Drivers

Jamie Whincup retirement article 2021

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

At the end of the 2021 Supercars season Jamie Whincup retired from full time racing. This is a tribute to his amazing 20-year driving career in Supercars marked by many records and achievements.

He will continue driving in the Enduro races (which includes The Bathurst 1000) so I imagine his win tally is not complete just yet. He is also going on to be Team Principal for his team, 888 Race Engineering (taking over from founder, Roland Dane).

Jamie Whincup was born on the 6th of February 1983 in Melbourne Victoria, Australia. At the time of publishing this article that makes him 38 years old.

In 1991 when Jamie Whincup was just 7 years old he started racing in go karts. By the age of 14 he had claimed countless rookie junior titles and celebrated his 15th birthday by winning the Senior Formula A Karting title.

Jamie Whincup: Early karting days.

In 2001 Whincup embarked on the Formula Ford Championship with the Mygale Racing Team that was run by his father David and his uncle Graeme, a former sports sedan star. He also had mechanical support from former Supercars driver Greg Ritter. For his first season he had excellent results and finished 3rd in the championship.

Then he moved to Sonic Motorsport owned by Michael Ritter, brother of Greg Ritter for the 2002 season. It was only his second season, but he went on to win the Formula Ford Championship convincingly.

Also, in 2002 he made his Supercars debut with Garry Rogers Motorsport at the Queensland 500 and The Bathurst 1000. His co-drivers for those 2 races were Max Dumesny and Mark Noske. Although Jamie Whincup hit a wall and was unable to complete The Bathurst 1000 (DNF) it did not deter Garry Rogers from seeing his potential.

For the following season, 2003 Garry Rogers offered him a fulltime drive. Jamie was only turning 20 that year.

He crashed and was unable to finish at Hidden Valley but it did not put the rookie off his game.

In the same year he also had bad luck at The Bathurst 1000 as co-driver to Garth Tander. He hit the wall at Forest Elbow. The damage was bad and he had to head back to the pits. It cost them any chance of a decent result after starting in 4th position. 

In 2004 Jamie Whincup wasn’t fulltime but he did Sandown and Bathurst with Larry Perkins (Castrol Perkins Racing).

In 2005 he returned to fulltime Supercars racing with Tasman Motorsport as teammate to the late Jason Richards. They finished on the podium 3rd place in the Sandown 500 and 2nd in The Bathurst 1000. Not a bad result for someone in the game for just a couple of years.

2013 Tasmania: Me (William Hill-Smith) & Jamie Whincup behind the wheel.
2013 Jamie won his 3rd title in a row to give him his 5th championship.

When Jamie Whincup joined 888 Race Engineering back in 2006 he was teammate to the already legendary Craig Lowndes. Founder, Roland Dane desperately wanted some big wins for his team and brought Jamie in as part of a super plan.

Pairing Jamie with Craig Lowndes paid off for Roland. They didn’t fair that well at The Sandown 500 due to a mechanical problem, but struck gold at the big one, The Bathurst 1000. This was only Jamie’s 3rd year as a fulltime driver.

One of the big legends of the track, Peter Brock had passed away just a couple of months earlier. The Bathurst 1000 trophy was renamed in his honour, The Peter Brock Trophy. Lowndes and Whincup were the first to have their names inscribed on it. Brock was also mentor to Craig Lowndes so it must have meant quite a lot to Lowndes to win this race (The video embedded shows how emotional it was for both Craig and Jamie).

The other big win for Jamie that year was the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide.

Roland Dane’s hunch about this new young driver was right and they kept Jamie on for the following season of 2007.

Jamie was not about to let anyone down. In 2007 he earned his first career pole at Queensland Raceway and then won the round at Winton Motor Raceway.

The golden pair, Lowndes and Whincup then went on to win The Sandown 500 and The Bathurst 1000. This was the second Bathurst 1000 in a row.

Jamie followed up by then winning in Tasmania.

In the end he fell just 2 points short of Garth Tander for the 2007 Supercars Championship.

Jamie was kept on at 888 Race Engineering and had a great start to the 2008 year. He cleaned up at the first round winning both races at The Clipsal 500.

After the second round at Eastern Creek, NSW he was points leader on the championship ladder. But in the third round at Hamilton New Zealand, he missed the entire round after crashing in Qualifying.

It didn’t put his form off.

After winning races at Melbourne and Winton he was again paired with Lowndes for The Bathurst 1000. The Golden Duo performed magic once again. For the third time in a row they won the biggest race of the year, The Bathurst 1000.

That year Supercars also travelled to Bahrain for one of the rounds. No one had experience at this track. After winning at Bathurst and following up with 3 straight wins at Queensland’s Gold Coast he was in the best form ever. Once again the magic shone and he cleaned up in all three races.

Since Bahrain in 2008 Jamie Whincup has not been beaten at any Supercars event outside of Australia.

Except for Phillip Island, Jamie won at least 1 race in the 7 remaining rounds of the year.

By the end of the season his tally was 14 race wins out of 34 starts (this excludes Hamilton where he missed the entire round of 3 races). That is a 44.1% average win. He took the driver’s championship.

With stats like that people could see this was more than just beginner rookie enthusiasm. It was the coming of age of a race legend!

In 2009 Jamie Whincup ran the number 1 on his Team Vodafone Ford Falcon. The number 1 is honoured to the driver who wins the previous season.

He took the first 4 races in ’09 and managed to lead the championship from start to finish. This was his second championship win, earning them both in a row.

The 2010 season marked a change in cars for 888 from Ford to Holden. They started with two rounds overseas in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain. Jamie Whincup won the 4 out of 4 races to start the season.

He went on to do exceedingly well earning 10 pole positions and 14 podiums for the season, 9 of which were first place.

Even with such amazing results he unfortunately lost the championship to James Courtney. Incidentally, Courtney’s tally for the year was 1 pole position and 9 podiums, 5 of which were wins. Compared to Jamie’s 9 wins for the season it was the big point races where Courtney got ahead.

Jamie wasn’t going to let that happen again. In 2011 he earned 19 podiums of 28 races(67.9%), 10 of them were wins (35.7%). Of the 1824 laps he completed he was in the lead for 659 (36.1%). I’m sorry if this sounds over the top but to be in the lead of ALL THE RACES for the year more than 1/3 of the time, THAT IS AMAZING!

He won the 2011 championship 35 points ahead of teammate, Craig Lowndes. More noticeably he was 449 points ahead of Mark Winterbottom in 3rd place. It was Jamie’s 3rd championship title.

Jamie Whincup lost his dad David to Lymphoma cancer on the eve of the 2012 Supercars championship. He won the opening race for the season The Clipsal 500, as a tribute to his father.

Jamie cleaned up that year claiming his 4th championship title. It was another back-to-back title win. He took 24 podiums of 30 races (80%), 12 of which were 1st place (40%), 339 points ahead of his nearest rival Craig Lowndes.

So dear readers, are you getting the picture of why Jamie Whincup is my favourite driver of all time?

2012 Homebush: The first time I got to meet Jamie Whincup.

Jamie went on to win the 2013 championship making it his 3rd in a row and his 5th in total.

