The Adelaide 500 is an annual motor racing event for V8 Supercars, held on the streets of the east end of Adelaide

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

, South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

 on a shortened form of the Adelaide Street Circuit

Adelaide Street Circuit

The Adelaide Street Circuit is a temporary street circuit in the East Parklands adjacent to the central business district of the city of Adelaide in South Australia....

, the former Australian Grand Prix

Australian Grand Prix

The Australian Grand Prix is a motor race held annually and is held to be the pinnacle of motor racing in Australia. The Grand Prix is the oldest surviving motor racing competition held in Australia having been held 76 times since it was first run at Phillip Island in 1928. Since 1985 the race has...

 track. The event is currently known as the "Clipsal 500 Adelaide" due to naming rights sponsorship from Clipsal Electronics.

Usually held over four days in early March, the "500" itself consists of two 250 km races for V8 Supercars held on the last two days of the meeting. For much of its life the two races combined to give an overall result for the winner of the Adelaide 500, although the message was often confused as podium celebrations based on the results of each day individually were held. More than most the race regualtions have been fiddled with many times, most famous on the day of the first event where original regulations stated the race was one 500 kilometre race with an overnight break at the 250 km mark. When a significant portion of high profile cars retired in the first day of the original 1999 event the regulations were changed overnight to allow those cars to start the Sunday race. In 2008 V8 Supercar briefly attempted to retrospectively change the winners of past Adelaide 500s to recognise only Sunday race winners, even to the point of changing overall series statistics, but have since reverted. A major regulation change for the championship as a whole in 2009 saw each race in the championship regonised individually and 'round results' were no longer officially recognised. Since then V8 Supercars Australia have stepped away from the concept of an overall two-day Adelaide 500 winner.

Although the results of both races count towards the V8 Supercars Championship, the winner of the second race is declared the winner of the "Clipsal 500 Adelaide", regardless of the results of the first race. The rest of the four days are filled with practice, qualifying, and support races for a number of other racing categories, including Australian GT and Australian Formula Ford

Formula Ford

Formula Ford is a single seater, open wheel class in motorsport which exists in some form in many countries around the world. It is an entry-level series to motor racing....

.

In 2008 the Clipsal 500 was attended by 291,400 people, the largest crowd for a domestic motorsport event in Australia. The carnival also features a music concert every night, in addition to air displays, amusements, and social events that attract visitors from interstate and overseas.

History

The Adelaide Street Circuit was used for Formula One

Formula One

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 races from 1985 to 1995. On 1 September 1998, the Government of South Australia

Government of South Australia

The form of the Government of South Australia is prescribed in its constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then...

 announced the conclusion of successful negotiations with the Australian Vee Eight Supercar Company (AVESCO) for the staging of a V8 Supercar race to be known as the Sensational Adelaide 500 on a shortened version of the Grand Prix track. The initial contract was for a period of five years with an option for a further five years.

The 1999 event saw Craig Lowndes win the Saturday race, only to be disqualified due to his involvement in an accident and made to start from the back of the grid for race two on the Sunday. Craig Lowndes passed every car in the field to also win race two and become the first winner of the Adelaide 500. Lowndes' disqualification from race one was later overturned.

After the conclusion of the 1999 race, Clipsal

Clipsal

Clipsal is an Australian brand of electrical accessories. The main factory was located at Bowden, but it was announced in 2008 that a move would be made to a new site, located at Gepps Cross. The move took place in 2009. Clipsal also boasts smaller factories in Nuriootpa, Strathalbyn and Wingfield...

 were announced as the event's major sponsor and it became known as the Clipsal 500 Adelaide.

From 2000 to 2003 the Adelaide 500 was dominated by Holden teams, with three wins to Mark Skaife and one to Jason Bright. It wasn't until 2004 that a Ford driver won the event, with Marcos Ambrose successful that year. Marcos Ambrose won again in 2005 and Jamie Whincup was the winner in 2006. In 2007, Rick Kelly won the Adelaide 500. And in 2008 the winner was Jamie Whincup again.

Awards and Recognition

The Clipsal 500 Adelaide has been recognised on several occasions as the winner of the ‘Major Festivals & Events’ category at the Australian Tourism Awards (2003/04, 2005, 2007 and 2008), demonstrating the event is more than a motor race, comparing with the best the country has to offer in the fields of the arts, sports, or once-off spectaculars.

