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A great year ended perfectly for new V8 SuperCar Champion Russell Ingall. A solid and consistent result round after round culminated in the first championship for Russell Ingall and a clean sweep for Ford Australia. Of the many competitions within the V8 SuperCar Series, Ford has taken out just about all that there is to win. The most winning driver of races was Ford driver Craig Lowndes. The Enforcer brings it home Lowndes also won the most rounds. The team with the most points in the championship was Ford's Stone Brothers Racing. The car that won the most rounds was Ford Falcon. The brand to accumulate the most points this year (divided by entries) was again the Ford Motor Company and Ford's Craig Lowdnes won the most poll positions. Ford's Stone Brothers pitt crew even won the Snickers Pit Stop Challenge. $50,000 to top up the celebration fund. Its something special to rank in the top 3 at the end of the series but its a rare occasion and cause for triple celebration for Ford who took out the top 3 positions in the championship. Of coarse the most coveted award of them all now takes pride of place in the home of the Enforcer, The 2005 V8 SuperCar Champion, Russell Ingall.

Round 13 V8SuperCars [ Marcos Ambrose ]

1st Marcos Ambrose (Ford) 2nd Rick Kelly (Holden) 3rd Garth Tander (Holden) While Marcos Ambrose finished the series in the best way possible, Stone Brothers Racing’s team mate Russell Ingall claimed his first V8 Supercar crown at the BigPond Grand Finale at Phillip Island Raceway in Victoria today. In his 10th year of V8 Supercar competition, Ingall finished fifth in the two final heats of the final round in his Caltex Falcon to Ambrose, going out in style collect his maiden crown ahead of fellow Ford driver Craig Lowndes. Ingall’s SBR team-mate Marcos Ambrose finished his V8 Supercar career in style and gave Ford the V8 Supercar manufacturers’ title when he won the round with wins in both of today’s 32-lap races. Ambrose, who won the last two V8 Supercar Championships, finished third in this year’s title chase in his Pirtek Falcon and now heads to the US to chase a career in the NASCAR series. Ingall’s victory was the third consecutive championship victory for the Stone Brothers Racing outfit. In the end he won the championship with 1922 points from Craig Lowndes (1865), Ambrose (1856), Todd Kelly (1760), Mark Skaife (1754) and Garth Tander (1734).

Stone Brothers win the round and the series

Round 12 V8SuperCars [ Garth Tander ]

1st Garth Tander (Holden) 2nd Steven Richards (Holden) 3rd Rick Kelly (Holden) Holden Special Vehicles Dealer Team’s Garth Tander won three races out of three in the Ferodo Triple Challenge, giving him his first round victory since he won the Bathurst 1000 five years ago. The tall West Australia took the lead from Steven Richards in Race 1 on Saturday and was never headed for the remainder of the weekend, taking a maximum 192 points. Garth Tander The icing on the cake for HSV DT was a third placing in the round to team-mate Rick Kelly who finished second in Race 3 in a 1-2 form finish with Tander. It was HSV DT’s first round win since Greg Murphy won the Indy round last year. Both drivers were high in their praise for the HSV DT pit crew, who gave both of them slingshot pit stops throughout the weekend to gain places on the short 2.4 km circuit near Launceston. Team Manager Ron Crawford said the team prided itself on its pit stop ability and practised hard for such situations. “We owe it to the drivers to get them back in circulation as fast as possible,” he said. “The whole team did a fantastic job. Garth drove like a dog chasing a postman and Rick was right behind him. It doesn’t get much better.”

Late charge by Tander

Round 11 V8SuperCars [ Craig Lowndes ]

1st Craig Lowndes (Ford) 2nd Greg Murphy (Holden) 3rd Mark Skaife (Holden) A less than impressive start to the weekend for Craig Lowndes turned to gold at Surfers Paradise. After finishing in 2nd place behind Greg Murphy in race 1. Lowndes took the chequered flag in race 2 and race 3 to take his fourth round victory in the 2005 V8SuperCar series. Fellow Ford driver Russell Ingall consolidated his position at the top of the championship as Craig Lowndes Marcus Ambrose and Todd Kelly had a disastrous opening in race 1. Ford continues its domination of the series with positions 1, 2 & 3 all held by Falcon drivers. On the weekend of the release of the new BF Falcon, what more could they ask for. Holden Racing Team principal Mark Skaife still holds hope for the 2005 championship where HRT hold down 2005 positions 4 and 5. With 2 rounds remaining in a 3 race per round format, it’s a close run to the finish for the top 5 competitors. There are plenty of opportunities for success or failure with 6 starts, 6 pit stops and a few safety cars to compress the field in the remaining 2 rounds. Quote of the week goes to Russell Ingall who didn't make the podium this weekend but did break away with a great lead in the championship. "I don't care about spraying cheap Champagne around this weekend, I've got my eyes on a championship".

