Category Archives: Post Race Report

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Sydney Motorsport Park Eastern Creek – Post Race 2016

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Grid walk

Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world.

On the weekend of the 26th – 28th August 2016 was the Red Rooster Sydney Supersprint.

This weekend started for Dad and I on the Wednesday when Dad picked up an accessible car from Freedom Motors. Then we booked in to the Atura Hotel in Blacktown NSW, where we stayed the weekend.

On the Friday we arrived early to watch all the practice races and meet up with the drivers and their crews to get our photos taken. Eddy Mostert, who has become a friend of ours started stirring me up early about the Ford and Holden competition, then Tim Edwards joined in and this continued all weekend. Lucky they have thick skins… Hahaha…

On the Saturday Dad and I had the fortune of meeting Craig Lowndes new wife Lara and she told me that Craig had spoken fondly of us. Dad and I were impressed that he remembered us, as so many people love and follow Craig. Before the race started Lara gave us the final 2 Grid Walk passes (Thank you Lara), this gave us an opportunity to get more photos with the cars before the race started.

Lara Lowndes

In race 18 Chaz Mostert started on pole position alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen of the 31 lap race.

On lap 1 Chaz Mostert got the jump and led through turns 1, 2 and 3 but then he ran wide approaching turn 4 which resulted in him going nearly off the track and on to the grass. Which meant that Shane Van Gisbergen took the race lead. Jamie Whincup had passed Scott Pye at the same corner and then after he had passed him, he then passed Chaz Mostert to move in to 2nd spot. Also Chaz Mostert was under pressure from Scott Pye.

In the middle of the race Jamie Whincup made his pit stop and he re-joined behind his teammate Craig Lowndes then Scott McLaughlin got passed by Jamie Whincup at turn 6.

Towards the end of the race the 2 Red Bull cars battling for the race lead and the race win, coming up in fifth place was Craig Lowndes.

Results for race 18.

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

In race 19 we are looking for Jamie Whincup to finally get his 100th chamionshop win.

Chaz Mostert started on pole position alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen for the 51 lap race. On lap 1 Craig Lowndes went from 4th to 1st by turn 1, Mark Winterbottom locked up his front right tyre. Scott McLaughlin nearly ran right off the track on the exit of turn 1.

In the middle of the race Jamie Whincup nearly hit the back of Craig Lowndes entering the pit lane.

Towards the end of the race Jamie got a bad sportsmanship flag for all 4 wheels over the yellow line on the exit of turn 5, but managed to hold on to take the race win and become the 2nd driver to join the 100 club. Congratulations Jamie.

Results for race 19

1st – Jamie Whincup – Red bull racing Australia.
2nd – Craig Lowndes – Team Vortex.
3rd – Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.

The next event is the Wilson Security Sandown 500 in 3 weeks’ time September 16th – 18th September 2016.

I had my photo taken with Glenn Seton, Tim Edwards, Neil Crompton, John Bowe, Karl Reindler, Lee Holdsworth, Grant Denyer, Cameron Mcconville, David Reynolds, Fabain Coulthard, Cameron Van Den Dungen, Chad Neylon, Kyle Bullock, Garth Tander, Lara Lowndes, Mark Dutton, Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup.

The commentators were Neil Crompton, Mark Skaife, Greg Rust, Greg Murphy and Riana Crehan.

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Coates Hire Ipswich 400 Post race 2016

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HI to all you v8 Supercars fans around the world.

On the weekend. 22nd – 24th July 2016 was the Ipswich Supersprint.

 

In race 16 Chris Pither started on pole position alongside him was Chaz Mostert for the 38 lap race. Chris Pither and Chaz Mostert both ran wide out of turn 2 which allowed Jamie Whincup to take the race lead.

On lap 2 Cameron Waters was in the garage getting his engine dramas sorted out.

On lap 3 the Triple 8 was pulling away and looking good to get a great result early on.

On lap 4 Michael Caruso got two bumps which put him onto the grass.

On lap 5 Michael Caruso backed off the throttle to re dress and let Fabain Coulthard back through.

On lap 6 the three Triple 8 cars were just on the charge leading the race.

In the middle of the race Mark Winterbottom had the speed but didn’t have enough pace to stay with the front runners. Shane Van Gisbergen at one stage was 6 seconds behind and hunted down the race leaders, passed Jamie Whincup and took the race win from his teammate.

Shane Van Gisbergen has now won his first race at Queensland raceway. Roland Dane, Mark Dutton Grant McPherson and David Cauchi were watching and hoping the 3 drivers did NOT make contact.

 

Results for race 16

1st – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia
2nd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia
3rd – Craig Lowndes – Team Vortex

Shane Van Gisbergen Ipswich 2016

In race 17 Jamie Whincup started on pole position (and scored his 69th V8 Supercars pole position in his V8 career), alongside him was his teammate Craig Lowndes for the 200 Klm, 65 lap race.

On lap 1 Craig Lowndes got the revs correct at just the right moment. Scott Pye turned around James Courtney and then Chris Pither hit the back of the Holden Racing Team car as well.

On lap 2 Rick Kelly and Tim Slade were the first to to make their pit stops. To not get held up in traffic.  And get some clear air for the Engine.

On lap 3 the leaders stayed out to keep track position early on.

On lap 4 the cars further back pushed their way up through the field. Which was handy for the car in front not behind.

On lap 5 Craig Lowndes was still out in front with full control of the race.

On lap 6 Shane Van Gisbergen was struggling in the opening stages of the race.

