Monthly Archives: March 2017

Pre Race Report, V8 Supercars

Clipsal 500 2017 Pre Race Report

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

The Clipsal 500 will be run on the 2nd – 5th of March 2017.

Let’s take a look back at what happened in Adelaide 2016 during race 1.

Scott Pye in car 2 started on pole position and alongside him was Jamie Whincup in car 88. On lap 1 of 39, Jamie Whincup took the race lead from the first chicane. Scott Pye had bogged off the start line and didn’t get the required launch to take the lead so slotted in behind Jamie Whincup. James Courtney tried to get down the inside of Mark Winterbottom to take the fourth position at the final corner, turn 14, but Mark Winterbottom wasn’t going to give in that easily.

On lap 2, Mark Winterbottom tried to get up the inside of Scott McLaughlin but he wasn’t able to get the job done. Garth Tander got down the inside of his former teammate Todd Kelly. Todd Kelly wasn’t going to have a bar of this and took his spot back from Garth Tander on approach to the turn 1 chicane.

On lap 3, Craig Lowndes found himself up against Will Davison for pit priority. Meanwhile, the cars back in the pack were battling it out to get better positioning.

On lap 4, Tim Blanchard and Andre Heimgartner were trying to take placing from one another. Neither driver were willing to give in, making for some very exciting racing. Rick Kelly had a go trying to take position from Shane Van Gisbergen. Craig Lowndes was trying to get passed Will Davison for some fresh air to cool his engine but he just wasn’t close enough.

On lap 5, Fabian Coulthard got down the inside of Michael Caruso in car 23 at turn 9. Craig Lowndes and Chaz Mostert did their pit stops to avoid getting caught up in traffic. Craig Lowndes also wanted to avoid a double stack in the pits with Will Davison.

This was an early pit stop so once back on the track Craig Lowndes and Chaz Mostert did a very long run on their 2nd set of tyres.

By lap 5, Jamie Whincup had a good enough lead so didn’t have to push too hard. James Courtney tried to get passed the season champion, Mark Winterbottom at turn 14 but wasn’t able to. Then Fabian Coulthard tried to get up the inside of Mark Winterbottom but was also staved off. Jason Bright wanting to move up the order put the pressure on Chris Pither.

In the middle of the race the cars back in the pack were pitting to not get caught up in traffic.

After hitting a wall Tim Slade couldn’t find the reverse gear to get back into the race. He only needed to be facing the right way to continue but officials forced him onto the tow truck. Tim Slade looked dark about the decision that meant that he was out of the race.

Towards the end of the race no one could catch the top 3 drivers.

 

Results for race 1

1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull racing Australia.
2nd – James Courtney – Holden Racing Team.
3rd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia.

 

In race 2 Chaz Mostert started on pole position alongside him was Jamie Whincup on lap 1 of 39 Chaz Mostert took the race lead early on through the centre chicane. Jamie Whincup tried to follow him through but James Courtney had to get out of the throttle to ensure that there was no contact.

On lap 2 Jamie Whincup tried to do the crisscross at turn 4, but he couldn’t pull it off.

During the opening laps everybody was settling down to a race pace. Then the pit stops started. When the pack came into the pits a few teams had to double stack. For this reason teams like to have 2 or in the case of Triple 8 Engineering, 3 cars on different strategies.

Craig Lowndes had to try and stay in front of Will Davison so that he didn’t have to double stack behind Will Davison.

On lap 3 the cars back in the pack where trying to keep up with the race leaders.

On lap 4 the leaders stayed out longer. The cars down the bottom of the field came in.

In the middle of the race James Courtney got track position over Jamie Whincup, as a result of a faster pitstop from the Holden Racing Team.

On lap 5 all the crews where watching from the garage until they needed to go out into the pits.

Results for race 2

1st – James Courtney – Holden Racing Team
2nd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia
3rd – Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing

In race 3 Fabain Coulthard started on pole position, alongside him was Chaz Mostert. The race started under safety car due to the wet weather. Before the race started Mark Winterbottom nearly put car number 1 in the fence during the sighting lap. His race engineer told him to come in to the pits for wet weather tyres.