4th win for 2005

Round 10 V8SuperCars [ Mark Skaife & Todd Kelly ]

1st Mark Skaife & Todd Kelly (Holden) 2nd Jason Richards & Jamie Whincup (Holden) 3rd Steven Ellery & Adam Macrow (Ford) A brilliant strategy has seen the Holden Racing Team mastermind victory in a highlight-packed Bathurst 1000, to prolong Holden’s amazing winning streak at the track to seven in a row. Team Red drivers Mark Skaife Mark Skaife & Todd Kelly and Todd Kelly started today’s race – which featured numerous Safety Cars and more than its fair share of controversy – with the sole ambition to look after their car, and put themselves in a position to push for victory in the race’s crucial final hour. It was a particularly sweet victory for Skaife, who broke a winning drought extending two years back to the Sandown 500 in 2003. For Kelly, it was his third round victory for the year and promotes him to third placing in what is now a very tight championship fight. “It’s an incredible race and the grand final for Australian motorsport, and one of those races we work all year to try to win,” Skaife said. “When I won last time with Richo it was a great feeling and today, after the last couple of years of not going well enough, I think this is probably the best win personally for me and my best Bathurst drive".

Skaife wins his 5th Bathurst 1000

Round 9 V8SuperCars [ Craig Lowndes & Yvan Muller ]

1st Craig Lowndes & Yvan Muller (Ford) 2nd Mark Skaife & Todd Kelly (Holden) 3rd Jason Richards & Jamie Whincup (Holden) The force of the ever-resurgent Craig Lowndes propelled his Betta Electrical team to win the event of the same name and claim valuable season points back from V8 Supercar Championship Series Craig Lowndes & Yvan Muller leaders Marcos Ambrose and Russell Ingall in Melbourne today. Lowndes and his French co-driver Yvan Muller claimed the Betta Electrical 500 title at Sandown Raceway in Melbourne from Holden Racing Team’s Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly and the equally resurgent Dodo Racing Team of Jason Richards and Jamie Whincup. It was the race of the season to date when Lowndes took the lead with just four laps to go from a fading Skaife who decided to stay out on the track despite getting low on fuel and having a damaged front end that slowed him down terribly. Skaife has a late fuel top up which gave Lowndes a comfortable victory. From a Series perspective it meant Caltex Racing’s Ingall (1408) clawed back to within 78 points of the Championship lead with Castrol’s Steven Richards (1363) now 123 points behind the leader, Pirtek Racing’s Ambrose on 1486 points.

Lowndes wins his 3rd round for 2005

Round 8 V8SuperCars [ Russell Ingall ]

1st Russell Ingall (Ford) 2nd Marcos Ambrose (Ford) 3rd Greg Murphy (Holden) Ingall breaks through. In an amazing record, Ingall has now won or finished second on every Australian and New Zealand race track he has raced on since joining the V8 Supercar ranks on a full-time basis in 1996. In front of 36,983 motorsport fans Russell Ingall moved up to Russell Ingall challenge highest ranking Holden driver Steven Richards. Although Marcos Ambrose and Craig Lowndes were well ahead of the field in this first race, speeding infringement in the pit area for Marcos and Craig turned the race on it's head. The chase was on as Richards led by the smallest of Margin to a fired up Russell Ingall. Richards took the checkered flag first and Ingall held on to position 2. Race 2 saw Richard loose out off the start line along with Mark Skaife. Russell Ingall's pit crew made some adjustments after race 1 and delivered the fastest car on the track. Ingall took full advantage and in a tight pass took some paint from team mate Marcos Ambrose as he led the field for most of he race. Ingall wiped the dust from his eyes as he crossed for an emotional victory and return to 2nd in the Championship.