In 2014 Jamie catapulted to legendary status by winning his 6th championship title. That was his 4th in a straight row.

In 2016 another star-to-be joined the 888 Race Engineering team, Shane Van Gisbergen. The two worked well together. Van Gisbergen took the title that year, Jamie running second and Lowndes fourth. The trio at triple 8 were an amazing team.

2016 Sydney Motorsport Park (Eastern Creek) : The weekend of Jamie’s 100th career win.

2017 Jamie took back the title for his 7th time. This was won over a new upcoming star Scott McLaughlin.

2018 saw Scott McLaughlin take the title, but it was the 888 trio that filled the remaining top spots. Van Gisbergen was 2nd, Whincup 3rd and Lowndes 4th. Unfortunately, it was the final year of the trio as Lowndes retired at the end of the season.

2019, 2020 and 2021 ran much the same way where Van Gisbergen finally took his second title in 2021.

2021 was Jamie’s last fulltime season of racing in Supercars. He was awarded the Barry Sheene Medal (for being the best and fairest) for the 3rd time.

His career is highlighted by working with some of the best drivers to ever get behind the wheel, including his co-drivers:

  • Max Dumsney 2002
  • Mark Noske 2002
  • Garth Tander 2003
  • Alex Davison 2004
  • Jason Richards 2005
  • Craig Lowndes 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2019, 2020, 2021
  • Steve Owen 2010
  • Andrew Thompson 2011
  • Paul Dumbrell 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018.

Jamie Whincup has competed in 552 races, earning 92 poles, 124 first place wins of 267 podiums.

Of the 30,057 laps completed he was in the lead for 6962 (that is close to being in the lead ¼ of his professional career). That ain’t bad at all!

At just 38 years of age with 7 championships, his achievements include back-to-back titles for Ford and 4 straight titles for Holden, 4 Bathurst 1000 wins and countless other record holding achievements.

Jamie Whincup, congratulations on everything you have achieved during your supercars career. Best of luck for the future. You will be missed on the grid in 2022.

2021 Mid Year VLOG from my YouTube Channel. Watch to the end .. had a bit of fun 😉
Supercars

Repco Bathurst 1000 2021

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the week from November 30th to December 5th, 2021 was the 61st running of The Bathurst 1000. It was the final race for the year and the biggest race of the year. The Bathurst 1000 is not only known in Australia but considered internationally as one of the toughest races in the category.

The new sponsor for the great race was Repco who have claimed the naming rights over previous year’s sponsors, Supercheap Auto. 

Usually the race includes international drivers but due to COVID-19 restrictions no overseas contestants were able or willing to come to Australia. Some notable drivers absent included, Greg Murphy and Richard Stanaway who were supposed to team up in a Boost Mobile Commodore and run with Murphy’s old number, car 51.

I’m also assuming it was to the relief of some local drivers that Scott McLaughlin wasn’t able to make it from the U.S., due to commitments in his Indy Cars maiden year.

It was also an emotionally filled last event for Roland Dane, Triple Eight Race Engineering founding member and team principal since 2003. His retirement from the position is opening the door to team driver and 7 time champion, Jamie Whincup. Jamie Whincup has now retired from full time racing after 20 years to take on this new role.

In honour of his achievements, Jamie Whincup was inducted into the Supercars Hall of Fame.

The Bathurst 1000 event is so huge that the preliminary sessions start taking place 5 days before the main event!

The results for the pre-race sessions were a mixed bag of this season’s fastest drivers. The only surprise were the following drivers weren’t in the mix; Season Champion Shane Van Gisbergen, highly accomplished long term driver Jamie Whincup and Anton de Pasquale (who has shown amazing speed and form in the last 4 events).

The pre-session results were as follows:

  • Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 1
  • Lee Holdsworth was fastest in Practice 2
  • Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 3
  • Chaz Mostert was fastest in Practice 4
  • Will Brown was fastest in Armour All Qualifying
  • Lee Holdsworth was fastest in Practice 5
  • Chaz Mostert was fastest in Practice 6
  • Brocq Feeney and Russell Ingall was fastest in the Warm Up

Finally the Sunday came and the 25 cars took their places on the grid just before 12:15pm.

Chaz Mostert and Lee Holdsworth (car 25) started on pole position. Anton de Pasquale and Tony Dalberto (car 11) were in P2 alongside them.

It was the co-drivers behind the wheel of both cars, Lee Holdsworth and Tony Dalberto.

In fact most of the co-drivers started the race except for Tim Slade and Mark Winterbottom.

I thought given that it was Jamie Whincup’s last race, he would have started behind the wheel but it was his co-driver & 7 times Bathurst winner, Craig Lowndes.

As they took off from the start line, Tony Dalberto to my surprise led into turn 1 from his position 2 on the grid. He held the lead until ‘The Chase’ then Lee Holdsworth assumed the lead.  He had .8 second lead and quickly had 1.1 second lead. Car 25 was a jet.

In that first lap the usual leap-frog of positions occurred. Garth Tander gained 3 spots and Craig Lowndes lost 2  after starting 5th and 11th on the grid respectively.

As they entered lap 2 the drivers settled down and had their first flying lap. Lee Holdsworth in car 25 was going so fast Garth Tander now in second place, had no chance in catching him.

By lap 3 car 20 driven by Scott Pye and co-driver James Golding came in early because of a mechanical drama. Scott Pye didn’t know what the problem was and the stop took up valuable time. When car 20 came back on track they were 1 lap down.

On lap 16 Craig Lowndes was a little bit sideways  but recovered easily. In the next lap he took the opportunity to hand over to Jamie Whincup. The timing was perfect, as Whincup left the pitlane he had clear track in front of him.

It wasn’t until lap 17 that the first safety car was deployed because Thomas Randle in car 44 was buried in the sand at turn 1.

While all the pit-stops were happening car 25 was still the pace setter. The cars behind seemed to still have no chance to catch the pole sitting car.

On lap 29 car 9 driven by Jack Perkins had a power steering failure going across the top of the mountain. Smoke was pouring out the back of the car and cars behind had to slow down to keep out of the hazardous haze. Car 9 headed straight for the pits.

On lap 49 Chaz Mostert was still leading the race but suddenly started slowing on Conrod Straight. Commentator, Mark Skaife thought it was a mechanical drama but after the unscheduled pit stop it was revealed to simply be a flat tyre. It was a cruel blow that dropped him down from 1st to 12th.

It was now Cam Waters (#6), Brodi Kostecki (#99) and Shane Van Gisbergen (#888) in the top 3 positions with a 16+ seconds lead over Anton de Pasquale (#11) in 4th place.

After a few laps Brodi Kostecki went into the pits leaving the top 3 positions to Waters, Gisbergen and Whincup.

Further back in the pack Dean Fiore (co-driver to Tod Hazelwood, #14) returned to the pits with warped rear brakes plus an existing muffler problem that they decided not to fix. So they had issues on the throttle issue and on the brakes.

On lap 57 Cam Waters also headed to the pits. It was now Champion Elect Shane Van Gisbergen at the front with teammate Jamie Whincup right behind him in position 2. Whincup had gained 9 places.

