Its January 2021 and its still the off season for Supercars. I was looking back over some past races and I thought I would review the 2009 Dunlop Townsville 400. It stands out for me because it was the first ever Townsville race. It was 72 laps / 200 Kilometres.
It was race 11 in the season.
Lee Holdsworth started on pole position for the 200km / 72 laps. Alongside him was James Courtney.
Race 11 start during the Dunlop Townsville 400, Event 06 of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series at the Reed Park Street Circuit, Townsville, Queensland, Saturday, July 11, 2009.
James Courtney got the jump and led into turn 1.
Then 3 or 4 cars made contact at turn 2. It was a tense moment.
James Courtney kept the lead for those early laps while Lee Holdsworth battled Garth Tander for 2nd place.
After such a confident start James Courtney in the Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon dropped a cylinder. The lead was taken up by pole sitter, Lee Holdsworth and while Garth Tander pitted Jamie Whincup held 2nd.
James Courtney had to park in the garage and watch the rest of the race from the sideline.
In the middle of the race Jack Perkins was in the pack of leading cars. His presence seemed to have not been welcome. With a slight tap from behind by Jamie Whincup he was spun round and joined the cars at the back of the pack. Incidently, Jamie Whincup wasnt penalised for his action.
As the race drew to a close the leaders seemed to have a solid hold on their positions which no one could catch. They held firm and crossed the finish line; Jamie Whincup, Will Davison and Garth Tander.
It is still the ‘off season’ for Supercars so there are no races to review.
COVID – 19 is re-emerging as a health risk in the Sydney community bringing most things to a boring standstill.
As I once said in a previous V8-Log on my YouTube channel ‘COVID, COVID, COVID…. I’m Bored!!’
So to keep myself occupied and maybe info-tain my readers, I am doing a post covering the 2006 Bathurst 1000.
The 2006 Bathurst 1000 was run on October 8. It was a sombre moment as they moved into position to start the race. They left the front row of the grid vacant as a mark of respect to the ‘King of the Mountain’, Peter Brock or as most Aussies would know him, “Brocky” . Brocky was a living legend of the track and died tragically in the Targa West ’06 Rally one month prior on September 8. This was the man who had been out on the track since the late 60’s, was 9 times winner of the Bathurst 1000 (amongst many other titles that are too great in number to mention here) and pretty much the face of Holden for 40 years.
That’s not to say there were no great drivers out on the track that day. Mark Skaife and Garth Tander started on pole position. Alongside was Jason Bright and Mark ‘Frosty’ Winterbottom.
As the race got underway Mark Skaife had a slipping clutch off the start line. When he got close to the end of Mountain Straight he left the track, hitting the wall and damaging front and back of the car. They were already out of the race on lap 1.
The drivers did 3 laps under safety car while car 2 (Skaife’s) got removed from mountain straight area.
On the restart Jason Bright was the race leader and the dominant car. During those opening laps the Jason Bright and Mark Winterbottom car was flying, it was just sofast.
Craig Lowndes was battling with Jason Richards for 2nd place. Greg Murphy was battling with his former teammate, Steven Richards in the Jack Daniels Racing, car 7.
Heading into the 06 Bathurst 1000 Craig Lowndes was the championship leader over Rick Kelly by 27 points.
Rick Kelly was battling with Steven Johnson for position 8 and 9.
Dean Canto was following Russell Ingall but couldn’t get by him.
Jason bright was leading until he got a flat spot on the front right tyre, then Craig Lowndes took the race lead and just took off.
On lap 22 he had a handy 4.1 second lead lead over Jason Richards in car 3 for Tasman Motorsport.
Skaife’s Holden Racing Team (HRT) teammate, Jim Richards had no luck either. On lap 25 he hit the wall coming out of ‘The Dipper’.
On the 2nd restart, Steven Johnson was running 2nd but lost control on lap 28 and also hit the wall.
When the safety car came out for the 3rd time Craig Lowndes pitted to hand over to Jamie Whincup. The handover put them back in 22nd position.
The the pits were very busy with cars coming in but so badly damaged not going back out.
When the race restarted Cameron McConville was leading followed by Todd Kelly.
Around the middle of the 161 lap race, the main drivers were back behind the wheel.
On lap 90 Craig Lowndes did the fastest lap of the race.
When the co drivers got back in the cars Todd Kelly was leading.
The cars back in the pack seemed to have no hope of catching the race leaders; Todd Kelly, Jamie Whincup and James Courtney.
Towards the end of the race it was green until Jason Richards went off the track causing the 10th and final safety car deployment.
Soon after Paul Radisich rolled the Team Kiwi Holden Commordore, car 021.
