Erebus takes maiden V8 race victory

Holdsworth and Klimenko relieved after maiden V8 win. Source: CAS Hamish Blair / News Corp Australia

TEARS flowed freely in Winton's pit lane as Lee Holdsworth claimed the maiden V8 Supercars race win for Betty Klimenko's Erebus Motorsport.

Holdsworth made the decisive move to pass Fabian Coulthard for the lead with two laps to go, driving away from the Kiwi to post his first race win since 2010.

Ford's Mark Winterbottom also passed the Lockwood Racing Holden to claim second, with Coulthard fading to third.

Watch all of today's V8 race action in HD at 9:45pm EDT on SPEED (Foxtel channel 512). Watch all three Winton races LIVE and ad-free on Foxtel Go and Foxtel Play.

Craig Lowndes clings to his championship lead despite starting from near the back of the grid, a fighting drive to 16th leaving him with a 19-point lead over Coulthard.

More to follow.

RESULTS - V8 Supercars Race 8, Winton 400
1. Lee Holdsworth (Erebus) 53m03.9676s
2. Mark Winterbottom (Ford) +1.4505s
3. Fabian Coulthard (Holden) +3.3947s
4. David Reynolds (Ford) +4.1908s
5. David Wall (Ford) +8.1626s
6. James Moffat (Nissan) +15.1534s
7. Jason Bright (Holden) +17.3463s
8. Will Davison (Erebus) +21.1077s
9. James Courtney (Holden) +21.6039s
10. Chaz Mostert (Ford) +34.4978s
11. Tim Slade (Holden) +34.7159s
12. Scott Pye (Ford) +37.6298s
13. Dale Wood (Holden) +38.1519s
14. Jack Perkins (Ford) +38.3565s
15. Nick Percat (Holden) +41.3440s
16. Craig Lowndes (Holden) +42.1616s
17. Michael Caruso (Nissan) +46.7349s
18. Rick Kelly (Nissan) +49.8927s
19. Jamie Whincup (Holden) +56.8324s
20. Shane van Gisbergen (Holden) +1m01.1168s
21. Garth Tander (Holden) +1m02.1904s
22. Russell Ingall (Holden) +1m03.6183s
23. Todd Kelly (Nissan) +1m05.5589s
24. Robert Dahlgren (Volvo) +1m21.3276s
25. Scott McLaughlin (Volvo) 31 laps

LIVE BLOG: Here's how Saturday's races unfolded at Winton.

RACE 7

FABIAN Coulthard drove serenely to his first V8 Supercars win of the year at Winton, while all behind him was chaos.

A mid-race restart sparked a series of incidents that caused carnage in the midfield, eliminating James Courtney and Tim Slade, and sparking more restarts and more carnage.

Adding to the drivers' headaches was a Winton track surface that was rapidly wearing out their tyres.

V8 veteran Russell Ingall stole a march on his rivals by pitting for fresh rubber, only to make contact with David Wall as he charged through the field, earning a pit lane drive-through penalty.

'The Enforcer' was third when he pitted to serve the penalty, clawing his way back to tenth before delivering a searing rant over the decision to sanction him.

"It's what I get with this category," Ingall told Seven. "Dopey rules made by dopey idiots. It's alright for these peanuts to sit up in that ivory tower of theirs, and just hand out punishments like that.

"Look at it afterwards then judge it; don't just fire one out and totally screw a good race for us.

"Geez it annoys me. I tell you what, I'd like to drag those guys down, take them over to those spectators over there and see if (inaudible) walk out of it. They'd kick the s*** out of them."

All the action happened in Coulthard's rear view mirror. The Kiwi withstood Shane van Gisbergen's challenges on the restarts to romp to a five second victory, with his Brad Jones Racing teammate Dale Wood taking his first podium finish of his V8 career.

Craig Lowndes was in the thick of the podium battle but suffered among the worst of the tyre degradation, fading badly to eighth ahead of Red Bull teammate Jamie Whincup by the end.

The race seemed a straightforward affair early, until Scott McLaughlin's Volvo blew an engine, the Safety Car taking control of the race while it was retrieved.