The cars did 5 laps under safety car. Greg Murphy working as pit reporter, was wondering why all the team managers were talking to the officials. The team managers were huddled around the officials questioning the pit stops taking place before the race start.

When the race went to green, the track was still wet and the drivers had to be really careful. Early on Shane Van Gisbergen even had his wiper on just so he could see out the windscreen.

At turn 9 James Courtney hit Jamie Whincup from behind and spun him around. When Jamie Whincup was trying to get back on the track to re-join the race, he nearly hit another couple of cars causing some hairs to stand on end.

Later in the race Shane Van Gisbergen hit James Courtney from behind and caused him to spin around. This gave Craig Lowndes the opportunity he was waiting for and took the lead.

The weather got worse and there was thunder and lightning. The officials were forced to put up the red flag for more than an hour due to deteriorating weather conditions. When they returned to the race they had ‘time certain’ finish.

Nick Percat ended up scoring the race win due to other cars being penalised on fuelling rules.

Results for race 3

1st – Nick Percat – Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport.
2nd – Michael Caruso. Nissan Motorsport.
3rd – Garth Tander – Holden Racing Team.

It was an exciting race and it’s that time of the year again. The first race of the season! Who will win the 2017 Clipsal 500 this weekend? Will there be any wet weather? The defending Clipsal champ is Nick Percat. It will also be Craig Lowndes 21st year in V8 Supercars. Can he win his 4th Championship in 2017? Mark Winterbottom has never won the Clipsal 500. Will he do it this year or will someone else step up?

Best of luck to everybody for the 2017 season. Race 1 will be 250 Klms over 78 laps. Will Jamie Whincup win the opening race again?

 

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Coates Hire Sydney 500 V8 Supercars 2016

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 2nd to the 4th of December 2016 was the Coates Hire Sydney 500.

In race 28 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position. Alongside him was Jamie Whincup.

On lap 1 of 74 Jamie Whincup got the jump on his teammate at the first turn in an exciting start. Chris Pither spun between turns 2 and 3. James Moffatt got down the inside of Fabian Coulthard at turn 9.

Jason Bright passed his teammate, Tim Slade in the complex of turns on lap 2. Then Todd Kelly passed Scott Pye at turns 2, 3 and 4. Chris Pither was forced to park his car 111 back in the garage to deal with the damage he had after the spin earlier. Craig Lowndes made a great start and got into 2nd spot straight away. But for the championship leader, Shane Van Gisbergen the starting laps weren’t so great. His car copped a whack from one of the Prodrive cars. Chaz Mostert hit the back of Mark Winterbottom which in turn sent car 97 straight on.

On lap 3 Shane Van Gisbergen was still up with the leading group of cars. Lap 4 saw the Red Bull and Holden Racing team cars battling against each other.  Meanwhile, the Prodrive Racing Australia team were madly trying repair car 111 and get it back out on the track. On lap 6 Cameron Waters came in to the pits first, to not double stack with Mark Winterbottom. On lap 7 Garth Tander looked pacey on the back of Shane Van Gisbergens car. Towards the end of lap 7 David Reynolds got passed Scott Pye. Reviewing the replay showed that the rear diffuser had been torn off Time Slade’s car 14 during the pass by David Reynolds.

On lap 8 and 9 Shane Van Gisbergen ‘Wild Child’ put the pressure on Mark Winterbottom trying to force him into error. It didn’t go exactly to plan and Shane Van Gisbergen earned himself a drive through penalty for spinning Mark Winterbottom. The penalty caused Shane Van Gisbergen to drop to position 22. Grant McPherson (Red Bull’s engineer) encouraged his team mate ‘we can recover from this’. Mark Winterbottom came into pits to try and repair the damage on his car 1. Shane Van Gisbergen couldn’t redress because Mark Winterbottom had pitted.

