AGP RACE 3 – Slick Lowndes snatches victory
3/3/2002 18:34 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
Craig Lowndes took advantage of slick tyres and a drying circuit to snatch victory from the Holden Racing Team in today’s final non-championship race at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Lowndes, together with Russell Ingall and Garth Tander, found an increasingly drier race line on slick tyres as the 10-lap race progressed, storming to the podium to deny Jason Bright a Grand Prix hat-trick.
“We took a real gamble with our tyre choice this morning, but it has clearly paid off,” said Lowndes, who changed to the new Dunlop slicks just minutes before the race start.
“We finished the season last year with a win and to continue our successful streak over into the first event this year is fantastic for the team.”
Bright, fitted with wet weather tyres, made the most of the greasy conditions early to build an 18-second lead over the field.
But a safety car on lap three, to retrieve Rick Kelly’s Commodore from a gravel trap, robbed him of the margin.
With any advantage gained on grooved tyres now long gone, Lowndes, lapping more than three seconds faster than Bright, stormed past the Commodore on Lakeside Drive to steal the lead on lap eight.
Ingall and Tander eventually followed suit, relegating Bright to fourth – still good enough to secure overall victory for the Grand Prix meeting.
Mark Skaife’s forgettable weekend continued this morning: a last-minute hiccup saw him duck into pitlane after the sighting lap and, while he maintained his front-row birth, was swamped off the start line.
He fought bravely with Lowndes and Paul Radisich for second in the first few laps, but on wets was no match. He faded to finish outside the top ten.
Radisich, also on wets, held second until lap four, when he slipped off the circuit trying to defend his position from Lowndes.
“That’s what happens when you push too hard on the wrong tyres in those conditions,” he said.
His teammate, Steven Johnson took a hit from Marcos Ambrose on the opening lap, skidding perilously close to the concrete wall, ending his hopes of challenging the leaders.
Glenn Seton took the day's heaviest hit, albeit self-inflicted, when he slipped on the kerbing at turn twelve and slammed side-on into the tyre barrier.
Along with Seton and Radisich, other retirees included Paul Romano (heavy front-on impact with the wall), Paul Morris (bent steering arm) and John Bowe (black-flagged).
While a costly call on tyres may have prevented Jason Bright’s three-peat, the evidence this weekend was clear: the Holden Racing Team will be, deservedly, emphatic favourites for the 2002 championship when the series kicks-off in Adelaide, for the spectacular Clipsal 500, in a fortnight’s time.
>> AGP V8 SUPERCAR CHALLENGE - RACE THREE >>
1st CRAIG LOWNDES (Ford/Dunlop/Mobil) - AU Falcon
2nd RUSSELL INGALL (Castrol Perkins) - VX Commodore
3rd GARTH TANDER (Valvoline Cummins Team) - VX Commodore
4th JASON BRIGHT (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore
5th STEVEN RICHARDS (Castrol Perkins) - VX Commodore
6th SIMON WILLS (CAT Racing) - AU Falcon
7th GREG MURPHY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore
8th JASON BARGWANNA (Valvoline Cummins Team) - VX Commodore
9th TODD KELLY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore
10th MARCOS AMBROSE (Pirtek Racing) - AU Falcon
For complete race results:
http://www.v8supercar.com.au/calendars/clndrevent.asp?eid=96
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