Meanwhile Mostert was making way through the mayhem and was at 6th position fighting for his comeback.

By lap 61 Whincup headed in to the pits to hand over to Craig Lowndes. Mostert had amazingly worked his way through the pack and now in 2nd place to Gisbergen albeit roughly 35 seconds behind.

On lap 64 it was time for Shane Van Gisbergen to head to the pits. Mostert in car 25 was back in the lead!

On lap 105 Holdsworth who had a 39+ second lead headed to the pits. It was then that the 2nd safety car was deployed. It wasn’t due to any great pile up or accident but because an Echidna was on the track! I can only assume that it could sense the ground vibrations from the rumbling V8s and thought it was ants burrowing and there was a big feast to be had. If it were truly ants, all I can say is they would be damned BIG ants! (What was the echidna thinking?)

Once the Australian Native left the track the safety car peeled off and the race went back to green with 52 laps to go.

Holdsworth had handed over #25 to Chaz Mostert just as the race went yellow. So on the return to green it was Gisbergen, Mostert and Whincup in the the top 3 places but the leading gaps had closed up.

Gisbergen (#888) was racing for the team and slowed down enough to make Mostert (#25) attempt a pass but that would leave him wide and Whincup could gain a spot. A very clever tactic.

Soon enough Mostert lost his patience and tried his luck. It was bad timing considering the upcoming turns. Whincup managed to slip in while Mostert was wide. Then Mosterts poor positioning allowed Anton de Pasquale to pass him.

Mostert fought back and passed Anton de Pasquale at turn 1 on the next lap.

It was lap 114 of 161 and the competition was so fierce. The Triple Eight drivers in the lead, Gisbergen and Whincup both did their fastest lap of the race with Chaz Mostert hot on their tail.

It was then that car 35 driven by Jayden Ojeda (Zane Goddard) hit the wall and the 3rd safety car for the race was deployed. All drivers headed to the pits.

On exit it was busier than a Woolworths parking lot on Saturday morning. Brodi Kostecki squeezed in ahead of Shane Van Gisbergen. Will Davison tried the same thing but coming in from the left wasn’t seen by Jamie Whincup and they made contact. As a result Davison received a 5 second pit lane penalty that he had to serve in his next and last pit stop.

When the race went back to green the fierce driving returned lead by Reynolds (#26), Mostert(#25) and Gisbergen (#888).

On lap 121 the second Matt Stone Racing car #34, Jake & Kurt Kostecki hit the tyre barrier at Forest Elbow (didnt hit a funny bone) bringing out the 4th safety car of the day. The car looked pretty messed up. Somehow Jake Kostecki managed to reverse the car out of the barrier and make it back to the pits unassisted.

With 22 laps remaining Anton de Pasquale came to a halt midway through ‘The Cutting’. He couldn’t get the gears to engage and the race returned to Yellow for the 5th time.

The lead was now in the hands of Mostert, Gisbergen and Waters. Whincup had dropped to 5th place.

On lap 144 (19 laps remaining) newcomer Brocq Feeney left the track at turn 10 and ended up in the sand pit with a right front wheel bent at an unholy angle. The 6th safety car was sent out. With such little time left ‘The Enforcer and the Kid’ would not be returning to the track. (Russel Ingall’s nickname is The Enforcer).

The race went back to green with 16 laps to go. It was now on to the finish line for young and old with all the gaps closed up due to the safety car.

Between the last 16 laps and 10 laps remaining Mostert had worked up a 2.654 second lead over the defending Bathurst Champion Shane Van Gisbergen.

Mostert was only managing to gain a few 10ths of a second on each lap.

With 7 laps to go Mostert had a 4.599 second lead over SVG. It was then that Mostert got his lucky break. Shane Van Gisbergen started slow. It was the worst possible timing to get a flat tyre on the front right. By the time he reached the pits he had dropped from 2nd place to 18th while the others managed to clock up another 2 laps. They were at lap 156 of 161. SVG must have been devastated to be taken from a sure podium finish to the back of the pack. Credit to him, they changed the tyre and he headed back out to complete the race.

With SVG out of the way Mostert had a 5+ second lead over Cam Waters #6 and Brodi Kostecki #99 a further 3.4+ seconds back. Mostert in his jet of a car was driving flawlessy.

Whincup in 4th place was fighting for a podium finish in his last race as a full-time driver. The pace was so demonic he just couldn’t make any gain on Kostecki. IN fact in those last laps the split remained almost static the whole time.

On the last lap Mostert’s lead enable him to drive at a slower pace ensuring there were no last second mistakes. He comfortbly crossed the finish line to the cheers of the crowd.

This was Mostert’s second Bathurst win since his last in 2014 and 10 years since the team Walkinshaw Andretti United had their last Bathurst Win. Co-driver Lee Holdsworth looked like he was going to puke as he scored his first Bathurst after 18 attempts in The Big Race.

Results for race 31

1st Chaz Mostert and Lee Holdsworth – Walkinshaw Andretti United.

2nd Cameron Waters and James Moffatt – Tickford Racing.

3rd Brodie Kostecki and David Russell – Erebus Motorsport.

4th Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Ampol Racing.

Congratulations to Jamie Whincup on everything you have achieved during your amazing Supercars career, you should be so proud of yourself, best of luck for the future.

The next event is the Repco Newcastle 500 March 4th to 6th 2022.

Supercars

Beaurepairs Sydney Supernight 2021

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On November 19-21,2021 the Beaurepairs Sydney Supernight was run. It marks 4 of 4 events held back to back at the Sydney Motorsport Park (Eastern Creek). It is the penultimate event of the Supercars season for 2021 before they head to the Bathurst 1000.

The event was made up of two races, both 250km (64 laps).

The pre-sessions results for Race 29 were once again dominated by Anton de Pasquale.

Matthew Payne was fastest in the additional co-driver practice session. He was co-driver for David Reynolds.

Anton de Pasquale was fastest in Practice 1, Practice 2, the Armor All Qualifying and the Top 10 Shootout.

So in race 29 Anton de Pasquale started on pole position with Jamie Whincup alongside him.

There was the threat of rain but as the race got underway the track was dry. Jamie Whincup got a good start and led into turn 1.

At turn 3 David Reynolds ran wide and lost a lot of pace out on the grass.

IN the first part of the race Jamie Whincup held  the lead while the cars further back settled  into their race pace.

On lap 7 Macauley Jones triggered the first safety car after going off the track at turn 8. A lot of the drivers chose to pit while the safety car was out. Shane Van Gisbergen had to double stack behind his teammate Jamie Whincup. When Shane Van Gisbergen rejoined the track he had dropped several place to 9th position.

When the safety car finally left the track and the race went ‘back to green’ Cameron Waters had the lead.

In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was in 6th position but soon worked his way up to the top 3.

It took a long while but Shane Van Gisbergen managed to find a gap and take over teammate, Jamie Whincup in second position.

With 5 Laps to go Shane Van Gisbergen took the race lead off Cameron Waters and from there was never headed.

Jamie Whincup also managed to gain a spot giving the Red Bull Ampol Racing Team a 1,2 finish with Cameron Waters coming in third place.

Results for Race 29

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing.

2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing.