The event won best event of the series every year from 1999 to 2004. In 2005 it was inducted into the V8 Supercar Hall of Fame

V8 Supercar Hall of Fame

The V8 Supercar Hall of Fame was instituted in 1999 with the first running of the V8 Supercars Championship Series, initially known as the Shell Championship Series. It was established to recognise the efforts of past champions and prominent figures within the sport. The initial inductees were...

, the first time an individual event has been inducted.

Winners

Year	Driver	Car	report
1999	Craig Lowndes Craig Lowndes Craig Lowndes is a multi-championship winning Australian racing driver. He is a three-time V8 Supercar champion and five-time winner of Australia's most famous motor race, the Bathurst 1000...	Holden VT Commodore Holden VT Commodore The Holden VT Commodore, Berlina, and Calais are the tenth iteration of the Holden Commodore, a full-size car built by Holden, the Australian subsidiary of General Motors...	report 1999 Sensational Adelaide 500 The 1999 Sensational Adelaide 500 was the first running of the Adelaide 500 race, the first motor racing meeting held on the Adelaide Street Circuit since the 1995 Australian Grand Prix...
2000	Garth Tander Garth Tander Garth Tander is a multiple-championship winning Australian motor racing driver. Since 1998 Tander has been a competitor in touring car racing series V8 Supercar Championship Series. Tander was the 2007 series champion for the HSV Dealer Team and is a three-time winner in Australia's most...	Holden VT Commodore	report 2000 Clipsal 500 The 2000 Clipsal 500 Adelaide was the second running of the Adelaide 500 race. Racing was held form Friday 7 April until Sunday 9 April 2000. The race was held for V8 Supercars and was Round 3 of the 2000 Shell Championship Series.-Format:...
2001	Jason Bright Jason Bright Jason Bright is an Australian racing driver currently competing in the V8 Supercar series.-Australia:...	Holden VX Commodore Holden VX Commodore The Holden VX Commodore, Berlina and Calais range of full-size cars were the eleventh instalment of Holden Commodore, a model manufactured by Holden, the Australian subsidiary of General Motors...	report 2001 Clipsal 500 The 2001 Clipsal 500 was the third running of the Adelaide 500 race. Racing was held form Friday 6 April until Sunday 8 April 2001. The race was held for V8 Supercars and was Round 2 of the 2001 Shell Championship Series.-Format:...
2002	Mark Skaife Mark Skaife Mark Stephen Skaife OAM is an Australian motor racing driver. Skaife is a five time winner of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, including its predecessor the Australian Touring Car Championship. He is also a six-time winner of Australia's most prestigious domestic motor race, the Bathurst 1000...	Holden VX Commodore	report 2002 Clipsal 500 The 2002 Clipsal 500 was the fourth running of the Adelaide 500 race. Racing was held form Friday 15 March until Sunday 17 March 2002. The race was held for V8 Supercars and was the opening round of the 2002 V8 Supercar Championship Series.-Format:...
2003 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series The 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series was a motor racing series for V8 Supercars. The series, which was the eighth V8 Supercar Championship Series, began on 22 March 2003 in Adelaide and ended on 30 November at Eastern Creek Raceway after 13 rounds...	Mark Skaife	Holden VY Commodore	report 2003 Clipsal 500 The 2003 Clipsal 500 was the fifth running of the Adelaide 500 race. Racing was held form Friday 21 March until Sunday 23 March 2003. The race was held for V8 Supercars and was the opening round of the 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series.-Format:...
2004 2004 V8 Supercar Championship Series The 2004 V8 Supercar Championship Series featured the sixth running of the V8 Supercar Championship Series. It began on 21 March 2004 in Adelaide and ended on 5 December at Eastern Creek Raceway after 13 rounds...	Marcos Ambrose Marcos Ambrose Marcos Ambrose is a championship winning Australian racing car driver. He currently drives the #9 Stanley Black & Decker Ford Fusion for Richard Petty Motorsports in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series...	Ford BA Falcon Ford BA Falcon The Ford BA Falcon is a full-size car, produced by the Ford Motor Company of Australia between September 2002 and October 2005. The exterior styling of the BA was a substantial revision of that used for the preceding AU model. A new independent rear suspension setup was fitted to all sedan...	report
2005 2005 V8 Supercar Championship Series The 2005 V8 Supercar season was the seventh running of the V8 Supercar Championship Series. It began on 18 March 2005 in Adelaide and ended on 27 November at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit after 13 rounds.-Teams and drivers:...	Marcos Ambrose	Ford BA Falcon	report
