The first race weekend of the 2018 Supercars championship has been completed and, as always, there is plenty of fat to chew from the opening two races of the season.
From Shane van Gisbergen’s dominant display across the weekend to the debate over parity between the new ZB Commodore and the Falcon FG X, here are some of the key talking points from the curtain-raising Adelaide 500.
Van Gisbergen does the double
A replica of his efforts 12 months ago, 2016 Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen dominated the Adelaide 500 weekend, claiming both pole positions and the pair of wins across the 250-kilometre races.
Despite losing his lead at the start of both races the Kiwi was able to claw his way back to the front through strategy. In Race 1 he comfortably won ahead of James Courtney and compatriot Scott McLaughlin, who had led the race going into Turn 1.
Race 2 saw Van Gisbergen leapt over by teammate Jamie Whincup at the start, though a transmission failure eliminated the reigning seven-time champion from the race in what was Whincup’s first non-classified finish since Gold Coast 2013.
Having been given a free kick by David Reynolds in the speedy Erebus Commodore, Van Gisbergen won the Sunday race by under a second, to clean-sweep the Adelaide 500 for the second year in a row.
(Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)
Triumphant debut for the ZB Commodore
The significance of Van Gisbergen’s back-to-back wins on the streets of Adelaide not only gave him the lead in the standings but was also the best christening possible for the new ZB Commodore, which the Holden teams debuted.
Hailed for its superior balance on the bumpy surfaces of the concrete jungle, Van Gisbergen and his Red Bull Holden Racing Team maximised the new package to edge out their Blue Oval rivals, who endured an inconsistent weekend at most.
With Triple Eight machinery being supplied to all Holden teams on the grid, it would have been real vindication too to see the Race 2 podium locked out by drivers in Commodores.
Apart from the Red Bull team, three other Holden outfits were able to grace the podium in Adelaide with their ZBs, those being Erebus, Walkinshaw Andretti United and Garry Rogers Motorsport.
(Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)
The great weight debate
With victory has also come controversy, with the ZB Commodore coming under scrutiny for significant differences between its weight and that of its rivals.
DJR Team Penske have immediately raised the claim that their Holden rivals have a weight example due to a difference in the centre of gravity between the two chassis, resulting in a lighter Commodore.
With its hatchback origins, the new Commodore features more composite components than the Falcon and the Nissan Altima, especially on the roof portion of the car, for which the others use steel.
The Ford outfits are pushing to re-homologating their panels, but it all comes down to how the Falcon shares more similarities with its road-going version than the Commodore does. It is for this reason the Holden utilised more composite parts.
This’ll surely be a continual talking point throughout the season ahead, especially if the Red Bull Holdens continue to hold the advantage of the DJR Team Penske Fords.
(Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)
Walkinshaw Andretti United atop the standings
Once again the Walkinshaw team have put their best foot forward at the Adelaide 500, giving the impression that they’ve found some form following the disastrous 2017 campaign they had.
A second-place finish for 2010 Supercars champion Courtney in the opening race on Saturday and dual top-ten finishes for both he and teammate Scott Pye on Sunday sees the Mobil 1 Boost Mobile squad leading the team standings after the first round, with Courtney second on the driver’s leaderboard.
Whether to be fooled into believing that they’ve turned a leaf in the off-season or not is an obvious choice given that the former Holden Racing Team typically fares strongly at Adelaide.
Though with the technical and financial injection that Walkinshaw will be receiving from Andretti and United Autosports in this collaboration, it would be remiss to state that Courtney’s podium will be the last of 2018.
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