2001 Shell Championship Series

Calendar

The 2001 Shell Championship Series consisted of 13 rounds, which included 7 pit-stop rounds of two or three races, two sprint races, two 2-driver races, and 2 1-driver endurance races.

Race formats

• 2 45-minute races (around 100 km) will replace the 3 20-minute sprint races. There will also be a compulsory pit stop that has to be taken within a certain time of the race
• There will be a Top 10 or Top 15 Shootout for all rounds during the season that will alternate from round to round. This involves a single lap around the circuit for the Top 10/15 qualifiers in qualifying. The winner of the shootout wins 18 bonus points
• 2 events will involve the 3 20-minute sprint races. This will happen at Round 6 and 7 at Barbagallo Raceway and Calder Park Raceway. There will be no compulsory pit stops
• At 3 events, there will be 3 races over the weekend, this will happen at Hidden Valley, Pukekoke Park Raceway and Sandown

Special events

Round 2-Clipsal 500 at Adelaide: This involves two 250 km races over 78 laps of the Adelaide Street circuit. The winner of the event is the driver who wins the second race and not the driver who collects the most points. The second race involves double points over the first race. There are two compulsory pit stops in each race, one stop for tyres and one stop for fuel.

Round 5-GMC 400 at Canberra: This involves two 100 km races and one 200 km race over 25 and 50 laps of the Canberra Street Circuit. The winner of the event is the driver who collects the most points over the weekend. The 2nd race of the weekend will involve a reverse grid of the entire field. The 3rd race grid will be a culmination of the points of race one and race two put together. In the first two races there will be only one compulsory stop for tyres. In the 3rd race, there will be one stop for tyres and one stop for fuel.

Round 9-VIP Petfoods Queensland 500 at Queensland Raceway: This is the first of the double driver endurance events. This race is held over 161 laps over 500 km. The race will involve driver changes and fuel and tyre stops will have to happen at the same time.

Round 11-V8 Supercar 1000 at Bathurst (Known as "The Great Race"): Bathurst is the event that all the drivers want to win. It is again a double driver event and will involve driver changes at pit stops. The race is held over 161 laps over 1000 km. This season is the first time that the event isn't the last round of the championship.

Television coverage

Channel 10 and Fox Sports broadcast the coverage for the 5th year since 1997 when they took over from Channel 7. Neil Crompton hosted the coverage for regular rounds with Barry Sheene. Bill Woods hosted the coverage at special events while Leigh Diffey hosted the coverage at the last 2 rounds. Matthew White hosted the coverage at Winton for the only time in the 2001 season. Neil Crompton, Barry Sheene and Mark Oastler commentated for most of the season with Leigh Diffey coming in from Queensland 500 onwards. Greg Rust and Grant Denyer were the pit lane reporters after Greg was commentator for the 2000 championship.

Teams and drivers

The following drivers and teams competed in the 2001 Shell Championship Series. The series consisted of 11 rounds of single driver racing and two rounds (the Queensland 500 and the Bathurst 1000) of endurance racing with each car driven by two drivers.

Driver changes

• After racing for the Holden Racing Team since 1994, Craig Lowndes moved to the newly created Ford team formed from the formerly Holden aligned Gibson Motorsport and acquired privateers front runner Rodney Forbes as a teammate. In between his Channel Ten commentary commitments, Neil Crompton joined the team for the enduros.
• Jason Bright replaced Lowndes in the number 2 Holden Racing Team car.
• Rookie Marcos Ambrose and V8 Lites series driver David Besnard joined the series with Stone Brothers Racing. Tony Longhurst found a drive with Rod Nash Racing and joined HRT for the long-distance races, while Craig Baird sat idle until the enduros.
• Sacked Gibson Motorsport driver Greg Murphy joined the former Holden Young Lions squad with new sponsor Kmart, he joined Todd Kelly at the team.
• Fellow superseded GMS driver Steven Richards, joined Ford Tickford Racing.
• As part of a franchise deal arrangement the Holden Young Lions identity passed to privateer outfit Romano Racing who ran Paul Romano.
• Cameron McConville joined the re-launched Lansvale Racing Team as a lead driver while owners Steve Reed and Trevor Ashby shared an older VS Commodore.

Team changes

• After running Holden Since 1993 .Gibson Motorsport switched to Ford
• Romano Racing became Holden Young Lions and ran an ex-HRT VT Commodore

Season review

Phillip Island, Victoria

Mark Skaife got off to the best start possible, collecting the maximum points at Phillip Island, with Craig Lowndes finishing second on his debut for Ford, thanks to the fastest pit stops of the weekend by his crew. Jason Bright finished third in his comeback to the sport.