3rd Cameron Waters – Monster Engery Racing.

There was a surprising mix of results in the pre-race sessions for Race 30.

Andre Heimgartner was fastest in Armor All Qualifying. The big surprise was the dominator of the last 4 events pre-race sessions, Anton de Pasquale was 17th.

Nick Percat was fastest in the Armor All Top Ten Shootout earning him pole position.

Shane Van Gisbergern was next to pole on the grid.

The rain was really coming down and the race was delayed. It really put an edge on the scene with the rain continuing to come down.

Finally the rain started to ease a bit and the officials wanted to take advantage and get the race going. It was a bit of an anticlimax. The track was extremely wet as the cars rolled off behind the safety car to checkout the track to decide if and when they drivers can start. They did 5 laps under yellow flag before the race was red flagged and all the drivers had to follow the safety car into pit lane in a single line.

Most of drivers had got out of the cars except for the pole sitter Nick Percat, he was hoping the race was going to restart. As time moved on the officials had to make the call and they did’nt restart the race.

With no real laps done there were no results for race 30.

Shane Van Gisbergen won the Beaurepairs Sydney Cup and was declared the champion elect. The Red Bull Ampol Racing Team are also the champion team.

The next event is the grand finale; the Repco Bathurst 1000 on the 30th of November to December 5th.

Shane Van Gisbergen and Garth Tander are the defending champions heading into this year’s race.

The Bathurst Channel 503 begins on Monday the 29th of November, 2021.

Supercars

BP Ultimate Sydney Supersrint 2021

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 13th and 14th of November, 2021 was the BP Ultimate Sydney Supersprint. This is the 3rd of 4 back-to-back events at Sydney Motorsports Park.

Before I get stuck into the race review the hot news is Greg Murphy and Richie Stanaway will not be competing at the upcoming Repco Bathurst 1000, due to the travel restrictions in New Zealand.

It was also announced Luke Youlden who has been filling in for David Reynolds will not be driving the #26 Penrite Racing Mustang in the next event to take place at Sydney Motorsports Park. It looked like it could be Matt Campbell but a new announcement on November 18 (today) stated David Reynolds has complied with all COVID vaccination protocols for Supercars and NSW Health. Kelly Grove Racing are very pleased at Reynolds return for the last race before the Bathurst 1000.

In the preliminary sessions it was once again Anton de Pasquale who dominated in much the same way he has for the last three events.

Anton de Pasquale was fastest in Practice 1 and 2, as well as the Armor All Qualifying for race 26 and 27.

Before race 26 Sienna Crompton who is the daughter of commentator Neil Crompton sang the National Anthem. She also   waved the green flag for the cars to go off on their warm up lap. Her dad was proud as punch and not the only one in the room to have tears well up.

With the warm up lap out of the way it was time for Anton de Pasquale to take pole position on the grid for Race 26. Alongside him was Jamie Whincup.

As the race started Anton de Pasquale took the lead into turn 1.Jamie Whincup was trying to not make contact with Will Davison’s challenge from third place and put him in the wall.

Further back in the pack there was contact between James Courtney, car 44 and Tim Slade, car 3. Tim Slade ran wide on the exit of turn 1 almost assisting James Courtney into the fence but somehow staying off the wall himself to re-join the race.

Pretty soon the cars further back in the pack pitted because they were being held up.

The leaders stayed out to maintain their places up the front.

After most of the cars had pitted one thing didn’t change and that was Anton de Pasquale in position 1.

Jamie Whincup had a phenomenal pit stop, 3.6 seconds.

Towards the end of the race the first safety car was deployed to remove car number 2 of Bryce Fullwood at the exit of turn 2.

The interruption didn’t change the result. Anton de Pasquale crossed the finish line just under 2 seconds ahead of Shane Van Gisbergen in second place. Rookie, Will Brown was a further 1.5337 seconds later in third place.

Results for 26

1st Anton de Pasquale – Shell V-Power Racing Team.
2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.
3rd Will Brown – Erebus Motorsport.

In race 27 Anton de Pasquale started on pole position, alongside him was his teammate Will Davison.Anton de Pasquale led into turn 1. Will Davison stayed high and wide on the outside on the run up to turn 2.

The two Shell V-Power Racing cars almost side swiped each other coming into turn 2. Jamie Whincup took advantage and got up the inside of Will Brown.

Coming out of turn 3 Anton de Pasquale was in the lead of the race. Will Brown was trying to regain his position from Jamie Whincup and on the run down to turn 4 they  had a bump., Will Brown tried again at turn 5 but couldn’t get the pass made.

Meanwhile Chaz Mostert got up the inside of Will Brown going into turn 5 but couldn’t make it stick.

Brodie Kostecki tried to get up the inside of Scott Pye as they were all trying to catch  Shane Van Gisbergergen, who has been the pace setter in 2021.

Brodie Kostecki battling with Scott Pye swapping positions through turns 9, 10 and 11.

Anton de Pasquale had a 3/4 second gap over Will Davison, Jamie Whincup and Will Brown.

The cars further back in the pack were settling down into their race pace.

It was an intense first lap!

Later the cars further back came in to pit early to try get clear trackbut the car up front stayed out longer.

By  the middle of the race everybody had completed their pit stops. Anton de Pasquale was still unchallenged for his lead.

Anton de Pasquale held his position all the way to the finish line. His quick pace increasing the gap to 6+ seconds over Jamie Whincup. Shane Van Gisbergen came in third place an additional 3.8653 seconds later.

Results for Race 27

1st Anton de Pasquale – Shell V-Power Racing Team.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team. 
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.

In Race 28 Jamie Whincup started on pole position which was his 92nd career pole in Supercars. Alongside him was his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen.

Off the start Jamie Whincup got the jump and led into turn 1.

During the opening stages the leaders kept pulling ahead.

The drivers further back were in a tight pack. They were getting frustrated with the lack of space to move so one by one peeled off into the pits hoping to find clear track.

When Will Brown rejoined after his pit stop he managed to undercut Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen in their battle for first place. Jamie Whincup was compromised with well-worn tyres and couldn’t catch him. Team manager, Mark Dutton told Jamie Whincup to let Shane Van Gisbergen through (with his fresher tyres) to chase down Will Brown. Not for the first time, Jamie Whincup disobeyed team orders and the rookie, Will Brown earned his first win in Supercars.

Results for Race 28

1st Will Brown – Erebus Racing.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.

Shane Van Gisbergen still leads the championship by 337 points over teammate Jamie Whincup.

Red Bull Ampol Racing leads the teams championship by 915 points over Shell V-Power Racing.

The next event is the Beaurepairs Sydney Supernight on the 19th to 21st of November, 2021.

It’s the last race before the BIG ONE. The BATHURST 1000. Yippee!!!!!

Supercars

Armor All Sydney Supernight 2021

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Hi to all Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 6th and 7th of November, 2021 was the Armor all Sydney Supernight.

The weekend was made up of 3 races, 32 laps each at the Sydney Motorsport Park (Eastern Creek Raceway).

The Triple Eight team hit a massive milestone this weekend with their 250th round start. Congratulations!