On lap 7 Jamie Whincup was right behind his teammate.

In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen had to double stack, because the red bull racing Australia team thought there was going to be, but there wasn’t the double stack cost Shane a lot of time. When he re-joined the track he much further back than expected.

Towards the end of the race Mark Winterbottom was being held up by Jamie Whincup.

In the end no one could catch Craig Lowndes.

 

Results for race 17.

1st – Craig Lowndes – Team Vortex
2nd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia
3rd – Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing

Craig Lownds Ipswich 2016

Will this year be Craig Lownde’s year to win the Championship.?

The next event is the Red Rooster Sydney Supersprint. On the 26th – 28th August 2016.

 

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Castrol Edge Townsville 400 Post race 2016

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Hi to all you v8 Supercars fans around the world.

On the weekend of the 8th – 10th of July 2016, was the Castrol Edge Townsville 400.

 

In race 14 Jamie Whincup started on pole position alongside him was his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen on the 70 lap race.

On lap 1 Jamie Whincup got the jump on his teammate off the start line, everybody was trying to get track position early, Scott McLaughlin made contact with Dale Wood on the run up to turn 3, Nick Percat nearly made contact with the Nissan Altama car 96. Rick Kelly made contact with Tim Slade at turn 10. James Courtney and Shane Van Gisbergen pitted at the same time, due to the Safety car being Deployed.   Andre Heimgartner was lucky not run up the back Will Davison. While the leaders out front were just pulling away. The cars further back wanted to get into the top ten.

On lap 2 it was still a Red Bull 1 and 2, the cars were trying to catch the leaders up front of the race.

On lap 3 the cars further back pitted so they didn’t have to double stack behind the car in front when they re-joined the cars approaching turn 1 had to be careful to run up the back of the cars ahead.

On lap 4 the leaders were just cruising out front.

On lap 5 the teams were trying to stay out for as long as possible.

In the middle of the race Chaz Mostert was battling away with Shane Van Gisbergen. Also at the halfway mark the Team Vortex pit crew had put the wrong on tyres on the back of Craig Lownde’s car.

I was laughing at Neil Crompton when he told The Gear that Michael Caruso had selected to get in their gear. That was very funny.

Towards the end of the race there was a yellow flag – Safety car as a result of Nick Percat stopping on the track. The tow truck had to pull his car off to the side so that the cars could spend minimal amount of time under the Yellow Flag.

On the restart Jamie Whincup just put his foot down and took off, Mark Winterbottom was unable to catch him. By the end of the first race he had extended his championship lead to 83 points. That now takes Jamie’s career V8 wins to 99; 1 off 100. When will he reach 100 wins?

 

Results for race 14

1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia
2nd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia
3rd – Mark Winterbottom – Rod Nash Racing

Townsville 2016

In race 15 Mark Winterbottom started on pole position alongside him was Craig Lowndes for the second 70 lap race of the weekend.

On lap 1 Craig bogged it down from the front row of the grid meaning he did not get away well. Which had allowed Frosty to take the race lead. Further back in the pack Tim Slade, Todd Kelly and Rick Kelly nearly came together just after the start of the race David Reynolds passed Jamie Whincup at turn 2 and tucked in behind Frosty, then he tried to take the lead, but that wasn’t able to be done. Scott McLaughlin tried to go around the outside of Shane Van Gisbergen, Chaz Mostert got a hit up the behind from James Courtney, and then Dale Wood nearly got spun by Chaz Mostert.

On lap 2 the leaders were getting away from the cars behind. The Red Bull team decided to change their strategy meaning the team brought in Shane Van Gisbergen first because Jamie Whincup was leading the race. Jamie Whincup stayed out for as long as he could to avoid the double stack. The Holden Racing team got a big slap on the wrist for letting a wheel nut travel out into the fast lane from car 2’s pit stop for Garth Tander, the team received a 30-point penalty for not taking care of their equipment in pit lane, plus they also received a fine on top of that as well.

On lap 3 Jamie was the man to beat early on.

On lap 4 the pack was settling down to a good race pace with the stops starting to take place.

On lap 5 everyone was in position to try and get track as quick as possible.

On lap 6 the race was still under green.

In the middle of the race the youngest ever V8 Supercars driver Kurt Kostecki was replacing Lee Holdsworth while he recovers. Hit the wall. Due to a Broken Steering arm. In car 18. Towards the end of the Race Van Gisbergen was still in control.

Results for race 15

1st – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia
2nd – James Courtney – Holden Racing Team
3rd – Mark Winterbottom – Rod Nash Racing

Shane Van Gisbergen Townsville 2016

The next event is the Coates Hire Ipswich Supersprint. July 22nd – 24th 2016.

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Darwin Post Race Report 2016

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Craig in Darwin

Hi to all you v8 Supercars fans around the world.

For those of you that missed the Darwin event here is what happened on the weekend of the 17th -19th June 2016 was the Crown Bet Darwin Triple Crown.

In race 12. Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position alongside was Michael Caruso for the 42 lap race.

On lap 1 Michael Caruso got the jump and led the pack through turn 1. Craig Lowndes got spun around by Rick Kelly that was started by Tim Slade. When Craig Lowndes spun back around to get going again he re-joined at the very back of the field. Rick Kelly was the one who hit him, with help from Tim Slade. James Moffatt ran up the back of David Reynolds.