When racing resumed, Chaz Mostert ran onto the grass and short-cut the first corner, coming back onto the track in front of James Courtney, who was spun into the FPR Falcon by Michael Caruso.

The front of Courtney's car was hit as it sat broadsides across the track, while teammate Tim Slade was crashed taking evasive action, ending both their races. Compounding Walkinshaw Racing's woes, Nick Percat ran into David Reynolds a few corners later, taking both out of top 10 positions.

RESULTS - V8 Supercars Race 7, Winton 400
1. Fabian Coulthard (Holden) 53m03.9676s
2. Shane van Gisbergen (Holden) +5.0197s
3. Dale Wood (Holden) +10.9246s
4. Jason Bright (Holden) +13.7479s
5. Lee Holdsworth (Erebus) +14.2459s
6. Will Davison (Erebus) +17.0852s
7. Mark Winterbottom (Ford) +19.5586s
8. Craig Lowndes (Holden) +23.7499s
9. Jamie Whincup (Holden) +25.4700s
10. Russell Ingall (Holden) +29.4675s
11. David Reynolds (Ford) +34.0476s
12. Chaz Mostert (Ford) +35.5102s
13. David Wall (Ford) +35.9935s
14. Scott Pye (Ford) +38.6656s
15. Garth Tander (Holden) +40.8135s
16. Jack Perkins (Ford) +41.2883s
17. Todd Kelly (Nissan) +41.4788s
18. James Moffat (Nissan) +42.3641s
19. Michael Caruso (Nissan) +43.5667s
20. Rick Kelly (Nissan) +50.9604s
21. Nick Percat (Holden) 31 laps
DNF Tim Slade (Holden) 19 laps
DNF James Courtney (Holden) 19 laps
DNF Scott McLaughlin (Volvo) 6 laps
DNS Robert Dahlgren (Volvo) 0 laps

QUALIFYING

FABIAN Coulthard continued his hot form by sweeping both pole positions for Saturday's V8 Supercars races at the Winton 400, as title leaders Red Bull endured a disastrous morning.

The Lockwood Racing driver headed an all-New Zealand sweep of both sessions, edging out Shane van Gisbergen in the first, before the pair were split by Volvo's Scott McLaughlin in the second.

All three men became the first to lap the three kilometre-long circuit in under 1-minute and 20-seconds, Coulthard making the most of the dry and sunny conditions to demolish the qualifying record by over two seconds with his 1m19.6538s.

Currently third in the V8 standings, Coulthard stands to make major inroads on points leaders Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup after the Red Bull teammates struggled.

Although Lowndes will start fourth for the first 34-lap race, he will start the second from 23rd. The story for Whincup is no better; the reigning V8 champion - who could have potentially equalled or beat Peter Brock's record number of pole positions at Winton - will start 14th and 21st.

The news wasn't much better for title rival Mark Winterbottom, who will start the opening race from 24th.

Coulthard headed a good morning for Brad Jones Racing. Reigning Dunlop Series champion Dale Wood posted his best qualifying results in V8 Supercars with third for the opening race backed up by an 11th, while Jason Bright will start from sixth and 13th.

Last year's race-winning Nissans also proved rapid, James Moffat the best performer with a fifth and a seventh.

Russell Ingall will start both races from 25th following power steering issues that prevented him from setting a quick time in either session.

GRID - V8 Supercars Race 7, Winton 400
1. Fabian Coulthard (Holden) 1m20.0444s
2. Shane van Gisbergen (Holden) +0.0288s
3. Dale Wood (Holden) +0.2086s
4. Craig Lowndes (Holden) +0.3115s
5. James Moffat (Nissan) +0.3768s
6. Jason Bright (Holden) +0.5984s
7. Rick Kelly (Nissan) +0.6026s
8. Nick Percat (Holden) +0.6255s
9. Chaz Mostert (Ford) +0.6330s
10. Garth Tander (Holden) +0.6603s
11. Michael Caruso (Nissan) +0.7070s
12. Scott McLaughlin (Volvo) +0.7120s
13. Lee Holdsworth (Erebus) +0.7643s
14. Jamie Whincup (Holden) +0.8199s
15. Tim Slade (Holden) +0.8758s
16. Scott Pye (Ford) +0.9641s
17. James Courtney (Holden) +0.9212s
18. David Reynolds (Ford) +0.9249s
19. David Wall (Ford) +0.9265s
20. Will Davison (Erebus) +1.0047s
21. Todd Kelly (Nissan) +1.1362s
22. Robert Dahlgren (Volvo) +1.3412s
23. Jack Perkins (Ford) +1.3442s
24. Mark Winterbottom (Ford) +1.3968s
25. Russell Ingall (Holden) +1.4013s