Rick Kelly was chasing Crag Lowndes in the last laps but he just couldn’t find the opportunity to overtake. Craig Lowndes driving was flawless and kept his lead to the finish line.
Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup were the fist to receive the newly titled trophy, ‘The Peter Brock Trophy’.
Results for Bathurst 2006
1st Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup – Team Betta Electrical
2nd Rick Kelly and Todd Kelly – Toll HSV Dealer Team
3rd James Courtney and Glen Seton – Stone Brothers Racing
The reason why I am doing this post is because it is the end of the 2020 season and the Season Champion, Scott McLaughlin announced his departure from Australian Supercars for an opportunity in the U.S. To drive in the IndyCars series for Team Penske.
I want to highlight Scott McLaughlin’s amazing career in Australian Supercars. He is an amazing talent the likes of which we won’t see again for a long time.
Scott McLaughlin was born on the 10th of June, 1993 in New Zealand.
Scott McLaughlin started driving karts when he was 6 years old and started racing when he was 7 years old. Soon he was representing New Zealand in competitions overseas.
At the age of 9 he and his family moved to Australia.
In 2010 at the tender age of 16 years old he became the youngest driver ever in V8 Supercars, racing for Stone Brothers Racing in the Dunlop Super2 Series.
His hard work soon paid off. Early in 2011 he hit another high point at the age of 17 becoming the youngest driver ever to win a race in the NZ Touring Car Series championship.
In 2012 it all came together. He became the NZ Super Tourers Series champion. He also competed in the Dunlop V8 Supercars series and took the title for that as well.
Scott McLaughlin also made his debut at Sandown and Bathurst as co-driver to Jonathon Webb.
After he won that he got called up from Garry Rogers to replace Alex Premat in the Sydney 500. Alex Premat was unable to race due to heat exhaustion from racing the day before.
In 2013 Scott McLaughlin became full time driver in the V8 Supercars Championship Series.
In that same year he won 2 races at Pukekohe Park Raceway, New Zealand (race 6) and the again at Queensland Raceway (race 22).
From 2014 to 2016 Scott McLaughlin continued to drive in the Garry Rogers team, now going by the name ‘Volvo Polestar Racing.
In 2017 he switched to Dick Jonson Racing (DJR) and was teamed up with another excellent driver, Fabian Coulthard. It was a good match. McLaughlin in his Falcon proved to be fast. So fast he earned 16 pole positions for the season (now that is a lot – something like 50% of the races).
He even proved to be stiff competition to legend Jamie Whincup. Whincup had won the series championship in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
In the last race of the season the Newcastle 500, Whincup was leading the championship going in. In the first race Whincup crashed out and Scott McLaughlin won. McLaughlin was now leading the point score for the championship. Things were very tense. It all came down to the last race.
McLaughlin made quite a few mistakes in that race probably due to nerves and was penalised. Whincup’s experience kept him cool and steady throughout. He won the race but had only beaten McLaughlin by 21 points.
In 2018 he won his first championship. 2019 he took his 2nd championship as well as his first Bathurst 1000 trophy.
2020 he again dominated the series and took his 3rd championship. Driving a Mustang, he earned 15 Pole positions out of 27 races. He had 21 Podium finishes. 13 of them were wins. Now that is crazy!
Now he has moved to the U.S. to compete in the 2021 Indycars series as a full time driver for Team Penske. The contract has him locked in for 1 ½ years.
He has achieved so much and is still only 27 years old!!!!
From me and I am sure a great many others, we wish you the best of luck for the future Scott McLaughlin. You will be missed by everyone in the Supercars community.
Below I have some further stats on Scott McLaughlin’s career and other drivers he has been associated with.
His co-drivers were:
2013 Jack Perkins car 33.
2014 – 2015 Alex Premat, car 33.
2016 David Wall, car 33.
2017 – 2019 Alex Premat, car 17.
2020 Tim Slade, car 17.
Scott McLaughlin has been in the Supercars for 9 years:
Rick Kelly started racing in the Australian Formula Ford Championship in 2000 followed by the Australian Drivers Championship in 2001.
Now hang on! Let me do my calculation: (Professional driver:2000. Born:1983) that would make him 17!!! Really? Ok so we got this kid behind the wheel. People are taking him seriously. He must be good.
In 2001 he made his debut in the Shell Championship Series at the VIP Petfoods Queensland 500 with co-driver Nathan Pretty with the Kmart Racing Team. Rick was behind the wheel on the grid, rearing to go. Unfortunately, due to mechanical problems the car had to be pushed off the track before they even started. It didn’t hold Rick back.
