2001 V8 Supercars Eastern Creek round

2001 Supercar Championship event January 2024 New South Wales 2001 Eastern Creek V8 Supercar round 3 13 2001 SCS Eastern Creek Circuit.svg 27–29 April Eastern Creek, New South Wales Eastern Creek Raceway Fine 26 100 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing 1:30.8955 Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia 43:29.3711 26 100 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 41:24.0189 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 262 Jason Bright Holden Racing Team 237 Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia 213 The 2001 Eastern Creek V8 Supercar round was the third round of the 2001 Shell Championship Series. It was held on the weekend of 28 to 29 November at Eastern Creek International Raceway in Sydney, New South Wales. The first race was initially won by Craig Lowndes of Gibson Motorsport. However, after he was deemed to have overtaken Greg Murphy under yellow flag conditions, he was issued a 29-second post-race time penalty (the equivalent of a stop-go penalty), bumping him down to 12th and Murphy was declared the winner of the race.2001-04-30 Ford snatches defeat from the jaws of victory https://goauto.com.au/news/ford-snatches-defeat-from-the-jaws-of-victory/2001-04-30/149.html 2026-08-26 Go Auto en-AU Mark Skaife would win the second race in a relatively untroubled run after Murphy was penalised for a jump start. Skaife would also claim round honours with teammate Jason Bright claiming second and Murphy third. Background Following the Adelaide 500, there was controversy in relation to incidents going unpunished by race officials. For this event, the officials relayed that they would be more strict on any offences going forward. Jason Bright of the Holden Racing Team entered the weekend as the championship leader over teammate Mark Skaife. The factory Holden outfit had dominated the Sydney venue in the last two visits in 1999 and 2000, and were expected to be in a similarly rich vain of form this year. It was acknowledged however that the Ford teams had made a marketable stride forward with the problematic AU Falcon and were expected to be more of a threat in 2001. Entry list 2001 Shell Championship Series#Teams and drivers There were multiple entrants making their first appearances for the 2001 season at this event. This included Peter Doulman for Doulman Automotive, and Tomas Mezera would shift from his privateer entry run in the first two rounds to Imrie Motorsport for Eastern Creek. Race report Pre-Qualifying Cameron McConville topped the timing sheets of pre-qualifying with a time nearly two tenths faster than nearest competitor, David Besnard. Jason Richards and Tomas Mezera failed to qualify for the weekend. Pos No Name Team Vehicle Time 1 3 AUS Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 1:33.4470 2 9 AUS David Besnard Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:33.6309 3 24 AUS Paul Romano Romano Racing Holden Commodore (VS) 1:34.2508 4 43 AUS Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:34.3095 5 16 AUS Dugal McDougall McDougall Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:34.3520 6 52 AUS Peter Doulman M3 Motorsport Holden Commodore (VT) 1:34.1167 7 45 AUS Dean Canto RPM International Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:35.3294 DNPQ 021 NZL Jason Richards Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 1:35.4172 DNPQ 14 AUS Tomas Mezera Imrie Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:36.5443 Source: https://www.racingyears.com/race/2001_V8_Supercars_Eastern_Creek_(Race_1) 2001 V8 Supercars Eastern Creek (Race 1) The Racing Years 1 September 2026 Qualifying Greg Murphy secured provisional pole position for the first time in 2001 with a time nearly two tenths faster than nearest competitor and former teammate, Steven Richards. Pos No Name Team Vehicle Time 1 51 NZL Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 1:31.3941 2 6 NZL Steven Richards Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:31.5774 3 00 AUS Craig Lowndes Gibson Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:31.6617 4 4 AUS Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:31.8019 5 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 1:31.8051 6 5 AUS Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:31.8988 7 600 AUS John Bowe Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:32.0053 8 15 AUS Todd Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 1:32.0215 9 35 AUS Jason Bargwanna Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:32.0593 10 2 AUS Jason Bright Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 1:32.1036 11 8 AUS Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 1:32.1060 12 10 AUS Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:32.1221 13 17 AUS Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:32.1709 14 9 AUS David Besnard Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:32.1796 15 18 NZL Paul Radisich Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:32.1796 16 31 AUS Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:32.2795 17 40 AUS Cameron McLean Paragon Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:32.3122 18 34 AUS Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:32.4279 19 3 AUS Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 1:32.4877 20 29 AUS Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VT) 1:32.4935 21 11 AUS Larry Perkins Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 1:32.5029 22 16 AUS Dugal McDougall McDougall Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:32.7706 23 43 AUS Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:32.7933 24 21 AUS Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:32.8395 25 46 NZL John Faulkner John Faulkner Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 1:33.1477 26 50 AUS Tyler Mecklem Clive Wiseman Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 1:33.5518 27 24 AUS Paul Romano Romano Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:33.6450 28 75 AUS Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:33.8365 29 23 AUS Trevor Ashby Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VS) 1:34.0544 30 