2006 2006 V8 Supercar Championship Series The 2006 V8 Supercar season was the 8th running of the V8 Supercar Championship Series. It began on 25 March 2006 in Adelaide and ended on 10 December at Phillip Island after 13 rounds.-Race Calendar:...	Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup is Australian auto racing driver who competes in the V8 Supercar, driving for TeamVodafone. He is a two-time V8 Supercars champion and three-time Bathurst 1000 winner.-Early career:...	Ford BA Falcon	report
2007 2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series The 2007 V8 Supercar season featured the ninth V8 Supercar Championship Series which began on 1 March and finished on 2 December. This championship consisted of 14 rounds covering all states and the Northern Territory of Australia as well as rounds in New Zealand and Bahrain...	Todd Kelly Todd Kelly Todd Kelly is a V8 Supercar racing driver, currently living in Melbourne, Victoria. He is the older brother of former V8 Supercar and Bathurst 1000 champion, Rick Kelly. He drove for the Holden Racing Team from 2003 until 2007, and Jack Daniel's Racing in 2008...	Holden VE Commodore	report 2007 Clipsal 500 The 2007 Clipsal 500 was the first race of the 2007 V8 Supercar season. It was held on the weekend of the 1st to the 4th of March around the inner streets of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. The Adelaide 500 is a unique event where the round results are determined by the results from the...
2008	Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup is Australian auto racing driver who competes in the V8 Supercar, driving for TeamVodafone. He is a two-time V8 Supercars champion and three-time Bathurst 1000 winner.-Early career:...	Ford BF Falcon Ford BF Falcon The Ford BF Falcon was a full-size car that was manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in Victoria, Australia. The BF Falcon started production in October 2005 and a MkII update was released in October 2006...	report 2008 Clipsal 500 The 2008 Clipsal 500 was the first race of the 2008 V8 Supercar season. It was held on the weekend of 21 to 24 February around the inner city streets of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. The Adelaide 500 is a unique event where the round results are determined by the results from the second...
2009 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series The 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series was the eleventh V8 Supercar Championship Series and the thirteenth series in which V8 Supercars have contested the premier Australian touring car title...	Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup is Australian auto racing driver who competes in the V8 Supercar, driving for TeamVodafone. He is a two-time V8 Supercars champion and three-time Bathurst 1000 winner.-Early career:...	Ford FG Falcon Ford FG Falcon The Ford FG Falcon is a full-size car produced by the Ford Motor Company of Australia since 2008. The FG series is the current model of the Ford Falcon and is the seventh generation of the car...	report 2009 Clipsal 500 The 2009 Clipsal 500 was the first race of the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series. It was held on the weekend of 19 March–22 around the inner city streets of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia...
2010 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series The 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series was an FIA sanctioned international motor racing series for V8 Supercars. It was the twelfth V8 Supercar Championship Series and the fourteenth series in which V8 Supercars have contested the premier Australian touring car title...	Garth Tander Garth Tander Garth Tander is a multiple-championship winning Australian motor racing driver. Since 1998 Tander has been a competitor in touring car racing series V8 Supercar Championship Series. Tander was the 2007 series champion for the HSV Dealer Team and is a three-time winner in Australia's most...	Holden VE Commodore	report 2010 Clipsal 500 The 2010 Clipsal 500 was the third event of the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series and the twelfth running of the Adelaide 500. It was held on the weekend of 11–14 March on the streets of Adelaide, in South Australia....
2011	Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup is Australian auto racing driver who competes in the V8 Supercar, driving for TeamVodafone. He is a two-time V8 Supercars champion and three-time Bathurst 1000 winner.-Early career:...	Holden VE Commodore	report 2011 Clipsal 500 The 2011 Clipsal 500 was a motor race for the Australian sedan-based V8 Supercars. It was the second event of the 2011 International V8 Supercars Championship. It was held on the weekend of 17–20 March at the Adelaide Street Circuit, in Adelaide, South Australia. It was the thirteenth running of...

External links

• Official race website