Preview: Clipsal 500 Adelaide.

by Matthew Agius.

The 2006 V8 Supercar Championship Series and the 2006 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series get underway this weekend with the award-winning and most popular motor racing event in Australia - the Clipsal 500 Adelaide.

The Adelaide Parklands Circuit originally shot to fame as the Australian venue for the nation's Formula One Grand Prix during the 1980s and early 1990s, however since the inception of the Clipsal 500 on a modified version of the former F1 track the round has secured the V8 Supercar Event of the Year Award every year since 1999 and was also inducted into the category's Hall of Fame in 2005.

The circuit comprises of fourteen turns, and a myriad of corner sequences - from a chicane and a series of 90 degree turns at the start, to two long straights and finally to a series of tight bends and hairpins before the finish line.

The Clipsal 500 Adelaide first joined the calendar in 1999 as the Sensational Adelaide 500. Whilst many other events in the championship have often changed their racing formats from year to year, the Clipsal 500 has always featured a single race each on Saturday and Sunday covering 250 kilometres. With South Australia's traditional March heat posing as a major contributor to driver fatigue, and the complex circuit layout bound by close walls, racing at the circuit is often a tough challenge.

As an event, the Clipsal is Australia's (and possibly the world's best). By day up to eight racing categories tear up the streets, and crowds are treated to the very best of Touring Car action. By night, live bands play at the event's after race concerts and give spectators a thrilling conclusion to a day's events. Several sessions of V8 Supercar racing will be completed over the weekend.

The top level V8 racers will hit the track for opening practice and Qualifying on Friday, but Thursday's action will be left solely to Fujitsu teams for their two practice sessions. They will then have their qualifying and first race on Friday before their final heat for the weekend of Saturday. After the Fujitsu Series' Race 2, the main game hits the track for its opening race for the year - the first of two 250-kilometre heats - with the second to be carried out on Sunday.

Most of the V8 Supercar frontrunners from last year's Clipsal 500 are looking forward to this year's season starter. However there are some concerns that the lack of a season opening non-championship race at the Australian Grand Prix could be a hindrance to some outfits.

"The grand prix usually give you a great opportunity to iron out the bugs," said reigning champion Russell Ingall. "How many times have you seen teams have a rough time in Melbourne and then come out and have a strong result in Adelaide? This year they won't have that luxury.

"There are just so many factors you need to look at heading into the Adelaide event, which really is vital to everyone's championship chances.

"The heat is certainly always a factor and the eagerness of some of the new guys into the category can also play a role in the outcome.

"At the end of the day you just need to take a deep breath and remember there is a long season ahead of us."

Ingall's Ford compatriot and main title challenger Craig Lowndes echoed his rival's thoughts.

"With no AGP prelude to the Clipsal 500 this year our recent test day became all the more important as we are now don't have the luxury of a non-championship event starting our season," he said.

"Besides Bathurst, the Adelaide circuit is without a doubt the hardest on our cars.

"Car reliability is paramount as these two races are a sprint from start to finish."

With Ingall and Lowndes likely to fly the Ford flag at the Clipsal 500, the front men from Holden Motorsport's big three team's have staked a claim to the Adelaide crown in 2006.

"You have to be honest with yourself and realize that last year we cost ourselves the opportunity to finish well on a couple of occasions because we wanted to win a bit too much," said the Holden Racing Team's Mark Skaife.

"Sometimes it was my mistake by pushing a bit too hard, other times it was equipment or other failures. The greatest lesson I have learned from last year is that I need to accept there are times you can't win the race or the round.

"We definitely need to be more disciplined to bring the car home for as many points as we can get."

Teammate Todd Kelly feels fitness will be the key to a successful Round One assault.

"If you look at the Clipsal 500 in the past, lots of drivers have made mistakes in the latter stages when you're usually absolutely knackered. Nine times out of 10 you can trace those sort of errors back to fatigue, dehydration or lack of fitness," he said.

"You could always be fitter but I'm in pretty good shape right now, certainly fitter than I have ever been at this time of year before. I think I'm as prepared as I can possibly be."

Toll HSV Dealer Team leader Garth Tander is confident that he can reward his team with a top three outright finish.

"We were very happy with the new car in testing at Winton, and while you can always make things a little better, we believe we already have a better package than last year," said Tander.

"Our weekend at Clipsal last year was one of our worst last season, but our car in that race had the third fastest lap time at one point, and we went from 23rd to 7th in Race 1, and then to third or fourth when we were taken out in Race 2.

"So, there were positives there. This year, we believe we can do a lot better, and our aim is to keep the car straight and leave Adelaide in the top three in the championship."

The Clipsal 500 Adelaide gets underway on Thursday March 23rd and will run through to Sunday March 26th - the biggest four days of motor racing action in Australia.

2005 Clipsal 500 Adelaide Results:

Pole: Rick Kelly, HSV Dealer Team, VZ Commodore

1st: Marcos Ambrose, Pirtek Racing, BA Falcon
2nd: Craig Lowndes, Team Betta Electrical, BA Falcon
3rd: Todd Kelly, Holden Racing Team, VZ Commodore

Fastest Lap: Marcos Ambrose, Pirtek Racing, BA Falcon - 1:23.1359s

2005 Clipsal 500 Support Race Results:

Pole: Dean Canto, Gatorz Racing, BA Falcon

1st: Dean Canto, Gatorz Racing, BA Falcon
2nd: Adam Macrow, Howard Racing, BA Falcon
3rd: Tony D'Alberto, GMAC Racing, VY Commodore

Fastest Lap: Dean Canto, Gatorz Racing, BA Falcon - 1:24.1621s