In 2002 he moved to the Holden Racing Team driving car 02. He performed admirably; at one stage leading the Bathurst 1000 and had the circumstances been slightly different he could have won his first Bathurst at the age of 19!!!! Not a problem for a Kelly. It was only one year later, driving for the K-Mart Racing Team in 2003 that he took the Bathurst 1000 trophy.
When Rick Kelly rejoined Kmart Racing Team in 2003 he was co-driver to (already legend) Greg Murphy for the Enduro’s. It’s agiven that being co-driver to a legend like Murphy is a great honour but it also states clearly what they thought of Kelly.
In 2004 Rick Kelly stayed with Kmart racing and started on pole position for the 2004 Sandown 500.
In 2005 Rick Kelly drove for the HSV Dealer Team driving in car number 15. Again he started on pole position for the Sandown 500.
In 2006 and 2007 Rick Kelly drove for the Toll HSV Dealer Team.
He won the 2006 Supercars Championship and got to run the 2007series with the coveted 01 number on his car.
In 2009 the Kelly boys (brother Todd) started their own team, Kelly Racing which they both own to this day.
Rick Kelly is a 2 times Bathurst 1000 winner and a Supercars Champion.
I met Rick Kelly a in 2017 at Homebush. He was a great guy to meet. I also met him at some other race events and he was consistently nice.
So, from me (and Im sure a great many others) congrats on your outstanding 19 year Supercars career. Good luck for the future.
Whoever will replace Rick on the track for Kelly Racing in 2021 will be in good hands and should be honoured.
Results for Rick kelly’s career:
1st 2001 Sandown race 2.
1st 2003 Bathurst 1000.
1st 2004 Bathurst 1000.
1st 2004 round 2 Eastern Creek.
2nd 2006 Clipsal 500 Race 1 & 3rd in Race 2.
1st 2007 Clipsal 500 Race 2. (His brother Todd won the first race).
1st 2011 Hamilton Race 5.
Rick Kelly co-drivers over the years:
Nathan Pretty 2001 and 2002
Greg Murphy 2002, 2003 and 2004
Garth Tander 2005
Todd Kelly (Bother) 2006
Garth Tander 2007
Paul Radisch 2008 (who crashed car 15) so Rick drove with Paul Dumbrell in car 16.
On the weekend of the 15th to the 18th of October, 2020 was the Grand Finale of the V8 Supercars season, the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.
In the previous event Repco Supersprint The Bend, Scott McLaughlin was named ‘Champion Elect’ having enough championship points to be unreachable with only one event remaining for the season.
However, it was the Red Bull Holden Racing Team leading Teams Championship ladder but were still within reach by the Shell V-Power Racing Team. So for Jamie Whincup, Shane Van Gisbergen and their co-drivers, Craig Lowndes and Garth Tander this event was make-or-break for the Teams Championship.
Regardless, for all teams the Bathurst 1000 is an incredibly gruelling race and is Australia’s biggest motor race of the year.
With that in mind the pre-race sessions were full of intense competition with some great performances. The results were:
Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 1.
James Moffat was fastest in Practice 2.
Cameron Waters was fastest again in Practice 3.
Will Davison was fastest in Practice 4.
Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 5.
Lee Holdsworth was fastest in the Armour All Qualifying.
Warren Luff was fastest in Practice 6.
Cameron Waters and Will Davison were fastest in Practice 7.
Cameron Waters was fastest again in the Armour all Top 10 Shootout earning pole position
Andre Heimgartner was fastest in the Warm U
So in Race 31, The Big Race and grand finale of the season Cameron Waters and Will Davison started on pole position with the formidable Champion Elect Scott McLaughlin alongside them.
Most of the co-drivers started the race except for Scott McLaughlin, Rick Kelly and Macauley Jones.
I was surprised the The Shell V-Power Racing Team started the race with Scott McLaughlin in the driver’s seat of car 17 but it may have been a last minute strategy when they earned P2 alongside pole position.
Craig Lowndes started the race in car 888 and was battling with Michael Caruso for position 7.
As they kicked off the 161 lap race Will Davison got the jump at first but then Scott McLaughlin soon overtook and led up mountain straight for the first time.
Unlike previous years there were no major incidents in the first lap, but it wasn’t long before the pressure started to show.
During lap 2 Macauley Jones had a problem with his drivers side door, the Brad Jones Racing team couldn’t get the door to stay closed on car 3. As he rounded corners the door was flying open! Of all the issues to have in this race! Race control issued a mechanical black flag requiring he return to the pits immediately. For whatever reason Macauley Jones went another lap before coming in which earned him a Drive Thru Penalty.
The Brad Jones Racing Team had to put a new drivers door on car 3 because the one they had on the car wouldn’t close.
