WHINCUP WINS RACE 1 SUPERLOOP ADELAIDE 500

Jamie Whincup swept aside talks of a possible retirement with a comprehensive win in the opening race of the 2020 season at the Superloop Adelaide 500.

Whincup, who had recently signed up until the send of the 2021 season, had qualified ninth for the Armor All Top 10 Shootout, but swept all before him to take pole position for first race. He then made a perfect start to head David Reynolds and Cameron Waters into the Senna Chicane and pulled out a handy lead as the pack settled down for the 78 lap race.

Garry Jacobson was an early retirement after contact with the turn 8 wall on lap 5, while James Courtney’s race ended in a plume of smoke after he also made contact with the turn 8 wall left the new Team Sydney Commodore with damage to the left side of the car.

“I just came up behind Heimgartner I think it was in the Mustang and just had crazy aero push,” Courtney said. “I slowed up a lot thinking it was going to come but just nothing, it didn’t turn. It’s disappointing, it’s my bad so I feel sorry for all the boys that have put in crazy hours.”Nick Percat and Bryce Fullwood also spent time in their garages for repairs but were able to complete the race 13 and 5 laps in arrears respectively. Percat’s problem was found to be a steering rack that had shifted during the opening lap of the race.”

Nick Percat was another to encounter trouble after an issue with the steering rack in his BJR Commodore led to a loss of 18 laps while the problem was repaired.

“On the warm-up lap when I was warming the tyre left to right, the whole rack shifted,” Percat said. “Because I’m mental, I decided to try and start the race and just survived. I thought it was just a power-steering failure turning one direction; obviously the rack was falling out. At the start I just aborted ship because I couldn’t get through the staircase. I was getting pushed and shoved, and that’s why I went down the escape road and just cruised back.”

The race ran under green conditions throughout the 78 laps and pit stop strategy were therefore unaffected by a Safety Car intervention. Scott McLaughlin made an early first stop as he struggled to move forward from an unaccustomed seventh on the grid. The strategy placed the Shell V-Power Mustang into the lead for the middle stanza of the race and then second after the final round of pitstops.  Whincup’s last stop saw him regain the lead with a comfortable margin which he maintained to the end from McLaughlin. Shane van Gisbergen looked certain to mount a late challenge for second but could not quite breach the gap to McLaughlin.

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David Reynolds had been in the mix during the early stages of the race only to fall away from the #97 Red Bull Holden Racing Team Commodore to finish a lonely fourth, while Will Davison came out on top of a race long feud with Cameron Waters and Chaz Mostert for fifth. Mostert had tried unsuccessfully to find a way around the Milwaukee Mustang and at one stage rubbed panels with Davison down the main straight.

Davison gained some breathing space after a lunge from Mostert at turn four, saw the new WAU recruit run slightly wide and was then almost turned around by ex-teammate Cameron Waters in the Monster Energy Mustang. Waters and Mostert eventually exchanged places during their final pitstops.

Mark Winterbottom, Fabian Coulthard and Rick Kelly completed the top 10 in a race that laster just over 1hr47min.

“I had a rocket today,” Whincup said. “The car was excellent, we made the most of pole position.These boys [Shell V-Power Racing] are fast, but obviously we had track position, we were up the road a little bit. I’ve got to dedicate this one to Holden; it’s been a bloody tough week for everyone involved and great to get a win. We got smoked by the other brand here last year, so it’s nice to bounce back.”

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