On lap 2 the pack was starting settle into a pace. Also on that lap the cars were still running around on the racetrack until the race leader had commenced the 5th lap of the race – Meaning the cars could not start peeling off into pit lane until the start of that lap.

On lap 3 the race leader was still Michael Caruso but when the safety car was deployed he decided to stay out on the track.

On lap 4 the cars further back in the pack were trying to keep out of trouble. On the restart Shane Van Gisbergen passed Michael Caruso before the control line which meant that race control gave him a pit lane drive thru penalty, also on the restart Jamie Whincup and Scott Pye came together heading down towards turn 1.

In the middle of the race no one was able to catch Michael Caruso.

Results for race 12.

1st – Michael Caruso – Nissan motorsport
2nd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia
3rd – Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing Team

 

In race 13 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position alongside him was Todd Kelly for the 70 lap race. The start of the was nuts on lap 1 Scott Pye, Fabain Coulthard, Lee Holdsworth and Chaz Mostert all ended up in the accident on the opening lap. There was a safety car which meant everybody came in for the first of 2 stops the pit lane was a mess, Shane Van Gisbergen gave Will Davison a bump forward so that he could get into the Red Bull pit bay.

On lap 2 the cars that were in the wall got removed and the race went back to green. But Scott Pye, Fabain Coulthard and Lee Holdsworth were not able to continue because of too much damage. But Chaz Mostert was able to keep going.

On the restart Craig Lowndes was leading and made a mistake so that meant that Shane Van Gisbergen took the lead of the race.

In the middle of the race Mark Winterbottom got 2 drive thru penalties, 1st was for hitting Todd Kelly up the back side, and the 2nd one was for speeding in the pit lane. Meanwhile no one could catch Shane Van Gisbergen.

The next Event is the Castrol Edge Townsville 400. On July 8th – 10th 2016.

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Woodstock Winton Post Race Report 2016

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Woodstock flags

Hi to all V8 Supercar fans around the world.

On the weekend of the 20th – 22nd May was Woodstock Winton Supersprint.

Dad and I left on Thursday the 19th and headed for Beechworth were we would be staying for the weekend. We hired a wheelchair accessible car from Freedom Motors as usual and we stayed at Armour Motor Inn. It was our first time to Beechworth and I have to say it’s the most beautiful spot.

On the Friday we headed out to the track early to catch up with the action. We had box seats to watch all the practice matches. Say hello to all our V8 Supercar friends that arrived early. Eddie Mostert was there to stir me up and put ‘Mossie ’55’ bumper sticker on the back of my wheelchair and now I can’t reach it to take it off… Thanks a lot Eddie.

Mossie 55

Greg Murphy’s hot lap

 

In race 10 Tim Slade started on pole position alongside him was Mark Winterbottom for the 40 lap race.

On lap 1 Tim Slade got the jump and led into turns 1 and 2. Scott McLaughlin passed Mark Winterbottom to move into second place on the opening lap and James Courtney was in no man’s land (meaning he was out where there was not much grip). Lee Holdsworth got bumped out of position by James Courtney behind, but Tim Slade was still in control of the race.

On lap 2 Tim Slade had 0.8 of a second as a margin. The Holden Racing Team were laying up to bring in Garth Tander. James Moffat had a drama and went straight in the garage.  Rick Kelly got up the inside of the Rookie Cameron Waters.

On lap 3 Neil Crompton and Mark Skaife showed different angles of the race start.

On lap 4 the cars were settling down into a race pace. Scott McLaughlin was putting the pressure on the race leader and Mark Winterbottom was putting the pressure on him. Chaz Mostert was following Lee Holdsworth. Shane Van Gisbergen got passed Chaz Mostert at turn 10. Cameron Waters, Shane Van Gisbergen and Craig Lowndes all came in.

On lap 5 the leader was still Tim Slade. On departure back on the race track Shane Van Gisbergen was on cold trying to hold off his affective teammate Craig Lowndes.

On lap 6 Jason Bright was holding up the next group of cars. Scott Pye tried to get down the inside of Fabain Coulthard at turn 12.

On lap 7 Dale Wood had damage on the front and the front left hand corner.

On lap 8 Jamie Whincup was still behind James Courtney battling for position 6 and 7.

On lap 9 Greg Rust reported that James Moffat had a broken right front steering arm but the GRM team didn’t know what caused the steering arm to break.

On lap 10 Jamie Whincup, Rick Kelly and Michael Caruso all made there pit stop on lap, also on that lap Rick Kelly rejoined behind Cameron Waters. Then while cars 15 and 6 were getting up to speed, Tim Slade entered the pits for his top. Tim Slade rejoined with cold fresh rubber for the race leader.

In the middle of the race Chris Pither was battling with James Courtney.

Towards the end of the race the top 3 cars were just pulling away, in the end Tim Slade managed to hold on for his first ever V8 Supercars victory.

 

Results for race 10

1st – Tim Slade – Brad Jones Racing
2nd –  Scott McLaughlin – Volvo Polstar Racing
3rd – Mark Winterbottom – Rod Nash Racing

In race 11 Chaz Mostert started on pole position alongside him was Fabain Coulthard for the 67 lap race.

On lap 1 Chaz Mostert made a weird start which allowed Fabain Coulthard to take the race lead at turn 1 and 2. Shane Van Gisbergen gave Cameron Waters a hit in between turns 3 and 4.  Chris Pither had 2 wheels in the sand meaning Dale Wood could not see where he was going due to the dust and the dirt getting brought up onto the racing line, then Dale Wood went straight across the track and in the sand on the left hand side by Andre Heimgartner.

