The 2007 Clipsal 500 was the first race of the 2007 V8 Supercar season. It was held on the weekend of 1 to 4 March around the inner streets of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. The Adelaide 500 is a unique event where the round results are determined by the results from the 2nd race, rather that the driver with the most points from the weekend. This means, as was the case in the 2007 round, that the winner of the round doesn't necessarily lead the championship after the event.

South Australia 2007 Clipsal 500
Event Information
Round 1 of 14 in the 2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series
Date1–4 March 2007
LocationAdelaide, South Australia
VenueAdelaide Street Circuit
WeatherFine
Results
Race 1
Distance 78 laps 250 km
Pole position James Courtney
Stone Brothers Racing
1:22.3584
Winner Todd Kelly
Holden Racing Team
1:50:40.5932
Race 2
Distance 78 laps 250 km
Winner Rick Kelly
HSV Dealer Team
1:58:54.1927
Round Results
First 58 pts
Second 66 pts
Third 55 pts

Qualifying

edit

The event was the first run under the new 2007 qualifying rules, in which the one-hour session is split into three 'knock out' parts. The first major eliminations occurred in the second part when Mark Skaife and defending champion Rick Kelly were eliminated. The front row of the grid for the first race was an all Ford row, with James Courtney from Stone Brothers Racing taking pole and Team Vodafone's Jamie Whincup taking second.

Race 1

edit

Race 1 was held on Saturday 3 March 2007. The race began with Cameron McConville spinning at the Senna Chicane on the first lap after colliding with Andrew Jones. Team BOC also had problems with Brad Jones losing his front left wheel and brake assembly on lap 11.

John Bowe had a bad start to the year with his new team after running wide at the end of the main straight and clipping the tyre barrier. This destroyed the front right suspension on the car causing his retirement on lap 16.

On lap 48, Craig Lowndes was given a drive through penalty for contact with Max Wilson at turn 4. The remainder of the race was uneventful, with Todd Kelly winning the race from James Courtney and Jamie Whincup in third.

Race 2

edit
 
Rick Kelly celebrates his win in Race 2.

Race 2 was run on Sunday 4 March. The race began with James Courtney having another bad start and dropping from 2nd to 10th after the first lap. Alan Gurr from Irwin Racing and Lee Holdsworth from Garry Rogers Motorsport collided at turn 5 on the first lap causing Gurr to retire from the race and Steve Owen from Autobarn Racing hit the concrete wall on the outside of turn 8 causing his retirement from the race. These incidents cause the first safety car of the weekend.

Following from the restart, Jack Perkins had engine problems, stalling at turn 11 and being hit by Paul Dumbrell causing his retirement and a penalty to Dumbrell which caused the second safety car on lap 8. After the pit lane opened for the compulsory stops, a collision occurred between Todd Kelly and Garth Tander causing Tander to be given a drive through penalty.

The remainder of the race was relatively incident free, with only minor collisions between drivers, until lap 64 when Jason Bargwanna stopped on the track with an electrical problem causing the safety car to be deployed for the third time. This bunched the field up, causing an 18 lap sprint to the finish with Todd Kelly leading from his brother Rick. On lap 68, Todd Kelly made a small mistake in turn 7 allowing Rick past and into the lead. This is how the race finished with Rick Kelly winning, from Todd Kelly and James Courtney in third.[1]

Results

edit

Qualifying

edit
Pos No Name Team Part 3 Part 2 Part 1
1 4 James Courtney Stone Brothers Racing 1:22.3584
2 88 Jamie Whincup Team Vodafone 1:22.4712
3 16 Garth Tander Toll HSV Dealer Team 1:22.5496
4 5 Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing 1:22.5900
5 3 Jason Richards Tasman Motorsport 1:22.6406
6 888 Craig Lowndes Team Vodafone 1:22.6513
7 22 Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team 1:22.6850
8 9 Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing 1:22.6960
9 17 Steven Johnson Jim Beam Racing 1:22.7326
10 33 Lee Holdsworth Garry Rogers Motorsport 1:23.3118
11 51 Greg Murphy Tasman Motorsport 1:22.9274
12 25 Jason Bright Fujitsu Racing 1:22.9992
13 18 Will Davison Jim Beam Racing 1:23.0449
14 34 Dean Canto Garry Rogers Motorsport 1:23.0614
15 1 Rick Kelly Toll HSV Dealer Team 1:23.0704
16 6 Steven Richards Ford Performance Racing 1:23.0722
17 2 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 1:23.1464
18 12 Andrew Jones Team BOC 1:23.2983
19 10 Jason Bargwanna WPS Racing 1:23.5071
20 20 Paul Dumbrell Supercheap Auto Racing 1:24.5840
21 111 John Bowe Glenfords Racing 1:23.6123
22 67 Paul Morris Team Sirromet Wines 1:23.6507
23 8 Max Wilson WPS Racing 1:23.6656
24 50 Cameron McConville Supercheap Auto Racing 1:23.7515
25 39 Fabian Coulthard Team Sirromet Wines 1:23.8029
26 11 Jack Perkins Jack Daniel's Racing 1:23.8635
27 26 Alan Gurr Irwin Racing 1:23.8805
28 14 Brad Jones Team BOC 1:23.9948
29 55 Steve Owen Autobarn Racing 1:24.0337
30 021 Adam Macrow Team Kiwi Racing 1:24.1811
31 7 Shane Price Jack Daniel's Racing 1:24.2683