In the Pre-race sessions:

  • Anton de Pasquale was fastest in Practice 1.
  • Anton de Pasquale was also fastest in Practice 2.
  • Will Brown was fastest in Armour All Qualifying.

Anton de Pasquale didn’t compete in Qualifying because he was unable to change gears. That meant the Dick Johnson Racing Team had to change the transaxle for car 11 before he start of Race 23. It also meant car 11 had to start race from the 26th position (i.e. the back of the grid).

Will Brown started on pole position. Alongside him was 7 time Supercars champion, Jamie Whincup with series leader, Shane Van Gisbergen behind him.

As the race got underway Will Brown got the jump and led into turn 1, but he had Jamie Whincup all over him. Whincup threatened to pass several times but couldn’t find the way through so Will Brown kept the race lead for the opening laps. The cars further back struggled to put up any challenge.

Shane Van Gisbergern was racing well keeping up with the leaders.

Will Davison lost a few places off the start and on the run down to turn 3.

This week the opening laps were a lot calmer.

The cars further back in the pack were getting bogged down so they decided to come in early to get clear track. Anton de Pasquale chose to stay out longer to move further up the order. The leaders also stayed out to keep their places.

Later when Will Brown came in for what should have been a 3 to 4 second stop, but due to the fingers coming out of the wheel nut it was a 28 second stop! Athough Jamie Whincup was in 4th he was now the effective race leader.

As the rest of the leaders pitted, Whincup looked to have the race in the bag. With only 7 laps to go Shane Van Gisbergen passed Jamie Whincup and took the race lead.

From that point on Gisbergen was on fire and kept increasing the gap between him and his rivals. By the time he crossed the finish line he had 17+ second lead over Jamie Whincup in second place and 24+ seconds over Will Davison in third place.

It was an incredible performance from the season leader, Shane Van Gisbergen and it earned him his 13th win for the year.

Results for Race 23

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.

2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.

3rd Will Davison – Shell V-Power Racing Team.

In Race 24 Anton de Pasquale started on pole position. Alongside him was the series leader Shane Van Gisbergen.

As the race got underway Anton de Pasquale led into turn 1 leaving the cars behind him desperately  trying keep up.

As the pit stops began with the cars further back in the pack looking to get clear track while Anton de Pasquale stayed out linger n the lead of the race .

Jamie Whincup was running in the top 10 early on but then, in the middle of the race he had to make a 2nd pit stop due to a puncture after running over the curb at turn 3. It cost valuable time and he dropped 16 places.

Anton de Pasquale kept edging ahead proving difficult to catch even by series leader, Shane Van Gisbergen in second place. He managed to cross the finish line 8.304 seconds ahead of his closest rival and 17.5043 seconds ahead of James Courtney in 3rd place.

Anton de Pasquale has been absolutely nailing it in these last few events. With these results I am sure he will be closely watched next season.

Results for Race24

1st Anton de Pasquale – Shell V-Power Racing Team.

2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.

3rd James Courtney – Boost Mobile Racing.

Before race 25 got underway there was lighting, thunder and rain. The track was drenched sending teams into panic with last second changes to car and tyre setup.

Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position with Anton de Pasquale alongside him.

Bryce Fullwood jumped the gun before the start and went from 8th on the grid to first. It didnt last long, at the second corner Jamie Whincup reclaimed the lead. Later the officials awarded Fullwood a pit lane penalty for the jumped start.

The two Boost Mobile cars of James Courtney and Brodie Kostecki made contact on the first lap and left the track. They were both buried in the tyre barrier. As a result the first safety car was deployed and even through the cars were damaged they were able to drive back to the pits but couldn’t rejoin the race.

On the restart the rain was bucketing down. Shane Van Gisbergen passed Anton de Pasquale before the control line (which you are not allowed to do). Shane Van Gisbergen got on the radio and told the team that ‘Anton slowed down’. A replay of the footage from Fox Sports showed Anton had not slowed. The officials awarded Shane Van Gisbergen a Drive Through Penalty but later rescinded after reviewing data from the cars.

Regardless of the illegal pass, Shane Van Gisbergen left the track on the next corner so he lost time and position.

The wet conditions worsened but Jamie Whincup kept his lead.

With 7 laps to go the red flag came out and the race didn’t get restarted. They called it as it was. The amazing thing about the race was Chaz Mostert in 3rd place. He started 26th on the grid.

Results for Race 25

1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.

2nd Anton de Pasquale – Shell V-Power Racing Team.

3rd Chaz Mostert – Mobil 1 TM Appliances Online.

There are 3 events to go!

Shane Van Gisbergen still leads the championship by 337 points over Jamie Whincup.

The next event is the BP Ultimate Sydney Supersprint 13th and 14th of November 2021.

Supercars

Bunnings trade sydney supernight 2021

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On Friday the 29th to the 31th of October, 2021 was the Bunnings Trade Sydney Supernight.

This was the first of four back to back events scheduled for the Sydney Motorsport Park (Eastern Creek Raceway). This was made possible due to the removal of many COVID-19 restricts being lifted in NSW.

However, commentator Mark Larkham (one of my favourites) was not at the track because of boarder restrictions in Queensland. So he was stranded with the banana benders for this event.

Mark Winterbottom hit a milestone. This was his 550th Supercars race.

Heading into the event the Red Bull Ampol Racing Team were at the top of the Teams Ladder. The team’s 2 drivers also are at the top of the Championship; Shane Van Gisbergen with a solid lead at the top of the ladder followed by teammate, Jamie Whincup in second place.

In the pre-race sessions Anton de Pasquale dominated with amazing results:

  • Fastest in Practice 1
  • Fastest in Practice 2
  • Fastest in the Armour All Qualifying
  • and the Armour All Top Ten Shootout
  • He also started in Pole Position for all 3 races at this event.

In race 20 Anton de Pasquale started on pole position. Alongside him was Will Brown.

As the race got underway Will Brown was giving the pole sitter something to think about. He duelled with Anton de Pasquale into turn 1 and then again at turn 2. However, Anton de Pasquale held place and Will Brown had to tuck back in behind him.

At the back of the pack Jack Smith in position 19 stalled car 4 off the start line and immediately dropped back to 24th, last place.

Jamie Whincup also had a poor start and dropped to 9th off after starting 8th.

On the exit of turn 3 Will Davison was on the outside, ran wide and did some lawn mowing on the grass dropping a few places on the first lap.

Shane Van Gisbergen made up 3 spots on the first lap to run 3rd.

Shortly after Anton de Pasquale slid out and lost some time allowing Will Brown to catch up, sitting right on his tail.

Chaz Mostert was battling with Will Davison for positions 6 and 7.

David Reynolds came in early because he was getting held up.

Fabian Coulthard and Andre Heimgartner both started the race in the middle of the pack and also chose to pit early to get some clear track.

The leaders decided to stay out to keep track position.

On lap 16 Anton de Pasquale in position 1 and Will Brown came in at the same time.  Will Brown’s luck changed and his stop was delayed because the right rear wheel nut came lose. He lost so much time he rejoined the race in 21st place.

In the middle of the race James Courtney in car 44 got a bad sportsmanship flag for track limits at turn 5.

Meanwhile Jamie Whincup was trying to get further up the order but just couldn’t find the space.