On lap 2 Craig Lowndes was putting pressure on Chaz Mostert for 2nd place. Mark Winterbottom, Shane Van Gisbergen and James Courtney all came in early.  Will Davison got up the inside of Jamie Whincup at turn 3 which resulted in him going off the racetrack and into the dust. (that was testing their mateship.) On the same lap Chaz Mostert came into the pits for the first of his 2 stops.

On lap 3 Jamie Whincup was behind Cameron Waters

On lap 4 Jamie Whincup finally got up the inside of Cameron Waters along with Scott Pye and Garth Tander. Craig Lowndes did a 21.2 second lap, that was the fastest lap of the race.

On lap 5 Dale Wood made contact with the back of Andre Heimgartners.  Craig Lowndes pitted on the 5th lap as well as Rick Kelly and Cam Waters.

On lap 6 Shane Van Gisbergen got up the back of James Courtney at turn 3. His next target was Will Davison.

On lap 7 David Reynolds came in to the pits for his first stop. Michael Caruso was putting the pressure on Scott McLaughlin.

On lap 8 the on board telemetry of Michael Caruso shows the gears the and the throttle and the speed of how fast he was going.

On lap 9 Lee Holdsworth was catching Rick Kelly. Mark Skaife said he just wanted to get a shot of Ricks steering wheel just to make sure it was still straight and it was.

On lap 10 Lee Holdsworth made his first stop, then rejoined with clear track.

In the middle of the race the cars started to settle into a rhythm for the run to the Checkered flag.

Towards the end of the race the cars were getting ready for run to the end of the race no could catch Tim Slade who had dominated the whole weekend at Winton.

I got photos taken with Jamie Whincup, Shane Van Gisbergen, Craig Lowndes, Will Davison, Lee Holdsworth, Scott McLaughlin, James Courtney, Garth Tander, Fabain Coulthard, Jason Bright, Tim Slade, Jim Richards and also John Bowe. Also John’s Touring Car Masters race car, car 18. The only 2 we didn’t get were Glenn Seton and Steven Johnson.

Results for race 11.

1st – Tim Slade – Brad Jones Racing
2nd – Mark Winterbottom – Rod Nash Racing
3rd – Fabain Coulthard – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske

The next event is the Crown bet Darwin Supersprint on the 17th – 19th June 2016.

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Perth Post Race Report 2016

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Hi to all you v8 Supercars fans around the world.

On the weekend of the 6th – 8th May 2016 was the Perth Supersprint.

Shane Van Gisbergen Perth 2016

In qualifying both Michael Caruso and David Reynolds both caused a red flag which meant those 2 cars started from the back of the pack.

In race 8 Cameron Waters started on pole position alongside him was Chaz Mostert for the 50 lap race.

On lap 1, Cameron Waters got the jump and led the field into turn 1 for the first lap. Shane Van Gisbergen looked for the long way around the outside at turn 1 but it didn’t work because Craig Lowndes held onto 2nd place, also on the opening lap Shane Van Gisbergen got passed Craig Lowndes. Cameron Waters had checked out – meaning he had pulled away.

On lap 2 Mark Winterbottom was in front of Aaren Russell. Shane Van Gisbergen was right behind the monster falcon car 6 with Cameron Waters driving. Shane Van Gisbergen took the race lead and then pulled away.

On lap 3 Shane Van Gisbergen was the new race leader. Craig Lowndes was struggling, Jamie Whincup tried to get up the inside at turn 1 but that wasn’t able to be executed because Craig Lowndes was looking for grip on a wet racetrack. Craig Lowndes got too much wheel spin on the exit of turn 7 on the very, very slippery painted curb.

On lap 4 Mark Winterbottom had dropped 3 places. Jason Bright got passed Scott McLaughlin the replay of the start showed that Mark Winterbottom got massive amount of wheel spin off the start line.

On lap 5 Michael Caruso was near the back of the pack along with David Reynolds, Scott McLaughlin had bent steering as a result of contact with Dale Wood.

On lap 6 the teams could start doing their pit stops. Scott McLaughlin had a bunch cars behind him forming a Queue. Scott Pye got passed him at turn 1. Craig Lowndes did the fastest lap of the race, Shane Van Gisbergen moved over to the right hand side of the track to keep his tyres cool on a wet road. The Red Bull Racing Australia team were re-pressuring the dry tyres – slick tyres just in case, to have them on standby.

On lap 7 Jamie Whincup was following Chaz Mostert. The teams were doing their best to get rid out some the water that was still in the pit boxers where the cars have to stop.

On lap 8 James Moffatt got up the inside of Nick Percat.

In the middle of the race Craig Lowndes came in twice the first stop was for tyres, no fuel and the 2nd one was for tyres only.

Towards the end of the Craig Lowndes passed 16 cars in the final 21 laps, it was enough for him to get into the lead of the race.

That now Craig Lowndes’s race win tally go up to 16 and his career tally 104.

Results for race 8

1st – Craig Lowndes – Team Vortex
2nd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia
3rd – Jamie Whincup. – Red Bull Racing Australia

Before race 9 started Scott McLaughlin and James Moffatt did 2 hot laps. After they had completed them Neil Crompton said good news the Logies are coming up pretty soon so those 2 blokes will be up for an Overacting award.

