The 2001 Shell Championship Series was an auto racing series for V8 Supercars. The championship, which was the third Shell Championship Series, began on 25 March 2001 at Phillip Island and ended on 2 December at Sandown after 13 rounds. The same events also determined the winner of the 2001 Australian Touring Car Championship as awarded by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport.[1]

2001 season

The Ford Falcon AU with which Steven Johnson and Paul Radisich won the 2001 Queensland 500. The car is pictured in 2018

Driver changes

Team changes

Cars

Ford continued with the AU Falcon that the majority of Ford teams ran while some ran the older EL Model. Holden released the new VX Commodore after the VT Commodore. Some Holden teams still ran the VT and some ran the old VS Commodore.

Race formats

  • 2 45-minute races (around 100 km) will replace the 3 20-minute sprint races. There will also be a compulsory pit stop that has to be taken within a certain time of the race
  • There will be a Top 10 or Top 15 Shootout for all rounds during the season that will alternate from round to round. This involves a single lap around the circuit for the Top 10/15 qualifiers in qualifying. The winner of the shootout wins 18 bonus points
  • 2 events will involve the 3 20-minute sprint races. This will happen at Round 6 and 7 at Barbagello Raceway and Calder Park Raceway. There will be no compulsory pit stops
  • At 3 events, there will be 3 races over the weekend, this will happen at Hidden Valley, Pukekoke Park Raceway and Sandown

Special events

Round 2-Clipsal 500 at Adelaide. This involves 2 250 km races over 78 laps of the Adelaide Street circuit. The winner of the event is the driver who wins the second race and not the driver who collects the most points. The second race involves double points over the first race. There are 2 compulsory pit stops in each race, 1 stop for tyres and 1 stop for fuel.

Round 5-GMC 400 at Canberra. This involves 2 100 km races and 1 200 km race over 25 and 50 laps of the Canberra Street Circuit. The winner of the event is the driver who collects the most points over the weekend. The 2nd race of the weekend will involve a reverse grid of the entire field. The 3rd race grid will be a culmination of the points of race 1 and race 2 put together. In the first 2 races there will be only 1 compulsory stop for tyres. In the 3rd race, there will be 1 stop for tyres and 1 stop for fuel.

Round 9-VIP Petfoods Queensland 500 at Queensland Raceway. This is the first of the double driver endurance events. This race is held over 161 laps over 500 km. The race will involve driver changes and fuel and tyre stops will have to happen at the same time.

Round 11-V8 Supercar 1000 at Bathurst. Known as "The Great Race", Bathurst is the event that all the drivers want to win. It is again a double driver event and will involve driver changes at pit stops. The race is held over 161 laps over 1000 km. This season is the first time that the event isn't the last round of the championship.

Television coverage

Channel 10 and Fox Sports broadcast the coverage for the 5th year since 1997 when they took over from Channel 7. Neil Crompton hosted the coverage for regular rounds with Barry Sheene. Bill Woods hosted the coverage at special events while Leigh Diffey hosted the coverage at the last 2 rounds. Matthew White hosted the coverage at Winton for the only time in the 2001 season. Neil Crompton, Barry Sheene and Mark Oastler commentated for most of the season with Leigh Diffey coming in from Queensland 500 onwards. Greg Rust and Grant Denyer were the pit lane reporters after Greg was commentator for the 2000 championship.

Teams and drivers

The following drivers and teams competed in the 2001 Shell Championship Series. The series consisted of 11 rounds of single driver racing and two rounds (the Queensland 500 and the Bathurst 1000) of endurance racing with each car driven by two drivers.

