The 2002 Adelaide 500 (known for naming rights reasons as the 2002 Clipsal 500 Adelaide) was the fourth running of the Adelaide 500 race. It was the opening round of the 2002 V8 Supercar Championship Series and was held from March 15 to 17, 2002.

The weekend was dominated by the Holden Racing Team outfit. In particular, defending champion Mark Skaife claimed pole position and won both races. Teammate Jason Bright also exhibited strong pace and had led the first race until a handful laps remaining when he made contact with the wall, damaged his rear suspension and forced him out of the race.

This year saw the introduction of the new 'sweeper' configuration at turn eight. The new addition would become of the most challenging and feared corners in Australian motorsport.

Background The format, unique to V8 Supercars, and loosely similar to the Pukekohe 500 format, splits the 500 kilometre event into two separate 250 kilometre-races, each held on a different day. Points were assigned separately to the races, with Race 2 paying double points over Race 1 (180 points for a win in Race 1 and 360 points for a win in Race 2), and they combined to award a round result. The defending event winner from 2001 was Jason Bright of the Holden Racing Team.

Following a spate of incidents over the previous two events, the turn eight chicane had been altered into a sweeper for the 2002 event. The corner would be taken in sixth gear with little in the way of lifting and would become a staple of the circuits characteristics for years to come.

Entry list

On the run-up to the event, the rising popularity of the category led to an influx of entries that the paddock could not accommodate. As a result, pre-qualifying would take place at the nearby Mallala Motor Sport Park with 41 drivers vying for 36 allocated spots on the grid. Those who failed to qualify included Tomas Mezera for Imrie Motorsport, Greg Crick and Ross Halliday for Halliday Motorsports, and Dugal McDougall for his privateer outfit.

Trevor Ashby took part in official practice for pre-qualifying but did not partake in qualifying itself. As a result, this gave Ashby his 60th and final V8 Supercar entry.

Race report

Qualifying Pos No Driver Team Car Time 1 1 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 1:22.1273 2 2 Jason Bright Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 1:22.1829 3 51 Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 1:22.2803 4 16 Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 1:22.6620 5 65 Max Wilson Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:22.8995 6 888 John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:22.9192 7 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:22.9776 8 00 Craig Lowndes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:23.0312 9 600 Simon Wills Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:23.0439 10 8 Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 1:23.0692 11 34 Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:23.0984 12 4 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:23.1792 13 15 Todd Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 1:23.2515 14 10 Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:23.2648 15 11 Larry Perkins Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 1:23.2723 16 31 Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:23.2807 17 66 Tony Longhurst Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:23.2953 18 5 Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:23.3598 19 35 Jason Bargwanna Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:23.3793 20 27 Neil Crompton 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:23.5164 21 54 Craig Baird Rod Nash Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:23.5448 22 02 Rick Kelly Holden Young Lions Holden Commodore (VX) 1:23.5598 23 36 Wayne Gardner Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:23.6512 24 9 David Besnard Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:23.6532 25 021 Jason Richards Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 1:23.7269 26 24 Paul Romano Romano Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:23.7336 27 46 John Faulkner John Faulkner Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:23.7664 28 40 Cameron McLean Paragon Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:23.7822 29 29 Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:23.9094 30 75 Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:23.9646 31 7 Rodney Forbes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:24.2887 32 43 Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:24.4092 33 3 Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 1:25.4089 34 21 Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:25.5182 35 50 Stephen White Clive Wiseman Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:25.7128 Source:

Top fifteen shootout Pos No Driver Team Car Time 1 1 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 1:22.7698 2 2 Jason Bright Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 1:23.1881 3 4 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:23.2154 4 34 Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:23.3237 5 65 Max Wilson Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:23.3419 6 8 Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 1:23.4492 7 888 John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:23.6022 8 00 Craig Lowndes Gibson Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:23.6533 9 11 Larry Perkins Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 1:23.6735 10 600 Simon Wills Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:23.7880 11 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:23.8466 12 16 Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 1:23.8904 13 15 Todd Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 1:24.0552 14 10 Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:24.1842 15 51 Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) no time Source:

Leg 1 Pos No Team Driver Car Laps Time / Retired Grid 1 1 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 78 2hr 05min 33.336sec 1 2 51 Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 5.272 15 3 4 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 78 + 6.052 3 4 00 Craig Lowndes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 78 + 8.071 8 5 16 Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 16.183 12 6 34 Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 47.634 4 7 66 Tony Longhurst Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 78 + 1:15.938 17 8 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 77 + 1 lap 11 9 15 Todd Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 77 + 1 lap 13 10 35 Jason Bargwanna Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 77 + 1 lap 19 11 11 Larry Perkins Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 77 + 1 lap 9 12 54 Craig Baird Rod Nash Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 77 + 1 lap 21 13 7 Rodney Forbes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 77 + 1 lap 31 14 10 Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 77 + 1 lap 14 15 021 Jason Richards Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 77 + 1 lap 25 16 75 Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 76 + 2 laps 30 17 50 Stephen White Clive Wiseman Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 75 + 3 laps 35 18 5 Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 75 + 3 laps 18 19 888 John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 73 + 5 laps 7 20 21 Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 69 + 9 laps 34 21 8 Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 67 + 11 laps 6 Ret 2 Jason Bright Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 72 Suspension 2 Ret 9 David Besnard Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 71 Engine 24 Ret 31 Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 58 Accident 16 Ret 29 Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 58 Retired 29 Ret 65 Max Wilson Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 56 Oil leak 5 Ret 46 John Faulkner John Faulkner Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 53 Retired 27 Ret 02 Rick Kelly Holden Young Lions Holden Commodore (VX) 48 Accident 22 Ret 24 Paul Romano Romano Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 48 Accident 26 Ret 27 Neil Crompton 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 38 Engine 20 Ret 43 Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 20 Spun off 32 Ret 3 Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 16 Engine 33 Ret 40 Cameron McLean Paragon Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 15 Retired 28 Ret 600 Simon Wills Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 3 Accident damage 10 Ret 36 Wayne Gardner Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 3 Accident damage 23 Ret 18 Paul Radisich Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 2 Engine 36 Fastest Lap: Mark Skaife (Holden Racing Team) - 1:23.7200 on lap 43 Source(s):

Leg 2 Pos No Driver Team Car Laps Time / Retired Grid 1 1 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 78 2hr 05min 03.953sec 1 2 51 Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 4.094 2 3 16 Steven Richards Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 18.524 5 4 00 Craig Lowndes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 78 + 20.368 4 5 2 Jason Bright Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 20.405 22 6 34 Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 24.081 6 7 8 Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 31.716 21 8 888 John Bowe Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 78 + 34.915 19 9 35 Jason Bargwanna Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 36.064 10 10 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 78 + 38.735 8 11 10 Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 78 + 55.081 14 12 15 Todd Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 59.898 9 13 43 Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 78 + 1:11.095 31 14 11 Larry Perkins Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 78 + 1:14.450 11 15 36 Wayne Gardner Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 78 + 1:19.028 35 16 600 Simon Wills Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 77 + 1 lap 34 17 24 Paul Romano Romano Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 77 + 1 lap 29 18 66 Tony Longhurst Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 77 + 1 lap 7 19 21 Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 77 + 1 lap 20 20 7 Rodney Forbes 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 75 + 3 laps 13 21 021 Jason Richards Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 75 + 3 laps 15 22 9 David Besnard Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 73 + 5 laps 23 23 75 Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 73 + 5 laps 16 24 40 Cameron McLean Paragon Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 71 + 7 laps 33 25 29 Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 65 + 13 laps 25 DNF 4 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 67 Retired 3 DNF 54 Craig Baird Rod Nash Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 60 Retired 12 DNF 5 Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 49 Retired 18 DNF 3 Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 26 Retired 32 DNF 18 Paul Radisich Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 25 Retired 36 DNF 27 Neil Crompton 00 Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 22 Retired 30 DNF 46 John Faulkner John Faulkner Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 16 Retired 27 DNF 50 Stephen White Clive Wiseman Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 0 Retired 17 DNF 65 Max Wilson Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 0 Retired 26 DNS 31 Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (AU) Did not start DNS 02 Rick Kelly Holden Young Lions Holden Commodore (VX) Did not start Fastest Lap: Mark Skaife (Holden Racing Team) - 1:24.3395 on lap 13 Source

Round results