GRID - V8 Supercars Race 8, Winton 400
1. Fabian Coulthard (Holden) 1m19.6538s
2. Scott McLaughlin (Volvo) +0.1467s
3. Shane van Gisbergen (Holden) +0.3244s
4. Lee Holdsworth (Erebus) +0.3710s
5. David Reynolds (Ford) +0.4612s
6. Mark Winterbottom (Ford) +0.5415s
7. James Moffat (Nissan) +0.5808s
8. Tim Slade (Holden) +0.6203s
9. Chaz Mostert (Ford) +0.6246s
10. Scott Pye (Ford) +0.6256s
11. Dale Wood (Holden) +0.6463s
12. David Wall (Ford) +0.6467s
13. Jason Bright (Holden) +0.6714s
14. Will Davison (Erebus) +0.7209s
15. Michael Caruso (Nissan) +0.7560s
16. Nick Percat (Holden) +0.7824s
17. James Courtney (Holden) +0.7835s
18. Rick Kelly (Nissan) +0.8183s
19. Todd Kelly (Nissan) +0.8661s
20. Garth Tander (Holden) +0.9644s
21. Jamie Whincup (Holden) +1.0122s
22. Jack Perkins (Ford) +1.1297s
23. Craig Lowndes (Holden) +1.2734s
24. Robert Dahlgren (Volvo) +1.3589s
25. Russell Ingall (Holden) NTR

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Buddy stars as Swans crush Crows

Buddy Franklin and his Sydney teammates congratulate Jeremy Laidler after he kicked a goal in the last quarter against Adelaide. Picture: Mark Brake Source: Mark Brake / News Corp Australia

BOOM recruit Lance Franklin and midfielder Luke Parker kicked four goals apiece as Sydney crushed Adelaide by 63 points to bank its first win of the season.

But the Swans also had a dismal last-quarter fadeout by the Crows to thank for their 21.8 (134) to 9.17 (71) victory at Adelaide Oval.

The Crows are now winless after three games and all defeats have been by heavy margins.

Sydney's Parker was a standout and collected 26 possessions to form a dominant midfield with Josh Kennedy (28 disposals) and Jarrad McVeigh, who was also reported for rough conduct.

Lance Franklin (left) celebrates his first win as a Swan with teammates in the changerooms. Source: Getty Images

McVeigh collected Adelaide's Matthew Jaensch high in a first quarter controlled by the Swans, who skipped to a 6.2 to 2.2 lead at the first change.

Parker kicked two of his goals in the opening quarter and Franklin also scored to set the tone for his best performance in Sydney colours.

Both clubs kicked three goals in an even second stanza but Adelaide lost club champion Scott Thompson, who was substituted in the 18th minute of the term with a corked thigh.

The Crows sorely missed his grunt around the packs and found themselves overly reliant on Richard Douglas (25 disposals) and co-captains Rory Sloane and Patrick Dangerfield (23 possessions) for midfield drive.

Dejected Adelaide Crows leave the ground after their thumping loss. Picture: Mark Brake Source: News Corp Australia

Adelaide, who fell 29 points behind early in the second term, launched a third-term comeback and crept to within two points midway through the third quarter.

But the Swans emphatically answered the challenge, kicking the next four goals.

And when Parker slotted his fourth major late in the quarter, Sydney established a defining 25-point advantage at three quarter-time.

McVeigh then booted the first major of the last term after a remarkable mark — the first of seven unanswered goals as Adelaide limply folded.

