Perth SuperSprint 2017
Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!
On the weekend of the 5th to the 7th of May 2017 was the Perth Super Sprint at Barbagallo Raceway.
In the 2nd run of qualifying Shane Van Gisbergen nearly hit the wall at a top speed of 255km/h. It could have been catastrophic and put everyone on edge.
Mark Dutton, the team manager later stated he would like see qualifying be done via a ‘go point’. He felt such a close call was an obvious example of how dangerous it is for drivers qualifying (hot lap) to be dealing with drivers warming up on track (I must say that I do agree with him).
Regardless of this hair raising moment the racing this weekend was excellent. Scott McLaughlin held race 7 in the palm of his hand and then (spoiler alert) took out race 8 as well, an almost unimaginable feat.
So here is the run-down on how it happened.
In race 7 Fabian Coulthard was on pole position and alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.
On lap 1 of 50 Scott McLaughlin got the jump on his team mate, Fabian Coulthard in a fantastic launch. It was a pretty clean start no one ended off the race track.
It was those two cars that dominated. Except for a few moments the other cars didn’t see the two for the rest of the race.
Fabian Coulthard tried passing to take the lead and pit priority but Scott McLaughlin held on to the number one position.
On lap 3 Chaz Mostert who started in position 5 was now in position 3 following the two Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske cars at the lead.
During the opening stages Craig Lowndes was doing well.
Alex Rullo was also doing well for his first race on his home turf.
Garth Tander was also on home turf showing his best form to impress his local crowd.
Simona de Silvestro was following her two team owners, the Kelly brothers out on track, getting some good pointers and experience.
James Courtney was outside the top 10 and just couldn’t understand why he wasn’t up near the leaders.
On lap 10 Fabian Coulthard’s race engineer, Phil Keed told him, if you get held up by Scott McLaughlin come in so that you re-join in clear air but that’s only if you’re getting held up.
On laps 16 & 17 the telecast crossed over to Mark Dutton (Red Bull Team Manager) and then Mark Skaife (Foxsports Commentator) and you could just see by their expressions how much they were enjoying the race.
By lap 24 the drivers had completed their 1st round of pit stops.
On lap 25 Scott McLaughlin was still holding the lead and looking strong.
It must have felt pretty good for him as he continually gained more lead on the chasing cars.
The Red Bull team seemed surprised and unsure of what to do about the two DJR cars up ahead that were getting further and further away. First, Shane Van Gisbergen gave chase but with little result. He then swapped his 3rd position with Jamie Whincup in 4th. I’m not sure but, it looked as though the strategy was for one to give chase and the other to hold off cars from behind. That way they would be sure to get Red Bull a spot on the podium.
It did pay off in the end with Jamie Whincup coming in at 3rd. However, Scott McLaughlan and Fabian Coulthard were just too good on the day; coming in at 1st and 2nd place respectively and Jamie Whincup over 7 seconds behind at 3rd. It was a spectacular finish for the DJR Team.
Results for Race 7
1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
2nd Fabian Coulthard – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
In race 8 Scott McLaughlin started in pole position with Chaz Mostert alongside him.
On lap 1 of the 83 lap race, Scott McLaughlin got the jump on Chaz Mostert. Chaz Mostert tried to go around the outside but it didn’t work so before the turns he quickly tucked in behind Scott McLaughlin.
On lap 2 Craig Lowndes was displaying his talents and coming through the field well.
In lap 7 Scott Pye saw the opportunity to put some pressure on James Courtney and tried passing him but he couldn’t get it done cleanly.
On lap 9 Todd Kelly was in front of Rick Kelly both pushing hard in their usual sibling rivalry.
By this stage Chaz Mostert dropped back in the pack from his 2nd position at the start. It didn’t seem to be going his way and Mark Winterbottom made it look easy to get a clean pass of Chaz Mostert to take 7th position.
On lap 14 Craig Lowndes came in for his next stop before he got trapped out on the track. His drive after that stop was cool.
On lap 15 Fabian Coulthard tried to pass Scott McLaughlin but it was the same as race 7, Scott McLaughlin was having his day and held tight to his position.
On lap 17 Todd Kelly came in because he was getting held up by the cars in front of him which wasn’t ideal in terms of track position and strategy.
On lap 18 Cameron Waters was handling the pressure from David Reynolds reasonable well.
In the middle of the race Jamie Whincup pitted to try to get track position. This did work for a while but soon after Scott McLaughlin took the lead of the again.
Chaz Mostert seemed to be going crazy as he tried to make his way up through the pack. It was like the stressed guy having to go into the office on a Sunday, appearing frustrated at not being able to make his way past the ‘Sunday Drivers’ fast enough. His pit stop strategies paid off ( his first at lap 21) and he was soon on his way to the podium pack (singing ‘Day-o, Day – ay – ay –ay –O!).
The leaders began moving further and further from the rest of the pack. It soon became obvious no one was going to catch them.
Scott McLaughlin held tight to his leading spot and came across the line first (a second race win for the weekend. It really was his day.
He was then followed by Chaz Mostert across the line and once again for this weekend, Jamie Whincup in third.
Results for Race 8
1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson racing Team Penske.
2nd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing Team.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
The next event after Perth Western Australia was the Winton Supersprint on the 19th to the 21st of May 2017.