2014 V8 Supercars Championship Rd1 - Clipsal 500

With the '500' split over three separate races this year (2x 125km races, 1 x 250km race), with separate qualifying sessions for each, the Red Bull pairing of Lowndes and Jamie Whincup were strong, each taking a pole position in the opening two qualifying sessions.

That dominance continued in Race 1, where Whincup won from Lowndes, with Shane van Gisbergen a distant third. Ford Performance Racing's new recruit, Chaz Mostert, crashed on lap one, followed by David Reynolds soon after, while Courtney drove a chunk of the race with no passenger side front door following a mid-race incident.

Race 2 saw Lowndes take a reasonably comfortable win, while behind him there was an epic battle for second place on the final lap between Whincup and Scott McLaughlin, the latter debuting the Volvo Polestar Racing Volvo S60. Youngster McLaughlin prevailed to deliver a podium result for Volvo in its first round of Australian V8 Supercars competition.

Sunday's Race 3 saw van Gisbergen on pole alongside Lowndes in a race that turned into a crash fest. The most dramatic incident was Jason Bright's rollover and heavy hit into the wall after being tapped at the chicane. Bright was one of eight non-finishers in the final race, with some drivers blaming a new restart rule for the carnage.

At the end of 78 laps, Courtney was the race winner and Clipsal 500 Champion for 2014, delivering a much-needed victory to the Toll Holden Racing Team. Lowndes and van Gisbergen finished second and third respectively.

Lowndes's trio of podium finishes at Adelaide means he leads the championship on 282 points from Fabian Coulthard (230), with van Gisbergen (221) third.

Images: Red Bull Content Pool and Volvo Polestar Racing