In race 9 Chaz Mostert started on pole position alongside him was Craig Lowndes for the 83 lap race. Craig Lowndes got jump and led the through the first 5 turns, Fabain Coulthard was putting pressure on Mark Winterbottom. Shane Van Gisbergen got down the inside of Chris Pither at turn 7.

On lap 2 Jamie Whincup got passed Chris Pither at turn 1. Chris Pither dropped 2 spots to the Red Bull cars, Chaz was trying to put pressure on the race leader.

On lap 3 both Cameron Waters and James Courtney passed Lee Holdsworth on the downhill into turn 7.

On lap 4 James Moffatt was up the inside of Dale Wood. Dylan Talabarni who is Chris Pither’s race engineer was reminding him about his throttle use.

On lap 5 the replay of the start showed that Fabain Coulthard had all 4 wheels out in the Boones – out in the grass that is a racing term that Mark Skaife often uses.

On lap 6 Chris Pither was back on Jamie Whipcup’s rear bumper.

On lap 7 James Courtney putting pressure on Will Davison. Back to the front of the field, the cars stayed in there spot early on.

On lap 8 Mark Winterbottom was trying to catch Chris Pither and put some pressure on him.

On lap 9 Chaz Mostert was right on the back of Craig Lowndes watching his car slide.

On lap 10 the order for the front group of cars remained the same. Craig Lowndes looked a lot tidier the next time around. Jamie Whincup was the first of the 2 Red Bull cars to stop.

In the middle of the race both Chaz Mostert and Shane Van Gisbergen got passed Jamie Whincup.

Towards the end of the race Mark Winterbottom said that lapped car of Aaren Russell, he thought that he had ruined Mark Winterbottoms race as a result of Craig Lowndes finishing on the podium on Sunday in Perth Western Australia. He now leads the V8 Supercars championship by 42 points over his teammate Jamie Whincup.

The commentators were Neil Crompton, Mark Skaife, Greg Murphy, Greg Rust and Riana Crehan.

The next event is the Woodstock Winton Supersprint on the 20th – 22nd of May 2016.

Results for race 9

1st – Mark Winterbottom – Rod Nash Racing
2nd – Scott McLaughlin – Volvo Garry Rogers Motorsport
3rd – Craig Lowndes – Team Vortex

 

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Phillip Island Post Race Report 2016

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Renee Gracie

Hi to all you v8 Supercars fans around the world.

On the weekend of the 15th – 17th of April 2016 was the Phillip Island Supersprint. Last year this event was held in November.

Dad and I headed down to Phillip Island on the 13th April which was a Wednesday, so that we could stop over night at Wangaratta then go to the Cowes Hotel on the Thursday. Upon arriving in Cowes, we went to the hotel. The Pelican Hotel, this place was deserted and Dad kept ringing them, at 5pm we went and found a new hotel to stay in… While we had booked the accessible room at the Pelican Hotel, we had to settle for a room that was not. This made it difficult for me to have a shower each day as the bathroom wasn’t set up for my shower chair. Dad is my hero, he managed to get things done… This problem cost us more money than we had budgeted for… I would also like to thank you to the Tropicana Hotel that looked after us…

Practice 1

Practice 2

Practice 3

In race 6 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was Chaz Mostert on the 27 lap race.

Scott McLaughlin got the jump to be the front runner, but Michael Caruso had a shocking start, Will Davison was in behind Lee Holdsworth they were all making contact with each other. Jason Bright and Nick Percat were pushed wide. Michael Caruso was way back in the pack after the drama at the start. Jamie Whincup made a very good move down the inside of Mark Winterbottom at turn 1.

On lap 2 both Craig Lowndes and Shane Van Gisbergen had a wheel locked going into turn 2. Meanwhile James Moffatt just pulled out from the car in front to get some fresh air to make the engine water and oil temperatures didn’t spike too much.

On lap 3 Rick Kelly was behind David Reynolds. Greg Rust was telling Neil Crompton and Mark Skaife that he been to see Barry Rogers at GRM Volvo, they told him that it was a water temperature light but there was no issue with it.

On lap 4 Fabain Coulthard was trying to get the big toe in behind James Courtney going into turn 1. Then James Moffatt a had big lockup on the left hand front corner. Three cars came in for their compulsory pit stop on lap 5 because that was when the pits opened after Shane Van Gisbergen completed his stop he was very racy against Mark Winterbottom.

In the middle of the race Mark Winterbottom had both Shane Van Gisbergen and Craig Lowndes right behind him.

Towards the end of the race no one could catch Scott Mclaughlin or Jamie Whincup.

Race 1

Results for 6

1st – Scott McLaughlin – Volvo Polstar racing
2nd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia
3rd – Fabain Coulthard – Dick Johnson racing Team Penske

In race 7 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was Jamie Whincup of the 45 lap race. Scott McLaughlin got the jump and led the pack down to turn 1. Fabain Coulthard got a horrible start and pulled over to the left hand side of the track. Jamie Whincup tried to go around the outside of Scott McLaughlin, but it did not work. Also on the first lap Chaz Mosert got turned around the turn 4 hairpin by Garth Tander and Will Davison.

On lap 2 Tim Blanchard ran wide coming onto the Wayne Gardner pit straight, then James Moffatt was the first of the Volvos to pit. Mark Winterbottom was in front of Shane Van Gisbergen.

On lap 3 the replay of Chaz Mostert spining showed that both Garth Tander and Will Davison turned Chaz Mostert around.

On lap 4 Shane Van Gisbergen was the first of the 2 Red Bull cars to pit.