Meanwhile Jamie Whincup was still up front dominating the race. On lap 12 Shane Van Gisbergen came through the pits for PLP(Pit Lane Penalty) and David Reynolds was exiting the pits to re-join the race. On lap 14 Shane Van Gisbergen was trying to come back after the PLP. On Lap 15, Craig Lowndes needed to pass Scott McLaughlin in an effort to secure 3rd on the championship ladder. He put the pressure on Scott McLaughlin to try and force him into error. They battled it out and Craig Lowndes got his way.

On lap 16 the cars back in the pack pitted and re-joined the race with no traffic around them. In the middle of the race the cars took their last pits to get ready for the run to the finish. However, in the end no one could catch the clear leader, Jamie Whincup in car number 88.

Results for race 28

1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Garth Tander – Holden Racing Team.
3rd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia.

In race 29 Garth Tander started on pole position. Alongside him was Champion Elect, Shane Van Gisbergen.  Jamie Whincup started 10th position because of a mistake in the top ten shootout when he completely missed a turn.

On lap 1 of 74 Garth Tander got the jump on Shane Van Gisbergen at turn 1 and led the opening laps. Jason Bright hit the wall on the exit of turn 2, which put him towards the back of the pack. David Reynolds kept close behind Shane Van Gisbergen and made his presence felt. Lap 2, Tim Blanchard copped damage to the front of his car 21. On lap 3 Garth Tander maintained race lead. Jamie Whincup put the moves on Michael Caruso to take 8th place.

Cars back in the pack came into pits early on lap 4 to avoid double stacking with their 2nd team cars out on track. Jamie Whincup waited till the next lap to pit, avoiding a double stack with Shane Van Gisbergen.

On lap 6 Jason Bright lost his chance to finish his career well with Brad Jones Racing, his car came to a stop after his wall incident in lap 1.

On lap 7 Shane Van Gisbergen had a hard time with the outgoing Holden Racing Team driver and it took a while to get by him.

On lap 8 Todd and Rick Kelly were driving cautiously not wanting to risk car damage in the middle of the busy pack. The Nissan Motorsport team made it clear they did not want to park either car 7 and/or 15 off track in this race. Fortunately they stayed out of trouble.

On lap 10 the cars back in the field pitted early for track position and clear track.

On lap 11 Shane Van Gisbergen showed the right stuff and took the lead from Garth Tander, wanting to be remembered in the last ever race at the Homebush track.

On lap 16 everybody had completed their first round of pit stops and then re-joined on lap 17.

In the middle of the race the 2nd round of pit stops had started, with the cars up front choosing to stay and the cars near the back of the pack come in.

Towards the end of the race Rick Kelly showed his frustration at losing valuable time in the pits, having a battery problem checked on his car 15.

In the last laps no one could catch the front 4 cars with Shane Van Gisbergen crossing the line first.

A great finish for an historic last ever Motor race at Homebush.

Also noted as it was the last race of the season:

  • Roland Dane (one of the owning partners of the Triple 8 Team) was looking very happy with his team’s performance for the year.
  • Craig Lowndes has had a great run in his first year with Team Vortex.
  • Cameron Waters also had a good run for a rookie in his first year of driving full time.
  • James Courtney had first win.
  • Mark Winterbottom wanted to keep the number 1 season spot on the Bottle-O car but he hasn’t been constant enough.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year. See you in 2017.

Results for race 29

1st – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Garth Tander – Holden Racing Team.
3rd – David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport V8.

https://youtu.be/MCxyaVEfmbY

Pre Race Report, V8 Supercars

Homebush 2016 Pre Race Report

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

The final event of the 2016 V8 Supercars Championship is coming up this weekend at the Sydney Olympic Park Street Circuit in Homebush.

Let’s take a look back at what happened in 2015 Coates Hire Sydney 500 at Homebush.

In race 34 Mark Winterbottom started in pole position with Shane Van Gisbergen alongside him. It’s also noted:

  • Craig Lowndes had to start right at the back of the pack due to not completing his shootout lap after crashing.
  • Jack Perkins was driving car 222 for Nick Percat while he recovered from the injury sustained at the Gold Coast.

On lap 1 of 34 lap race, Mark Winterbottom immediately took the lead and stayed there with Shane Van Gisbergen glued behind up to lap 3. On lap 3 Mark Winterbottom was playing the championship game, letting drivers pass him because he was leading the championship ladder at the time. His race result was not critical to him.

