Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!
On the weekend of the 22nd to the 25th of March 2018 was the Coates Hire Supercars Melbourne 400 at Albert Park. This year there has been a change to the Melbourne 400. It is now officially a part of the Championship and the teams and drivers were racing for points for the first time.
This now became round 2 of the championship and included races 3, 4, 5 and 6.
It was also a milestone for Jamie Whincup with this being his 200th championship event.
In race 3 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position, alongside him was his teammate Fabian Coulthard. Craig Lowndes started 17th which wasn’t ideal, but it was because James Golding held him up on his ‘hot lap’ during Qualifying.
At the start of the 25 lap race, Scott McLaughlin led into turn 1 in front of Fabian Coulthard while everybody else was settling down into their race pace.
During the opening laps Simona De Silvestro was trying to pass Jack Le Brocq, but in the end it resulted in Simona De Silvestro having damage on the left front corner of her car # 78. She managed to get back to the pits but things didn’t look good and she was out of the race getting a DNF or NC (Not Complete).
When the pit stops started to happen Scott McLaughlin and the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske had an issue with their pit gear. It resulted in them losing the lead track position to Jamie Whincup.
Interesting to note this wasn’t the only incident for the team on the weekend. During practice, Mark Skaife saw one of Dick Johnson Racing (DJR) Team Penske’s wheel nearly go onto Jamie Whincup car, so the guy from DJR tapped the mechanic on the shoulder to say that’s the wrong wheel for the wrong car! LOL!
In the middle of the race Jamie Whincup was still the leader until Scott McLaughlin found a way around him at turn 3. It was a great pass, nice and clean. It allowed him to later take off and put some space between him and Jamie Whincup.
Towards the end of the race nobody else could catch the three leaders. Scott McLaughlin crossed the finish line first about 1.3 seconds ahead of Jamie Whincup. Fabian Coulthard followed him about 1 second later.
After Simona De Silvestro’s NC, the 24 of 25 remaining cars finished the race.
Results for race 3
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team.
4th Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
In race 4 Jamie Whincup started on pole position and alongside him was Scott McLaughlin. The race started behind the Mercedes Safety Car due to the rain, and wet weather, but Jamie still led for pretty much the entire race.
Once the race went under green after starting under yellow Jamie Whincup just took off. Fabian Coulthard and Scott McLaughlin couldn’t keep up the with Jamie Whincup’s car #1. He made two mistakes due to wet conditions but managed to stay out front.
During the opening laps everyone else was settling down into a race pace.
There were no pit stops because it was only a 13 lap race.
David Reynolds was already on ‘wets’ for the start because it was safer than being on dry weather slicks (tyres).
Craig Lowndes once again started at the back of the pack in 26th position due to getting held up and not getting a clear track in the Qualifying.
It wasn’t the end of his bad luck. In the opening laps he came together with another driver which caused a steering problem. He was forced to pull into the pits. When Greg Murphy interviewed Craig Lowndes later, he said the steering ‘was bent and Cactus’. It was his first Did Not Finish – Not Complete for 2018.
In the middle of the race Jamie Whincup was still leading the race and on target for his first win of the year.
Towards the end of the race Jamie Whincup took the chequered flag and he also took his 109th career win in Supercars!
Results for race 4
1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd Scott McLaughlin -Shell V Power Racing team.
3rd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team
4th Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
In race 5 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was Nick Percat.
At the start of the 25-lap race Scott McLaughlin got the jump into turn 1 for the 1st time which he was happy with.
Then after the opening lap Scott McLaughlin made a big mistake by running off the race track in between turns 1 and 2. This put Scott Pye and Jamie Whincup into 1st and 2nd which they knew would have been a great result for both drivers.
Scott Pye was out in front being chased by Jamie Whincup when the rain came pelting down.
A lot of the drivers nearly lost control of their cars on the slippery pit apron. Garth Tander wasn’t warned about the wet pit box and he come in at a strange angle and looked like he was going to hit the wall. He only narrowly missed 2 of his own crew members! It looked like a disaster waiting to happen.
Towards the end of the race no one could catch the top 3 drivers who managed to hold their positions from lap two to the end ; Scott Pye, Jamie Whincup, and Nick Percat.
Scott McLaughlin’s mistake cost him dearly finishing 15th. A drop of 14 spots from his pole starting position.
Results for race 5
1st Scott Pye – Mobil 1 Boost Mobile Racing.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing.
3rd Nick Percat – Brad Jones Racing.
In race 6 Jamie Whincup started on pole position and alongside him was David Reynolds.
At the start of what was supposed to be a 13 lap race David Reynolds took the race lead from turn 1 after Jamie Whincup got bogged down from his pole position on the start.
Jamie Whincup’s poor start lost him another spot with Nick Percat moving into 2nd place. Jamie went from 1st to 3rd straight off the start.
Anton De Pasquale nearly hit the fence going around the back of Albert Park during the opening lap.
On lap 2 James Courtney got spun around at turn 3 by James Golding. James Courtney’s car didn’t move after that and he was out of the race, DNF. There were no penalties given to James Golding but the officials are investigating the incident and will have a verdict by the running of the Symmons Plains event in two weeks.
In the middle of the race James Golding had plumes of smoke coming out from underneath his car. It was a suspected oil fire. He pulled in near the Fire Marshall’s area. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was caused due to the contact he made earlier with car 25 of James Courtney. The race went under Yellow while the Safety Car came to his rescue.
No one else could catch the top 3 drivers David Reynolds, Nick Percat and Jamie Whincup.
Shane Van Gisbergen started from 26th after a poor Qualifying time but proved himself and charged through to finish 13th.
David Reynolds had led from start to finish, an amazing effort.
Results for race 6
1st David Reynolds – Erebus Penrite Racing.
2nd Nick Percat – Brad Jones Racing.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
Jamie Whincup was awarded the Larry Perkins Trophy and is now 6th in the championship. Well done Jamie!
The next event is the Typerpower Tasmania Supersprint from the 6th to the 8th of April 2018 in 2 weeks.