Whincup avoids Ford demolition derby

Jamie Whincup takes the first leg of the V8 Supercar series.

Ford drivers turned on each other at the Clipsal 500 yesterday, but Jamie Whincup steered his Falcon clear of the carnage to win the prestigious V8 season-opener in Adelaide.

Ford's leading contenders Craig Lowndes, James Courtney and Mark Winterbottom were involved in a dramatic crash that rubbed all three out of the race on lap 56 of 78.

Courtney blamed Lowndes, while Lowndes refrained from criticising anyone.

Winterbottom was frustrated with driving standards, and believed he was taken out by Whincup in Saturday's opener.

Courtney and Lowndes were battling for second place when Lowndes moved past on the outside only for Courtney to make slight contact, forcing the pair to spin into the wall going into the next turn.

The Falcon of Winterbottom was also taken out as a consequence.

“We could have easily have avoided it had (Lowndes) given me some room but he cut me off and we ended up on the wall,” Courtney said.

Lowndes said he expected the incident to be investigated.

“I'm sure they'll have a look at it. We think we're in the right but James probably thinks the same.”

Whincup eventually beat home the Holdens of Lee Holdsworth and Cameron McConville, who capitalised on Ford's mistakes to finish a respective second and third.

Reigning Holden champion Garth Tander struggled again, following up his 23rd on Saturday with 19th before unleashing at Courtney.

“The way Courtney was going I wasn't surprised to see him in a huge shunt at the end.

“He was out of control all race,” Tander said.

“I clipped Steven Johnson and while I was waiting for him to gather it up, Courtney pushed his way through and ripped the front off my car.

“Somebody obviously forgot to tell him it was 78 laps, not seven or eight.”

McConville was emotional on the podium, saying the result was a huge relief after a couple of difficult years.

“How the hell did that happen? How did I get second in the queue,” McConville said.

The highly successful event attracted a record crowd of 291,400 over the four days but it was overshadowed by a high speed crash in the second-tier Fujitsu series.

Ashley Cooper, 27, remains on life support in Royal Adelaide hospital last night after he slammed into a concrete barrier on the driver's side of the vehicle travelling at about 200km/h on Saturday.

The father of two from Ulladulla on the NSW south coast was left with severe head trauma, brain swelling and serious internal injuries.

There was also a heavy crash in the V8 Ute series yesterday, with three divers admitted to Royal Adelaide hospital.

Twenty-three-year-old Matt Kingsley remained in intensive care in a stable condition, while Colin Corkery, 23, and Craig Dontas, 28, were released after being examined.