45 AUS Dean Canto RPM International Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:34.1623 31 54 AUS Tony Longhurst Rod Nash Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:34.2954 32 52 AUS Peter Doulman M3 Motorsport Holden Commodore (VT) 1:34.5644 Source: Top Ten Shootout Marcos Ambrose claimed his first V8 Supercar pole position in only his third event in the category. Skaife spun on his lap and relegated him to last in the pecking order. Pos No Name Team Vehicle Time Points 1 4 AUS Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:30.8955 18 2 00 AUS Craig Lowndes Gibson Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:31.1996 16 3 6 NZL Steven Richards Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:31.4387 14 4 5 AUS Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:31.4998 13 5 51 NZL Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 1:31.5992 12 6 600 AUS John Bowe Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:31.6266 11 7 15 AUS Todd Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 1:31.7689 10 8 2 AUS Jason Bright Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 1:31.942 9 9 35 AUS Jason Bargwanna Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:32.2104 8 10 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 2:21.6514 7 Source: Race 1 Seton surprised the field by snatching the lead from the second row heading into turn one. It was a good change of fortune for him after suffering a front suspension failure in the morning warm-up. Lowndes nestled into second place and Murphy into third, which he lost to Ambrose on lap two after slewing sideways at turn eight. Steven Ellery was spun around by Jason Bargwanna; secondary contact later on in the lap led to Bargwanna returning to the pitlane with damaged front-left suspension. Ambrose overtook Lowndes for second place after Lowndes attempted a move around the outside of Seton heading into turn two. On lap 10, Lowndes was the first of the front runners to complete their compulsory pitstops. One lap later, Ambrose and Murphy peeled off to complete their stops. Murphy's crew managed to turn the Kiwi around quickly and thus jumped Ambrose in the order to assume effective second place behind Lowndes. At the same time, Paul Romano spun at turn seven and beached himself in the gravel trap. This prompted the safety car and given the rules forbidding pitting under safety car conditions, both Seton and teammate Steven Richards were trapped on the racetrack, having not made their compulsory pitstops, and effectively lost the lead for Seton. Racing resumed on lap 14 with the Ford Tickford Racing Falcon's leading, albeit still required to undertake their compulsory pitstops. Besides them, there were ten other drivers who had yet to pit. Within two laps, all those drivers would complete their stops, handing the lead to Lowndes. Skaife meanwhile had risen from his lowly tenth qualifying position to fourth. Ambrose began to apply pressure to Murphy for second place. On the approach to turn two, Ambrose made considerable contact with the rear of the Kmart Commodore, sending Murphy wide and allowed the Tasmanian to assume second place. The order remained fairly stagnant for the remainder of the race. Lowndes enjoyed an untroubled run to the chequered flag to take his second win of the second with Ambrose second and Murphy third. Notable performances throughout the field included Brad Jones who had climbed from 24th to sixth, and Tony Longhurst who had finished in the top ten after starting 31st. Post-race penalties for Lowndes and Ambrose would see the Ford drivers lose their first and second place finishes and relegate them down the order. In the instance of Lowndes, he was adjudged to have passed Murphy under yellow flag conditions heading into turn two. As a result, he was issued a 29-second time penalty (equivalent of a stop-go penalty), dropping him to 12th. Ambrose meanwhile was pinged for his contact with Murphy at turn two on lap 18. He was issued a similar penalty to Lowndes and thus was bumped down to 13th. Murphy was subsequently rewarded with the race win. Pos No Driver Team Car Laps Time Grid Points 1 51 NZL Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 26 43min 29.3711sec 5 135 2 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 26 + 0.98 10 120 3 2 AUS Jason Bright Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 26 + 7.64 8 108 4 600 AUS John Bowe Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 8.24 6 99 5 18 NZL Paul Radisich Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 8.84 15 93 6 21 AUS Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 15.10 24 87 7 29 AUS Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VT) 26 + 19.69 20 81 8 43 AUS Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 19.98 23 75 9 40 AUS Cameron McLean Paragon Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 20.25 17 72 10 54 AUS Tony Longhurst Rod Nash Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 26 + 21.53 31 69 11 16 AUS Dugal McDougall McDougall Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 26 + 22.55 22 66 12 00 AUS Craig Lowndes Gibson Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 25.34 2 63 13 4 AUS Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 28.44 1 60 14 6 NZL Steven Richards Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 31.71 3 57 15 17 AUS Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 34.19 13 54 16 15 AUS Todd Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 26 + 34.19 7 51 17 5 AUS Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 35.35 4 48 18 75 AUS Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 38.79 28 45 19 9 AUS David Besnard Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 38.91 14 42 20 34 AUS Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 26 + 41.17 18 39 21 52 AUS Peter Doulman M3 Motorsport Holden Commodore (VT) 26 + 42.51 32 36 22 10 AUS Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 42.74 12 33 23 8 AUS Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 26 + 42.97 11 30 24 11 AUS Larry Perkins Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 26 + 46.09 21 27 25 3 AUS Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 