Permanent entries
Manufacturer Vehicle Team No. Drivers Events Co-Drivers Events
Ford Falcon AU Gibson Motorsport 00 Australia Craig Lowndes All Australia Neil Crompton 9, 11
7 Australia Rodney Forbes All Australia David Parsons 9, 11
Stone Brothers Racing 4 Australia Marcos Ambrose All Australia Greg Crick 9
Australia Wayne Wakefield 11
9 Australia David Besnard All Australia Matthew White 9, 11
Glenn Seton Racing 5 Australia Glenn Seton All New Zealand Steven Richards 9, 11
6 New Zealand Steven Richards 1–8, 10, 12–13
New Zealand Jim Richards 9, 11 Australia Dean Canto 9, 11
Larkham Motorsport 10 Australia Mark Larkham All Australia Wayne Gardner 9, 11
Dick Johnson Racing 17 Australia Steven Johnson All New Zealand Paul Radisich 9, 11
18 New Zealand Paul Radisich 1–8, 10, 12–13
Australia Greg Ritter 9, 11 Australia Paul Stokell 9
Australia Cameron McLean 11
Brad Jones Racing 21 Australia Brad Jones All United Kingdom John Cleland 9, 11
Steven Ellery Racing 31 Australia Steven Ellery All Australia Geoff Brabham 9, 11
Paragon Racing 40 Australia Cameron McLean 1–8, 10
Paul Weel Racing 43 Australia Paul Weel All Australia Tim Leahey 9, 11
RPM International Racing 45 Australia Dean Canto 1–4, 7–8
Australia Phillip Scifleet 9, 11 Australia Aaron McGill 9
Australia Christian D'Agostin 11
Paul Little Racing 75 Australia Anthony Tratt All Australia Alan Jones 9, 11
Briggs Motorsport 600 Australia John Bowe 1–11 New Zealand Simon Wills 9, 11
New Zealand Simon Wills 12–13
Holden Commodore VS Romano Racing 24 Australia Paul Romano 1, 3
Commodore VT McDougall Motorsport 16 Australia Dugal McDougall 2, 7
Team Kiwi Racing 021 New Zealand Jason Richards All New Zealand Angus Fogg 9, 11
Romano Racing 24 Australia Paul Romano 2, 4
Paul Morris Motorsport 29 Australia Paul Morris All United Kingdom Matt Neal 9
New Zealand Ashley Stichbury 11
John Faulkner Racing 46 New Zealand John Faulkner 2–3, 5–13 New Zealand Craig Baird 9
Australia Peter Doulman 11
Clive Wiseman Racing 50 Australia Tyler Mecklem 1–5, 7
Australia Mick Donaher 8–9, 11 Australia Layton Crambrook 9, 11
Australia Layton Crambrook 13
Commodore VX Holden Racing Team 1 Australia Mark Skaife All Australia Jason Bright 9
Australia Tony Longhurst 11
2 Australia Jason Bright 1–8, 10–13 Australia Tomas Mezera 9, 11
Australia Tony Longhurst 9
Lansvale Smash Repairs 3 Australia Cameron McConville All Australia Rick Bates 9, 11
Perkins Engineering 8 Australia Russell Ingall 1–8, 10, 12–13
Australia Adam Macrow 9, 11 Australia Luke Youlden 9, 11
11 Australia Larry Perkins All Australia Russell Ingall 9, 11
Imrie Motorsport 14 Australia Greg Ritter 1–2
Australia Tomas Mezera 3, 7–8, 12–13
Australia Christian D'Agostin 4
Australia Tony Ricciardello 6
Australia James Brock 9–11 Australia Steve Owen 9, 11
Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia (HRT) 15 Australia Todd Kelly All New Zealand Greg Murphy 9, 11
51 New Zealand Greg Murphy 1–8, 10, 12–13
Australia Rick Kelly 9, 11 Australia Nathan Pretty 9, 11
McDougall Motorsport 16 Australia Dugal McDougall 1, 3–5, 8–11, 13 Australia Andrew Miedecke 9, 11
Romano Racing 24 Australia Paul Romano 5–7, 9–13 Australia Owen Kelly 9, 11
Garry Rogers Motorsport 34 Australia Garth Tander All Australia Jason Bargwanna 9, 11
35 Australia Jason Bargwanna 1–8, 10, 12–13
Australia Paul Dumbrell 9, 11 Australia Leanne Ferrier 9, 11
John Faulkner Racing 46 New Zealand John Faulkner 1, 4
Rod Nash Racing 54 Australia Tony Longhurst All
Australia Rod Nash 9, 11 Australia Tony Ricciardello 9, 11
Part-time entries
Ford Falcon EL Emerzidis Motorsport 20 Australia Garry Holt 2, 9, 11 Australia Kevin Mundy 9, 11
Sieders Racing Team 56 Australia Luke Sieders 8
Falcon AU Terry Wyhoon Racing 25 Australia Terry Wyhoon 9, 11 Australia Rod Salmon 9, 11
Halliday Motorsport 61 Australia Ross Halliday 11 Australia Greg Crick 11
Harris Racing 88 Australia Craig Harris 9, 11 Australia Dale Brede 9
Australia Michael Simpson 11
Power Racing 500 Australia Alan Heath 2, 11 Australia Dale Brede 11
Prancing Horse Racing 888 Australia Mark Noske 11 New Zealand Craig Baird 11
Holden Commodore VS Lansvale Smash Repairs 23 Australia Trevor Ashby 1–3, 6
Australia Steve Reed 4–5, 11 Australia Trevor Ashby 11
Alan Taylor Racing 37 Australia Bill Attard 11 Australia Roger Hurd 11
MW Motorsport 76 Australia Matthew White 1–2, 4, 7, 13
V8 Racing 77 Australia Steve Williams 8
Miller Racing 84 Australia Daniel Miller 6
Ric Shaw Motorsport 90 Australia Ric Shaw 11 Australia Mike Conway 11
GM Motorsport 111 Australia Phonsy Mullan 7, 13
Commodore VT Tomas Mezera Motorsport 32 Australia Tomas Mezera 1–2
Melbourne's Cheapest Cars 48 Australia Eddie Abelnica 10
Doulman Automotive 52 Australia Peter Doulman 3, 8
Team Kiwi Racing 777 New Zealand Angus Fogg 2, 12
Commodore VX Paul Morris Motorsport 67 United Kingdom Matt Neal 8
Holden Young Lions (HRT) 255 Australia Rick Kelly 13