In the closing laps Shane Van Gisbergen in second place was giving Anton de Pasquale a very hard time. I would imagine that it would have been quite daunting for Anton de Pasquale to have the series leader right in your face, but credit to him he held his nerve and managed to cross the line first. It was a spectacular finish.

Results for Race 20:

1st Anton de Pasquale – Dick Johnson Racing.

2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.

3rd Brodie Kostecki – Erebus Motorsort.

In race 21 yet again Anton de Pasquale started on pole position. This time alongside him was teammate Will Davison.

Anton de Pasquale stalled on the start line and dropped back through the field at a rate of knots.

Will Davison took the lead into turn 1 and the cars further back in the pack settled into their race rhythm.

Anton de Pasquale was caught back in 7th place. I was surprised at his poor start considering how he had dominated the weekend so far.

Up until the first pit stop I thought Will Davison was going win his first race since Bathurst 2016, but that didn’t happen.

He had Shane Van Gisbergen on his tail and they came in to the pits at the same time. Shane Van Gisbergen did a 3 tyre change and Will Davison did 4 tyres. Will Davison’s dash was blank and they had to recycle through the electricals so he was stationary a lot longer than he would have liked.

As a result, Shane Van Gisbergen re-joined the race in the lead.

From that point on Will Davison and Anton de Pasquale were on the attack and putting pressure on the leader.

Shane Van Gisbergen is no rookie and didn’t crack under the pressure. He simply just increased his lead and crossed the finish line 2+ seconds over his rivals. This was his 12th win for 2021.

Anton de Pasquale had bad luck in this race. Although he finished 3rd it was soon revealed in his pit stop the team put the wrong tyres on. They belonged to his teammate , Will Davison so Poor Pasquale was disqualified after the race finish.

Results for Race 21:

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing team.

2nd Will Davison – Dick Johnson Racing.

3rd Nick Percat – Brad Jones Racing.

For the third time in three races on the weekend, Anton de Pasquale started on pole position. Alongside him was rookie, Will Brown.

As Race 22 got underway Anton de Pasquale led into turn 1 with Will Brown close behind. The cars further back in the pack soon settled into their race pace.

Shortly after Shane Van Gisbergen jumped the goat, Jamie Whincup.

Andre Heimgartner was back in the pack getting held up so he choose to get out of the traffic and pit early.

Before the pit stops started I thought at one stage Will Brown was going to take the lead. But Anton de Pasquale was having a great weekend and not about to let the rookie take his number one spot.

Shane Van Gisbergen kept his lead over teammate Jamie Whincup and it was only mid race when he made a mistake that Whincup could reclaim his 3rd place.

Nearing the end of the race Will Brown once again challenging for the lead but that didn’t happen and Anton de Pasqale won.

It was an incredible performance by Anton de Pasquale. He started on pole position for all 3 races and won 2 out of 3. That is not bad going. Congrats Anton!

Results for Race 22

1st Anton de Pasquale – Dick Johnson Racing.

2nd Will Brown – Erebus Motorsport.

3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing.

It was great fun to watch and I’m already looking forward to next weekend: Same place, Same time for the Armor All Sydney Supernight.

Supercars

WD 40 Townsvlle Supersprint 2021

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the World!

On the weekend of the 17th and 18th of July 2021 was the WD-40 Townsville Supersprint.

After the postponement of Winton and the Sydney Supernight this was the second event of a double header at Townsville.

On the previous weekend the Townsville 500 was dominated by the 888 team. All eyes were on them to see if they could do it again; Could Shane Van Gisbergen continue his fiery streak for the season? Could Jamie Whincup repeat his double win at this event last year, 2020?

In the Pre–race sessions the results were as follows:

  • Scott Pye was fastest in Practice 1.
  • Anton de Pasquale earned himself pole position for the first race of the weekend being fastest in the Amour All Qualifying and Top 10 shootout.

In race 17 Anton De Pasquale started on pole position with Cameron Waters alongside him.

Zane Goddard started 10th because he didn’t complete his top 10 shootout lap.

Cameron Waters led he opening stages of the race.

Behind him though there was chaos because cars were getting hit left right and centre.

Brodie Kostecki was battling with Shane Van Gisbergen for positions 5 and 6.

Tim Slade came in to pits early on lap 5 to get clear air.

The cars back in the pack tried to pass the cars in front. When they realised that they couldn’t the teams called them into pit in an attempt to get out of traffic and make time while the others pitted later.

Will Davison had a really slow stop when the crew had issues with with the gun on the front left tyre of car 17. THe delay cost him dearly. It was more than double the standard pit stop time.

Most teams were doing 3 tyre changes in the stop, others did 2 tyres.

Shane Van Gisbergen received a 15 second penalty for making contact with car #99 of Brodie Kostecki.

Then teammate, Jamie Whincup got a 15 second time penalty for exceeding the pit lane speed limit.

In the middle of the race Cameron Waters had the lead and looking good for his 2nd win of 2021.

He confidently held the lead to the end of the race coming in 2.8708 seconds ahead of Anton de Pasquale in second placed who was 1.587 seconds ahead of cheeky Chaz Mostert.

The three drivers were way ahead of the rest of the pack. The next contender in fourth place was Tim Slade crossing the line 10+ seconds later.

Results for Race 17

1st Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing.

2nd Anton De Pasquale – Dick Johnson Racing.

3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United.

In Race 18 Jamie Whincup started on pole postion for the 91st time in his Supercars career! Alongside him was teammate Shane Van Gisbergen.

As the race got underway Jamie Whincup got the jump and led into turn 1 for the first of 39 laps.

Shane Van Gisbergen tried to go around the outside of Jamie Whincup but it couldn’t be done.

Tim Slade yet again came in to the pits early for clear air.

The cars further back in the pack came in early to get out of the traffic.

Meanwhile Jamie Whincup stayed out on track and at one stage worked up a 6 second lead.

Later, Todd Hazelwood managed a great pass and got down the inside of James Courtney at turn 11.

In the middle of the race Jamie Wincup and Shane Van Gisbergen were batting for the race lead and race win. Shane Van Gisbergern held the lead and the battle was fierce.  Shane Van Gisbergen was told told to let Jamie Whincup past but he disobeyed team orders and didn’t do so. They were both in the heat of the moment. The teammates were racing against each other for all their worth.

At lap 25 of 39 Will Brown of Erebus Pedders Racing left the track and wasn’t able to continue. A few minutes later on lap 26 Macauley Jones of Coca-Cola Racing met the same fate and left the track. Both received an NC  (not complete) for the race.

At the front end of the race, no one could catch Shane Van Gibergen as he built his lead over Whincup. He crossed the finish line 4.5+ seconds ahead of Jamie Whincup. Cheeky Chaz Mostert came across the line 3.5+ seconds later with Will Davison right on his tail. The three front drivers had a invincible lead over the rest of the pack. It was nearly 9 seconds before Todd Hazelwood took  5th place followed by Scott Pye. Both of them had gained 5 places throughout the race which is impressive for such a short sprint.

So once again Shane Van Gisbergen continues his 2021 winning streak. Fantastic!