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Jockey Nathan Berry, 23, passes away

Tragic: Jockey Nathan Berry riding Unencumbered to the win in the Magic Millions 2YO Classic. Picture: Adam Head Source: Adam Head / News Limited

THE racing world is in mourning after the news jockey Nathan Berry has passed away. He was 23.

Nathan was on a four-month riding contract in Singapore when he collapsed at trackwork on March 18, with doctors later diagnosing the young rider with Norse syndrome, an acute form of epilepsy.

Berry was transferred from Singapore to a Sydney hospital only this morning.

The Sydney jockey was struck down with viral encephalitis a fortnight ago, only to be later diagnosed with the much more serious Norse syndrome, which relates to epilepsy.

Berry's condition deteriorated at the start of the week, and family, including his new wife Whitney Schofield, and twin brother Tommy Berry, made arrangements for Nathan to be brought home.

It will be a dark day on Saturday when 20,000 people are expected to gather for the Golden Slipper (1200m).

It was that race last year which was won by Tommy, and featured the brothers in a warm, tearful embrace in the winner's enclosure.

Tragic: Jockey Nathan Berry on his weddy day to Whitney. Source: Supplied

Nathan Berry and then fiancee Whitney Schofield enjoy a day at the beach. Picture: Adam Head Source: News Limited

Golden Slipper race day at Rosehill Gardens: Tommy hugs twin brother Nathan after winning the race. Source: News Limited

Nathan rode more than 350 winners with his biggest win coming only months ago when successful aboard Unencumbered in the $2 million Magic Millions on the Gold Coast. He rode three winners in the short time he was in Singapore.

Brother Tommy dedicated his win in the opening race at Rosehill Gardens last Saturday to his ill brother and emotionally punched the air as he passed the post on The Offer.

Nathan married Whitney Schofield, daughter of top jockey Glyn Schofield, on February 2 and she kept a bedside vigil throughout his illness.

"The entire racing industry is extremely distraught with the news of Nathan's passing," Racing NSW chief executive Peter V'landys said.

Age: 23 Career: 351 wins Prizemoney: $14.6m Career highlight: Unencumbered's win in the Magic Millions 2YO Classic on the Gold Coast in January First stakes winner: Va Pensiero in the San Domenico Stakes Personal life: - Twin brother and fellow jockey Tommy Berry is a Group 1 winner who won the Golden Slipper on Overreach almost a year ago. - Married Whitney Schofield, daughter of South African-born Sydney based jockey Glyn Schofield in Sydney in February. - Father Kevin Berry is a trainer at Warwick Farm 2013-14 premiership season Wins: 51 Prizemoney: $3.6m

"Sadness is not a sufficient word to describe this tragedy. We are all very distressed and could not image the grief the family must be going through.

"This was a young man that had the world at his feet. He won the Magic Millions in January and rose to the top of the ranks so quickly that he was offered a contract to ride in Singapore.

"You would not meet a family more grounded and genuine than the Berry family. They are the most diligent and hard-working people I know.

"Our sincere condolences go out to the Berry and Schofield families and Nathan's wife Whitney."

RPA neurologist Armin Mohamed, who specialises in epilepsy, told The Daily Telegraph last week: "Usually, people with epilepsy will experience seizures lasting two to three minutes. They will have a fall or feel confused, but return to normal minutes after the seizure started. But for some people, seizures can take off like a wild bushfire and continue non-stop. This is known as status epilepticus.

"If the seizures do not abate within four minutes, brain damage can occur. If they last longer than half an hour, brain damage can be irreversible.

TRIBUTES POUR IN FOR NATHAN BERRY

"New onset refractory means the patient has not been known to experience seizures in the past and the condition is not controlled by medication.

"The causes of Norse are often infections, particularly inflammation in the temporal lobe, but sometimes the cause is unknown.''