Season review

Race calendar

The 2001 Shell Championship Series consisted of 13 rounds which included 7 pit-stop rounds of two or three races, two sprint races, two 2-driver races and 2 1-driver endurance races.

Rd. Race Title
Circuit
City / State Date Winner Team and Car Report
1 Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit Phillip Island, Victoria 24–25 Mar Australia Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team
Holden VX Commodore
report
2 Clipsal 500,
Adelaide Street Circuit
Adelaide, South Australia 6–8 Apr Australia Jason Bright Holden Racing Team
Holden VX Commodore
report
3 Eastern Creek Raceway Sydney, New South Wales 28–29 Apr Australia Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team
Holden VX Commodore
report
4 Hidden Valley Raceway Darwin, Northern Territory 12–13 May Australia Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing
Ford AU Falcon
report
5 GMC 400,
Canberra Street Circuit
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 9–10 June Australia Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing
Ford AU Falcon
report
6 Barbagallo Raceway Perth, Western Australia 22–24 June New Zealand Paul Radisich Dick Johnson Racing
Ford AU Falcon
report
7 Calder Park Raceway Melbourne, Victoria 14–15 July Australia Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport
Holden VX Commodore
report
8 Oran Park Raceway Sydney, New South Wales 28–29 July Australia Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team
Holden VX Commodore
report
9 VIP Petfoods Queensland 500,
Queensland Raceway
Willowbank, Queensland 24–26 Aug New Zealand Paul Radisich
Australia Steven Johnson
Dick Johnson Racing
Ford AU Falcon
report
10 Winton Motor Raceway Benalla, Victoria 8–9 Sep Australia Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering
Holden VX Commodore
report
11 V8 Supercar 1000,
Mount Panorama Circuit
Bathurst, New South Wales 4–7 Oct Australia Mark Skaife
Australia Tony Longhurst
Holden Racing Team
Holden VX Commodore
report
12 Boost Mobile V8 International,
Pukekohe Park Raceway
Pukekohe, New Zealand 9–11 Nov New Zealand Greg Murphy K-mart Racing Team
Holden VX Commodore
report
13 Australian V8 Ultimate,
Sandown International Raceway
Melbourne, Victoria 1–2 Dec Australia Todd Kelly K-mart Racing Team
Holden VX Commodore
report

