# 2008 Perth 400

The 2008 BigPond 400 was the fourth round of the 2008 V8 Supercar season. It was held on the weekend of 9 to 11 May at Barbagallo Raceway in Wanneroo, north of Perth, Western Australia.

## Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Saturday 10 May. Mark Winterbottom snatched pole position away from Mark Skaife in the final seconds of qualifying, which had to that point looked like an all-Holden Racing Team front row with Garth Tander just behind his teammate. Craig Lowndes qualified fourth for Team Vodafone. James Courtney debuted a new Stone Brothers Racing Falcon in fifth place. Todd Kelly likewise made a stellar debut with a new car, qualifying eighth. Jamie Whincup racing the repaired Craig Lowndes car from the Clipsal 500 was a disappointing 22nd, starting alongside fellow points front runner Lee Holdsworth.

## Race 1

Race 1 was held on Saturday 10 May. Mark Winterbottom took his second race victory of the year, a surprisingly comfortable win ahead of the HRT pair of Mark Skaife and Garth Tander. Tander was pushed hard by Steven Richards and Craig Lowndes. A collision at race start saw Jason Bright touch Greg Murphy who in turn made contact with Michael Caruso, sending Bright and Caruso out of control towards turn 7, where crossing the track Caruso struck Shane van Gisbergen. The incident triggered a safety car. Jamie Whincup and Will Davison charged through to seventh and eight positions from poor qualifying places. James Courtney was fighting amongst that group but fading rear tyres led Courtney to attempt defensive moves that raised the ire of race control, leading to first the bad sportsmanship flag, then a black flag drive through penalty which dropped him down field.

## Race 2

Race 2 was held on Sunday 11 May. Winterbottom backed it up with a second race victory, pushed all the way by Garth Tander. Jason Richards missed the start with engine problems. A slow start from Mark Skaife off the front row saw a collision with Steven Richards at turn 3 of the first lap. Skaife broadsided the wall but Richards attempted to continue with a punctured left rear tyre, limping back to the pits. Russell Ingall result was caused by a drive-through penalty for pit-lane speeding. Lee Holdsworth was pinged for a drive-through for an unsafe pitstop release, emerging onto the track as rain began to fall and made contact with Paul Dumbrell. Cameron McConville slithered into the stopped cars. Ingall, likewise put down-field by his penalty stop damaged his steering in a clash with race leader Jamie Whincup as Ingall was being lapped. Ingall later picked up a $5,000 fine for careless driving. Whincup stayed out during the brief rain squall, and took advantage of being able to pitstop at a better time, jumping back into the field in third place, right in front of teammate Craig Lowndes, the Team Vodafone pair race to the finish together. James Courtney recovered from race 1 dramas to finish seventh while Steven Richards recovered to ninth position falling just short of overtaking Todd Kelly. Shane van Gisbergen's repaired Falcon just made the top ten.

## Race 3

Race 3 was held on Sunday 11 May. An early race clash between Russell Ingall and Jason Richards, saw Richards into the pits with a front left puncture and a flapping door for Ingall. Ingall then subsequently picked up his second pit lane speeding infringement of the weekend.

## Results

Results as follows:

### Qualifying

| Pos | No | Name | Car | Team | Part 3 | Part 2 | Part 1 |
| 1 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Ford BF Falcon | Ford Performance Racing | 0:56.4362 | | |
| 2 | 2 | Mark Skaife | Holden VE Commodore | Holden Racing Team | 0:56.4786 | | |
| 3 | 1 | Garth Tander | Holden VE Commodore | Holden Racing Team | 0:56.5891 | | |
| 4 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Ford BF Falcon | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 0:56.7294 | | |
| 5 | 4 | James Courtney | Ford BF Falcon | Stone Brothers Racing | 0:56.8055 | | |
| 6 | 6 | Steven Richards | Ford BF Falcon | Ford Performance Racing | 0:56.8862 | | |
| 7 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Holden VE Commodore | HSV Dealer Team | 0:56.9660 | | |
| 8 | 7 | Todd Kelly | Holden VE Commodore | Perkins Engineering | 0:56.9664 | | |
| 9 | 16 | Paul Dumbrell | Holden VE Commodore | HSV Dealer Team | 0:57.0601 | | |
| 10 | 9 | Shane van Gisbergen | Ford BF Falcon | Stone Brothers Racing | 0:57.3704 | | |
| 11 | 3 | Jason Richards | Holden VE Commodore | Tasman Motorsport | | 0:57.0268 | |
| 12 | 34 | Michael Caruso | Holden VE Commodore | Garry Rogers Motorsport | | 0:57.0338 | |
| 13 | 14 | Cameron McConville | Holden VE Commodore | Brad Jones Racing | | 0:57.0472 | |
| 14 | 39 | Russell Ingall | Holden VE Commodore | Paul Morris Motorsport | | 0:57.0619 | |
| 15 | 25 | Jason Bright | Ford BF Falcon | Britek Motorsport | | 0:57.0958 | |
| 16 | 51 | Greg Murphy | Holden VE Commodore | Tasman Motorsport | | 0:57.1933 | |
| 17 | 18 | Will Davison | Ford BF Falcon | Dick Johnson Racing | | 0:57.2148 | |
| 18 | 12 | Andrew Jones | Holden VE Commodore | Brad Jones Racing | | 0:57.2549 | |
| 19 | 50 | Andrew Thompson | Holden VE Commodore | Paul Weel Racing | | 0:57.3061 | |
| 20 | 26 | Marcus Marshall | Ford BF Falcon | Britek Motorsport | | 0:57.5735 | |
| 21 | 33 | Lee Holdsworth | Holden VE Commodore | Garry Rogers Motorsport | | | 0:57.2779 |
| 22 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Ford BF Falcon | Triple Eight Race Engineering | | | 0:57.2806 |
| 23 | 111 | Fabian Coulthard | Ford BF Falcon | Paul Cruickshank Racing | | | 0:57.2812 |
| 24 | 17 | Steven Johnson | Ford BF Falcon | Dick Johnson Racing | | | 0:57.2842 |
| 25 | 67 | Paul Morris | Holden VE Commodore | Paul Morris Motorsport | | | 0:57.3050 |
| 26 | 11 | Shane Price | Holden VE Commodore | Perkins Engineering | | | 0:57.3176 |
| 27 | 777 | Michael Patrizi | Ford BF Falcon | Ford Rising Stars Racing | | | 0:57.0958 |
| 28 | 55 | Tony D'Alberto | Holden VE Commodore | Rod Nash Racing | | | 0:57.7454 |
| 29 | 021 | Kayne Scott | Ford BF Falcon | Team Kiwi Racing | | | 0:59.0170 |

### Race 1 results

| Pos | No | Name | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Performance Racing | 50 | 53:09.6602 | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | 2 | Mark Skaife | Holden Racing Team | 50 | +2.6s | 2 | 92 |
| 3 | 1 | Garth Tander | Holden Racing Team | 50 | +5.9s | 3 | 86 |
| 4 | 6 | Steven Richards | Ford Performance Racing | 50 | +6.2s | 6 | 80 |
| 5 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 50 | +7.7s | 4 | 74 |
| 6 | 15 | Rick Kelly | HSV Dealer Team | 50 | +14.7s | 7 | 68 |
| 7 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 50 | +15.8s | 22 | 64 |
| 8 | 18 | Will Davison | Dick Johnson Racing | 50 | +18.0s | 17 | 60 |
| 9 | 7 | Todd Kelly | Perkins Engineering | 50 | +22.2s | 8 | 56 |
| 10 | 14 | Cameron McConville | Brad Jones Racing | 50 | +24.3s | 13 | 52 |
| 11 | 39 | Russell Ingall | Paul Morris Motorsport | 50 | +27.6s | 14 | 48 |
| 12 | 51 | Greg Murphy | Tasman Motorsport | 50 | +30.8s | 16 | 46 |
| 13 | 17 | Steven Johnson | Dick Johnson Racing | 50 | +30.9s | 24 | 44 |
| 14 | 12 | Andrew Jones | Brad Jones Racing | 50 | +32.0s | 18 | 42 |
| 15 | 16 | Paul Dumbrell | HSV Dealer Team | 50 | +32.8s | 9 | 40 |
| 16 | 67 | Paul Morris | Paul Morris Motorsport | 50 | +34.0s | 25 | 38 |
| 17 | 111 | Fabian Coulthard | Paul Cruickshank Racing | 50 | +36.2s | 23 | 36 |
| 18 | 11 | Shane Price | Perkins Engineering | 50 | +37.1s | 26 | 34 |
| 19 | 777 | Michael Patrizi | Ford Rising Stars Racing | 50 | +42.0s | 27 | 32 |
| 20 | 4 | James Courtney | Stone Brothers Racing | 50 | +45.4s | 5 | 30 |
| 21 | 55 | Tony D'Alberto | Rod Nash Racing | 50 | +45.6s | 28 | 28 |
| 22 | 26 | Marcus Marshall | Britek Motorsport | 49 | + 1 Lap | 20 | 26 |
| 23 | 021 | Kayne Scott | Team Kiwi Racing | 49 | + 1 Lap | 29 | 24 |
| 24 | 33 | Lee Holdsworth | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 49 | + 1 Lap | 21 | 22 |
| DNF | 3 | Jason Richards | Tasman Motorsport | 22 | Engine | 11 | |
| DNF | 50 | Andrew Thompson | Paul Weel Racing | 7 | Engine | 19 | |
| DNF | 9 | Shane van Gisbergen | Stone Brothers Racing | 0 | Collision | 10 | |
| DNF | 34 | Michael Caruso | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 0 | Collision | 12 | |
| DNF | 25 | Jason Bright | Britek Motorsport | 0 | Collision | 15 | |

