Holden may have fought through a mixture of problems to claim third and fourth place in race two of the V8 Supercar Series opener, but the Clipsal 500 was all about Marcos Ambrose and Ford.
Current champion Ambrose was simply too good as he repeated the beating he had handed out to the field on Saturday, thrilling the record 255,600 crowd, but HRT's Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly won Holden hearts as they brought their cars back through the field, with Skaife finishing third in the race and Kelly third overall.
Betta Electrical's Craig Lowndes again finished on the podium, a remarkable feat for the Triple Eight Ford driver, who found himself at the back of the field after being turned around on the very first lap at the chicane.
From the start of the race, under blue skies in Adelaide, Ambrose was in a class of his own. Whilst team-mate Russell Ingall talked up putting himself into the lead when interviewed on the grid, the reality for the former Adelaide resident was a poor start, which allowed Steven Johnson to get ahead of him.
Whilst Ingall soon retook the place, it allowed Ambrose a real gift – as if he needed it – with the only driver likely to be able to challenge him at the start having having to work his way past the Westpoint Racing DJR Falcon. Whilst Ingall’s pass of the DJR car didn’t take long, Ambrose was very happy with the gift all the same.
Behind this, the issue at the Adelaide street course for those without the gift of a clear track was always going to be dealing with the traffic, and at the same time avoiding the walls.
The two other drivers to join the reigning champ on the podium at race end achieved this remarkably. Both Skaife – through his DNF in race one – and Lowndes through his enforced 180 degree turn, found themselves at the back of the field but worked their way patiently through the 33 car strong grid to the podium. Had Skaife and Lowndes started, and stayed, at the front it’s unlikely the NASCAR aimed Ambrose would have had it quite so easily.