Points system

Championship points were awarded on the following basis:

Points format Position
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32nd
Qualifying 18 16 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7
Point system 1 90 80 72 66 62 58 54 50 48 46 44 42 40 38 36 34 32 30 28 26 24 22 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2
Point system 2 135 120 108 99 93 87 81 75 72 69 66 63 60 57 54 51 48 45 42 39 36 33 30 27 24 21 18 15 12 9 6 3
Point system 3 180 160 144 132 124 116 108 100 96 92 88 84 80 76 72 68 64 60 56 52 48 44 40 36 32 28 24 20 16 12 8 4
Point system 4 360 320 288 264 248 232 216 200 192 184 176 168 160 152 144 136 128 120 112 104 96 88 80 72 64 56 48 40 32 24 16 8
Point system 5 540 480 432 396 372 348 324 300 288 276 264 252 240 228 216 204 192 180 168 156 144 132 120 108 96 84 72 60 48 36 24 12

Qualifying points were issued for the first race of each weekend only. Drivers did not need to finish races to score points, provided they took the start.

  • Point system 1: Used for Hidden Valley, Canberra races 1 and 2, Barbagallo, Calder Park, Pukekohe and Sandown.
  • Point system 2: Used for Phillip Island, Eastern Creek, Oran Park and Winton.
  • Point system 3: Used for Adelaide race 1 and Canberra race 3.
  • Point system 4: Used for Adelaide race 2 and the Queensland 500.
  • Point system 5: Used for the Bathurst 1000.

