R2S PREV - Party Adelaide? Not for those on the inside
5/4/2001 23:29 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
The Clipsal 500 may be the sport’s biggest party, but for the drivers it’s anything but – instead, a gruelling test of physical and mechanical endurance.
Throw in one of the world’s best street circuits, 500km of racing over two days, compulsory pit stops, a bag-full of championship points and over 160,000 adoring fans and you have Adelaide’s V8 Supercar showdown, the second round of the Shell Championship Series this weekend.
"The Clipsal 500 is fast becoming one of the best race meetings of the year; the crowd is huge and the city is buzzing from the moment we get there,” championship leader Mark Skaife said.
“Physically for a driver it is a real challenge,” fellow HRT racer Jason Bright explains, “with no straights long enough to have a real rest and as it's the longest time spent in a car in a race all year, the drivers really have their work cut out."
It can be a heartbreaking race, but also a somewhat forgiving one. Just ask the Holden Racing Team.
In the first two years of Adelaide 500s, HRT performed the racing equivalent of a miracle. Craig Lowndes stormed through the field from last to win the second leg of the 1999 Adelaide race, while Mark Skaife emulated his incredible efforts last year.
Both will tell you it was one of the feats of their career, but neither is keen to repeat the exercise. "I'd like the same result this year but, without the dramas,” Skaife said.
Skaife has a fifty point jump on his opposition coming into Adelaide and looks set to further enhance his commanding championship position this weekend. It’s interesting to note that 12 of the 13 men to win the opening two rounds of the series have gone on to win the championship.
Listen to the media and you could be forgiven for thinking former team-mate Craig Lowndes is the only man standing in Skaife’s way.
“There’s a lot of attention centred on Mark (Skaife) and I at the moment, but there’s a whole other group of drivers out there that we’ll be racing wheel-to-sheel with," Lowndes said.
Buoyed by an inspiring Ford debut at Phillip Island, Lowndes is beginning to say publicly what everyone already knew: he’s a serious threat this year. And with the speed of the Gibson crew in pitlane (GMS’ Phillip Island pitstops were more than three seconds quicker than anyone else) Lowndes is sure to star this weekend.
"We want the win at Adelaide to prove to our supporters and detractors alike that Gibson Motorsport is a formidable team this year," Lowndes said.
But this isn’t a two-man show.
Paul Radisich, for one, is looking to put an inauspicious start to the season behind him with a win in Adelaide. With a gleaming new DJR Falcon at his disposal (the “best ever,” according to Radisich) the flying Kiwi has the ammunition required.
"It’s a tough track, it really takes it out of you as a driver and it’s also hard on the car, but this is year three and we know what it’ll take to win and that’s what we’re going there for," ‘the Rat’ said.
The season may only be a fortnight old, but the points-heavy Adelaide event is sure to have a significant bearing on the 2001 championship. With double the points up for grabs on Sunday, survival is the key, as Radisich attests.
"Adelaide’s two events are heavily loaded toward the second leg in terms of championship points, so it’s important to stay out of trouble in the Saturday race so you can have a good shot at it Sunday," he said.
An overall winner in Adelaide last year, Garth Tander is aiming at getting his series campaign back on the rails with a strong showing on the streets of Adelaide.
"It is our chance to strike back right away after Phillip Island and we went well there last year, so there is no reason to believe we won't be strong there again," Tander said.
The Valvoline-Cummins campaigner is ably supported by a star-studded Holden squad, complete with K-Mart racers Greg Murphy and Todd Kelly. A move to the TWR factory this year has the K-Mart colours lapping quicker than ever, providing Murphy and Kelly with potential Adelaide-conquoring packages.
Ford-Tickford Racing, too, are flying their flag more proudly in 2001 and, after an impressive start to the season, look formidable opponents. Glenn Seton’s nail-biting dice for the lead with Craig Lowndes late on Clipsal 500 Saturday last year will, no doubt, be fresh in his mind.
Along with the crucial compulsory pitstops (one for fuel, the other for tyres), driver fatigue will play its part. A steamy 30-degree forecast for Saturday means only the fittest will survival. Predicted rain will bring relief on Sunday, but will throw a spanner in the works regrading race strategy.
The fastest fifteen from tomorrow’s qualifying session will shoot-out for pole late afternoon.
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