In a weekend where luck reigned supreme in V8 Supercars, Holden’s Rick Kelly claimed a come-from-almost-last to victory at the Hidden Valley Raceway V8 Supercars race.
The irony of the race was Mark Winterbottom in his Ford who led for 36 of the race’s 42 laps before he, Jamie Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen became victims of a safety-car intervention four laps from the end of the race. The bump and spin incident at the end of the main straight saw Winterbottom, Vodafone’s Jamie Whincup and then third-placed Shane van Gisbergen come off the track on turn one and all lost any serious opportunity of winning the race Rick Kelly who qualified 12th on the grid and was 15th before the safety car came out for the last time, took the lead as the leading bunch spun out. Kelly’s Jack Daniels Holden took off finishing almost three seconds ahead of the Jim Beam Ford of Steven Johnson, with Holden Vodafone’s Craig Lowndes third.
Defending series champion and Toll HRT driver, James Courtney’s run of bad luck continued as he pitted on the fifth lap after a front end collision. Jason Bright also ran out of luck when his car collided with the David Reynolds entry and took no further part in proceedings. On Sunday, young New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen held out Vodafone’s Craig Lowndes to win the second and final V8 Supercar race in Darwin.
In almost a repeat of fortunes from Saturday’s incident, series leader Jamie Whincup looked home and hosed with just 10 laps left before he was overwhelmed at a re-start after a second safety car call-out. At the re-start Whincup was left floundering by five cars with the faster soft compound tyres with van Gisbergen’s Falcon leading the way, hotly pursued by the second Vodafone driver Craig Lowndes and Ford’s Mark Winterbottom – who had earlier claimed pole and had to settle for third spot in Sunday’s 69-lap race.