Rick Kelly had a clutch problem with car 15 but put up with it during the opening stages.When Car 15 finaly came in for repairsthey put Dale Wood in the driver’s seat.
When the safety car was deployed Car 15 was able to be waved passed to get his lap back under the new safety car rules.
When Jamie Whincup took the wheel of car 888 from Craig Lowndes he was battling with Bodie Kostecki and Chaz Mostert in front and behind in cars 99 and 25. On lap 33 Jamie Whincup was racing through ‘The Cutting’, a particularly dangerous part of the track and lost control smashing into the concrete barrier.
The impact was huge and car 888 was now out of the race! Not only that but with a DNF Red Bull Holden Racing Team could not earn enough points to stay at the top of the Team’s Championship ladder. Rubbing further salt into the wound was the fact that Team’s Championship would now go to driver champion elect Scott McLaughlin’s team, Shell V-Power Racing Team.
On restart the race leader was Will Davison in car 6, and that’s when it started to rain.
At lap 50 Todd Hazelwood and Jordan Boys in car 14 were the next to leave the track.
Not long after on lap 62 Garry Jacobson and David Russell also left the track to keep the guys in car 50 some company for the duration of the race.
The next 65 laps didn’t see any major incidents and let the race continue.
In the middle of the race Garth Tander, co-driver to Shane Van Gisbergen in car 97 took the lead. Garth Tander’s years of experience were on show with supreme driving skills and flying like he had some Red Bull wings.
This is the Bathurst 1000 and Garth Tander, a three time winner was not going to give up a chance to make it his fourth.
Car 97 was still leading when he handed over the wheel to Shane Van Gisbergen, yet to win his first Bathurst 1000.
As they drivers all completed their mandatory 7 pit stops Shane Van Gisbergen was still holding the lead. For all his efforts he could not shake Cameron Waters right behind him.
Every moment was tense as the race drew to a close. Any slip up and Cameron Waters would take advantage and Shane Van Gisbergen could kiss his 1st Bathurst win good-bye.
At lap 147 of 161 Bryce Fullwood and Kurt Kostecki in car 2 were stranded on the track with power steering dramas and the safety car was deployed. Shane Van Gisbergen must have been pleased to get a chance to breath from Cameron Waters incessant chase.
When the race resumed it was only 2 laps later at lap 149 that the safety car was deployed again as the two Jacks (Smith and Perkins) in car 4 left the track. I bet Shane Van Gisbergen was beginning to feel he would lose his form with these interruptions.
Soon enough they were back to full throttle. There were just a few laps remaining and Shane Van Gisbergen was no only holding his lead but squeezed a few seconds ahead of his pesky shadow Cameron Waters. At lap 155 the other Kostecki (Jake) and Zane Goddard were the cause of the safety car being deployed yet again.
You could feel the tension as the cars squeezed up in formation behind the safety car ready to finish those last few laps.
They resumed for the final time. Shane Van Gisbergen driving like a bat out of hell and Cameron Waters right on his tail. At every opportunity he would pull out from behind the leader and show himself – ready to pounce at any opportunity.
Shane Van Gisbergen kept his cool and didn’t choke at the threat from Waters. In an incredibly tense few laps Shane Van Gisbergen managed to cross that finish line first to get his first Bathurst 1000.
Results for race 31
1st Shane Van Gisbergen and Garth Tander – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd Cameron Waters and Will Davison – Tickford Racing.
3rd Chaz Mostert and Warren Luff – Walkinshaw Andretti United.
The Supercars will be back at Bathurst in Feburary 2021.
On the weekend of September 26th and 27th 2020 was the OTR Supersprint at Tailem Bend. It was the second of a double header. The previous race being run there the week before.
This event ran three races, each intended to be 32 laps.
It was a critical event for the season. For the two main contenders, Scott McLaughlin and Jamie Whincup it would be the deciding factor for the Driver’s Championship. They were close enough in points for Jamie Whincup to catch the current championship leader and take the year’s trophy.
In Race 28 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position, alongside him was Cameron Waters.
Race 28 was meant to be 32 laps but it was 31 due to the drivers having to do an extra formation lap. It was an unusual occurrence.
Scott McLaughlin performed a perfect start and got the jump over Cameron Waters into turn 1.
Once Scott McLaughlin took the lead it was hard for anybody else to catch him. He was fast, precise and faultless.
The drivers back in the pack came in early because they were getting held up in traffic.
Rick Kelly got turned around by Todd Hazelwood at turn 1 which put him to the back of the pack.
Scott Pye was up near the front so he stayed out longer.
Fabian Coulthard wanted to finish behind his teammate. He had a poor starting position of 15th but was taking as many places as possible.