Results for Race 18

1st Shane Van Gsbergergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing team.

2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team

3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United.

In race 19 Cameron Waters started on pole position alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.

As the race got underway Cameron Waters got the jump and led into turn 1 for the first of 39 laps.

Over Shane Van Gisbergen. ??? The cars further back in the pack came in to get clear track which worked.

The leaders stayed out longer because they had track position.

On lap 16 Macauley Jones again had to park his Coke Commordore after starting 8th on the grid and received his second NC for the weekend.

Shane Van Gisbergergen came in to get clear track.

Then Jamie Whincup also came in to get the undercut on Cameron Waters.

In the middle of the race Will Davison was in 3rd and looking good for a podium.

Towards the end of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was putting pressure on Cameron Waters for the race lead and race win. Cameron Waters experience kept him just out of reach from rivals and finished less than a second ahead of Shane Van Gisbergen.

Results for Race 19

1st Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing.

2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.

3rd Will Davison – Dick Johnson Racing.

The next event is event 8 the Ipswich Supersprint on the 21st and 22nd of August 2021.

The gap between 1st and 2nd in the championship Shane Van Gisberen and Jamie Whincup is 276 points.

Supercars

NTI Townsville 2021

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 9th to the 11th of July was the NTI Townsville 500.

After the indefinite postponement of the Winton Supersprint due to COVID I have been itching for the event to take place.

The first V8 Supercars race in Townsville was 2009. Out of the previous 29 races held here Jamie Whincup has had 12 wins and 20 podium finishes. I am sure that he and everyone else had high expectations for this coming event.          

In the pre–race sessions the results were as follows:

  • David Reynolds was fastest in Practice 1
  • Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Practice 2
  • Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in the Armour All Qualifying and the Armour All top 10 Shootout.

In race 15 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position. Alongside him was teammate Jamie Whincup. It was meant to be an 88 lap 250Km race on Saturday but Fabian Coulthard  was stranded on the grid at the start. Drivers had to do an extra formation lap which took a lap out of the race, so it became an 87 lap race. Fabian Coulthard was able to get his car off the grid and back to the pits with a new battery. He then had to prove to officials that his car could start under its own power. Only then was he able to start the race from the end of the pit lane.

After the formation lap the race got underway and Jamie Whincup led into turn 1 from the outside for. Further back in the field Brodie Kostecki (Erebus) was battling with Jake Kostecki (Unit Racing).

The cars further back in the pack came in early to avoid double stacking while the leaders stayed out longer to make the most of their good positioning.

In those opening laps the two Red Bull Ampol Racing Team cars were running 1st and 2nd.

Matt Stone Racing’s Zane Goddard made contact with the wall in car 35 and had to limp back to the pits. The team managed to repair the car and Zane Goddard returned to the track. Although he finished the race he had lost so much time that he dropped from 18th on the grid to 24th by the end of the race.

Up to the last quarter of the race Jamie Whincup was looking good for another victory at Townsville. It looked to be turning out the way I had predicted but at lap 70 Shane Van Gisbergen was able to take the lead off his teammate. Shane Van Gisbergen has been achieving incredible results this season but this was unexpected. The two drivers egged each other on. No one could catch them as they pulled further and further ahead of the pack.

Not only did Shane Van Gisbergen hold the number one spot but in those remaining 18 laps managed to build more than a 7 second lead over Jamie Whincup by the finish line. It was bad luck for Jamie Wincup but still a great result for the Red Bull Ampol Racing team, 1st and 2nd place.

Just over 30 seconds behind Whincup, Anton de  Pasquale came in third place.

Now that is what I call an incredible finish.

Results for Race 15

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing

2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing

3rd Anton De Pasquale – Dick Johnson Racing

In race 16 it was again the Red Bull Ampol Racing duo starting at the front of the grid. This time it was Jamie Whincup who started on pole position with Shane Van Gisbergen alongside him.

It was a milestone for the already record breaking Whincup as his 90th Supercars career pole start.

Yet again Jamie Whincup got the jump and led into turn 1 over his teammate and championship leader, Shane Van Gisbergen.

The drivers that started the race back in pack came in early to get clear air.

James Courtney was batting with Cameron Waters for positions 9th and 10th.

Brodie Kostecki was putting pressure on Will Brown to get passed him for 5th place.

By the middle of the race the 2 mandatory pit stops were done by almost all drivers and Jamie Whincup was back in the lead.

Shane Van Gisbergen was stuck in traffic further back which must have taken the pressure off  Jamie Whincup.

Shane Van Gisbergen charged his was through the traffic and once again, with only 13 laps to go took the lead off his teammate Jamie Whincup.

The two drivers had more than a 20 second lead over Pesky Pasquale in the 3rd place.

For Shane Van Gisbergen this weekend puts his tally at 10 wins out of 15 races for the season. That is just incredible.

Results for race 16

1st Sane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing

2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing

3rd Anton De Pasquale – Dick Johnson Racing

The next event is the WD 40 Townsville Supersprint on the 17th and 18th of July 2021.

Supercars

Merlin Triple Crown 2021

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of June 18 to 20, 2021 was the Merlin Darwin Triple Crown at Hidden Valley Raceway.

It was an exciting weekend that I had been looking forward to. Not just because Hidden Valley is a fast track but also the last event at Winton was cancelled due to COVID lockdowns. So it’s been a while since the last race.

Neil Crompton was not in Darwin last weekend because he was recovering from prostate cancer surgery. Crompo, we are all praying for you and wish you a speedy recovery.

In other news, Chaz Mostert has signed a new multi year deal with Walkinshaw Andretti United until the end of 2023. This puts an end to the speculations that he may be replacing Jamie Whincup in 2022 at the Red Bull Ampol Racing Team alongside Shane Van Gisbergen.

Also last weekend it was confirmed that Thomas Randle will make his full-time debut in 2022 with Tickford Racing under a 4th Rec – Racing Entitlements Contract.

The weekend’s event was underway as scheduled. In the pre-race sessions it was a mix of results:

  • Nick Percat was fastest in Practice 1
  • Jamie Whincup was fastest in Practice 2
  • Anton de Pasquale was fastest in Qualifying for race 12.

In race 12 Anton De Pasquale started on pole position with Mark Winterbottom alongside him.

As the race got underway things immediately went wrong and by turn 1 there was a 6 car pileup.

Mark Winterbottom lost power and went wide to avoid being a hinderance. Shane Van Gisbergen managed to sweep down the inside of Anton de Pasquale to take the lead. Anton de Pasquale turned in tight clipping Shane Van Gisbergen’s back wheel. It slowed Pasquale, changing his driving line and Scott Pye ended up in his behind spinning him round. As this brought them to a halt in the middle of the turn, others came to join the ‘pile up party’; Including Todd Hazelwod, Jack Smith, Fabian Couthard, Garry Jacobson. It was utter mayhem and the safety car had to be deployed to clean up the mess. Garry Jackobson was the only one able to continue the race. The others were out with NC (Not Complete).

When the race went back to green Shane Van Gisbergen was leading the race.

Jamie Whincup came in early to find some clear air and not get caught up in traffic. The leaders stayed out until lap 5.

