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Ford Frontlines Clipsal V8 Opener

Staff, Monday February 25, 2008.

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The Blue Oval burst onto the 2008 V8 Supercar scene with a vengeance today in Adelaide, Jamie Whincup gracing the top step of the podium and claiming the maximum 300 points by taking out both legs of the Clipsal 500 opener.

Whincup took to the streets in the #88 TeamVodafone Falcon and made moves to rectify his 2007 Championship placing of second with a faultless performance that translated pole position into first across the line in the two 250 kilometre stints.

Jamie Whincup Winner 2008 V8 Supercar Clipsal 500

Ford frontlined the weekend, dominating Friday’s qualifying and Saturday’s leg one with seven Falcon’s in the top ten and an initial podium of Whincup joined by Mark Winterbottom and Craig Lowndes respectively.

Today’s 78 laps on the 3.22 kilometre circuit were dramatically littered with seven safety cars, and 25-year-old Whincup avoided mayhem which saw additional Ford frontrunners James Courtney, Lowndes and Winterbottom taken out.

The final third of leg two saw #4 Jeld-Wen Falcon driver Courtney and #888 TeamVodafone driver Lowndes tangle, and Winterbottom’s #5 Falcon was unfortunately implicated in the rigmarole that awarded all three Ford guns a DNF result.

“What a fantastic start to the year, we’re always strong here at Clipsal and it was a matter of capitalising on that,” said Jamie Whincup.

“On the whole we were disappointed with the Championship outcome last year, so what we had to do was work harder, make sure we did our homework and come back bigger and better in 2008.”

“There’s some great competition out there among the other Fords particularly, I had Mark Winterbottom pushing me hard from behind and also James Courtney, there was never a dull moment.”

“We made some general tweaks to the car overnight and what resulted was a fantastic #88 Falcon – great turn, great rear grip, just a great drive overall.”

“This is the kind of thing you dream of as a kid . .”

“This is the kind of thing you dream of as a kid, to come to an event such as Clipsal and dominate, it’s just an amazing feeling.”

“We know where we went wrong last year and at the end of the day, we now have a better team and a better and faster car – two very important ingredients to go one better this year.”

Ford’s crop of Falcons started the V8 Supercar season strongly displaying pace from the outset, however due to circumstance didn’t deliver a solid top ten showing in the weekend’s final results.

“We did all our homework in the off season, all our Ford teams were prepared and we surely showed that on track this weekend with our speed and presence in the top ten,” said Ford Racing Manager, Ray Price.

“We held the top three qualifying positions and only three of our rivals made it into the ten for that session, and for the entire first 250 kilometre leg.”

“The front row of the grid was Blue Oval all the way – Jamie Whincup and TeamVodafone did a sensational job to make the success stick for a winning finish.”

“To say seeing James Courtney, Craig Lowndes and Mark Winterbottom lose their hold on a top four Ford finish was disappointing is an understatement to say the least.”

“Every one of those drivers, their V8 Supercars and the teams behind them deserved to finish as they started – on top.”

A record crowd of 291,400 attended the 10th anniversary of the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide across four days.

Ford’s talented line-up of V8 Supercar drivers will hit the track again for round two of the 2008 V8 Supercar Championship series at Eastern Creek in Sydney (7-9 March).

CLIPSAL 500 TOP TEN

1. #88 Jamie Whincup, TeamVodafone, Ford
2. #33 Lee Holdsworth, Valvoline Cummins, Holden
3. #14 Team WOW, Cameron McConville, Holden
4. #7 Todd Kelly, Jack Daniels Racing, Holden
5. #9 Shane Van Gisburgen, SP Tools Racing, Ford
6. #15 Rick Kelly, HSV Dealer Team, Holden
7. #51 Greg Murphy, Tasman Motorsport, Holden
8. #3 Jason Richards, Tasman Motorsport, Holden
9. #17 Steven Johnson, Jim Beam Racing, Ford
10. #25 Jason Bright, Fujitsu Racing, Ford

2008 V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP TOP TEN

1. #88 Jamie Whincup, TeamVodafone, Ford – 300 pts
2. #33 Lee Holdsworth, Valvoline Cummins, Holden – 258 pts
3. #15 Rick Kelly, HSV Dealer Team, Holden – 192 pts
4. #17 Steven Johnson, Jim Beam Racing, Ford – 186 pts
5. #7 Todd Kelly, Jack Daniels Racing, Holden – 180 pts
6. #9 Shane Van Gisburgen, SP Tools Racing, Ford – 180 pts
7. #51 Greg Murphy, Tasman Motorsport, Holden – 174 pts
8. #6 Steven Richards, Ford Performance Racing – 171 pts
9. #3 Jason Richards, Tasman Motorsport, Holden – 156 pts
10. #2 Mark Skaife, Toll HRT, Holden – 138 pts = #5 Mark Winterbottom, Ford Performance Racing – Ford 138 pts

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