In the middle of race Scott McLaughlin was driving confidently and holding his lead. Towards the end of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was on the chase and was giving Scott McLaughlin a hard time. However, Shane Van Gisbergen just couldn’t find the opportunity to take the lead and he simply ran out of time. Without fault Scott McLaughlin crossed the line first. Shane Van Gisbergen was only .6473 seconds behind. Cam Waters came in over 5 seconds later in third place.
Results for Race 28
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V-Power Racing Team
2nd Shane Van Gisergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
3rd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
In Race 29 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position again. Alongside him was teammate, Fabian Coulthard.
Fabian Coulthard got the jump and led into turn 1 for the first couple of laps before letting his teammate past and allowing him to control the race.
The Red Bull Holden Racing Team had a critical mishap during Jamie Whincup’s pit stop. It appeared that he hit the right hand wheel man’s rattle gun with the impact causing the car to drag the air line. The team was penalised 30 points and $1500 fine. However, Jamie Whincup was not fined or penalised himself.
The drivers knew that it was the 2nd last event of 2020 and everyone was out to crush the leader.
In the middle of the race after such a great start, Fabian Coulthard had a DNF due to gear box dramas.
Towards the end of the race Scott McLaughlin held the lead and won his second race in the event. Now there was just one more chance for Jamie Whincup to keep in the running for the championship. Things were getting really tense.
Results for Race 29
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V-Power Racing Team
2nd Anton de Pasquale – Penrite Racing
3rd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
In Race 30 Scott McLaughlin earned himself his third pole position out of the three races at this event. The bastard looked unstoppable. Alongside him was Cameron Waters.
At the start of the race Cameron Waters amazingly got the jump on Scott McLaughlin and led into turn 1. Its not amazing that Cameron Waters got a great start because he is a great driver but when you are up against Scott McLaughlin, it’s pretty damned hard to take the lead from the start line.
The cars further back in the pack were trying to stay out of trouble. Nobody was interested in last minute contact and risk crucial points in the championship.
Fabian Coulthard who started in P5 was desperate to make up some places and finish 3rd on the posium. As it turned out everyone else wanted the same thing and the competition became fierce. As it turned out Fabian Coulthard dropped 3 places and finished 8th.
In the fierce competition James Courtney wildly lost control and left the track. It cost him dearly. He started in 4th position and finished 10th.
Cameron Waters was the race leader. Scott McLaughlin was on his tail and I am sure wanted make this 3 out of 3 wins for the weekend, but he just couldn’t find the opportunity. Cameron Waters was driving flawlessly. Scott McLaughlin knew even in 2nd place he would be the season’s ‘Champion elect’. He may have simply thought it may not be worth taking any risk with Jamie Whincup right behind him. He just needed to hold him off and get to the finish line safely.
Regardless of anything Cameron Water’s win was spectacular.
Results for Race 30
1st Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V-Power Racing Team
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
The next event is the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. In 3 weeks time.
The Bathurst channel launches Monday October 12. On Foxsports506 at 12am.
On the weekend of September 19th and 20th, 2020 was the Repco Supersprint The Bend.
Before I get into the event details, the hot news at the time of completing this article is Channel 7 made their formal announcement about their multi-year agreement to broadcast Supercars events (alongside fox sport) starting 2021.
Here is the video of the formal announcement on Channel 7. I really like the promo clip with lots of old footage that starts at 3m35s in.
So now, on with the race….
The results for the pre-race sessions were as follows:
Practice – Rookie Drivers Only – Macauley Jones (Team CoolDrive)
Practice 1 – Shane Van Gisbergen (Red Bull Holden Racing Team)
Practice 2 – Fabian Coulthard (Shell V-Power Racing Team)
Armor All Qualifying & Top 15 Shootout – Chaz Mostert (Mobil 1 TM Appliances Online)
In Race 25 Chaz Mostert claimed his first pole position under his new team, Walkinshaw Andretti United. Alongside him on the grid was Scott McLaughlin.
Scott McLaughlin got the jump over Chaz Mostert while Jamie Whincup moved up to 2nd at turn 1. Chaz Mostert had a bad start and dropped from 1st to 4th.
Jamie Whincup wanted to get down the inside of Scott McLaughlin at turn 18 but things didn’t go to plan and both championship contenders left the track. Jamie Whincup copped a 15 second time penalty after his pit stop which put him way down in position order.
The weather was hot and as the cars came in to pit a lot had heat blisters and flat spots on their tyres. No good at all. Driving strategies needed to be implemented to avoid tyres disintegrating out on the track.