Race 1 results

edit
 
Todd Kelly won Race 1 driving this Holden Commodore VE for the Holden Racing Team. The car is pictured in 2018 in its 2007 livery.
Pos No Name Team Laps Time/retired Grid Points
1 22 Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team 78 1:50:40.5932 7 36
2 4 James Courtney Stone Brothers Racing 78 +2.0866s 1 30
3 88 Jamie Whincup Team Vodafone 78 +5.1419s 2 25
4 1 Rick Kelly Toll HSV Dealer Team 78 +6.2894s 15 22
5 5 Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing 78 +10.7104s 4 20
6 16 Garth Tander Toll HSV Dealer Team 78 +21.3901s 3 18
7 51 Greg Murphy Tasman Motorsport 78 +23.0064s 11 16
8 9 Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing 78 +24.4351s 8 15
9 17 Steven Johnson Jim Beam Racing 78 +32.5534s 9 13
10 25 Jason Bright Fujitsu Racing 78 +45.4739s 12 12
11 6 Steven Richards Ford Performance Racing 78 +45.9113s 16 9
12 34 Dean Canto Garry Rogers Motorsport 78 +48.9062s 14 8
13 888 Craig Lowndes Team Vodafone 78 +54.5926s 6 6
14 2 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 78 +1:11.9764 14 5
15 10 Jason Bargwanna WPS Racing 78 +1:23.4519 19 3
16 55 Steve Owen Autobarn Racing 78 +1:24.6021 29
17 8 Max Wilson WPS Racing 77 +1 lap 23
18 021 Adam Macrow Team Kiwi Racing 77 +1 lap 30
19 11 Jack Perkins Jack Daniel's Racing 76 +2 laps 26
20 3 Jason Richards Tasman Motorsport 76 +2 laps 5
21 50 Cameron McConville Supercheap Auto Racing 76 +2 laps 24
22 7 Shane Price Jack Daniel's Racing 76 +2 laps 31
23 26 Alan Gurr Irwin Racing 75 +3 laps 27
24 33 Lee Holdsworth Garry Rogers Motorsport 74 +4 laps 10
25 12 Andrew Jones Team BOC 73 +5 laps 18
DNF 14 Brad Jones Team BOC 48 28
DNF 20 Paul Dumbrell Supercheap Auto Racing 47 Leg Injury 20
DNF 18 Will Davison Jim Beam Racing 38 Back Injury 13
DNF 67 Paul Morris Team Sirromet Wines 31 Differential 22
DNF 111 John Bowe Glenfords Racing 16 Accident 21
DNF 39 Fabian Coulthard Team Sirromet Wines 6 Engine 25

Race 2 results

edit
Pos No Name Team Laps Time/retired Grid Points
1 1 Rick Kelly Toll HSV Dealer Team 78 1:58:54.1927 4 36
2 22 Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team 78 +1.6999s 1 30
3 4 James Courtney Stone Brothers Racing 78 +2.4679s 2 25
4 9 Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing 78 +3.0474s 8 22
5 88 Jamie Whincup Team Vodafone 78 +4.4703s 3 20
6 17 Steven Johnson Jim Beam Racing 78 +4.9403s 9 18
7 2 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 78 +7.073s 14 16
8 6 Steven Richards Ford Performance Racing 78 +10.9717s 11 15
9 18 Will Davison Jim Beam Racing 78 +11.3406s 28 13
10 16 Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport 78 +13.7830s 6 12
11 888 Craig Lowndes Team Vodafone 78 +16.5711s 13 9
12 33 Lee Holdsworth Garry Rogers Motorsport 78 +17.3304s 24 8
13 3 Jason Richards Tasman Motorsport 78 +18.4501s 20 6
14 25 Jason Bright Fujitsu Racing 78 +18.8600s 10 5
15 50 Cameron McConville Supercheap Auto Racing 78 +19.5782s 21 3
16 021 Adam Macrow Team Kiwi Racing 78 +20.0654s 18
17 67 Paul Morris Team Sirromet Wines 78 +20.5702s 29
18 34 Dean Canto Garry Rogers Motorsport 78 +27.9496s 12
19 39 Fabian Coulthard Team Sirromet Wines 77 +1 lap 31
20 20 Paul Dumbrell Supercheap Auto Racing 77 +1 lap 27
21 14 Brad Jones Team BOC 76 +2 laps 26
22 7 Shane Price Jack Daniel's Racing 75 +3 laps 22
DNF 8 Max Wilson WPS Racing 67 Steering 17
DNF 51 Greg Murphy Tasman Motorsport 59 Engine 7
DNF 12 Andrew Jones Team BOC 57 Back Injury 25
DNF 111 John Bowe Glenfords Racing 44 Suspension 30
DNF 10 Jason Bargwanna WPS Racing 44 Fuel Pickup 15
DNF 5 Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing 42 Engine 5
DNF 11 Jack Perkins Jack Daniel's Racing 8 Engine/Crash 19
DNF 26 Alan Gurr Irwin Racing Accident 23
DNF 55 Steve Owen Autobarn Racing Accident 16

In-Car Camera Coverage

edit

The six cars with in-car cameras at the first round were Mark Skaife, Craig Lowndes, James Courtney, Max Wilson, Cameron McConville and Rick Kelly. On Sunday Jason Bright also carried cameras.

Standings

edit

After Round 1 of 13

Pos No Name Team Points
1 22 Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team 66
2 1 Rick Kelly Toll HSV Dealer Team 58
3 4 James Courtney Stone Brothers Racing 55
4 88 Jamie Whincup Team Vodafone 45
5 9 Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing 37

References

edit
  1. ^ "Champ Kelly out of the blocks with a big win". www.v8supercar.com.au. 4 March 2007. Archived from the original on 4 September 2007. Retrieved 5 March 2007.
edit
Supercars Championship
Previous race:
2006 Grand Finale
2007 Supercars Championship Next race:
2007 BigPond 400
Previous year:
2006 Clipsal 500
Clipsal 500 Next year:
2008 Clipsal 500