Adelaide, South Australia

At the next round in Adelaide, Bright wins the round and the double points race after coming from the back of the field following an accident on lap 1, leaving him at the top of the championship. Mark Skaife has a rough weekend, finishing fourth after being spun by Paul Radisich in Race 1, and suffering another spin in Race 2, leaving him in ninth place. Craig Lowndes won the Saturday race but tangled with Skaife in Race 2, disabling his car and causing him to fall behind in the championship. Paul Radisich had the fastest car of the weekend, but an axle failure in Race 1 and steering damage left him struggling in the championship. Russell Ingall had a solid weekend, finishing with a third and a second place. There was significant controversy over the race officials, as rule-breaking went unpunished, and they were under scrutiny at Eastern Creek.

Eastern Creek, New South Wales

Craig Lowndes and Marcos Ambrose came first and second in the first race but got penalised because of incidents. Craig passed under a Yellow Flag that he could not see and Marcos made an illegal pass on Greg Murphy. This left Greg Murphy 1st on the grid for Race 2 and Mark Skaife second who started tenth in race 1 after he spun in the shootout. Greg Murphy lost his lead to Skaife after he was given a stop-go penalty for jumping the start, but there was more controversy after he didn't come to a complete stop. He got away with it but the rules were changed for the next round. Mark Skaife duly took out the race and round with teammate Jason Bright second but still leading the championship. Greg Murphy came third for the round even with the penalty.

Hidden Valley, Northern Territory

The next round at Hidden Valley turned out to be the car breaker of the year, with Greg Murphy and Russell Ingall having mechanical problems while leading within sight of the flag in Race 3 and 2 respectively. Mark Skaife had a stop-go penalty for jumping the start in Race 1 which left him 12th but still recovered to win Race 3 and come third in the round. Jason Bright had another solid weekend coming second and extending his championship lead over his teammate. But it was Marcos Ambrose who kept his nose clean over the weekend to take the round win in only his fourth championship round.

Canberra, ACT

The GMC 400 was the turning point of the season for Mark Skaife as he came third on the weekend and overtook teammate Jason Bright, who had a difficult weekend. The DJR cars were the cars to have earlier in the weekend as Paul Radisich and Steven Johnson finished 1–2 in qualifying but Radisich spun out in his shootout lap, leaving him 15th and Steven Johnson claiming his first pole position in the series. New for the championship were the pit lane speed limiters restricted to 40 km/h and only one pit bay per team. Steven Johnson wins the first race from Craig Lowndes who was advantaged bt a clear pit lane. Mark Skaife finished 3rd after starting 5th. Marcos Ambrose retires from the race with a broken driveshaft and will start from the back of the grid. The 2nd race is a reverse grid with Steve Reed and Steven Richards starting on the front row. Steven Richards wins from Marcos Ambrose who has a brilliant race which he started from the back but in race 3 he will have to start from the back again. Mark Skaife has a difficult race when he ran into the back of Rodney Forbes in a concertina effect and finished 24th and will start 10th in race 3. The race 3 grid is decided by an aggregate of points accumulated in race 1 and 2 which means that the front row is Craig Lowndes and Paul Radisich. Mark Skaife wins the race with Garth Tander second and Steve Johnson 3rd. Craig Lowndes was leading until a safety car came out with a pit stop still to go. He eventually retired with fuel pressure problems. Steve Johnson won the round with Garth Tander second and Mark Skaife 3rd.

Barbagallo, Western Australia

Paul Radisich dominated the weekend, winning the shootout and Race 1, 2, and 3. Mark Skaife consolidated his championship lead with 2nd place in all three races, while Greg Murphy finished 3rd overall. Russell Ingall saw his chance of a podium dashed when he jumped the start in Race 3 and ended up 4th overall.

Calder Park, Victoria

Paul Morris won his first ever V8 Supercar event as the Big Kev Racer was on the pace from the start of the weekend. Mark Skaife started on Pole but a poor start left him vulnerable to Steven Johnson, who he tapped to give him the lead, but he was issued with a stop-go penalty giving Johnson the lead he never relinquished. Paul Morris came 2nd and Marcos Ambrose 3rd. Paul Morris reverted to blocking in the final 2 races to win both, Russell Ingall finished 2nd in race 2 with Jason Bright 3rd and in race 3, Paul Radisich finished 2nd with Russell Ingall 3rd. Overall for the weekend, Steven Johnson finished 2nd with Russell Ingall 3rd. Mark Skaife finished 14th overall after a spin in race 3.

