Team Vodafone endured mixed emotions in the opening round of the V8 Supercar Championship after Jamie Whincup secured a double win in the Clipsal 500 but team-mate Craig Lowndes was forced out of the second race of the weekend.
For Whincup, it turned out to be a perfect weekend as he followed up his pole position and race one victory with a second success around the streets of Adelaide, making him only the third driver to win the Clipsal 500 on two occasions.
"It doesn't get any better than this," he said. "This is the sort of weekend you dream of as a kid. We have been working towards today since the Monday after last years final round. As a team we knew what we did wrong and we weren't going to make the same mistakes this weekend.
"Everybody wanted to hit the ground running and that is exactly what we have done."
For Lowndes however, it was very much a case of what might have been after he missed the chance to add a second podium to his third place finish in the opening race.
Lowndes looked set to join Whincup in the top three before an incident on lap 56 with James Courtney at turn ten forced both out of the race and left the Triple Eight-run team with a very battered Falcon to examine once it returns to its Queensland base.
"I am bitterly disappointed and I feel really bad for the Team on what could have been the first ever one-two for TeamVodafone," he said. "I'm delighted with Jamie's results and it looks like I might have to go on the tools this week to help the boys get the car back in shape."
Whincup leads the early season standings thanks to his round win, while Lowndes lies in equal twelfth.
![Craig Lowndes - Team Vodafone [Pic credit: BAM Media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/393073.jpg)
