The 2001 Phillip Island V8 Supercar round was the first round of the 2001 Shell Championship Series. It was held on the weekend of 23 to 25 March at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Victoria, Australia.

The weekend was dominated by Mark Skaife and the Holden Racing Team. Taking pole position in the top-ten shootout followed by two victories, Skaife collected maximum points for the weekend. Craig Lowndes achieved second overall for the round in his first race weekend under the Ford banner and Jason Bright acquired third place in his return to the Shell Championship after he left for Indy Lights at the end of 1999.

Background One of the bigger talking points in the off-season was Craig Lowndes' defection from Holden to Ford on a five-year deal. At a time where marquee sport was still of prominence, Lowndes' move created great discussion. Moving from the factory Holden team, Lowndes would move to Gibson Motorsport which itself had shifted to the Ford brand for 2001. In the non-championship support event for the Australian Grand Prix, the new partnership proved an immediate success with Lowndes winning two out of the three races across the weekend.

Gibson Motorsport's shift from Holden to Ford, as well as the signing of Lowndes, had initially left their 2000 drivers, Greg Murphy and Steven Richards, out of a drive for 2001. Murphy eventually found himself in the secondary Tom Walkinshaw outfit, retaining the Kmart branding from Gibson Motorsport. Richards meanwhile signed with Glenn Seton Racing after the team initially looked to hire privateer Cameron McLean.

With Lowndes leaving the Holden Racing Team, Jason Bright was drafted in to fill the void. Bright had returned to the series after a season of racing Indy Lights in the United States. Bright had last driven for Stone Brothers Racing, who had since taken onboard two new rookies for 2001 in the form of Marcos Ambrose and David Besnard, who had replaced Rod Nash Racing-bound Tony Longhurst.

One of the favourites for the championship heading into the season was Garth Tander after his breakout year in 2000 which saw him come close to championship glory. His team, Garry Rogers Motorsport, had exhibited strong pace in pre-season testing at Winton and looked set to continue on their form from the previous season.

New Zealand-based outfit, Team Kiwi Racing, would make their full-season debut in the series for 2001 with Jason Richards scheduled to contest all the rounds. Angus Fogg would make select appearances throughout the season.

Race results

Pre-Qualifying Both Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia cars were required to pre-qualify by virtue of being a new entry into the championship. Both Greg Murphy and Todd Kelly, topped the pre-qualifying session. Dean Canto, Greg Ritter, Tyler Mecklem and Jason Richards failed to qualify. Melinda Price had participated in pre-qualifying practice in place of Mecklem at Clive Wiseman Racing.

Pos No Name Team Vehicle Time 1 51 Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 1:34.1721 2 15 Todd Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 1:34.3774 3 40 Cameron McLean Paragon Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:34.7395 4 3 Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 1:35.1669 5 76 Matthew White Matthew White Racing Holden Commodore (VS) 1:35.5773 6 32 Tomas Mezera Tomas Mezera Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:35.9717 7 75 Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:36.0445 DNQ 45 Dean Canto RPM International Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:36.7556 DNQ 14 Greg Ritter Imrie Motor Sport Holden Commodore (VT) 1:37.0123 DNQ 50 Tyler Mecklem Clive Wiseman Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 1:37.1420 DNQ 021 Jason Richards Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore (VT) no time Source:

Qualifying Radisich took provisional pole position, being the only driver to set a time below the 1 minute 33 second bracket.

Pos No Name Team Vehicle Time 1 18 Paul Radisich Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:32.9761 2 2 Jason Bright Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 1:33.0539 3 1 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 1:33.2111 4 4 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:33.2147 5 6 Steven Richards Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:33.3521 6 00 Craig Lowndes Gibson Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:33.3714 7 15 Todd Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 1:33.3749 8 8 Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 1:33.4275 9 34 Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:33.4373 10 5 Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:33.4539 11 11 Larry Perkins Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 1:33.5014 12 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:33.5850 13 51 Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 1:33.7035 14 10 Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:33.8426 15 35 Jason Bargwanna Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:33.9563 16 600 John Bowe Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:33.9596 17 9 David Besnard Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:34.1019 18 31 Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:34.1156 19 29 Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VT) 1:34.1371 20 46 John Faulkner John Faulkner Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:34.1707 21 43 Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:34.3605 22 3 Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 1:34.4222 23 21 Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:34.7174 24 16 Dugal McDougall McDougall Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:34.7739 25 40 Cameron McLean Paragon Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:34.8708 26 32 Tomas Mezera Tomas Mezera Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:34.9070 27 7 Rodney Forbes Gibson Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:34.9869 28 24 Paul Romano Romano Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 1:35.1329 29 54 Tony Longhurst Rod Nash Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 1:35.4848 30 75 Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:35.5860 31 23 Trevor Ashby Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VS) 1:35.8194 32 76 Matthew White Matthew White Racing Holden Commodore (VS) 1:37.4580 Source:

