Five V8 Supercar drivers to watch at the Clipsal 500

Thursday, 11 March 2010 17:45

The concept of discussing drivers who will be championship contenders before the beginning of the season is not new.

I’ve left it little late for the pre-season predictions given the first two rounds of the 2010 V8 Supercar season have already been held. So instead on the eve of practice at the Clipsal 500, I thought I’d discuss the drivers who are currently sitting in the top five positions in the Championship and why I think they’ll be up the front at the first Australian round.

1. Jamie Whincup (#1)
Jamie is the defending back-to-back V8 Supercar Champion and the driver that everyone in the field is chasing. His driving has been near flawless and his ability to build margin on competitors almost immediately is to be admired. Even when he does make a mistake Jamie seems to have a remarkable ability to fight his way back to the front.

In spite of the switch from Ford to Holden over the break Team Vodafone have not missed a beat providing Jamie and his team mate Craig Lowndes with arguably the strongest cars in the 29 car field. In the first four races Jamie has silenced his critics with three pole positions and four race wins, netting him the maximum Championship points available.

Why he’ll be up the front at Clipsal: Whincup is driving in a class of his own at the moment and also has history on his side having finished seven of the last eight races at this circuit on the podium.

2. Mark Winterbottom (#5)
Mark has been a strong title contender in the past, challenging Jamie for the title until the final races in 2008. In 2009 the Ford Performance Racing Team and driver struggled with consistency. Mark only stood at the top of the podium at the SuperGP last year, when he put in an amazing performance, dominating both races in spite of suffering from glandular fever.

Mark has kept Jamie honest in the first four races of 2010, pushing him hard in race four in particular. His haul from the first two rounds has been one pole position, three seconds, a third and he is currently second in the Championship.

Why he’ll be up the front at Clipsal: Mark is Jamie’s closest competitor and more motivated than ever to defeat his Championship rival.

3. Shane van Gisbergen (#9)
At just twenty years of age Shane is the youngest driver in the Australian V8 Supercar Series. Youth and inexperience have led to some very gutsy moves from the Stone Brothers Racing driver over the last two seasons but they have also led to some costly mistakes. Still Shane has often been a big mover in the field and is known for being fast, particularly in the wet.

His performances in the first two rounds have been one of the biggest talking points of the 2010 V8 Supercar season. Among Shane’s 2010 achievements are his best qualifying performance since joining the Series, two thirds, a fifth and a sixth, which see him currently sitting third in the Championship. In addition to this he has also set the lap record at the two tracks visited so far.

Why he’ll be up the front at Clipsal: Shane has always been fast, but with added consistency he is in a better position than ever to continue to challenge for podiums.

4. Craig Lowndes (#888)
A veteran of the Australian V8 Supercar series and arguably one of Australia’s most well known and popular drivers, Craig is a three time V8 Supercar Champion. He has a unique driving style which is a pleasure to watch and regardless of where in the field he qualifies Craig seems to love a good fight.

With the defending champion as a team mate, you could argue that Craig is more fired up to win than most. Not only that but he also seems to have been fired up by his return to Holden, the manufacturer for which he won his three Championships. With the same equipment as Jamie expect to see plenty of strong results from Craig who has so far taken two seconds, one third, a twelfth and is currently fourth in the Championship.

Why he’ll be up the front at Clipsal: Craig is a fighter who wants to catch his team mate just as much as the rest of the field and he arguably has the best equipment to do so.

5. James Courtney (#18)
In addition to driving V8 Supercars, James’ CV includes World Karting titles, a British Formula Ford Championship and Formula One test drives. He has been racing in V8 Supercars for a number of years now and last year finished seventh in the Championship.

James is known for being quick on street circuits and in 2009 James took wins at both of the new street circuits, located in Townsville and Sydney. He has been a consistent performer so far this season with a fourth, two sixths and a seventh, which see him sitting fifth in this year’s Championship.

Why he’ll be up the front at Clipsal: James has put in strong drives this season and is a proven performer on street circuits.

Watching these five drivers do what they do best should make for two very interesting races, which I can’t wait to watch and report to you on. If you want to know all the drivers and teams contesting the 2010 season be sure to check out this week’s Power Fix Cheat Sheet where they are all listed for your reference. By Chelsea Woods http://www.girlracer.co.uk