[V8SC] Lee Holdsworth column

by Lee Holdsworth



Clipsal 500 – Adelaide

Finally we’re back into gear and racing again for another season, and I couldn’t think of a better place to kick off than the Clipsal 500. I absolutely love racing on this circuit. The mix of slow and high speed corners make it very challenging and - like most street circuits - it really punishes mistakes.

After a successful test day just a few weeks back, I headed into the weekend feeling confident that I could achieve a great result.

As we all know, the new qualifying system means that drivers have to start both races where they ended up in Saturday’s qualifying session. Pleasingly I had the pace in qualifying to make it into the top ten shoot-out.. My lap was good enough for second position but frustratingly my time was excluded due to being too aggresive over the kerb in the middle of the chicane . . . so I had to start both races from tenth.

What followed on Saturday was one of the toughest races of my career. The temperatures were so extreme in the cabin and through the pedals of the car that I ended the race with some pretty impressive blisters on the soles of my feet. A couple of drivers were forced to retire from the race due to the unbearable heat; according to our data the cockpit temperatures were up around 60 degrees Celsius.

Despite the conditions, I had good pace throughout the race and worked my way through the field to finish second behind Jamie Whincup and in front of HRT’s Will Davison. What a great way to start the year! First race and I was on the podium spraying champagne! The celebrations were modest however, as we still had another race to follow up the next day, and we were all feeling rather worse for wear.

Much to my relief, the conditions on Sunday were much cooler than the previous day. Again starting from tenth position for Race 2, I had a big job ahead to finish back up the pointy end. By mid race I’d climbed to fifth and had a tough battle to defend my position against a fast moving Craig Lowndes. However, the speed of his car was hard to match and he eventually found a way past.

With ten laps to go I was able to make a pass on Jason Richards to move back up to fifth, and with the leading four cars still in reach, I decided to keep pressing on. I latched onto the back of Lowndes once again as he battled with Tander but was never in with a shot of making a pass. In the end, I was pleased to cross the line in fifth and with a straight car after a tough and long weekend of racing.

All in all, it was an awesome way to start the season I am now third in the championship behind Whincup and Davison and I’m looking forward to plenty more success throughout the year.

With this weekends races at the Grand Prix circuit in Melbourne not counting for the championship, our focus will be on improving our cars further to give me the best chance at winning races as the season progresses.




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