In the middle of the race as Scott McLaughlin was coming back up through the field before making contact with Car 5 of Lee Holdsworth. The incident earned Scott McLaughlin a 15 second time penalty which was applied to his time at the end of the race. So even though he physically crossed the finish 3rd he ended up receiving 14th place. Now the two main contenders (McLauglin and Whincup) battling for the championship title were way back in the field.
Shane Van Gisbergen had the lead well in hand by the middle of the race.
However, his early pit stop in the race meant towards the end he was on some pretty well worn tyres. He couldn’t get the grip or speed needed and dropped from 1st to 9th.
Towards the end of the race drivers were changing positions like hot tyres. With the heavy weight drivers pushed back in the results order due to penalties it was Fabian Coulthard (up 4 spots), Jack le Brocq (up 5 spots) and Bryce Fullwood (up 10 spots) who took the podium. It was most unexpected.
Results for Race 25
1st Fabian Coulthard – Shell V-Power Racing Team
2nd Jack Le Brocq – Tickford Racing
3rd Bryce Fullwood – Walkinshaw Andretti United
In Race 26 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position, alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.
Scott McLaughlin got the jump but then Shane Van Gisbergen took the race lead.
Once Scott McLaughlin lost the lead he knew not to make contact with car 97.
During the opening laps Shane Van Gisbergen held his race lead while the cars further back in the pack were trying to move up the field. The only time Shane Van Gisbergen lost the lead was when he took the compulsory pit stop.
When Jamie Whincup took to the pits the car didn’t go up on the jacks due to problems with the air spike. This killed his pit stop time and his ability to close in on the Championship title.
When Shane Van Gisbergen rejoined the track after his stop, he made contact with the back of Scott McLaughlin’s car. It created a very tense moment because there appeared to be a lot of damage to Scott McLaughlin’s car. Thanksfully (for Red Bull fans) Shane Van Gisbergen wasn’t penalised.
The drivers back in the pack were 3 wide and that opened the door for Chaz Mostert who got down the inside of Andre Heimgartner.
Shane Van Gisbergen held fast to his lead and was not going to make any mistakes for the other drivers to take advantage of. He crossed the finish line with Andre Heimgartner and Scott McLaughlin hot on his tail.
Results for Race 26
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Andre Heimgartner – Kelly Racing
3rd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V-Power Racing Team
In race 27 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position for the second time this weekend. Alongside him was Chaz Mostert.
At the start of the race Fabian Coulthard took Chaz Moster’s place in 2nd. Shell V-Power Racing were running 1st and 2nd.
Meanwhile there was a major incident further back in the pack. Shane Van Gisbergen turned Andre Heimgartner and caused a dominos effect with a bunch of other cars. What a mess! There were multiple cars damaged. James Courtney was lucky not to roll car 44. Mark Winterbottom was out of the race due to too much damage.
Shane Van Gisbergen copped a 15 second time penalty for hiss mistake.
In the middle of the race Scott McLaughlin and teammate, Fabian Coulthard were running 1st and 2nd.
They held their positions all the way to the finish line with Jamie Whincup trying his best to keep up in 3rd position.
Results for Race 27
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V-Power Racing Team
2nd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V-Power Racing Team
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
Things are really hotting up in the championship. Th gap between Shell V-Power Racing and Red Bull Holden Racing Teams is reduced to a mere 104 points. However, Scott McLaughlin has slightly increased his points to 215 over Jamie Whincup.
Next up is the the second of the double header at ‘The Bend’ , The OTR Supersprint. It will also be the 2nd last event of 2020. The final event will be The Bathurst 1000.
On the weekend of the 5th and 6th September 2020 was the Robson Civil Projects Townsville Supersprint.
The event ran 3 races of 39 laps / 110kms each.
As the event started the Shell V-Power Racing Team were leading the Team Championship thanks to Scott McLaughlin, who was also leading the Driver’s Championship.
In race 22 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position with Shane Van Gisbergen alongside him.
Scott McLaughlin got the jump on Shane Van Gisbergen and led into turn 1 while the cars further back in the pack settled into their race pace.
Mark Winterbottom was battling with Scott Pye for positions 9th and 10th.
The other battle was between Rick Kelly and Andre Heimgartner for pit priority.
When Scott McLaughlin made his pit stop he did a 3 tyre change which seems to be the trend.
Meanwhile Chaz Mostert stayed out on track longer as he was now the race leader. Being at the front gave him the opportunity to make use of clear track ahead and gain ‘time’.
On lap 16 David Reynolds had steering problems and had to take an unscheduled pit stop. Unfortunately the issue couldn’t be resolved so car 9 was now out of the race receiving an NC (Not Complete).
Not long after (lap 22) Shane Van Gisbergen was running 2nd before oil started coming out of his car. The Red Bull Holden Racing Team attempted a fix and changed his steering but when he rejoined the race he received a mechanical black flag, the oil was still coming out the back of his car. He was the second NC for the race.
