1 Mar 2015

Coulthard wins Adelaide V8 race

11:50 am on 1 March 2015

The New Zealand driver Fabian Coulthard admitted to an in-car fist pump when the Black Caps hit the winning runs in Auckland before channelling the victory for his sixth V8 Supercar win.

The New Zealand driver Fabian Coulthard (Freightliner Racing Holden) winner of Race 2. 2015 Clipsal 500 Adelaide.

The New Zealand driver Fabian Coulthard (Freightliner Racing Holden) winner of Race 2. 2015 Clipsal 500 Adelaide. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Coulthard revealed some of his New Zealand 'bros' were keeping him up to date with the Cricket World Cup thriller in Auckland while he chased six-time V8 Supercars Champion Jamie Whincup at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide.

Within moments of Kane Williamson hitting a six to lift the Black Caps to an exhilarating one wicket win over Australia at Eden Park, Coulthard pounced on then leader Whincup, who suffered a flat tyre he claimed as the result of on-track debris.

From that moment Coulthard ran away with it, registering Brad Jones Racing's 100th victory in the sport.

He beat home James Courtney and Craig Lowndes.

When asked if he was aware of the Black Caps' win, Coulthard said of course he was.

"My Kiwi fellas winning the cricket, outstanding. It's pretty cool that a Kiwi wins here, and we beat Australia."

"It's been a long time since I could say I've won a race. It's awesome to get BJR's first front row qualifying yesterday and to get their first race win at Clipsal is a fantastic achievement."

"To say you have won on the streets of Adelaide is pretty cool feeling."

Whincup had comfortably won the first of the two races and took over the lead in the second when a desperately unlucky Scott McLaughlin was given a ten second penalty for a jump start.

But Whincup showed he was fallible when he suffered his own setback which handed Coulthard the race two lead, hanging on despite a safety car which brought him back to the field.

"It was unlucky to Jamie, obviously he was pretty quick. We were there, or thereabouts, but it would have taken a fair bit to get past so we needed something like that to happen," Coulthard says.

"Racing is all about that sometimes, when you need to be there to pick up the pieces."

It was also a special moment for Coulthard as he dedicated the victory to the larger than life figure Geoff Paradise who had been instrumental in his team's new Freightliner sponsorship.

Paradise was tragically killed in a car accident last week.

McLaughlin suffered catastrophic engine damage in the warm-up lap in the first of two races; then disastrously copped a 10-second penalty for jumping the start in the second as he was pulling away from second-placed Whincup.

The 21-year-old was then handed a further 10-second penalty for taking his original punishment during a safety car period.

"What can you say - that's the rules," McLaughlin says.

"But I think it's fair and square we stopped and did our penalty. We did it. I took the penalty and... worked my way forward. But that's all right, that's the rules."

Coulthard now leads the V8 Supercars Championship ahead of today's 250km feature.

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