Results and standings

Drivers championship

Pos Driver Penalty PHI ADE ECK DAR CAN PER CAL OPK IPS WIN BAT PUK SAN Pts
1 Australia Mark Skaife 30 288 340 262 218 282 252 108 286 264 228 552 240 188 3478
2 Australia Russell Ingall 156 464 93 176 190 189 228 179 333 273 314 125 155 2875
3 Australia Jason Bright 80 235 468 237 222 214 157 200 199 264 205 133 181 184 2819
4 New Zealand Greg Murphy 201 210 213 211 77 209 127 75 288 231 432 288 162 2724
5 Australia Steven Johnson 153 455 108 72 294 176 230 204 370 161 59 164 92 2532
6 Australia Todd Kelly 163 334 136 106 119 174 47 187 288 90 432 155 248 2479
7 New Zealand Paul Radisich 133 65 201 58 232 288 208 120 370 161 59 110 104 2109
8 Australia Marcos Ambrose 200 243 165 232 146 82 194 66 82 201 30 232 213 2086
9 Australia Steven Ellery 132 220 54 118 187 104 156 126 232 148 333 126 137 2073
10 Australia Garth Tander 104 238 108 84 288 108 150 146 144 109 356 142 70 2047
11 Australia Craig Lowndes 238 213 172 32 180 188 123 219 16 51 192 125 242 1991
12 New Zealand Steven Richards 191 284 77 172 205 134 148 105 33 105 304 50 104 1912
13 Australia Tony Longhurst 57 256 108 62 36 102 80 102 262 29 552 168 80 1894
14 Australia Larry Perkins 93 264 72 156 134 49 86 54 333 66 314 132 103 1856
15 Australia Jason Bargwanna 105 248 62 134 136 88 64 90 144 126 356 124 144 1821
16 Australia Glenn Seton 150 304 142 132 172 94 78 120 33 75 304 94 102 1800
17 Australia Paul Morris 66 76 141 72 166 68 274 99 195 184 252 22 86 1701
18 Australia Brad Jones 81 84 144 104 94 64 70 123 40 54 480 72 132 1542
19 Australia Mark Larkham 54 160 69 165 178 50 127 51 143 87 84 96 62 1326
20 Australia Paul Weel 78 32 105 102 112 102 76 81 216 93 132 100 78 1307
21 Australia Cameron McConville 54 Ret 75 96 122 134 134 163 112 21 276 48 40 1275
22 Australia John Bowe 54 108 209 59 232 120 76 84 108 102 118 1270
23 Australia David Besnard 57 4 45 177 64 58 102 242 96 84 60 52 112 1153
24 New Zealand Jason Richards DNQ 136 DNQ 68 110 64 42 75 160 69 204 108 110 1146
25 Australia Cameron McLean 108 Ret 144 132 20 114 52 57 Ret 105 396 1128
26 Australia Anthony Tratt 9 180 60 44 96 52 50 DNPQ 128 114 216 72 44 1065
27 Australia Paul Romano 30 104 27 68 100 30 36 192 72 240 60 10 969
28 Australia Tomas Mezera 48 176 DNQ 50 57 262 133 94 78 898
29 Australia Rodney Forbes 66 Ret DNS 68 142 70 78 69 Ret 30 144 116 70 853
30 New Zealand John Faulkner 51 252 42 34 52 48 DNQ 48 56 63 Ret 70 94 810
31 Australia Dugal McDougall 54 88 108 42 22 32 DNPQ 176 57 156 46 781
32 Australia Dean Canto DNQ 92 42 DNQ 30 DNPQ 200 379 743
33 Australia Trevor Ashby 51 208 33 74 264 630
34 Australia Greg Ritter DNQ 128 72 396 596
35 New Zealand Jim Richards 200 379 579
36 Australia Geoff Brabham 232 333 565
37 United Kingdom John Cleland 40 480 520
38 New Zealand Angus Fogg 52 160 204 48 464
39 Australia Owen Kelly 192 240 432
40 Australia Steve Reed 50 116 264 430
41 New Zealand Simon Wills 108 118 76 114 416
42 Australia Rick Bates 112 276 388
43 Australia Tim Leahey 216 132 348
44 Australia Alan Jones 128 216 344
45 Australia Tyler Mecklem DNQ 180 12 32 112 DNQ 336
46 Australia Andrew Miedecke 176 156 332
47 Australia Rick Kelly Ret 228 80 308
48 Australia Matthew White 51 24 DNQ 38 96 60 16 285
49 New Zealand Ashley Stichbury 252 252
50 Australia Alan Heath 56 180 236
51 Australia Dale Brede 48 180 228
Australia Nathan Pretty 228
53 Australia Wayne Gardner 143 84 227
54 Australia Neil Crompton 16 192 208
55 Australia Phillip Scifleet 32 168 200
56 United Kingdom Matt Neal DNS 195 195
57 Australia Tony Ricciardello 24 120 32 180
58 Australia James Brock 104 66 Ret 170
59 Australia Christian D'Agostin DNQ 168 168
Australia Paul Dumbrell 168 Ret
Australia Leanne Ferrier 168 Ret
62 Australia Michael Donaher 15 152 Ret 167
63 Australia Adam Macrow 88 72 160
Australia Luke Youlden 88 72
65 Australia Rod Nash 120 36 156
66 Australia Layton Crambrook 152 Ret DNQ 152
67 Australia Craig Harris 48 96 144
Australia David Parsons Ret 144
69 Australia Ross Halliday 116 Ret 116
70 Australia Steve Owen 104 Ret 104
71 Australia Michael Simpson 96 96
72 Australia Gary Holt 48 45 Ret 93
73 Australia Greg Crick 82 Ret 82
74 Australia Paul Stokell 72 72
75 Australia Eddie Abelnica 57 57
76 New Zealand Craig Baird 56 Ret 56
77 Australia Peter Doulman 48 DNPQ Ret 48
78 Australia Daniel Miller 42 42
79 Australia Rod Salmon 16 24 40
Australia Terry Wyhoon 16 24
81 Australia Aaron McGill 32 32
82 Australia Wayne Wakefield 30 30
Pos Driver Penalty PHI ADE ECK DAR CAN PER CAL OPK IPS WIN BAT PUK SAN Pts
ColourResult
GoldWinner
SilverSecond place
BronzeThird place
GreenPoints finish
BlueNon-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
PurpleRetired (Ret)
RedDid not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
BlackDisqualified (DSQ)
WhiteDid not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)

Phillip Island, Victoria

Mark Skaife get off to the best start possible as he collects the maximum number of points at Phillip Island with Craig Lowndes second on his debut for Ford thanks to the fastest pit stops over the weekend by his pit crew. Jason Bright comes third on his comeback to the sport.

