Toll Holden Racing Team’s Garth Tander has set himself up as the man to beat when it comes to the highly coveted $2 million Grand Slam bonus for 2010, as he took out the first race of the grand slam over the weekend, winning the 2010 Clipsal 500.
Tander beat James Courtney into second place in both races of the round, closing the second race on Sunday afternoon with a dangerously low fuel tank, but came away victorious.
Courtney was Ford’s most successful driver finishing as runner up in both races and closes down the V8 Supercars Championship leader board sitting in third spot.
Garth Tander has set himself as the man to beat when it comes to the highly coveted $2 million Grand Slam bonus for 2010.
Going into the 2010 Clipsal 500 as favourite was Holden’s Jamie Whincup after dominating the opening two rounds of the Season. The driver finished fourth in the first race for the round, and a surprising 18th in the second, after a controversial black flag.
Lee Holdsworth had an impressive first race for the Clipsal 500, finishing third, but could not follow through his form in the second race coming in 11th.
For Tander to win the $2 million Grand Slam bonus he will now have to go on and win the Bathurst 1000, the Gold Coast SuperCarnivale and the Sydney Telstra 500, which is a huge ask after being overlooked in the opening rounds of the 2010 Season.
Next on the V8 Supercar Championship Series calendar is the 2010 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne’s Albert Park on the 25th – 28th of March.
2010 Clipsal 500 Results
Position |
Race One |
Race Two |
| 1 | Garth Tander – Commodore VE | Garth Tander – Commodore VE |
| 2 | James Courtney – Falcon FG | James Courtney – Falcon FG |
| 3 | Lee Holdsworth – Commodore VE | Mark Winterbottom – Falcon FG |
| 4 | Jamie Whincup – Commodore VE | Shane van Gisbergen – Falcon FG |
| 5 | Paul Dumbrell – Falcon FG | Paul Dumbrell – Falcon FG |
| 6 | Jason Bright – Commodore VE | Rick Kelly – Commodore VE |
| 7 | Fabian Coulthard – Commodore VE | Tony D’Alberto – Commodore VE |
| 8 | Michael Caruso – Commodore VE | Steven Johnson – Falcon FG |
| 9 | Will Davison – Commodore VE | Jason Richards – Commodore VE |
| 10 | Russell Ingall – Commodore VE | Michael Caruso – Commodore VE |
| 11 | Alex Davison – Falcon FG | Lee Holdsworth – Commodore VE |
| 12 | Steven Johnson – Falcon FG | Todd Kelly – Commodore VE |
| 13 | Todd Kelly – Commodore VE | Steve Richards – Falcon FG |
| 14 | Tony D’Alberto – Commodore VE | Will Davison – Commodore VE |
| 15 | Jonathon Webb – Falcon FG | Jonathon Webb – Falcon FG |
| 16 | Dean Fiore – Falcon FG | Craig Lowndes – Commodore VE |
| 17 | Steve Richards – Falcon FG | Tim Slade – Falcon FG |
| 18 | Daniel Gaunt – Commodore VE | Jamie Whincup – Commodore VE |
| 19 | Craig Lowndes – Commodore VE | Russell Ingall – Commodore VE |
| 20 | Tony Ricciardello – Commodore VE | Karl Reindler – Commodore VE |
| 21 | Mark Winterbottom – Falcon FG | Tony Ricciardello – Commodore VE |
| 22 | Shane van Gisbergen – Falcon FG | Dean Fiore – Falcon FG |
| 23 | Rick Kelly – Commodore VE | Alex Davison – Falcon FG |
| 24 | Jason Richards – Commodore VE | Jason Bargwanna – Commodore VE |
| 25 | Greg Murphy – Commodore VE | Daniel Gaunt – Commodore VE |
| 26 | Karl Reindler – Commodore VE | Jason Bright – Commodore VE |
| 27 | Tim Slade – Falcon FG | Fabian Coulthard – Commodore VE |
| 28 | Jason Bargwanna – Commodore VE | Greg Murphy – Commodore VE |