26 + 46.53 19 24 26 31 AUS Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 57.37 16 21 27 45 AUS Dean Canto RPM International Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 1:04.84 30 18 28 46 NZL John Faulkner John Faulkner Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 26 + 1:06.85 25 15 29 23 AUS Trevor Ashby Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VS) 25 + 1 lap 29 12 30 24 AUS Paul Romano Romano Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 23 + 3 laps 27 9 Ret 35 AUS Jason Bargwanna Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 4 Suspension 9 Ret 50 AUS Tyler Mecklem Clive Wiseman Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 2 Retired 26 Fastest Lap: Todd Kelly (Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia) - 1:32.8645 on lap 18 Source: Race 2 Murphy led the field into turn one from pole position but within a lap, the stewards would issue him with a stop-go penalty for a jump start. On lap three, Murphy peeled off to complete his penalty. In the process, Murphy failed to come to a complete stop and despite the urging of the present marshal, Ray Robins, Murphy drove away to resume the race. Despite the controversy surrounding this incident, the stewards elected not to re-penalise Murphy on the account that they felt he had already served a penalty appropriate for the original offence. Following this, the race remained relatively tranquil. Skaife continued to eek out a lead over teammate Bright and Steven Richards lost five laps on the leading pack after encountering car problems whilst in the pitlane. With a handful of laps remaining, Lowndes had become locked in combat with John Bowe for fourth place. Bargwanna and Russell Ingall came to blows at turn eight, sending the former into a spin. Skaife remained unchallenged to the flag to take his third win of the season. Bright finished second and Paul Radisich rounded out the podium; a welcome result after struggling for pace throughout most of the weekend. Murphy had completed his own recovery drive from 30th to finish 11th, and in doing so, secured third overall in round points. Pos No Driver Team Car Laps Time Grid Points 1 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 26 41min 24.0189sec 2 135 2 2 AUS Jason Bright Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 26 + 9.46 3 120 3 18 AUS Paul Radisich Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 15.24 5 108 4 600 AUS John Bowe Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 18.06 4 99 5 00 AUS Craig Lowndes Gibson Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 19.02 12 93 6 4 AUS Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 20.59 13 87 7 5 AUS Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 22.29 3 81 8 15 AUS Todd Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 26 + 27.90 16 75 9 40 AUS Cameron McLean Paragon Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 31.89 9 72 10 34 AUS Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 26 + 34.23 20 69 11 51 NZL Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 26 + 35.77 1 66 12 8 AUS Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 26 + 37.19 23 63 13 29 AUS Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VT) 26 + 39.47 7 60 14 21 AUS Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 39.82 6 57 15 17 AUS Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 40.15 15 54 16 3 AUS Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 26 + 40.59 25 51 17 35 AUS Jason Bargwanna Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 26 + 44.52 31 48 18 11 AUS Larry Perkins Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 26 + 50.59 24 45 19 16 AUS Dugal McDougall McDougall Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 26 + 52.25 11 42 20 54 AUS Tony Longhurst Rod Nash Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 26 + 53.74 10 39 21 10 AUS Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 56.38 22 36 22 31 AUS Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 56.51 26 33 23 43 AUS Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 1:11.09 8 30 24 46 NZL John Faulkner John Faulkner Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 26 + 1:12.67 28 27 25 45 AUS Dean Canto RPM International Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 1:13.61 27 24 26 23 AUS Trevor Ashby Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VS) 26 + 1:16.36 29 21 27 24 AUS Paul Romano Romano Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 26 + 1:27.08 30 18 28 75 AUS Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 26 + 1:34.07 18 15 29 52 AUS Peter Doulman M3 Motorsport Holden Commodore (VT) 25 + 1 lap 21 12 30 50 AUS Tyler Mecklem Clive Wiseman Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 25 + 1 lap 32 9 31 6 NZL Steven Richards Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 21 + 5 laps 14 6 Ret 9 AUS David Besnard Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 9 Retired 19 Fastest Lap: Marcos Ambrose (Stone Brothers Racing) - 1:33.0016 on lap 11 Source: https://www.racingyears.com/race/2001_V8_Supercars_Eastern_Creek_(Race_2) 2001 V8 Supercars Eastern Creek (Race 2) The Racing Years 1 September 2026 Championship points Round points tally Pos. Position No Driver Team Pts Points 1 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 262 2 2 AUS Jason Bright Holden Racing Team 237 3 51 NZL Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia 213 4 600 AUS John Bowe Briggs Motorsport 209 5 18 NZL Paul Radisich Dick Johnson Racing 201 Drivers' Championship standings after Round 3 Pos. Position No Driver Team Pts Points 10px 1 2 AUS Jason Bright Holden Racing Team 940 10px 1 1 AUS Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 890 10px 3 17 AUS Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing 716 10px 4 8 AUS Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering 713 10px 5 15 AUS Todd Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia 633 References External links Eastern Creek Raceway 2001 2001 Adelaide 500 2001 V8 Supercars Darwin round 2000 Eastern Creek V8 Supercar round 2002 Eastern Creek V8 Supercar round Eastern Creek Category:Motorsport at Eastern Creek Raceway