On lap 5 Jamie Whincup was closing the gap to the race leader Scott McLaughlin the front runners had not pitted at that time to keep track position, when the leaders did finally pit they still had plenty of gap to the cars back in the pack.

In the middle of the race Scott Pye and Michael Caruso were the first 2 cars to make their final stops. The next 3 cars to pits for the last time were James Moffatt, Lee Holdsworth and Nick Percat.

Towards the end of the race Scott McLaughlin was very hard to catch and also near the end Cameron Waters nearly had big moment, on entry to the pit straight were the right front tyre had delaminated big time and as a result the Safety Car was deployed the first one for the weekend. While the cars were behind the Safety Car Jason Bright had a problem with no power steering. The restart was on lap 39. Jamie Whincup tried to get a good run on Scott McLaughlin to be able to take the lead after the yellow flag was withdrawn. Jamie Whincup was throwing dirt to the other competitors behind him and he had dropped to 4th place.

Results for race 7.

1st – Scott Mclaughlin – Volvo Polstar Racing
2nd – Mark Winterbottom – Rod Nash Racing
3rd – Scott Pye – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske

 

I was lucky enough to get photos taken with Josh Kean from the Dunlop Series. Lee Holdsworth from the V8 Supercars. Charlie Schwerkolt team owner for Lee Holdsworth, Jonathon Webb team owner for Tekno Autosports, Greg Murphy pit reporter, Renee Gracie from the Dunlop Series. Chelsea Angelo from the Dunlop Series. Jamie Whincup, Shane Van Gisbergen and Craig Lowndes at the autograph session on the Friday. and Chris Kean is the father of Josh Kean and also Paul Dumbrell.

The next event is Perth Supersprint May 6th – 8th 2016.

 

 

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Tasmania Post Race report 2016

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Hi to all you v8 Supercars fans around the world.

On the weekend of 1st – 3rd of April 2016 was Tyrepower Tasmania Supersprint.

Race track Tas

In race 4 Mark Winterbottom was on pole position, alongside him was Craig Lowndes for the 50 lap race.

On lap 1 Mark Winterbottom got the jump and led the race, but Craig Lowndes tried to take it off him. But that didn’t work so he had to sit in behind Mark Winterbottom. Then everybody else settled down into a rhythm and a race pace.

On lap 2 Mark Winterbottom was still the leader while the cars behind were trying to catch him.

On lap 3 everybody was just sorting out their positions on track, because cars further back were trying to improve their positions and move up inside the top 10.

On lap 4 the cars up the front didn’t push too hard too early because otherwise a car would have ended up down in the sand trap down at turn 4 or in-between turns 6 and 7.

On lap 5 the pit stops for four tyres could start, Jamie Whincup was the first car to come in to pit to get the undercut which mean get the tyres on and get out before the team car comes in. When Mark Winterbottom made his stop it was slow because the Rod Nash crew had to move all the gear forward because Mark over shot the box on the entry.

On lap 6 Jamie Whincup had gone from 7th up to the affective race lead. When the rest of the pack pitted and then came back out on the track they were all overshooting the pit exit. (Meaning missing the turn to Re-join the circuit.)

On lap 7 the leader was Shane Van Gisbergen then he did the same thing, he pitted for 4 tyres. In the middle of the race the 2 Red Bull Racing Australia cars were battling for the race lead, Shane Van Gisbergen was putting pressure on Jamie Whincup for the lead. Roland Dane would have been sweating watching Jamie and Shane battle for the lead and the win.

Towards the end of the race no could catch Shane Van Gisbergen. He gave Holden there 500th Australian touring car – V8 Supercars championship win. and 146th win for Triple 8 race Engineering.

Results for race 4

1st – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia
2nd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia
3rd – Will Davison – Tekno Autosports

Shane Van Gisbergen

Before the race started, in qualifying Will Davison got a 2 grid spot penalty from Race Control for holding up James Courtney when he was on a flying lap. So Will went from 1st to 3rd in race 5.

In race 5 Mark Winterbottom again started from pole position alongside him this time was Shane Van Gisbergen for the 84 lap race.

On lap 1 Shane Van Gisbergen got the right amount of bite from the clutch with no wheel spin but then Mark Winterbottom wanted to get back up the inside at turn 2, which he did until Shane Van Gisbergen put enough pressure on him that he made a mistake.

On lap 2 he was still in position 1 with Shane Van Gisbergen doing absolutely everything he could to take the lead off the champ.

On lap 3 the cars were still under green racing conditions (meaning the Safety car had not been deployed at that point), because no cars had gone off the race track.

On lap 4 Shane Van Gisbergen tried to take the race lead off Mark Winterbottom.

There was a safety car on lap 5 due to Chris Pither’s nasty incident on the exit of the turn 4 hairpin. As a result, his Superblack Racing Ford Falcon FGX was a bloody mess and then when it came time for the first round of pit stops Jamie Whincup had to double stack behind Shane Van Gisbergen. the front runners were playing for keeps.

The restart was on lap 10, Fabain Coulthard got up the inside of James Courtney. Jamie Whincup was back in 12th after the double stack.

On lap 11 the cars up the front were just pushing on. Rick Kelly caught up to the top 3 as a result of the front 2 cars battling.

On lap 12, Mark Winterbottom nearly took the race lead off Shane Van Gisbergen and got crossed up at turns 1 and 2.

On lap 13 Mark Winterbottom gave Shane Van Gisbergen a nudge and almost spun him around.