Adelaide, South Australia

At the next round at Adelaide, Bright wins the round and the double points race after coming from the back of the field after an accident on lap 1, leaving him at the top of the championship. Mark Skaife has a shocker as he came fourth after being spun by Paul Radisich in Race 1 and has another spin in Race 2 leaving him ninth. Craig Lowndes won the Saturday race but tangled with Skaife in Race 2 leaving his car disabled and left him falling behind in the championship. Paul Radisich had the fastest car on the weekend but an axle broke in race 1 and steering damage left him wounded in the championship. Russell Ingall has a good weekend with a third and a second place. There was big controversy over the race officials as rule breaking went unpunished. They were being watched at Eastern Creek.

Eastern Creek, New South Wales

Craig Lowndes and Marcos Ambrose came first and second in the first race but got penalised because of incidents. Craig passed under a Yellow Flag that he could not see and Marcos made an illegal pass on Greg Murphy. This left Greg Murphy 1st on the grid for Race 2 and Mark Skaife second who started tenth in race 1 after he spun in the shootout. Greg Murphy lost his lead to Skaife after he was given a stop-go penalty for jumping the start, but there was more controversy after he didn't come to a complete stop. He got away with it but the rules were changed for the next round. Mark Skaife duly took out the race and round with teammate Jason Bright second but still leading the championship. Greg Murphy came third for the round even with the penalty.

Hidden Valley, Northern Territory

The next round at Hidden Valley turned out to be the car breaker of the year, with Greg Murphy and Russell Ingall having mechanical problems while leading within sight of the flag in Race 3 and 2 respectively. Mark Skaife had a stop-go penalty for jumping the start in Race 1 which left him 12th but still recovered to win Race 3 and come third in the round. Jason Bright had another solid weekend coming second and extending his championship lead over his teammate. But it was Marcos Ambrose who kept his nose clean over the weekend to take the round win in only his fourth championship round.

Canberra, ACT

The GMC 400 was the turning point of the season for Mark Skaife as he came third on the weekend and overtook teammate Jason Bright, who had a difficult weekend. The DJR cars were the cars to have earlier in the weekend as Paul Radisich and Steven Johnson finished 1–2 in qualifying but Radisich spun out in his shootout lap, leaving him 15th and Steven Johnson claiming his first pole position in the series. New for the championship were the pit lane speed limiters restricted to 40 km/h and only one pit bay per team. Steven Johnson wins the first race from Craig Lowndes who was advantaged bt a clear pit lane. Mark Skaife finished 3rd after starting 5th. Marcos Ambrose retires from the race with a broken driveshaft and will start from the back of the grid. The 2nd race is a reverse grid with Steve Reed and Steven Richards starting on the front row. Steven Richards wins from Marcos Ambrose who has a brilliant race which he started from the back but in race 3 he will have to start from the back again. Mark Skaife has a difficult race when he ran into the back of Rodney Forbes in a concertina effect and finished 24th and will start 10th in race 3. The race 3 grid is decided by an aggregate of points accumulated in race 1 and 2 which means that the front row is Craig Lowndes and Paul Radisich. Mark Skaife wins the race with Garth Tander second and Steve Johnson 3rd. Craig Lowndes was leading until a safety car came out with a pit stop still to go. He eventually retired with fuel pressure problems. Steve Johnson won the round with Garth Tander second and Mark Skaife 3rd.

Barbagallo, Western Australia

Paul Radisich dominates the weekend as he wins the shootout and Race 1,2 and 3. Mark Skaife consolidates his championship lead with 2nd in all 3 races with Greg Murphy 3rd on the weekend. Russell Ingall saw his chance of a podium dashed when he jumped the start in Race 3 and finished 4th overall.