Breakthrough round for Russell Ingall

Round 7 V8SuperCars [ Craig Lowndes ]

1st Craig Lowndes (Ford) 2nd Marcos Ambrose (Ford) 3rd Garth Tander (Holden) Craig Lowndes wins his 2nd round for 2005. From the start line and after a clean exit from turn 1 Marcos Ambrose led the way and built a small lead over fellow Ford driver Craig Lowndes. During the first safety car deployment teams rushed to the pits for the compulsory tyre stop where Craig Lowndes Marcos Ambrose was fitted with new tyres all round but Craig Lowndes saved valuable seconds by only replacing rear tyres. During the tyre stop the Betta Electical Falcon of Craig Lowndes picked up position 1 ahead of the Pirtek Falcon and began to put a good gap between himself and the rest of the field. Another safety car deployment saw cars converge on the pits for the compulsory fuel stop. The lead was held by Craig Lowndes and with Ambrose close behind applying the pressure, a little slip up almost cost Lowndes first place. He caught the car well and held on to position 1 right to the end of the 90 lap single race event. A tussle between Garth Tander and Russell Ingall provided the entertainment away from the front Lowndes Ambrose battle and dispite some minor slip ups from Tander he held out in position 3 to take his 2nd podium in the series for 2005.

Lowndes wins his 2nd round for 2005

Round 6 V8SuperCars [ Todd Kelly ]

1st Todd Kelly (Holden) 2nd Garth Tander (Holden) 3rd Rick Kelly (Holden) Todd Kelly wins 2 in a row In a round that saw many of the top championship contenders fall back in the field Todd Kelly managed to win 2 of the 3 races over the weekend. Todd Kelly now sits poised in championship position 4 and with only half of the championship Todd Kelly rounds completed he is well positioned to finish on top. Todd Kelly: “Everything has really come together, it was a bit of a rush start to the year. This is the momentum I was talking about in Shanghai, and it’s going along all right so far and the main thing is we’re going all right in the championship. It’s good to go back to the workshop and be in that situation where we’re up there now instead of panicking about catching up. As well as that, the guys above me in the championship had a bad one so it’s panning out well." As the time approaches for Todd Kelly to make a decision on which team he will be racing with next year, he feels confident that HRT is the most competitive team on the racetrack at the moment. The 2 in a row round victories are well timed for HRT to retain this driver who joined HRT when fellow driver Mark Skaife managed a succession of championship victories during a lean period for the others.

First to win 2 rounds in 2005

Round 5 V8SuperCars [ Todd Kelly ]

1st Todd Kelly (Holden) 2nd Steven Richards (Holden) 3rd Paul Radisich (Holden) Holden Racing Team's Todd Kelly has scored an historic win this afternoon at the Shanghai International Circuit in China. Kelly charged to the flag to take race one and race 3 honours giving him the outright round victory. Mark Skaife missed the start in race 5 drifting from position 1 to 5 before turn 1. Kelly now has his package back on track and joins the leaders for Todd Kelly what looks like a very exciting round ahead. "You concentrate so hard during the race it doesn't really sink in," he said, "but when I crossed the line and looked up into the grand stand it was a pretty special moment." "I didn't come into the weekend thinking about it that way, but I can tell you it feels great." "It's been a little while coming, we've had a bit of a rough trot at the start of this season and it is good to get it all going again. I was a little fortunate that Richo (Steve Richards) went a bit deep and I was able to sneak up the inside as it tightened up a bit." "It is certainly very special, but the most important thing is to come away with the first round win in China."

5 Rounds, 5 Different Winners

Round 4 V8 SuperCars [ Craig Lowndes ]

1st Craig Lowndes (Ford) 2nd Marcos Ambrose (Ford) 3rd Greg Murphy (Holden) After taking pole position for 3 straight rounds of the V8 SuperCar Championship Series finally the conversion by 'The Kid' Craig Lowndes. 3 times champion Lowndes has moved to position 4 in the series behind Holden hero Steven Richards. At this early stage in the championship its anyone's race. If Craig Lowndes can pick up another 12 points and keep Craig Lowndes ahead of Mark Skaife, there'll be some real excitement at Ford headquarters, 1, 2, 3. The current championship contenders are lined up as follows. 1 Marcos Ambrose 708 2 Russell Ingall 673 3 Steven Richards 585 4 Craig Lowndes 554 5 Mark Skaife 546 The next round of the series will be held at Shanghai China, Shanghai International Circuit. Today final preparations are underway for an historic airlift of the scope never seen in Australian sport. According to the age old Asian culture the number 8 is deemed the luckiest, most prosperous and most sought after number. 888 represents the zenith of this auspicious tradition.

