HI to all you Supercars fans around the World!
On the weekend of the 26th to the 28th of July 2019 was the Century Batteries Ipswich Supersprint.
This Queensland raceway is home territory to the legend Craig Lowndes where he has had 12 race wins through his career. Considering that this is the 23rd Supercars event at this venue, Craig Lowndes’ stats go prove why he is a legend.
This is not to say it is a ‘friendly’ track to everyone. In 2005 Jason Richards had a massive rollover after Paul Morris made contact with him. At the same event Cameron McLean also rolled in the same section of the track. In 2010 Mark Winterbottom had a huge crash that I am sure still sticks in his mind.
Heading into the weekend Scott McLaughlin leads the championship by 292 points over his teammate, Fabian Coulthard. If there is going to be any challenges for the championship, this weekend is the time to make a move.
As it turned out Scott McLaughlin ruled in the pre-race sessions; Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 1, 2 & 3 and then again for the Armour All Qualifying.
In race 19 he started on pole position, alongside him was Jamie Whincup.
At the start of the 39-lap race Scott McLaughlin didn’t want to have any contact with Jamie Whincup so he let him go at turn 2.
By the end of the opening lap Scott McLaughlin went from 1st to 4th
There was contact between Will Davison and Scott McLaughlin which was not good. I thought that Scott McLaughlin would have had damage but somehow he didn’t.
Scott McLaughlin’s troubles were not over. Later he had a 9.2 second pit stop due to a jammed left front wheel nut. It surely affected his result at the finish line slipping from pole position to 4th.
Lee Holdsworth had a massive slide but saved it, which was super impressive.
Scott Pye had contact with another car which resulted in problems in the pits later on when removing the left rear wheel. He dropped 7 positions and finished 21st.
Jamie Whincup had a 4.1 second stop. Excepting pit stops, Jamie Whincup held his lead throughout the race.
Fabian Coulthard didn’t have a great race at all. He started 9th on the grid and finished 10th.
As they crossed the finish line, no one else could catch the top 3 drivers; Jamie Whincup with a 2 + second lead over Will Davison, then Chaz Mostert following a further 3.87 seconds later.
Although no safety car was deployed during the race, Tim Slade and Macauley Jones were both NC’s.
It was a convincing win for Jamie Whincup whose last race win was the Sandown 500 in 2018. His tally now reaches 114 wins from 484 races.
Results for Race 19
1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd Will Davison – 23 Red Racing.
3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.
The unusual result for Scott McLaughlin in race 19 didn’t seem to affect him the next morning. He was fastest in practice 4 and Qualifying, earning him pole position for race 20. That is his 13th pole start this year.
In race 20 Scott McLaughlin in pole position had Chaz Mostert alongside him.
At the start of the 200 Km, 65 lap race Chaz Mostert tried to go around the outside of the Championship leader but he wasn’t able to and had to pull back in behind.
Scott McLaughlin led the whole way excepting in his 2 pit stops.
Fabian Coulthard had a shocking weekend because he didn’t qualify in the top ten on Sunday.
After such a positive result in Saturday’s race Will Davison drove with inspiration and seemed to really want to get back to back podiums. However, he just wasn’t able to move up from his starting position of 5.
By the middle of race Shane Van Gisbergen had taken over Jamie Whincup and Chaz Mostert. Now in second place he was putting pressure on Scott McLaughlin for the race lead.
In the last laps Shane Van Gisbergen stayed right on Scott McLaughlin’s tail but he wasn’t given any opportunity to take advantage of. They crossed the finish line just 0.7 seconds apart and nearly 10 seconds ahead of their closest rival, Chaz Mostert.
Results for Race 20
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.
Scott McLaughlin got pinged for doing his post race burnouts in the wrong spots.
He also got fined $1000 for taking a poster on to the podium.
https://www.motorsport.com/v8supercars/news/mclaughlin-fine-poster-podium-burnout/4502597/
https://autoaction.com.au/2019/07/30/infamous-podium-poster-to-raise-funds-for-charity
The next event is the OTR Supersprint at the Bend in South Australia on the 23rd to the 25th of August 2019.
Please feel free on how the Ipswich event was via my Facebook Fanpage.