### Race 2 results

| Pos | No | Name | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Performance Racing | 50 | 53:34.4946 | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | 1 | Garth Tander | Holden Racing Team | 50 | +1.6s | 3 | 92 |
| 3 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 50 | +4.0s | 7 | 86 |
| 4 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 50 | +5.1s | 5 | 80 |
| 5 | 15 | Rick Kelly | HSV Dealer Team | 50 | +14.3s | 6 | 74 |
| 6 | 18 | Will Davison | Dick Johnson Racing | 50 | +14.6s | 8 | 68 |
| 7 | 4 | James Courtney | Stone Brothers Racing | 50 | +22.3s | 20 | 64 |
| 8 | 7 | Todd Kelly | Perkins Engineering | 50 | +25.0s | 9 | 60 |
| 9 | 6 | Steven Richards | Ford Performance Racing | 50 | +25.1s | 4 | 56 |
| 10 | 9 | Shane van Gisbergen | Stone Brothers Racing | 50 | +28.3s | 27 | 52 |
| 11 | 12 | Andrew Jones | Brad Jones Racing | 50 | +32.3s | 14 | 48 |
| 12 | 111 | Fabian Coulthard | Paul Cruickshank Racing | 50 | +32.7s | 17 | 46 |
| 13 | 17 | Steven Johnson | Dick Johnson Racing | 50 | +33.7s | 13 | 44 |
| 14 | 25 | Jason Bright | Britek Motorsport | 50 | +38.7s | 29 | 42 |
| 15 | 51 | Greg Murphy | Tasman Motorsport | 50 | +39.2s | 12 | 40 |
| 16 | 34 | Michael Caruso | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 50 | +39.7s | 28 | 38 |
| 17 | 26 | Marcus Marshall | Britek Motorsport | 50 | +47.7s | 22 | 36 |
| 18 | 50 | Andrew Thompson | Paul Weel Racing | 50 | +47.9s | 26 | 34 |
| 19 | 11 | Shane Price | Perkins Engineering | 50 | +52.5s | 18 | 32 |
| 20 | 55 | Tony D'Alberto | Rod Nash Racing | 49 | + 1 Lap | 21 | 30 |
| 21 | 777 | Michael Patrizi | Ford Rising Stars Racing | 49 | + 1 Lap | 19 | 28 |
| 22 | 16 | Paul Dumbrell | HSV Dealer Team | 49 | + 1 Lap | 15 | 26 |
| 23 | 33 | Lee Holdsworth | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 49 | + 1 Lap | 24 | 24 |
| 24 | 021 | Kayne Scott | Team Kiwi Racing | 49 | + 1 Lap | 23 | 22 |
| 25 | 67 | Paul Morris | Paul Morris Motorsport | 45 | + 5 Laps | 16 | 20 |
| DNF | 39 | Russell Ingall | Paul Morris Motorsport | 17 | Steering | 11 | |
| DNF | 14 | Cameron McConville | Brad Jones Racing | 17 | Collision | 10 | |
| DNF | 2 | Mark Skaife | Holden Racing Team | 0 | Collision | 2 | |
| DNS | 3 | Jason Richards | Tasman Motorsport | 0 | Engine | 25 | |