Calder Park, Victoria

Paul Morris won his first ever V8 Supercar event as the Big Kev Racer was on the pace from the start of the weekend. Mark Skaife started on Pole but a poor start left him vulnerable to Steven Johnson, who he tapped to give him the lead, but he was issued with a stop-go penalty giving Johnson the lead he never relinquished. Paul Morris came 2nd and Marcos Ambrose 3rd. Paul Morris reverted to blocking in the final 2 races to win both, Russell Ingall finished 2nd in race 2 with Jason Bright 3rd and in race 3, Paul Radisich finished 2nd with Russell Ingall 3rd. Overall for the weekend, Steven Johnson finished 2nd with Russell Ingall 3rd. Mark Skaife finished 14th overall after a spin in race 3.

Oran Park, New South Wales

Mark Skaife comes back from a difficult Calder with a win in both races after starting 2nd. Craig Lowndes claims the pole, but finished 2nd in race 1 and 8th in race 2 after a spin by Garth Tander but still finishes 3rd overall. David Besnard has a fantastic round as he finishes 3rd and 2nd for a 2nd overall as teammate Marcos Ambrose struggles to get to grips with the track.

Queensland 500, Queensland

The 1st 2 driver Enduro threw up plenty of thrills and spills and a dramatic ending. The heavens opened causing a huge thunderstorm as Steven Johnson and Paul Radisich won the race in the gravel trap but was lucky as the red flag came out, putting the result to the previous lap. Russell Ingall and Larry Perkins finish 2nd and Todd Kelly and Greg Murphy 3rd. Mark Skaife and Jason Bright finish 4th even though they had oil on the screen for some of the race.

Winton, Victoria

Russell Ingall put his championship fight another step further as he takes his first round win of the season and also claims his first pole position of his career. Greg Murphy wins Race 1 but a slow pit-stop in Race 2 puts him 6th but still finished 2nd overall for the weekend. Mark Skaife finished 3rd overall for the weekend after starting 15th after a horror qualifying. Marcos Ambrose was the fastest ford over the weekend as he passed car after car after he ran off-road on the first corner.

V8 Supercar 1000, Bathurst, New South Wales

Mark Skaife put one hand on the championship after his win at Bathurst with Tony Longhurst. the drive of the day went to Brad Jones and John Cleland who started 21st and finished 2nd even despite radio dramas that meant that Cleland didn't come in under safety car. They lost out by a couple of seconds. Todd Kelly and Greg Murphy finished 3rd after running in the top 3 all day. They could have won if Todd didn't spin on a slippy track coming into the last pitstop at the chase. Russell Ingall overtook Jason Bright into 2nd place of the championship when Jason didn't finish with Tomas Mezera. Russell and Larry Perkins led coming into the final pitstop but Larry crashed when coming into the pit lane; damaging the front spoiler. They eventually finished 8th. Pole position man Marcos Ambrose went back though the field until he over cooked it coming into pit land at the first pit stop and got stuck in the gravel. He eventually retired. Greg Ritter and Cameron McLean finished 4th after a great race with a fast car. Paul Radisich and Steven Johnson retired with an engine failure during a safety car.

Boost Mobile V8 International, Pukekohe, New Zealand

In the first ever overseas event for the series, Greg Murphy collected maximum points on home turf. Mark Skaife collects the championship in the first race when he finished ahead of Russell Ingall who had a number of problems with the gearbox. Marcos Ambrose finished 3rd but didn't have the pace of the leading Holdens.

Sandown, Victoria

Todd Kelly wins his first ever championship round after a win in race 2 and other consistent race results. Mark Skaife wins the first race in dry conditions, but struggled in the wet conditions and eventually retired from race 3 after contact with Steven Richards. Craig Lowndes won the 3rd race from Marcos Ambrose.

Overall

Mark Skaife wins the series for the 4th time ahead of Russell Ingall. Jason Bright comes 3rd ahead of Greg Murphy. The first Ford driver is Steven Johnson. Todd Kelly comes 6th after his strong final round ahead of Paul Radisich who had some strong rounds. Marcos Ambrose collected the rookie of the year award after coming 8th but would regret the endurance races where he only collected 112 pts. Steve Ellery is the first driver from a single car team, placing 9th and Garth Tander eventually finishes 10th after a tough year. Craig Lowndes is 11th in his first year for Ford.

References

  1. Australian Titles Retrieved from www.camsmanual.com.au. Archived 14 May 2009.
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