Nathan Berry winning race 2 on Hot Commodity during Randwick midweek races on the Kensington track. Source: News Limited

It is with great sadness that the Berry and Schofield families have requested that we advise of the passing of Mr Nathan Berry. Nathan was on a four-month riding contract in Singapore when he collapsed at trackwork on March 18, with doctors later diagnosing the young rider with Norse syndrome, an acute form of epilepsy. Nathan, 23, along with twin brother Tommy, was apprenticed to his father Kevin who trained at Warwick Farm and the pair quickly established themselves as top class jockeys. Nathan rode more than 350 winners with his biggest win coming only months ago when successful aboard Unencumbered in the $2 million Magic Millions on the Gold Coast. He rode three winners in the short time he was in Singapore. Brother Tommy dedicated his win in the opening race at Rosehill Gardens last Saturday to his ill brother and emotionally punched the air as he passed the post on The Offer. Nathan married Whitney Schofield, daughter of top jockey Glyn Schofield, on February 2 and she kept a bedside vigil throughout his illness. "The entire racing industry is extremely distraught with the news of Nathan's passing," said Mr Peter V'landys, Racing NSW's Chief Executive. "Sadness is not a sufficient word to describe this tragedy. We are all very distressed and could not imagine the grief the family must be going through. "This was a young man that had the world at his feet. He won the Magic Millions in January and rose to the top of the ranks so quickly that he was offered a contract to ride in Singapore. "You would not meet a family more grounded and genuine than the Berry family. They are the most diligent and hard-working people I know. "Our sincere condolences go out to the Berry and Schofield families and Nathan's wife Whitney."

Jockey Nathan Berry, on his wedding day to Whitney. Source: Supplied

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Tributes flow for Nathan Berry

Jockey Nathan Berry married his wife Whitney, daughter of jockey Glyn Schofield, just two months ago. Picture: Simon Bullard Source: Simon Bullard / Supplied

TRIBUTES have poured in for talented jockey Nathan Berry, who died today after falling ill in Singapore.

Berry was struck down with viral encephalitis a fortnight ago, only to be later diagnosed with the much more serious Norse syndrome, which relates to epilepsy.

He was transferred from Singapore to a Sydney hospital only this morning.

Racing personalities and fans alike united in their grief for the fallen jockey, who married wife Whitney just two months ago.

Fellow jockey Kerrin McEvoy led the touching sentiments with this tweet:

Berry, who was just 23, won the Magic Millions Two-Year-Old Classic aboard Unencumbered on the Gold Coast in January in what was the biggest win of his short career.

Jockey Craigh Williams takes over the ride of the Bjorn Baker-trained Unencumbered with a heavy heart in Saturday's $3.5 million Group 1 Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill Gardens.

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Olympic Anthem on song at Doomben

Olympic Anthem could be set for the Queensland Guineas after winning at Doomben. Source: Supplied

OLYMPIC Anthem delivered the China Horse Club a welcome change of luck when he burst into carnival calculations at Doomben today.

Trainer Rob Heathcote has earmarked the Queensland Guineas for the son of Starcraft and said he would even throw in a nomination for the Stradbroke, such is the esteem he holds the three-year-old.

Olympic Anthem looked in trouble when he drifted back to last approaching the turn in the 1030m scamper, but Damian Browne was able to angle him into the clear and he let down with big strides to win comfortably on the line.

Heathcote was thrilled to see Olympic Anthem win for the China Horse Club after losing a recent acquisition.

"They gave me a lovely Stratum filly, which cost $320,000, to train but it had a foot infection and had to be put down," Heathcote said.

"Hopefully this horse can help make up for that loss.

Rob Heathcote: "You never know until they are put under pressure in a race." Source: News Corp Australia

"I said at the top of the straight if he could win from where he was, he has to be a Group horse and he showed his class in the way he picked them up.

"He's an exciting horse. This was short of his best, but I felt it was a nice warm up going into a 1350m race in a couple of weeks time."

Meanwhile, Heathcote is eagerly awaiting the return of Solzhenitsyn, who had his first jumpout since a throat operation at Eagle Farm yesterday.

"You never know until they are put under pressure in a race and he does still sound like a freight train when he works, but Browney said he did it easily and gave him a good feel," Heathcote said.

Solzhenitsyn is set to resume in the Victory Stakes on April 19.

Buffering also jumped out yesterday and won his heat by "about 10 lengths" according to the trainer.

"He's spot on now and we're looking forward to redemption in the T.J. Smith," he said.