On lap 4 Craig Lowndes was making his way through the pack to try and stay in contact with Mark Winterbottom. It took until lap 6 for Shane Van Gisbergen to take the race lead and start pulling ahead from the pack. On the next lap James Courtney was following Garth Tander until he found a spot on the track where he could pass safely.

On lap 7 Jamie Whincup was trying to stay up front of the pack so that when the cars that haven’t pitted did, he would be the race leader. On lap 8 the cars back in the pack pitted. On lap 9 Mark Winterbottom had pitted too, to avoid traffic of cars returning to the race from the pits.

On lap 11 teams were putting fresh new tyres on for the run to the finish. From there, Jamie Whincup took position 1 and through to the finish line was never headed. Now the cars with track position stayed out longer.

From the middle of the race the leaders up front just cruised to the chequered flag with Jamie Whincup crossing first.

Who Will Win this weekend’s Coates Hire Sydney 500?

 

Results for 34

1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – David Reynolds – Rod Nash racing.
3rd – Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max Crew.

Race 35 is a 37-lap race, Jamie Whincup started in pole position with David Reynolds alongside him.

On lap 1, Jamie Whincup got the jump on David Reynolds pulling ahead straight away and looked to be never headed. Early on lap 2 David Reynold tried to take the lead, but Jamie Whincup had the line going into turn 1 and couldn’t be passed. On the next lap Mark Winterbottom was doing his best to stay in touch with the cars ahead of him.

On lap 4 Garth Tander wanted to get by his teammate James Courtney, so that the engine, brake and water temperature didn’t rise. On lap 5 the teams with 2 cars out on the track brought in one of the two cars to pit, a strategy used so the second cars would not have to double stack.

On lap 6 Craig Lowndes was moving up through the pack a lot faster than in his first race of the day. On lap 7 Steve Owen (driving for Chaz Mostert after his injuries sustained at Bathurst) was trying to stay out trouble in car 6.

On lap 8 Jack Perkins came for his pit stop in car 222 then headed back out into clear track. On lap 9 Jamie Whincup was starting to put the race out of reach for everyone else. Behind him was Rick Kelly putting in good effort for his 2nd last race with the Jack Daniel Racing.

From the middle of the race onwards Jamie Whincup was just cruising to his second win for the weekend. In the last laps he appeared comfortable and confident no one could catch him.

Results for race 35

1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – David Reynolds – Rod Nash Racing.
3rd – Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max Crew.

In race 36 James Courtney started on pole position, alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.

At the start of the 74-lap race, James Courtney got the jump at the first turn and held lead for the first couple of laps. During lap 3 he got turned around by Shane Van Gisbergen. As a result, James Courtney had smoke coming out of the left hand.

On lap 4 Mark Winterbottom was being very cautious because he knew a bad race result of DNF would mean Craig Lowndes could close his gap on the championship ladder.

On lap 5 Shane Van Gisbergen was the new leader of the race. James Courtney was complaining that his car was not very well balanced after the hit. On lap 6 Jamie Whincup could see the smoke coming from car 22 and had to slow up to avoid further mishaps. On lap 7 Shane Van Gisbergen was just cruising out in front of the pack, while the cars further back in the pack were battling it out with each other. On lap 8 the pit stops started. The first cars that pitted were the cars back in the field to get track position.

On lap 9 Garth Tander had no car damage which meant he could push on and keep moving up towards the front of the race. For the next couple of laps after lap 10, Steve Owen kept car 6 straight. However, towards the middle of the race his car stalled on the exit of turn 1. He wasn’t able to get the engine started again and had to be towed off the track.

Towards the end of the race Shane Van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup were battling for first place. In the end went to Shane Van Gisbergen in car 97.

 

Results for race 36

1st – Shane Van Gisbergen – Tekno Autosports.
2nd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
3rd – Rick Kelly – Jack Daniels Racing Nissan Motorsport.

This weekend’s races are 74 laps, each and 250 kilometres.

Good luck to everybody for this weekend.

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