HI to all you Supercars fans around the world!
On the weekend of the 5th to the 7th of April, 2019 was the Tyrepower Tasmania Supersprint.
The pre-race sessions for race 7 were almost as fun to watch as the main race.
In the additional co-driver practice session Warren Luff was the fastest.
Jamie Whincup lost his fastest time passing under a yellow flag due to Nick Percat getting stuck in the sandtrap. The result of this was Chaz Mostert clocked the fastest time in Practice 1.
Jamie Whincup got back and was fastest in Practice 2.
Then Nick Percat was fastest in Practice 3.
In Qualifying for Race 7, Jamie Whincup spun around at turn 4 meaning he couldn’t take any further part in the session. Originally he was destined to go into the race at the 25th spot but somehow he ended up starting 15th.
Mark Winterbottom was fastest in Qualifying and gained himself the pole position.
In race 7, alongside Mark Winterbottom on pole was Scott McLaughlin.
At the start of the 50-lap race Scott Mclaughlin got the jump off the line which meant that Mark Winterbottom had to pull back into 2nd place, only Because he didn’t get to turn 1 and 2 1st.
Jamie Whincup had gained 1 spot up to 14th but made contact as he tried to get past Chaz Mostert at turn 6 and received damage to the front end and was forced to pit. As a result that put him 2 laps down.
When he re-joined, he had to stay out of the way because he was 2 laps down which made it impossible to gain any ground.
Fabian Coulthard was following his teammate Scott McLaughlin who had ‘the man flu’. It didn’t seem possible that he would take the number 1 position from Scott McLaughlin. However, it seemed more likely that Scott McLaughlin would need to exit the race due to his poor condition from the flu.
Scott McLaughlin was in the lead and simply not giving up another win for the season just because of the flu. (Proving it is harder to beat the ‘man flu’ than it is to beat everyone in the V8 Supercars).
By the middle of the race no one could catch Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard. They had such a strong lead and maintained it right to the end.
Results for Race 7
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
2nd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
In the Pre-Race sessions for race 8; Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 4 and Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Qualifying for Race 8.
In Race 8 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position and alongside him was Fabian Coulthard.
At the start of the 84-lap, 200 Kilometre race I think most cars were fitted with slicks, which I thought was brave given that it was spitting on the sighting lap.
On the opening lap there was contact between Lee Holdsworth and Andre Heimgartner.
James Courtney tried to get around the outside of Rick Kelly at turn 4 but wasn’t able to get the run on Rick Kelly.
Before the race started it had started to rain but once the race got underway it started to pour.
But I was Surprised that no one pitted for wets (tyres) because the clouds looked black as the ace of spades.
Garry Jacobson and a lot of other teams and drivers got pinged for not using the handbrake in the pitlane. Whoops!
After the first round of pitstops Fabian Coulthard was able to warm his wet weather slicks over the next lap before Scott McLaughlin rejoined the race. On fresh cold tyres Scott McLaughlin had to let Fabian Coulthard through at turn 4, the hairy hairpin.
Both the Ford Mustang’s of Lee Holdsworth and Cameron Waters were still in or exiting the pits when flames started coming out the left-hand side. There wasn’t any crash or apparent reason and it did seem weird that both seemed to have the same issue (was it sabotage by Red Bull? If any knows please post on my fanpage – a link is at the bottom of this article.)
In the middle of the race while Shane Van Gisbergen was pitting, David Reynolds was close in behind Fabian Coulthard at the lead. When the right opportunity came, David Reynolds made all the right moves and took the lead. Both drivers are veterans so it became exciting to see who would hold out the longest.
This became even more exciting as Shane Van Gisbergen returned to the race from his pit stop. Soon it was Shane Van Gisbergen’s race again. He returned to the lead and continued to dominate to the end.
The funniest moment of the weekend was When Garry Rogers rode a bike out on the Starting Grid fully clad in cycling gear. He looked hilarious in lycra. LOL.
Near the end of the race Anton de Pasquale’s gear leaver came loose in his car. My first thought was come in and get it fixed. Surprisingly he pressed on. Madness, I tell you, MADNESS!!
As the race came to a close nobody could catch Shane Van Gisbergen who crossed the finish line over 5 seconds ahead of Fabian Coulthard in second place, followed by David Reynolds nearly 2 seconds behind in 3rd place. Scott McLaughlin had made up 1 place to finish 4th with his man flu.
So it was Pole and Podium for Shane Van Gisbergen. A very nice result for Red Bull.
The next event is the WD40 Phillip Island Supersprint on the 12th to the 14th of April 2019.
Results for Race 8:
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V-Power Racing Team
3rd David Reynolds – Penrite Racing
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Please feel free to comment on how the Tasmania weekend went via my facebook Fanpage.