Old hands top new era Craig Lowndes celebrates after his dazzling display around the Adelaide street circuit. ANYONE expecting a whole new ball game with the advent of V8 Supercars new Car of the Future era might have to wait a little while longer. On Saturday afternoon it was the usual suspects - the Triple Eight crew, now liveried as Red Bull Racing Australia - and Ford Performance Racing who exerted their authority over a number of hopefuls whose qualifying performance on Friday had given them hope that they might upset the V8 applecart. All involved in the sport are tipping that the new set-up - in which there have been dramatic technical changes to the cars as well as the introduction of manufacturers Nissan and Mercedes - will bring a shake-up not just on the grid but on the results board. Lowndes, who started from third position on the grid, hit the front on lap 32, shortly before the halfway mark of the 78-lap race, and was rarely troubled thereafter, stretching his lead and cruising to a comfortable victory. The 38-year-old is a genuine Australian motorsport legend and one of the few drivers since Peter Brock and Dick Johnson to have established a following with the mainstream public. His tally now takes him to the top of the "races won" ledger in V8 Supercars, alongside his former Holden teammate Mark Skaife, who is now retired from racing and a respected figure in the commentary box. On this sort of form Lowndes will soon move to the top of the standings on his own - perhaps as early as Sunday's second 250-kilometre race, which completes the 500-kilometre event through the parklands of the South Australian capital. Second home was Ford Performance Racing's Will Davison, who had started in seventh spot and gradually worked his way through the field. It was a sterling effort by Davison, whose FPR teammate Mark Winterbottom led on the first lap but suffered gearbox problems and was forced to pit, his race effectively ending less than two minutes after it had begun. But the first Ford man home never really offered a threat to the runaway leader. Lowndes' teammate Jamie Whincup, V8 Champion in four of the past five seasons, took third in the other Red Bull Commodore, with Frenchman Alex Premat scoring the best result of his V8 career by steering GRM's Fujitsu Commodore into fourth spot. It was a race that GRM, the mid-ranking Melbourne based team, can take plenty of credit from as its other driver, teenage rookie Scott McLaughlin, came home sixth on his V8 Supercar main series debut. The 19-year-old New Zealander had won the V8 development series title last year, but stepping up to the main game is always a daunting task. Lowndes said he was more than happy with the new type of race car, which, he said "suits my style of driving. I can flow the car through the corners and look after my tyres. Once taking the lead, he sailed further and further away, which, he said "gave me the luxury to look after the car. It was strong all day, we had to be patient at the beginning of the race but the car was good on the cold tyres and full tanks. I was not thinking about the record when I went out, although I know about it. Despite his domination on Saturday, he is predicting a much more open contest on Sunday, pointing out that Fabian Coulthard in the Lockwood Racing Commodore had shown plenty of pace throughout the race, while pole sitter Shane Van Gisbergen had also been quick at various points of the contest, as had the two GRM Cars. He also expects Davison's teammate Winterbottom to be a major contender.