### Race 3 results

| Pos | No | Name | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Performance Racing | 50 | 49:06.2004 | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | 1 | Garth Tander | Holden Racing Team | 50 | +4.1s | 2 | 92 |
| 3 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 50 | +4.8s | 3 | 86 |
| 4 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 50 | +17.2s | 4 | 80 |
| 5 | 18 | Will Davison | Dick Johnson Racing | 50 | +19.9s | 6 | 74 |
| 6 | 15 | Rick Kelly | HSV Dealer Team | 50 | +20.9s | 5 | 68 |
| 7 | 6 | Steven Richards | Ford Performance Racing | 50 | +21.1s | 9 | 64 |
| 8 | 4 | James Courtney | Stone Brothers Racing | 50 | +23.1s | 7 | 60 |
| 9 | 111 | Fabian Coulthard | Paul Cruickshank Racing | 50 | +24.7s | 12 | 56 |
| 10 | 14 | Cameron McConville | Brad Jones Racing | 50 | +26.0s | 26 | 52 |
| 11 | 67 | Paul Morris | Paul Morris Motorsport | 50 | +26.7s | 25 | 48 |
| 12 | 9 | Shane van Gisbergen | Stone Brothers Racing | 50 | +29.5s | 10 | 46 |
| 13 | 25 | Jason Bright | Britek Motorsport | 50 | +33.6s | 14 | 44 |
| 14 | 12 | Andrew Jones | Brad Jones Racing | 50 | +35.5s | 11 | 42 |
| 15 | 17 | Steven Johnson | Dick Johnson Racing | 50 | +42.4s | 13 | 40 |
| 16 | 16 | Paul Dumbrell | HSV Dealer Team | 50 | +42.7s | 22 | 38 |
| 17 | 34 | Michael Caruso | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 50 | +43.2s | 16 | 36 |
| 18 | 50 | Andrew Thompson | Paul Weel Racing | 50 | +43.5s | 18 | 34 |
| 19 | 26 | Marcus Marshall | Britek Motorsport | 50 | +58.0s | 17 | 32 |
| 20 | 777 | Michael Patrizi | Ford Rising Stars Racing | 49 | + 1 Lap | 21 | 30 |
| 21 | 51 | Greg Murphy | Tasman Motorsport | 49 | + 1 Lap | 15 | 28 |
| 23 | 55 | Tony D'Alberto | Rod Nash Racing | 48 | + 2 Laps | 20 | 24 |
| 24 | 39 | Russell Ingall | Paul Morris Motorsport | 48 | + 2 Laps | 27 | 22 |
| DNF | 7 | Todd Kelly | Perkins Engineering | 38 | Electrical | 8 | |
| DNF | 021 | Kayne Scott | Team Kiwi Racing | 13 | Steering | 24 | |
| DNF | 11 | Shane Price | Perkins Engineering | 9 | | 19 | |
| DNF | 33 | Lee Holdsworth | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 7 | Steering | 23 | |
| DNS | 3 | Jason Richards | Tasman Motorsport | 0 | Engine | 28 | |
| DNS | 2 | Mark Skaife | Holden Racing Team | | | | |

## Standings

After round 4 of 14
| Pos | No | Name | Team | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Garth Tander | Holden Racing Team | 896 |
| 2 | 15 | Rick Kelly | HSV Dealer Team | 882 |
| 3 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Performance Racing | 872 |
| 4 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 776 |
| 5 | 6 | Steven Richards | Ford Performance Racing | 721 |

## Support categories

The 2008 BigPond 400 had four support categories.
| Category | Round winner |
| Australian Carrera Cup Championship | Craig Baird (Porsche 997 GT3 Cup) |
| V8 Utes | Grant Johnson (Holden VE Ute SS) |
| Mini Challenge Australia | Damien White (Mini Cooper S) |
| Historic Touring Cars | Paul Stubber (Chevrolet Camaro) |