Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!
On the weekend to the 7th to the 9th of July 2017 was the Watpac Townsville 400. Races 13 and 14 were both 200 Kilometres and 70 laps.
Its interesting to note:
- Craig Lowndes had a worrying start to the weekend. In both practice sessions on Friday he lost control and spun his car.
- Later in qualifying Jamie Whincup baulked Craig Lowndes costing him a solid top ten starting spot. Craig Lowndes was now placed 19th in the start.
- Tim Edwards who is the Managing Director at Prodrive Racing Australia was not present for the weekend because he was with his boys watching them play Soccer. Rod Nash was delegated to the role over the weekend.
- It was Simona De Silvestro first V8 Supercars event in North Queensland. Mark Skaife commented during this race he believed she was improving with every race that she does. I believe without a doubt as she returns next season to the different tracks for a second time she will be a force to be reckoned with.
- For this season there have been only 2 Aussie drivers to win a race, Jamie Whincup and Chaz Mostert. It has been predominantly NZ drivers so it will be interesting to see if this becomes a matter of contention.
In race 13 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position, alongside him was Jamie Whincup.
On lap 1 of 70 Jamie Whincup got the jump on Scott McLaughlin off the start line after starting from 2nd spot which was on the clean side of the race track (meaning it has got more grip).
Towards the end of Lap 1 Jamie Whincup let Scott McLaughlin take over the race lead. Commentator Mark Skaife thought that letting Scott McLaughlin pass him was too soft.
On lap 2 Jamie Whincup tried to stay close as possible but Scott McLaughlin just pulled away.
Fabian Coulthard had starting in the top ten. He held high hopes to maintain his position as championship leader to the end of the season. On lap 3 he was hit from behind and spun around. As a result he ended up at the back of the pack and probably felt his championship hopes fade. However, I am sure he knew it was still early in the race and had plenty of opportunity to do something about it.
His worries weren’t over yet. On lap 6 he had a close call. Fabian Coulthard’s rear wing clipped the driver’s side door of Lee Houldsworth’s car. The damage didn’t look too bad but the door on Lee Houldsworth’s car wouldn’t stay shut. Fabian Coulthard got off without damage but Lee Houldsworth had to make it the pits and have his door taped shut.
On lap 7 Scott McLaughlin was still the race leader but chose to pit now. I can only assume it was part of the strategy to give him as much opportunity to retake the lead later in the race.
On lap 11 Chaz Mostert was battling with Mark Winterbottom to get fresh air but it wasn’t going to be easy trying to take a position while in the top ten.
By lap 12 Fabian Coulthard was trying to fight back from the spin on the opening couple of laps.
On lap 13 Shane Van Gisbergen was battling with Jamie Whincup for 3rd and 4th and also pit priority.
On lap 14 Jason Bright caught up with his teammates but had to wait till after the hairpin turn to make a pass safely.
On lap 19 Simona De Silvestro was following Rick and Todd Kelly for experience at the new track.
By lap 23 Macauley Jones was getting noticed carving his way through the field after starting near the back.
On lap 24 some drivers hit the pits to get out from the battle going on near the back of the pack.
On lap 26 Jason Bright caught up to his teammates mark Winterbottom and Cameron Waters. He couldn’t manage to pass them so decided to pit again.
On lap 29 Jamie Whincup was putting pressure on Scott McLaughlin hoping he would make an error but Scott McLaughlin was faultless and wasn’t going to give the lead away easily.
In the middle of the race no one could catch the top 3 drivers which were Scott McLaughlin, Jamie Whincup and Mark Winterbottom.
On lap 34 Todd Kelly ran into engine problems and could go on. He received a DNF.
Towards the end of the race Shane Van Gisbergen had a sick car not running on all eight cylinders. Regardless, he managed to complete the race coming in at 7th position.
Scott McLaughlin finished with nearly a 4 second lead over Jamie Whincup. Mark Winterbottom came in third over 15 seconds after the winner. Quite a spread at the finish line.
Results for race 13
1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson racing Team Penske.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Mark Winterbottom – Prodrive racing Australia.
In race 14 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.
Craig Lowndes started in 21st on the grid due to not making the top 10 shootout. To add to the pressure he also had to get passed Will Davison to get pit priority.
On the start of the 70 lap race Shane Van Gisbergen tried to go around the outside of the pole sitter but couldn’t get the job done.
On lap 2 Scott McLaughlin was still the race leader but he was under pressure from Shane Van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup which was good to see such a challenge.
On lap 3 John Mcgregor who is Craig Lowndes race engineer told him to pit because even though it wasn’t ideal timing he could see he was getting held in traffic.
On lap 5 Jamie Whincup was still chasing Scott McLaughlin for the race lead.
On lap 7 Fabian Coulthard was trying to regain the Championship lead but it wasn’t his day. He must have been gutted over losing his championship lead.
On lap 9 Jamie Whincup running second to Scott McLaughlin him in their first round of pit stops.
On lap 10 Simona De Silvrestro was battling with Michael Caruso for positions 12 and 13. Both knew they were just outside the top 10 so these were critical spots.
On lap 11 Alex Rullo was doing a great job for his first V8 Supercars race at Townsville.
On lap 13 Jason Bright pitted to re-enter the race track with no cars in front or behind him.
On lap 15 Craig Lowndes was doing a fantastic job moving up through the field. He was picking cars off with every lap which I thought was very impressive.
On lap 16, Grant McPherson, race engineer for Shane Van Gisbergen called a change in strategy; Shane Van Gisbergen was behind Jamie Whincup so was called into pits early. The strategy was so that Jamie Whincup would not have to double stack behind him.
On lap 18 Scott Pye was forced into pits at an un-ideal time because he was getting held up by James Courtney.
By lap 22 Craig Lowndes had worked his way up to 11th position, which in my opinion was a mighty drive.
On lap 25 a lot of cars started pitting for the 2nd round of pit stops to prepare for the race to the chequered flag.
On lap 27 Jamie Whincup ended up getting the undercut which made him the effective race leader at that point of the race. He was not only on his way to his first race win for 2017 but also being on the same number of race wins as Craig Lowndes, in fact equalling the same of Career wins.
On lap 28 the top 3 at that stage were Jamie Whincup, Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen.
In the middle of the race no one else could catch the top drivers which were Jamie Whincup, Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen. Holden, Ford, Holden.
They kept the pattern and finished the race in that order.
The win by Jamie Whincup puts him only 6 points behind Scott McLaughlin.
Results for race 14
1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing team.
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson racing Team Penske Shell V Power Racing Team.
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red bull Holden racing team.
The next event is the Coates hire Ipswich Supersprint 28th to the 30th of July 2017.