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Young Hawk Anderson winged

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YOUNG Hawthorn midfielder Jed Anderson's progress has been stalled by another untimely mishap.

Anderson won't play for the rest of April while he recovers from a shoulder injury.

The tough midfielder was in contention for the Grand Final rematch against Fremantle until he damaged a shoulder laying a tackle while playing for VFL affiliate Box Hill Hawks last weekend.

"It was really unfortunate," Hawks football operations manager Chris Fagan said. "He was having a great game. To three-quarter time he had 20 possessions, laid a lot of tackles and kicked a couple of goals.

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"So we were feeling optimistic about Jed, but he hurt his shoulder in a tackling incident late in that third quarter and was unable to return to the field.

"At this stage, it looks like he'll be out for two to three weeks. It's a great disappointment for Jed because he has fought his way back from pneumonia. He was in good form and probably would have been a chance for selection this week.

"He's going to have to wait a little longer now, so he'll just build his fitness over the next few weeks again. No doubt, knowing Jed, he'll challenge hard when the time comes.''

Anderson, 20, who impressed in six games last season, was close to returning after a pre-season interrupted by the bout of pneumonia that required hospital treatment in Darwin.

He earned a Rising Star nomination in his third game last season and this latest setback was overshadowed by the focus on fitness tests for captain Luke Hodge, Sam Mitchell, Brad Sewell and Ben Stratton in the lead-up to the clash with Fremantle at the MCG.

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Hawk’s dive regret

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TOUGH as nails Hawthorn midfielder Jordan Lewis revealed his embarrassment at seeing a replay of his staging attempt against Essendon last Friday night.

Meanwhile, Carlton's Jarrad Waite was today offered a reprimand for staging on the weekend.

Lewis took a dive when Essendon's Brendon Goddard hit him with an open palm to the chest following a marking contest in the third quarter.

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IF YOU DON'T MIND UMPIRE

No free kick was paid and adding to Lewis' woes was Goddard's ability to play on and boot the ball forward while the Hawk lay supine on the ground.

"I do remember it and, once I saw it, I didn't really like it, to be honest," Lewis explained.

"I hadn't had a kick up until then, so I thought if I can try to suck him any way, I might get my first kick.

"But, yeah, I don't want to get a reputation for that."

Goddard was amused by the incident, "It's funny how a 90kg bloke can fall over like that," he told Channel Seven's Gameday program.

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Waite drew attention from the match review today following an incident with Richmond enforcer Jake King.

The burly forward clutched at his mouth on Friday night when King made incidental contact with his boot to Waite's chest.

"It was a little boot in the chest and Waitey has tried to suck a free kick in there." the commentator said.

Players can receive a written reprimand for staging as a first warning before financial sanctions are applied.

Essendon's Leroy Jetta was the first player to be charged for staging in 2012 and Fremantle's Ryan Crowley was reprimanded for the same offence later that year.

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Waite pinged, Fyfe offered two

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CARLTON forward Jarrad Waite has been offered a reprimand for staging during the Blues' loss to Richmond last Friday night.

But Fremantle star Nat Fyfe wasn't so lucky, slapped with a two-match ban for rough conduct on Gold Coast midfielder Michael Rischitelli.

Meanwhile, Richmond star Dustin Martin has no case to answer after a report for striking was thrown out.

Fyfe is not eligible to have the charge downgraded due to his poor record.

But Fremantle could role the dice and challenge the incident at the AFL Tribunal in a bid to have the star midfielder available for Friday night's Grand Final replay against Hawthorn.

The Dockers face Essendon at Patterson's Stadium in Round 4.

Fremantle defender Zac Dawson and Greater Western Sydney mature-aged recruit Josh Hunt have been offered one-match bans.

Waite was pinged for playing for a free kick during the third quarter at the MCG.

A reprimand is the highest penalty available to the match review panel for first-offence staging.

Waite, like Essendon forward Leroy Jetta the first player penalised for staging in 2012, faces fines for repeat offences.

GWS co-captain Callan Ward and Adelaide midfielder Richard Douglas were handed fines for making contact with an umpire.

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