R5S RACE 1 - Breakthough win for reborn Johnson
9/6/2001 17:54 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
Steven Johnson averted a hard-charging Craig Lowndes to record a fairytale debut win in the first race of Canberra’s GMC 400.
From pole position, Johnson was never headed during the 25-lap sprint to win narrowly from Lowndes and Mark Skaife.
The win is Johnson’s first in the sport and the culmination of a concerted effort over this season to improve his standing in the category.
"I really couldn’t have wished for much better today with my first pole and my first win," Johnson exclaimed.
"After the top 15 shootout I was ecstatic and then the race on top of that was exceptional. Craig put a lot of pressure on me towards the end, but I didn¹t crack."
The game was won and lost, predictably, in the opening few laps when the majority of the field took their compulsory pit stop at the first available opportunity.
After Johnson won a trouble-free start, he led a horde of cars into pitlane on lap four. A second contingent, instigated by Glenn Seton, pitted on the following lap.
But Gibson Motorsport refused to follow suit, leaving Lowndes in circulation until lap six. The ground made on track allowed him to slip past second-placed Seton on his return to racing after starting in seventh.
“We thought a lot of people would pit after lap three and we decided to take a gamble and stay out in the hope we could make up some positions and it worked for us today," Lowndes said.
With Johnson still the leader, Marcos Ambrose’s car expired with gearbox dramas soon after. His stranded Pirtek Falcon brought out the safety car for a lengthy stay.
Mark Skaife and Garth Tander slipped by third-placed Seton soon after the restart, as the K-Mart Commodores of Todd Kelly and Greg Murphy become tangled with Steven Ellery.
"It's got to be one of the most ambitious moves I've seen," Ellery said. "There was no way he (Kelly) was ever going to get through there and he had to be kidding himself if he thought he was. It was a stupid move."
Lowndes ferociously hounded Johnson’s bumper over the closing stages to no avail.
After his missed opportunity in the shootout, Paul Radisich climbed nine positions to finish sixth. "Maybe my luck is turning," he said.
Championship leader Jason Bright finished eleventh after starting back in 17th, while Tander returned to form with a much-needed fourth.
Johnson’s points-perfect weekend has seen him jump to fourth in the championship; a position he’ll hope to consolidate during tomorrow’s 25-lap reverse grid derby.
He’ll start close to the rear of grid, only ahead of race one retirees Kelly, Ambrose, Cameron McLean and Tony Longhurst.
Privateer hero Steve Reed will start from pole position, alongside troubled defending champ, Steven Richards.
**RACE ONE - TOP TEN**
1st STEVEN JOHNSON (Shell Helix Racing) - AU Falcon
2nd CRAIG LOWNDES (Gibson Motorsport) - AU Falcon
3rd MARK SKAIFE (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore
4th GARTH TANDER (Valvoline Cummins Repco Team) - VX Commodore
5th GLENN SETON (Ford-Tickford Racing) - AU Falcon
6th PAUL RADISICH (Shell Helix Racing) - AU Falcon
7th PAUL MORRIS (Big Kev Racer) - VX Commodore
8th RUSSELL INGALL (Castrol Perkins Race Team) - VX Commodore
9th JASON BARGWANNA (Valvoline Cummins Repco Team) - VX Commodore
10th JOHN BOWE (CAT Racing) - AU Falcon
For complete race results:
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?10/06/2001.CANB
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