On lap 14 the cars further back were trying to get into the top 10.

On lap 15 Shane Van Gisbergen tried to maintain the lead, but Mark Winterbottom was putting pressure on him.

On lap 16, Shane Van Gisbergen was still leading by point 4 of a second.

On lap 17 the leaders were pulling away up the front and staying there.

On lap 18 the pack were settling down after the restart. On lap 19 Jamie Whincup was moving up through the field.

On lap 20 Scott Pye was sitting in behind Jamie Whincup.

On lap 21 the cars in the mid pack were trying to stay in contact.

On lap 22 Jamie Whincup was trying to knock the rivets off the fence.

On lap 23 Jamie Whincup had a fast car in the opening stages.

In the middle of the race James Courtney rejoined the race in front of Jamie Whincup.

Towards the end of the race there was an oil slick that came out of Cameron Waters car, which meant other cars got caught up on it including the race leader Shane Van Gisbergen, Tim Blanchard, Jamie Whincup and Andre Heimgartner.

Will Davison is now the championship leader but only by 15 points over Craig Lowndes.

The next event is the WD 40 Phillip Island Supersprint. on the 15th to the 17th of April 2016.

Results for race 5

1st – Will Davison – Tekno Autpsports
2nd – Craig Lowndes – Team Vortex
3rd – Mark Winterbottom – Rod Nash racing

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Albert Non-Championship 2016

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Hi to all you v8 Supercars fans around the world.

For those of you who missed the non-championship event at Albert Park in Victoria, here is what happened.
In race 1, Jamie Whincup started on pole position alongside him was Mark Winterbottom. On lap 1 of 12 Frosty got a nudge from the Shane Van Gisbergen before he moved up into 2nd behind Jamie Whincup his teammate. Then Fabain Coulthard spun the champ at turn 11. Then he went to the very back of the pack.

On lap 2 Todd Kelly had an engine failure and had to pull over to the right hand side of the racetrack to the Formula 1 pit exit. Onto the grass. Chaz Mostert and Fabain Coulthard were battling for 3rd there was a safety car on that lap to remove Todd’s car. Jason Bright also pulled over between turn 3 and 4. As a result of the opening lap spin. Brad Jones would not be happy to see that. The restart was on lap 5 in the middle of the race Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen were still running up the front of the field as 1 & 2. Then Jamie Whincup locks a left front on car 88. Which allowed Shane to take the race lead. Towards the end of the race no one could catch Shane Van Gisbergen.

Results for race 1
1st – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia
2nd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia
3rd – Fabain Coulthard – Dick Johnson Racing team Penske

In race 2, Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position, alongside him was Jamie Whincup, on lap 1 of 12 Garth Tander made a great start he went around Fabain Coulthard. Andre Heimgartner and Tim Blanchard ran wide at turn 1. Lee Holdsworth made contact with Dale Wood around the back of the Albert Park race track.
The battle up the front was for the race lead. Jamie Whincup was right behind his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen on track, in case he made a mistake.

On lap 2 Scott Pye locked a brake on the left front corner. The left front tyre on Scott Pye car would have had a massive flat spot on it or a 50 cent piece.

On lap 3 the race leaders up front were still dicing for the lead of the race. The last 2 laps in a row in that race the fastest car and Driver on the track was Craig Lowndes running in 5th place at the time.

On lap 4 Chaz Mosert was putting pressure onto the back of Jamie Whincup the 6 times V8 Supercars Champion.
On lap 5 the only car out of the front five that was not getting held up was Shane Van Gisbergen.

In the middle of the race the rain shower caught Chaz Mostert out, which meant he had moved from 3rd spot down to 5th place. Towards the end of the race no one could catch the three triple 8 cars.

Results for race 2
1st – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia
2nd – Craig Lowndes – Team Vortex
3rd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia

In race 3 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position alongside was Craig Lowndes for the 12 lap race. Garth Tander made another great start but again Shane Van Gisbergen led the field into turn 1. Shane Van Gisbergen had contact with Craig Lowndes (Roland Dane would not have been happy with that at all) but it was a red bull 1 and 2 again at the start of race 3. Shane Van Gisbergen led the opening lap, but then on lap 2 Jamie Whincup took over and then from there was never headed. As a result of the contact Shane Van Gisbergen got a damaged headlight on the right hand side. It was a six way battle for the race lead in race 3 of the V8 Supercars at Albert Park.

On lap 3 the rain started falling but the cars didn’t have to pit for wets.

On lap 4 Chaz Mosert lent on Fabain Coulthard, both the Fords wanted the same position at the final two turns.

On lap 4 the rain was still coming down but the drivers were being extra careful to not run wide or to run off the race track (makes for an exciting race).

On lap 5 Jamie Whincup still had control of the race.

On lap 6 the cars further back in the pack were battling which allowed the front runners to pull away.

In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen and Craig Lowndes were battling for 2nd and 3rd, towards the end of race 3 no one could catch Jamie Whincup.

Results for race 3
1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia
2nd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia
3rd – Craig Lowndes – Team Vortex

In race 4 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position alongside him was Jamie Whincup for the 12 lap race.
Shane Van Gisbergen got the jump, Chris Pither ran wide at turn 1 and 2. Fabain Coulthard was putting pressure on the 3 triple 8 cars.

On lap 2 the three triple 8 cars plus the DJR Team Penske was in the mix as well.

On lap 3 Jamie Whincup was putting pressure on Craig Lowndes. Garth Tander got into the rear quarter of the Supercheap Auto Ford. Jamie Whincup had a DNF in race 4 due to no drive.