Oran Park, New South Wales

Mark Skaife comes back from a difficult Calder with a win in both races after starting 2nd. Craig Lowndes claims the pole, but finished 2nd in race 1 and 8th in race 2 after a spin by Garth Tander but still finishes 3rd overall. David Besnard has a fantastic round as he finishes 3rd and 2nd for a 2nd overall as teammate Marcos Ambrose struggles to get to grips with the track.

Queensland 500, Queensland

The first two-driver Enduro provided plenty of thrills, spills, and a dramatic ending. A huge thunderstorm hit as Steven Johnson and Paul Radisich won the race from the gravel trap, but they were lucky as the red flag came out, reverting the result to the previous lap. Russell Ingall and Larry Perkins finished 2nd, while Todd Kelly and Greg Murphy took 3rd. Mark Skaife and Jason Bright finished 4th, despite having oil on the screen for part of the race.

Winton, Victoria

Russell Ingall took another step forward in his championship fight by securing his first round win of the season and claiming his first pole position of his career. Greg Murphy won Race 1, but a slow pit stop in Race 2 dropped him to 6th, though he still finished 2nd overall for the weekend. Mark Skaife finished 3rd overall after starting 15th following a poor qualifying session. Marcos Ambrose was the fastest Ford of the weekend, passing car after car after running off-track on the first corner.

V8 Supercar 1000, Bathurst, New South Wales

Mark Skaife took a significant step toward the championship with his win at Bathurst alongside Tony Longhurst. The Drive of the Day award went to Brad Jones and John Cleland, who started 21st and finished 2nd, despite radio issues that caused Cleland to miss the safety car period. They lost out by just a few seconds. Todd Kelly and Greg Murphy finished 3rd, having stayed in the top 3 all day. They could have won if Todd hadn't spun on a slippery track coming into the last pit stop at the chase. Russell Ingall overtook Jason Bright for 2nd place in the championship after Jason failed to finish alongside Tomas Mezera. Russell and Larry Perkins led heading into the final pit stop, but Larry crashed while entering the pit lane, damaging the front spoiler. They eventually finished 8th. Pole-sitter Marcos Ambrose fell through the field, and after overcooking his entry into the pit lane at the first stop, he got stuck in the gravel and retired. Greg Ritter and Cameron McLean finished 4th after a strong race with a fast car. Paul Radisich and Steven Johnson retired due to an engine failure during a safety car period.

Boost Mobile V8 International, Pukekohe, New Zealand

In the first-ever overseas event for the series, Greg Murphy earned maximum points on home turf. Mark Skaife clinches the championship in the first race, finishing ahead of Russell Ingall, who faced several gearbox issues. Marcos Ambrose finished third but lacked the pace of the leading Holdens.

Sandown, Victoria

Todd Kelly wins his first-ever championship round, securing victory in race 2 and delivering other consistent results. Mark Skaife wins the first race in dry conditions but struggles in the wet and ultimately retires from race 3 following contact with Steven Richards. Craig Lowndes wins the third race, finishing ahead of Marcos Ambrose.

Overall

Mark Skaife wins the series for the fourth time, finishing ahead of Russell Ingall. Jason Bright takes third, ahead of Greg Murphy. The top Ford driver is Steven Johnson. Todd Kelly finishes sixth, thanks to a strong final round, ahead of Paul Radisich, who had some solid performances throughout the season. Marcos Ambrose is awarded Rookie of the Year after finishing eighth, though he would likely regret his performance in the endurance races, where he earned only 112 points. Steve Ellery, the highest-placing driver from a single-car team, takes ninth, while Garth Tander finishes tenth after a challenging year. Craig Lowndes concludes his first year with Ford in eleventh place.

Results and standings

Results summary

Points system

Championship points were awarded on the following basis:

Qualifying points were issued for the first race of each weekend only. Drivers did not need to finish races to score points, provided they took the start.

• Point system 1: Used for Hidden Valley, Canberra races 1 and 2, Barbagallo, Calder Park, Pukekohe and Sandown.
• Point system 2: Used for Phillip Island, Eastern Creek, Oran Park and Winton.
• Point system 3: Used for Adelaide race 1 and Canberra race 3.
• Point system 4: Used for Adelaide race 2 and the Queensland 500.
• Point system 5: Used for the Bathurst 1000.

Drivers championship