Eastern Creek Raceway Sydney May 30, 05

Round 3 V8 SuperCars [ Stephen Richards ]

1st Stephen Richards (Holden) 2nd Russell Ingall (Ford) 3rd Marcos Ambrose (Ford) Stephen Richards claimed the weekend's round ahead of Russell Ingall, who won the final race of the weekend. Defending Champion Marcos Ambrose finished third for the round to maintain his lead in the Championship standings. The next round of the Championship will be held at Sydney's Eastern Creek on Stephen Richard wins Round 3 May 27-29. All of the SuperCars series competitors have plenty of time to catch the leaders. 1. Steven Richards (Holden) - 186 2. Russell Ingall (Ford) - 184 3. Marcos Ambrose (Ford) - 178 4. Steven Johnson (Ford) - 158 5. Jason Bargwanna (Ford) - 136 The affable Richards is in the hunt for a Championship being ever present at the top of the leader board for many years. Richards took three pole positions in 2004, the first time in his career in Perth. Today's round victory may be a sign that another breakthrough is imminent. Teams take a short break before taking the show to Sydney. With so many of the top team in the hunt, Eastern Creek will be a must see.

Back in the game

Round 2 V8 SuperCars [ Greg Murphy ]

1st Greg Murphy (Holden) 2nd Russell Ingall (Ford) 3rd Marcos Ambrose (Ford) Greg Murphy shows the challengers that he remains a serious championship contender. The Kiwi hero gave his hometown crowd exactly what they came to see. In Murphy's last 5 visits to New Zealand he has taken the round 4 times. Its a sentimental moment for Murph as the future of the New Zealand round is in doubt. No firm commitment has been All aboard for New Zealand offered by organisers of the event so it may be the last race there in the near future. The New Zealand based driver won all 3 races that make up round 2 of the series. "I'm wrapt at what we've already been able to achieve with this new Super Cheap team and this weekend has been nothing short of sensational. The car was consistent, the pit stops were sensational - I felt like the car didn't even stop both times today, the PWS crew were that fast - and we had the on track pace to handle whatever anyone threw at us." Russell Ingall managed to hold on close behind finishing 2nd in each of the 3 races. Championship leader Marcos Ambrose managed to extend his lead in the series and Russell Ingall (Ambrose team mate) was elevated to 2nd outright in the series. Its early days yet and with 11 rounds remaining there's no room for mistakes.

Greg Murphy clean sweep

Round 1 V8 SuperCars [ Marcos Ambrose ]

1st Marcos Ambrose (Ford) 2nd Craig Lowndes (Ford) 3rd Tod Kelly (Holden) The Adelaide street circuit comes alive for the opening round of the 2005 V8 SuperCar Championship Series, The Clipsal 500. Following on from the success of 2003 and 2004, champion Marcos Ambrose took out both races in almost predicable style. Marcos Ambrose remains unbeatable behind the wheel of his "old" Falcon. In terms of a Still HOT V8 SuperCar. It's the same car Ambrose raced to win the 2003 and 2004 championships. When asked if he was ready to update he assured e8 Australia that a great deal of sentiment and consistent success gives him no reason to change. "The car has performed brilliantly over the last 2 years. If I can keep it in one piece it will make a valuable museum piece at Ford headquarters" When asked if 3 championship in a row was on the cards, "Why not, it's been a while since a Ford team has been in such a strong position and I want to reward the fans that have waited for this new Ford era to arrive. "In race 1 Marcos Ambrose took the chequered flag just over 1 second ahead of team mate Russell Ingall. In race 2 Ambrose led Craig Lowndes across the finish line with a lead of over 6 seconds. The 2005 series looks like being just as exciting as 2004. Congratulations to Marcos Ambrose and now it's off to New Zealand for round 2 Placemakers V8 International.

The Adelaide Ambrose Attack