Will Davison was the remaining Dick Johnson Racing car after the retirement of car 11 driven by Anton de Pasquale. De Pasquale’s car looked such a mess I was thinking that they wouldn’t be able to repair car overnight, but somehow they did.

In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen’s was on target for another race win in 2021 but it was a day of mishaps. When he came in for the pit stop the team couldn’t get the wheel nut undone, so instead of the stop being a 3 or 4 seconds it ended up being a 30 seconds. They delay  cost him the race lead and win. After looking so strong he finished in 13th position.

The race lead was now in the hands of Cheeky Chaz Mostert. His experience and great driving made it impossible for anyone else to catch him before he crossed the finish line first.

Results for Race 12

1st Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing

3rd Nick Percat – Brad Jones Racing

In race 13 Will Davison started on pole position. Alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen. The last time Will Davison started on pole position was 2014 at Homebush Sydney Olympic park.

David Reynolds qualified 21st for race 13 which he wasn’t happy with because he wanted to be further up but it didn’t work out.

At the start of the race Shane Van Gisbergen got the jump and led into turn 1. The cars further back in the pack came in early to get track position.

Nick Percat who qualified to start in 10 position wanted to repeat his podium finish achieved on Saturday. His driving throughout the race was more aggressive than usual but his experience means he knows what he is doing and poses less risk than most. Unfortunately for him it was a tough race and only managed to gain one place by the finish.

The Red Bull cars which qualified well, Shane Van Gisbergen started 2nd and Jamie Whincup started 6th on the grid, stayed out longer because they had track position. It paid off for both of them.

In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was back at the front. Soon after his teammate, Jamie Whincup had moved up from 6th to 3rd. Will Davison was holding onto 2nd position and was proving a tough nut to crack for Jamie Whincup to make the result 1st and 2nd for Triple 888 Racing..

The three drivers kept their position and proved impossible for anyone else to catch them. They also  finished the race in that order; Shane Van Gisbergen, Will Davison and Jamie Whincup.

Results for Race 13

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team

2nd Will Davison – Dick Johnson Racing

3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team

4th Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

In race 14, the third and final race for the weekend it was again Will Davison whi started on pole position. Alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.

Shane van Gisbergen went around the outside at turn 1 and in the process kept the lead which I wasn’t surprised with at all.

The cars further back in the pack came in to get track position and stay out of the hot air from the cars in front of them.

As the pit stops started taking place the leaders stayed to keep their positions.

Jamie Whincup was happy about having a good performance in Darwin with a 2nd and 3rd finish in the previous races..

In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was the leader of and looking like winning the race comfortably.

The series season leader Shane Van Gisbergen showed why he was the series champ to date and drove faultlessly to the finish line with more than a two second lead over Will Davison and Jamie Whincup in thrid. Shane Van Gisbergen now leads the championship by 221 points.

Results for Race 14

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team

2nd Will Davison – Dick Johnson Racing

3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team

Social media reacts to Mostert WAU contract extension – Supercars

Randle confirmed for 2022 full-time Supercars seat – Speedcafe

The next event is the NTI Townsville 500 on the 9th to the 11th of July 2021.

Supercars

OTR supersprint 2021

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 8th and 9th of May 2021 was the OTR Supersprint at The Bend in South Australia.

The event consisted of 3 races, 24 laps each which includes 18 ‘Bends’ over the shortened circuit of 4.95km. So they are fast and furious sprints with not much room for error.

I am sure that Jamie Whincup was trying not to repeat the incident of the 2020 OTR Supersprint. He made contact with Scott McLaughlin. It impacted Whincup’s race and chance at the championship.

Jess Yates returned to the host desk for Foxsports after giving birth to her second child, Samuel Lewis Egan on the 30th of March this year. That is less than 6 weeks prior to this event. So fellas, forget the heroic stats of all the drivers, this woman is the real deal.

Pit reporter, Molly Taylor was not present. She was in the hot seat in Saudi Arabia doing her other ‘job’ rally driving. Incidentally she claimed victory. Congratulations!

In the Race 9 Pre-Race sessions results were as follows:

  • Mark Winterbottom was fastest in Practice 1
  • Andre Heimgartner was fastest in Practice 2 and Armour All Qualifying.

In Race 9 Andre Heimgartner started on pole position (his second pole in his supercars career). Alongside him was Chaz Mostert.

Chaz Mostert got the jump into turn 1 but didn’t stay in the race lead for long. He ran wide on lap 1 which gave the pole sitter Andre Heimgartner the race lead.

Pretty soon Andre Heimgartner was pulling away from the rest of the field.

When the pit stops started the leaders stayed out longer to keep track position. Later, when Andre Heimgartner was exiting after his stop he made contact with the incoming Jamie Whincup. As a result he got a 5 second post-race pit lane penalty.

Andre Heimgartner now had had a mission to build a 5 second lead into his win to make up for the penalty. He showed amazing form and kept inching ahead. Pretty soon it was evident that no one was going to catch him. By the end of the race he had well reached his goal and came in first a little under 9 seconds ahead of the next competitor, Chaz Mostert.

Congratulations Andre Heimgartner on your first Supercars win.

Results for Race 9

1st Andre Heimgartner – Kelly Grove Racing

2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

3rd Anton de Pasquale – Dick Johnson Racing

In race 10 Anton de Pasquale took his first pole position in his Supercars career. Alongside him was teammate, Will Davison.

At the start of the race Anton de Pasquale got the jump and led into turn 1 for the first of 24 laps.

Will Davison tried to go around the outside at turn 1 but couldn’t do it safely so backed off.

The cars further back in the pack came in early to get clear track, which worked for most.

The leaders stayed out longer to keep track position.

In the middle of the race Anton de Pasquale was the race leader and looking strong to take his first win for DJR in 2021.

Towards the end of the race no one else could catch Anton de Pasquale for the ace win. Getting his second win in his supercars career must have been an exciting moment for him. Congrats Anton!

Results for Race 10

1st Anton de Pasquale – Dick Johnson Racing

2nd Will Davison – Dick Johnson Racing

3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team

In race 11 Anton de Pasquale yet again started on pole position alongside him this time was the 7 times Supercars champion, Jamie Whincup.

At the start of the race Jamie Whincup looked as though he might have taken the lead but that wasn’t the case. Anton de Pasquale was having a good weekend.

The cars further pack were trying to move forward but the only way to do that was through strategy.

Mark Winterbottom hit a career milestone starting his 500th race. As if to celebrate he made up 7 spots in the opening stages of the race. Congrats Frosty.

As the pit stops started the list of to have or to have pitted was moving up and down like the stock market.

In the middle of the race Cameron Waters was leading having moved up two places from his starting position on the grid.

Shane Van Gisbergen was in hot pursuit but couldn’t find the space to overtake. Just too many ‘Bends’. His only option was trying to pressure Cam Waters into making a mistake. Cam Waters kept his focus and great form to the finish making the weekend a Ford clean sweep.

Results for Race 11

1st Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing

2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team

3rd Will Davison – Dick Johnson Racing

The next event is the Winton Supersprint on the 29th and 30th of May 2021.

Live it – Breathe it – Dream it – Drive it

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