol Perkins Racing) - VX Commodore [156]
9th STEVEN JOHNSON (Shell Helix Racing) - AU Falcon [153]
10th GLENN SETON (Ford-Tickford Racing) - AU Falcon [150]
For complete race results:
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?25/03/2001.PHIL
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