Top Ten Shootout

Pos No Name Team Vehicle Time 1 1 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 1:32.5121 2 2 Jason Bright Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 1:32.7961 3 4 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:32.8745 4 18 Paul Radisich Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:33.0265 5 5 Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:33.0690 6 6 Steven Richards Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 1:33.2409 7 00 Craig Lowndes Gibson Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 1:33.2985 8 8 Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 1:33.5311 9 34 Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 1:33.6165 10 15 Todd Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 1:33.6533 Source:

Race 1 In an action-packed opening lap that saw Jason Bargwanna and Mark Larkham spin off the track, Mark Skaife established a lead on the field that he would not relinquish. Following him was team-mate Jason Bright and rookie Marcos Ambrose. On lap 4, Ambrose pulled off an ambitious move on Bright for second place into Honda Hairpin. Behind them, Paul Radisich led a gaggle of cars that extended through to the mid-pack. Included in that bunch was Craig Lowndes, who had lost ground on the opening lap, and Greg Murphy, who was battling his way up from a poor qualifying position. John Bowe's race came to an end on lap 12 due to a suspected issue with the front-right suspension.

The pit window opened, allowing for drivers to undertake their compulsory pitstops. Radisich lost a flurry of positions thanks to a slow stop – and would later encounter handling issues that would see him fall further down the pack. Lowndes meanwhile vaulted the pack up into third place, behind Bright. For the remainder of the race, Bright, Lowndes and Ambrose would battle for second place. Up the front, Skaife remained untroubled, taking the chequered flag by over ten seconds. Bright, Lowndes, Ambrose, and Murphy rounded out the top five.

Pos No Name Team Vehicle Laps Time Grid 1 1 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 28 45min 25.3061sec 1 2 2 Jason Bright Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 28 + 10.10 2 3 00 Craig Lowndes Gibson Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 28 + 11.65 6 4 4 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 28 + 12.19 4 5 51 Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 28 + 16.06 13 6 6 Steven Richards Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 28 + 20.56 6 7 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 28 + 25.22 12 8 15 Todd Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 28 + 25.63 10 9 8 Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 28 + 26.80 8 10 5 Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 28 + 29.24 5 11 31 Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 28 + 32.00 18 12 18 Paul Radisich Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 28 + 34.17 4 13 29 Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VT) 28 + 37.44 19 14 40 Cameron McLean Paragon Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 28 + 37.87 25 15 43 Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 28 + 46.99 21 16 10 Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 28 + 47.34 14 17 21 Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 28 + 51.04 23 18 35 Jason Bargwanna Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 28 + 51.33 15 19 54 Tony Longhurst Rod Nash Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 28 + 1:02.13 29 20 11 Larry Perkins Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 28 + 1:20.64 11 21 16 Dugal McDougall McDougall Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 28 + 1:22.50 24 22 34 Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 28 + 1:25.92 9 23 7 Rodney Forbes Gibson Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 28 + 1:29.38 27 24 32 Tomas Mezera Tomas Mezera Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 28 + 1:32.90 26 25 76 Matthew White Matthew White Racing Holden Commodore (VS) 28 + 1:34.06 32 26 23 Trevor Ashby Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VS) 28 + 1:34.86 31 27 24 Paul Romano Romano Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 27 + 1 lap 28 28 3 Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 27 + 1 lap 22 29 9 David Besnard Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 27 + 1 lap 17 30 46 John Faulkner John Faulkner Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 27 + 1 lap 20 Ret 600 John Bowe Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 12 Suspension 16 DNS 75 Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (AU) Did not start Fastest Lap: Craig Lowndes (Gibson Motorsport) - 1:34.3488 on lap 16 Source:

Race 2 Despite Bright getting a better start than him, Skaife retained the lead into turn one at the start. On the approach to Siberia on the first lap, Mark Larkham and Matthew White spun causing the chasing pack to scatter. Larkham would retire due to suspension damage sustained in the melee. Further up the road, Radisich also spun and was sent tumbling down the order.

Skaife continued to extend his lead by an average of three tenths per lap. However, on the approach to turn one on lap eight, Skaife collided with a seagull that caused significant damage to his windscreen. It didn't have any significant impact on his lap times however and he remained unchallenged to the flag. Gibson Motorsport's pit crew had once again helped vault Lowndes up the order and found himself in second place after the compulsory pitstops were complete.

The majority of the race remained relatively tranquil with Skaife winning the race by four seconds over Lowndes with Murphy rounding out the podium.