Holden VE Commodore of Russell Ingall 2012

The 2012 Clipsal 500 was a motor race for the Australian sedan-based

V8 Supercars The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport. Supercars events take place in all Australian ...

. It was the first event of the

2012 International V8 Supercars Championship The 2012 International V8 Supercar Championship (often simplified to the 2012 V8 Supercars Championship) was an FIA sanctioned international motor racing series for V8 Supercars. It was the fourteenth running of the V8 Supercar Championship Seri ...

, and the fourteenth running of the

Clipsal 500 The Adelaide 500 (also known as the VALO Adelaide 500 for sponsorship reasons) is an annual motor racing event for Supercars held on the streets of the east end of Adelaide, South Australia between 1999 to 2020 and again from 2022. It is someti ...

. It was held on the weekend of 1–4 March at the

Adelaide Street Circuit The Adelaide Street Circuit (also known as the Adelaide Parklands Circuit) is a temporary street circuit in the East Parklands adjacent to the Adelaide central business district in South Australia, Australia. The "Grand Prix" version of t ...

, in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

Report

Race 1

Qualifying

Triple Eight Race Engineering Triple Eight Race Engineering, (branded as Red Bull Ampol Racing) is an Australian motor racing team competing in the Supercars Championship. The team has been the only Brisbane based V8 Supercar team since its formation, originally operating ...

driver

Craig Lowndes Craig Andrew Lowndes (born 21 June 1974) is an Australian racing driver in the Repco Supercars Championship competing in the Holden ZB Commodore for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He is also a TV commentator. Lowndes is a three-time V8 Sup ...

qualified on pole position for the first race — his pole at the Adelaide parklands circuit — ahead of

Garth Tander Garth Tander (born 31 March 1977) is a multiple-championship winning Australian motor racing driver competing in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship's Enduro Cup, co-driving the No. 97 Holden ZB Commodore for Triple Eight Race Engineer ...

and

Will Davison William 'THE SOOK' Davison (born 30 August 1982) is an Australian professional racing driver. He currently drives the No.17 Ford Mustang GT for Dick Johnson Racing in the Repco Supercars Championship. Davison is a two-time winner of the Bathur ...

. Lowndes' team-mate and reigning series champion

Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup (born 6 February 1983) is an Australian professional racing driver competing in the Supercars Championship. He currently is team principal for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He has driven the No. 88 Holden ZB Commodore, won a rec ...

qualified fifth, having started on the front row of the grid at every race since 2007. ;Notes: : –

Michael Patrizi Michael Patrizi (born 4 May 1984) is an Australian racing driver. Biography Starting off in karts in his native Western Australia, he moved to Formula Ford in 2004, then to Formula BMW in Asia 2005, then UK in 2006. In 2007 he joined the compet ...

was moved to the back of the grid for ignoring red flags during qualifying.

Race

took an early lead in the race, but was re-passed by

after three drivers —

James Courtney James Anthony Courtney (born 29 June 1980) is an Australian racing driver competing in the Repco Supercars Championship. He currently drives the No. 5 Ford Mustang GT for Tickford Racing. Courtney won the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series ...

, Jason Bright and

Taz Douglas Taz Douglas (born 11 February 1984) is a part-time Australian race driver. Douglas came 2nd at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 with James Moffat in 2014 Douglas was born in Frankston, Victoria, Australia. Having scored numerous karting titles ...

— crashed heavily at Turn 8. Shortly after the accident

switched from a two-stop to a three-stop strategy as

took the lead of the race, leading team-mate

Mark Winterbottom Mark "Frosty" Winterbottom (born 20 May 1981) is an Australian professional racing driver. He currently competes in the Repco Supercars Championship, driving the No. 18 Holden ZB Commodore for Team 18. His career highlights include winning the ...

. David Reynolds also crashed at Turn 8 just before lap 50, prompting an early round of pit stops and forcing the leaders to enter fuel-saving mode. Whincup used his shorter fuelling window and a brand-new set of tyres to catch the leaders, passing Davison at the hairpin on the final lap when Davison ran out of fuel. Tander finished third after Winterbottom was forced to pit for fuel himself. ;Notes: * —

Alexandre Prémat Alexandre Prémat (born 5 November 1982) is a French racing driver. He won the Pirtek Enduro Cup for Triple Eight Race Engineering alongside Shane van Gisbergen in 2016. He also won the 2019 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 with Scott McLaughlin, ...

and Jason Bright started the race from pit lane.

Race 2

Qualifying

After missing pole position for Race 1,

claimed his first pole of the season, beating

by one-tenth of a second. The twenty-minute qualifying session saw a heavy collision between Greg Murphy and Jonathon Webb when Webb slowed on the approach to the final corner, attempting to create a window of clean air for a flying lap. Murphy, already on a flying lap himself, came around the penultimate corner at speed and was unable to move aside in time, rear-ending Webb's car. The accident was heavy enough to remove both cars out of the race. ;Notes: : –

failed to set a lap time after damaging his gearbox.

Race

lead the race away once again, but was caught and passed by

before the first round of stops, and then the Fords of

and

after the stops. Whincup's car was reported to develop a misfire and was soon caught by Davison and Winterbottom, who also went on to pass Tander. The race was uninterrupted by safety cars, and Davison and Winterbottom went on to claim a one-two finish for

Ford Performance Racing Tickford Racing (formerly known as Prodrive Racing Australia and Ford Performance Racing) is an Australian motor racing team which competes in the Supercars Championship. The team currently campaigns three Ford Mustangs, with their current drive ...

Ford FG Falcon of Mark Winterbottom 2012

;Notes: * —

started the race from pit lane.

Standings

* After 2 of 30 races.

References

{{V8 race report, Name_of_race = Clipsal 500 , Year_of_race = 2012 , Previous_race_in_season = none , Next_race_in_season =

2012 Falken Tasmania Challenge The 2012 Falken Tasmania Challenge was a motor race for the Australian sedan-based V8 Supercars. It was the second event of the 2012 International V8 Supercars Championship. It was held on the weekend of 30 March–1 April at the Symmons Plains ...

, Previous_year's_race =

2011 Clipsal 500 The 2011 Clipsal 500 was a motor race for the Australian sedan-based V8 Supercars. It was the second event of the 2011 International V8 Supercars Championship. It was held on the weekend of 17–20 March at the Adelaide Street Circuit, in Adelai ...

, Next_year's_race = 2013 Clipsal 500 Adelaide Adelaide 500

Clipsal Clipsal is an Australian brand of electrical accessories. Their primary factory, once located at Bowden, moved to Gepps Cross, South Australia. Smaller factories in South Australia at Nuriootpa, Strathalbyn, Wingfield, Bayswater and in Victori ...

2010s in Adelaide