Meanwhile Scott McLaughlin had regained the lead and was holding strong. Once again he proved too good to chatch, finishing just under 3.5 seconds ahead of Cameron Waters, followed by Chaz Mostert 7+seconds later.
Results for Race 22
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V-Power Racing Team
2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
In Race 23 Nick Percat started on pole position. Alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.
During the opening stages Shane Van Gisbergen took the race lead from his grid start position of 4.
Cars further back in the pack were getting held up so they came in to pit early.
Fabian Coulthard who started way back in the pack at P16 was clearly frustrated so also pitted early to get clear track.
Jamie Whincup who started behind Shane Van Gisbergen wanted to catch up to his teammate to have a chance at another race win, but that wasn’t the case.
Lee Holdsworth caught up to his team mate, James Courtney but couldn’t pass him.
In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was still able to maintain his lead.
It was soon evident that he couldn’t be caught. He seemed to be just loving it and kept increasing his lead. By the time he crossed the finish line he had a 8.3951 second lead over Scott McLaughlin, then followed by Jamie Whincup.
This was a milestone for Triple Eight, their 200th win so it was great to have 2 places on the podium.
Results for Race 23
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V-Power Racing Team
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
In race 24 Brad Jones Racing’s Todd Hazelwood started on pole position. Alongside him was Nick Percat.
Nick Percat got the jump at the start of the race, while the cars further back in the pack were trying to stay with the leaders.
Fabian Coulthard had another poor starting position (P14) didn’t like being this far far back and was on the charge.
David Reynolds fighting back after a DNF on Saturday.
Andre Heimgartner did his best to stay with Rick Kelly.
In the middle of the Red Bull Holden Racing Team in cars 88 and 97 were running 2nd and 3rd to Scott MacLaughlin.
Scott McLaughlin held firm to his position. It seemed Jamie Whincup couldnt find the pace to take the leader. In the second last lap Jamie Whincup gave way to his teammate, Shane Van Gisbergen who had fresher tyres and could maybe find the pace. In a spectacular manoeuvre Shane Van Gisbergen cut into the inside of Scott McLaughlin on a corner. Scott was forced outwards and had to slow down to make the turn. Jamie Whincup was tight on Shane Van Gisbergen’s tail followed him right passed Scott McLaughlin. The championship leader had dropped 2 places in a split second. The two Red Bull cars dashed to the finish line to claim first and second place. It was spectacular!
Results for Race 24
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
3rd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V-Power Racing
The next event is the Bend Supersprint on the 19th and 20th of September 2020.
On the weekend of August 29 and 30, 2020 was the NTI Townsville Supersprint.
Three races were run, each 39 laps of a Townsville Reed Park street circuit.
In the first race of the weekend, Race 19 Jamie Whincup started scored the pole position. Alongside him was David Reynolds.
Jamie Whincup made the most of it and got the jump into turn 1.
Further back in the pack Anton de Pasquale got turned at turn 2.
Then Shane Van Gibergen had damage due to hitting the cars in front of him. The Red Bull Team had to put him & his car 97 in the garage to repair the damage. Rick Kelly and Kelly Racing teammate, Andre Heimgartner also had damage. This wasn’t ideal because they are not near their home base in Victoria due to the COVID19 border closures.
Scott McLaughlin was shoved from behind and I was surprised that he escaped any significant damage so was able to keep going.
Scott McLaughlin was obviously not satisfied with starting position of 16 and gained 8 spots on the opening lap.
Todd Hazelwood left the track on lap 7 and didn’t return. By lap 23 his teammate Nick Percat also left the track without returning. Both received NC (Not Complete). Brad Jones Racing Team only had Jack Smith left on the track. Regardless of his dramas he did manage to finish the race.
There were a number of other drivers who didn’t make it to the finish line and received NCs. They included Zane Goddard, Andre Heimgartner and Macauley Jones. Five in total.
Jamie Whincup maintained his lead and continued to increase his lead. He managed to cros the finish line to take the win nearly 7 seconds ahead of Cameron Waters in 2nd place and close to 7 seconds after that was Chaz Mostert in 3rd place.
It was a much needed win for the Red Bull Team closing the gap on championship team leaders Shell V-Power Racing Team. It stepped up the competition for the rest of the weekend.
Results for Race 19
1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
Jamie Whincup earned himself another pole start for Race 20. Alongside him was Chaz Mostert.
Once again Jamie Whincup led into turn 1. The cars further back were trying to stay out of trouble and just maintain position.
Fabian Coulthard came in early so he wouldn’t interfere with teammate, Scott McLaighlin’s pit stop.