On lap 4 Craig Lowndes was putting pressure on Fabain Coulthard and Fabain was putting pressure on Shane Van Gisbergen.
In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was on target to win the weekend.
(Pity this was not a Championship round as the 888 guys would have been ecstatic.)

Towards the end of Shane Van Gisbergen held on and took the checkered flag.

The commentators were Richard Crail and Jack Perkins. And the pit reporter was Mark Larkham.

Results for race 4.
1st – Shane van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia
2nd – Fabain Coulthard – Team Penske DJR
3rd – Craig Lowndes – Team Vortex

Post Race Report

Clipsal 500 South Australia 2016 Post Race Report

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Jamie Whincup Adelaide 2016

HI to all you v8 Supercars fans.

On the weekend 3rd – 6th March 2016 was the Clipsal 500.

In race 1 Scott Pye started on pole position alongside him was Jamie Whincup. On lap 1 of 39 Jamie Whincup went straight to the race lead by passing Scott Pye at the centre chicane and from there on in Jamie Whincup was never caught. As the field was settling down into a rhythm with everyone looking for positions on the opening lap.

On lap 2 the cars near the back came in early to put tyres on to avoid double stacking it was Mark Winterbottom’s first weekend running car number 1. When the field came in for their pit stops they either brought their car in the lap before or the lap after.

On lap 3 Scott Pye was running up the pointy end of the pack until his pits stop where his crew dropped the 17 car way too early. They had not done up 1 of wheel nuts on the right rear corner.

On lap 4 Jamie Whincup was still out in front and controlling the race with ease, he stayed out as long as possible until the Red Bull team called him in.

On lap 5 everybody had not only the cars at the back had. To get track position.

On lap 6 the cars that were out front stayed on the track a bit longer.

On lap 7 Craig Lowndes pitted so he didn’t get stuck behind the cars in front of him. It was also his 251st Australian Touring car – V8 Supercars Championship Series start.

Before the race started it was already 64 degrees in the cockpit. In the middle of the race   no one could catch Jamie Whincup.

After Jamie won the opening race it took his career victories tally up to 98 so he is now only 2 finishes off the magic 100 and join Craig Lowndes in the most unique of clubs. Looks like Red Bull Australia are going to be the only ones with drivers in the club…

Race 1

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 insure 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 for the stop a few teams had to Double Stack. That is why teams like to have 2 or in our case 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.

 Race 2

Results for race 2

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

James Courtney Car 22

In race 3 Fabain Coulthard started on pole position alongside him was Chaz Mosert the race started behind the Lexus RCF Safety Car because the track was wet the cars did 6 laps under yellow.

MARK Dutton and the team manager at Nissan Motorsport were complaining that the race had not started on the Sighting lap.

Mark Winterbottom nearly put car 1 in the wall at turn 8. Because he was on Slick Tyres on a wet track.

The restart was on lap 7 Shane Van Gisbergen was 3rd right behind Chaz Mostert.  Early on, he had a massive Tankslapper( means when a car goes into the wall sideways the cars behind have got to be careful not to get caught up with anyone’s Else dramas) James Courtney went down the inside of Cameron Waters in 6. At turn 4 Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen ran wide out of turn 7. Scott McLaughlin went up the inside of Shane Van Gisbergen right into the Spray at turn 8. Then Shane Van Gisbergen made the pass on Scott McLaughlin.

On lap 8 James Moffatt had damage on a steering arm of his car. Garth Tander spun Jamie Whincup around at turn 9. Scott McLaughlin had a problem with damage on the front of the 33 car.

On lap 9 Rick Kelly had grip  and he was using it.

Shane Van Gisbergen took the race lead at turn 4, Fabain Coulthard could not take the race lead back off the wet weather master.

On lap 10 Fabain Coulthard resumed as the leader of the race once Shane Van Gisbergen made a mistake by himself down at turn 9.

There were 2 storm cells the first one wasn’t too bad but the 2nd one was horrendous. Also on that lap Craig Lowndes had the fastest lap of the race and was running 4th.

On lap 11 Fabain Coulthard was under pressure to hold the race lead from Shane Van Gisbergen. Then Shane Van Gisbergen he took the lead back from Fabain Coulthard.

On lap 12 Grant McPherson got on the Radio to inform Shane Van Gisbergen that 11 laps were complete. Chaz Mostert passed Fabain Coulthard to move to position 4.

On lap 13 the drivers were looking for wet racetrack to keep the tyres cool.

On lap 14 Jamie Whincup was battling with the two Lucas Dumbrell cars plus Lee Holdsworth as well.

On lap 15 there was contact between David Reynolds and Jamie Whincup. Back in the pack Rick Kelly Will Davison and Fabain Coulthard were battling for position at turn 9. In the middle of the race Chaz Mostert hit the wall first which put him out of the race. Then James Courtney hit the wall at turn 8 in car 22 which meant he had to go back into the garage, but after the HRT Crew fixed his car he re-joined the race.

Towards the end of the race Nick Percat was leading and managed to hold on to get his first solo win on home soil.

The commentators Neil Crompton and Mark Skaife, and the pit reporters were Greg Rust, Greg Murphy and Riana Crehan.

The next event is the non-championship event at Albert Park in Victoria.

The next championship event is the Tyrepower Tasmainia Supersprint on the 1st – 3rd of April 2016.

Race 3

 

Results for race 3

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