2015 Clipsal 500 - Day 1: V8 Supercars live coverage, blog

Match result:

Jamie Whincup has secured pole position for the opening two races of the Clipsal 500 after two blistering laps in qualifying this afternoon.

The Red Bull Racing driver, who is looking for his 5th straight V8 Supercar title, started the season in style by claiming his 6th and 7th pole position at the street circuit.

In qualifying session 1, Whincup set the fastest lap, in the final few seconds of the session.

His 1:20.0905 would break the lap record set by Shane Van Gisbergen last year.

He would go faster again in qualifying session two to break the record again with a 1:20.0319.

What was more impressive about the time was Whincup gave himself just one flying lap in the second session.

Under immense pressure, from drivers and time, Whincup delivered a lap that would beat the field by almost 3 tenths of a second.

It showed why he has been the man to beat in the main game for the last seven years.

Both sessions were dominated by Holden.

Not only did they take pole for both races, they also claimed three spots in the top 5 for the first session, and four spots in the top five for the second session.

James Courtney and Fabian Coulthard, for HRT and Freightliner Racing, both finished in the top 5 in each session.

Scott McLaughlin, in his Volvo, joined them, with spots in the top 3 in each session.

His team was the best manufacturer after Holden.

For the other three makes, it was a day to forget.

Ford continued their drought for a pole position in V8 Supercars. It has now been 42 races since a Ford started from pole.

Chaz Mostert led the first session in the dying stages but was eventually pushed back to fourth.

In session two, David Reynolds was the quickest, in 6th position.

Despite showing good practice pace, Nissan also struggled.

After topping practice session one, and finishing second in practice two, Rick Kelly struggled to replicate that in qualifying.

He finished 17th and 18th respectively in both qualifying sessions.

The best placed finisher for Nissan was Michael Caruso who ended up in 6th spot for race 1.

No Nissan’s finished in the top ten during the second qualifying session.

It was worse for Erebus as they recorded just one top fifteen finish in both sessions.

Ash Walsh, who impressed on his debut day in the main game with two top ten practice results, qualified 15th for the second race.

It was also a tough day for Marcos Ambrose as he returned to full time driving with two 24th place finishes in qualifying.

They struggled with the car during the session and couldn’t gain any time from the car.

Tomorrow see’s two 125km kilometre races around the streets of Adelaide.

Both races, in full, will be covered by the Roar in a live blog.

Can Whincup be stopped?

Match preview:

The 2015 V8 Supercars season kicks off in style around the streets of Adelaide for the Clipsal 500. Join The Roar for practice and qualifying from 9:25am (AEDT).

In what is shaping up to be a busy day, the teams and drivers will be involved in five sessions throughout the day.

After three practice sessions early in the day, each lasting 30 minutes, the grid for Race 1 and 2 will be set with two qualifying sessions in the afternoon.

In 22 qualifying session at the Adelaide Parklands Circuit, Holden has won 17, with Ford winning just 5 poles in the history of the event. The last seven qualifying sessions, for races in 2012, 2013, and 2014, have all been taken out by Holden. Ford’s last pole position was in 2011, when Will Davison took it out for Ford Performance Racing.

In the last 40 races of the V8 Supercar championship, Ford has not started from pole position. Their last pole was in 2013 at Phillip Island, when Mark Winterbottom took top spot. With all four manufacturers taking pole in 2014, and Ford failing to do so, they will be looking to avoid further embarrassment.

This weekend is significant for Ford in many ways.

Firstly, Marcos Ambrose, who won two championships with Ford and Stone Brothers Racing, returns to full time racing after a nine-year career in NASCAR. He’s with Dick Johnson Racing, who are now controlled by American giants Penske Racing.

With new ownership, and a returning driver, results are not expected this weekend by the team. But by the end of the season though expect this team to be aiming for wins and podiums.

The second significance for Ford comes in the new car to be raced this weekend, the final Falcon in production, the FG-X. Despite no factory funding from Ford, Prodrive Australia – formerly Ford Performance Racing – and DJR have worked hard to get the car ready for Clipsal. From all accounts it improves on the Falcon that raced last year and won the Bathurst 1000.

Expect Mark Winterbottom and Chaz Mostert to shine if the new FG-X delivers. But even if they do, I can’t see them challenging Holden.

Leading the Holden charge has been Jamie Whincup, with five pole positions from 2008 to 2014. His team, Triple 888 racing, have won the most pole positions as a team with seven.

In recent times Shane Van Gisbergen has been the man to beat at Clipsal. The Tekno Autosport driver has won three of the last five qualifying sessions.

James Courtney, Craig Lowndes and Garth Tander will also be in contention to take the top spot for Race 1 and 2 in the championship.

It promises to be a big day of racing. Join The Roar as we live blog the first day of the 2015 V8 Supercar season.