Shane Van Gisbergen also pitted first for the same reason. His teammate, Jamie Whincup was still leading.
Rick Kelly might have missed an opportunity but after the previous race didn’t want to risk making contact with another car.
By the middle of the race Jamie Whincup seemed to have secured his lead. He held his position right to the end. His experience ensured there were no slip ups or mistakes.
He crossed the finish line just over 3 seconds ahead of Chaz Mostert and his teammate, Shane VanGisbergen come in to collect 3rd place.
Things were really beginning to hot up in the competition.
Results for Race 20
1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
In Race 21 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position with Cameron Waters alongside him.
Scott McLaughlin had a mission and led into turn 1. From that point he didn’t look back! He was adamant that Jamie Whincup would not win 3 of 3 races for the weekend.
After a few average results in the last event, I was surprised Scott McLaughlin in car 17 dominated the race.
Cameron Waters who started from second on the grid also managed to keep his place and came in 2nd place.
Nick Percat slipped one place giving way to Jamie Whincup who gained 1 spot from his start and finished 3rd.
Results for Race 21
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V-Power Racing
2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
The 2nd Townsville event is this weekend on September 5th and 6th, 2020.
On the weekend of August 22nd and 23rd, 2020 was the Corestff Darwin Supersprint.
Three races of 38 laps each were run.
In Race 16 Jamie Whincup started on pole position. Alongside was Scott McLaughlin.
When the race got underway Scott McLaughlin led into turn 1 with Jamie Whincup in hot persuit trying to regain his number one position.
Scott McLaughlin’s teammate, Fabian Coulthard was back in the pack having a poor grid starting position of 14th. To avoid any double stacking Fabian pitted early.
Meanwhile, there was an intense battle between Todd Hazelwood and Rick Kelly for 9th and 10th.
Shane Van Gisbergen who started 11th on the grid, seemed to be struggling to keep up with cars in front of him. It was later revealed he just couldn’t get the straight line speed expected. After the race the team couldn’t resolve the issue and decided to change the engine overnight.
Mark Winterbottom and Scott Pye had a great weekend for team 18.
By the middle of the race it was evident that Scott McLaughlin was unbeatable.
He held strong to his lead and crossed the finish line approximately 2.5 seconds ahead of rival, Jamie Whincup. Cameron Waters came in third more than 12 seconds later. Nick Percat had a good run finishing 5th having started from 9th. The other big gain was from his teammate, Todd Hazelwood who started 23rd on the grid and finished 7 places up in 16th. A great result for Brad Jones Racing.
Results for Race 16
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
3rd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
In race 17 Scott McLaghlin earned himself another pole position for the season. Alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.
Once again Scott McLaughlin got the jump and led into turn 1.
The cars further back in the pack couldn’t come into the pit lane until at least lap 5.
Fabian Coulthard came in early to ensure he didn’t double stack with teammate and race leader, Scott McLaughlin.
Nick Percat also came in early because he was getting held up by traffic.
Shane Van Gisbergen and Scott Pye were battling fiercely for 2nd and 3rd position.
Lee Holdsworth who had started from 11th position was on the charge. It was evident things were going right for him and he wanted a shot at a podium position if not, then at least be in the top 10. Regardless of his efforts (and they were good) he wasn’t able to get it done and finished in 8th position.
Once again by the middle of the race it appeared that Scott McLaughlin had secured himself in the lead.
Scott McLaughlin scored his second win for the weekend and crossed the finish line 9.6874 seconds ahead of his rival Shane Van Gisbergen.
Shane Van Gisbergen managed to win the battle against Scott Pye by the thinnest margin – .2449 seconds. So the race actually finished in the order that they started on the grid.
Results for Race 17
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
3rd Scott Pye – Team 18
In Race 18 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position. Alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.
Again Scott McLaughlin in car 17 led into turn 1. This was the third time out of three races for the weekend that car 17 took the lead off the start.
When I saw Scott McLaughlin lead off the line I knew he was going to win. He was having a great weekend.
Rick Kelly was trying to hold off Fabian Coulthard but it couldn’t be done.
Andre Heimgartner was further back in the pack then he wanted to be but didn’t seem to be able to make much headway.
By the time all the pit stops were complete Scott McLaughlin was once again the race leader.
He was just too fast and again kept increasing his leading gap. He crossed the finish line 13.8356 seconds ahead of closest rival, Nick Percat. Scott Pye followed in at 3rd just under a second later.
It was an increadible result for Scott McLaughlin earning 3 out of 3 wins.
Results for race 18
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
2nd Nick Percat – Brad Jones Racing
3rd Scott Pye – Team 18
