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clipsal 500

Italians at the Clipsal 500, South Australia, 3-6 March 2016

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Andrew Taplin/Dean Canto Lamborghini R-EX turn 11.

Andrew Taplin/Dean Canto Lamborghini R-EX in turn 11.

Story and photos by Vince Johnson

March sees the official start of autumn in Australia but no one had told the city of Adelaide. In the near-century (38C) temperatures, the Holden, Ford, Nissan and Volvo V8 Supercars rolled into town for their opening event of the year. Annually, the streets and parklands on the eastern edge of the South Australian capital are transformed for four days, with a full program over seven classes of racing.

The meeting is also the first round of the Australian GT Championships. Germany and Great Britain had the numbers over the Italians. With six Audis, two BMWs, five McLarens, five Mercedes and three Porsches lined up against four Lamborghinis and a sole Ferrari, it was no surprise that at the end of qualifying they occupied the first five places on the grid for Friday’s race. [Read more…] about Italians at the Clipsal 500, South Australia, 3-6 March 2016

Ferraris at the Clipsal 500

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Trass Family Motorsport 458 GT3 Turn 1.

Story and photos by Vince Johnson

Clipsal 500 Adelaide, South Australia, February 26 – March 1, 2014

The lunar New Year’s goat may have arrived but the horse was still rampant on the streets of Adelaide at the end of February.

The first round of the V8 Supercars Championship sees the east end of town turned into a concrete-walled, no-holds-barred circuit each year that leaves no room for error. Sadly, the Ford, Holden, Mercedes, Volvo and Nissan teams didn’t have any Italian opposition yet, but Maranello’s finest were still out on the track each day.

The Ferrari Supercar Display had its own air-conditioned marquee just inside gate 1. Headlined by the hybrid 350 km/h La Ferrari, the line-up included 288GTO, F40LM and F50. A second La Ferrari, ready for laps, was garaged in pit lane. Outside the Supercar marquee local dealer Ferrari Adelaide and Ferrari Club Australia – SA members displayed 30 current and classic examples from throughout the decades. Track time each day was described as ‘demonstration’ only, so the lack of serious run-off posed no problems and gave the marshals, as well as the public, time to enjoy the spectacle.

La Ferrari leads 458 Speciale on parade laps.

Corporate sponsorship and public donations to the Clipsal 500 official charity ‘Variety – The Children’s Charity’ saw companies’ logos across the windshields and on the giant screens. Naturally, passenger seats were filled. On Saturday and Sunday morning, the Ferrari ‘Drive for Kids’ Cavalcade gave Variety children the ride of a lifetime. Funds raised support the important work of Variety – The Children’s Charity, the Adelaide Women’s & Children’s Hospital and the Childhood Cancer Foundation. Alongside the Supercar display was Ferrari ‘Kids Zone’. Inside it wasn’t just the youngsters trying out the simulators.

Thirty years ago, the first of eleven Australian Grand Prix races was held on the Adelaide street circuit. To mark the anniversary, Scuderia Ferrari flew two F60 Formula 1 cars direct from the factory, along with the Corse Clienti team, for demonstration laps. Not that newly-signed test driver Jean-Eric Vergne was hanging about. While not officially timed, his ‘demonstration’ laps were 5+ seconds faster than the current lap record.

Jean-Eric Vergne, Ferrari F60, Turn 11.

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Clipsal 500, Adelaide S. Australia, February 28-March 3

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Justin McMillan's Lamborghini LP60 GT3, Brenton Griguol's Ferrari 360 Challenge, race 2 turn 7.

Story by Vince Johnson
Photos by Vince Johnson unless otherwise noted.

The traditional Aussie V8 Supercar duel between Holden and Ford gets underway each season after the summer break around the streets of the South Australian capital. This year, however, there were two new makes on the grid intent on sharing the spoils. Nissan Motorsport fielded four Altimas powered by the same V8 that took victory in the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship, while Erebus Motorsport had a pair of Mercedes-Benz E63AMGs ready to take on the home-grown favourites.
[Read more…] about Clipsal 500, Adelaide S. Australia, February 28-March 3

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