On the weekend of the 14th to the 16th of September, 2018 was the Rabble Club Sandown 500.
The preliminaries to the race were almost as exciting as the main event.
In the co-drivers only session which was Practice 1, Paul Dumbrell clocked the fastest time.
Jamie Whincup was fastest in Practice 2.
Chaz Mostert had some really bad luck in Practice 2. He spun off track in his 55 Supercheap Auto Ford Falcon smashing the rear end into the fence.
James Courtney and Jack Perkins started at the back of the grid due to James Courtney having a huge crash on lap 3 of Race For the Grid 2 (Qualifying).
Erebus owner, Betty Klimenko wasn’t at Sandown on the weekend because she was sick with the flu. David Reynolds claiming pole position must have made her feel at least a little bit better as she watched the race from home.
During the 20 minute warm up, the teams were practicing brake rotor change which will be compulsory at Bathurst in 3 weeks’ time. This new requirement for the Bathurst race is being introduced to improve safety. Yes, I know brakes are important but could it introduce other risks to the race. I am still in two minds about it.
Finally at 1:20pm on Sunday The Sandown 500 started.
David Reynolds and Luke Youlden (Erebus) started on pole position. Alongside them were Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell (Triple 8).
As usual most of the co-drivers took the driver’s seat at the start of the race, except James Courtney because of their poor qualifying position. This is the norm in team strategies allowing the seasoned pros to later make up for any mishaps.
The co-drivers have to do a minimum of 54 laps before the main driver can get into the cars.
When the lights turned green to start the 161-lap race Luke Youlden bogged it down, which allowed Paul Dumbrell to take the race lead.
Chris Pither, co-driver with Garth Tander started in car 33 at 9th position on the grid but on lap 1 he was in the fence which put him at the back of the pack. (They eventually recovered finishing 9th which isn’t a bad effort at all)
Dean Canto Co-driver for Mark Winterbottom in the Tickford Racing team made contact with Luke Youlden. I thought there going steering damage as a result but remarkably somehow there wasn’t.
The first Vodafone Safety Car was deployed for Dean Fiore after he contacted the barrier on the exit of turn 4. Then with the right front wheel wobbling all over the place he limped the Nissan Altama back to the pits
The 3 Triple 8 cars were running 1st, 2nd and 3rd for most of the race, all bar pit stops.
In the middle of race Jason Bright caused the second incident for the Vodafone Safety Car to be deployed because he bogged his car in the sand trap at turn 9 in a really dangerous spot.
Towards the end of the race I thought Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards were going to finish 2nd behind Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell in car 1.
Regardless, no one could catch or upset the 1, 2, 3 of the 3 Triple 8 cars lead. ‘Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner’ as quoted by Jeromy Moore in a race a few years back.
The funniest parts of the weekend was when commentator Chad Neylon was betting on who was going to win the Sandown 500 by using a horse racing tote. My first thought was, Chad this is not Horse Racing. At that point Scott Mclaughlin with Alex Premat were the Favourites to win.
Then on Supercars Trackside, Mark Larkham was trying to explain what the teams will have to do at Bathurst for the brake rotor change. By mishap the burning hot rotor fell off the car onto his foot. Mark Larkham exclaimed on national TV ‘Oh Shit!’. Too funny but glad he wasn’t hurt.
Result for 2018 Rabble Club Sandown 500
1st car 1 Jamie Whincup & Paul Dumbrell – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd car 97 Shane Van Gisbergen & Earl Bamber – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd car 888 Craig Lowndes & Steven Richards- Autobarn Lowndes Racing.
Now that Sandown has been run there are only 4 events left in the 2018 Supercars Championship.
Up next is the biggest event of the year, The Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 on the 4th to the 7th of October 2018.
To keep us all up to date on the event the Bathurst Channel launches on Monday the 1st of October 2018 and finishes on 7th of October 2018. It should be a lot of fun.
Will Triple 8 Dominate at Bathurst like they did at Sandown with a 1, 2, 3 finish?
If you have any thoughts or opinion on how the weekend and the race panned out please feel free to let me know via my Facebook Fan page.
On the weekend of the 5th to the 8th October 2017 was the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.
The Bathurst 1000 is the biggest and most well known race in Australia. Held in Bathurst NSW at the Mount Panorama Circuit, it is a 161 lap race totalling 1000kms and is known amongst fans as ‘The Great Race’. Mount Panorama is an unusual track. The word ‘Mount’ gives it all away. There are lots of ups and downs as it winds its way over the hill. There is approximately 174m between the highest and lowest part of the circuit. It is unusual and makes for a gruelling but spectacular race.
There are so many things that happened over the weekend I couldn’t possibly report on them all so I’m going to limit it to my observations and race highlights.
Greg Murphy who is a pit reporter got to drive Triple 8 Sandman V6 Turbo around Bathurst circuit as a demo for the fans.
A special ‘congratulations’ to Craig Lowndes who made his 24th Bathurst start on Sunday. His co-driver, Steven Richards started his 200th career race at Bathurst. I must say monumental occasions for both of them.
The rookies to have their first Bathurst races were Garry Jacobson, Alex Rullo and Todd Hazelwood.
The Bathurst race rules require teams to complete a minimum of 7 pit stops though out the day. All teams seemed to manage this.
The weather this Sunday was not looking good. Commentator Neil Crompton thought the rain would hit at midday but it hit a lot earlier than that, soaking the track even before the race begun. A setting for a messy Bathurst.
In race 20, Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was David Reynolds.
It was interesting to note all of the main drivers started the race. Usually it’s the less experienced co-drivers that take the wheel at the start. The heavy rain may have had something to do with this.
At the start of the 161 lap race Scott McLaughlin got to turn 1 first. Mark Winterbottom tried to move past David Reynolds for the 2nd spot but had to pull back realising he didn’t have enough space for the manoeuvre.
On lap 2 Scott McLaughlin went down the escape road coming into turn 23 too fast. Now Chaz Mostert had the race lead.
Shane Van Gisbergen and Craig Lowndes driving close together both left the track on the same corner turn 1, which wasn’t good for either of them.
Later in the race when Shane Van Gisbergen’s co-driver, Matt Campbell jumped in the number 97 Red Bull Holden Commodore he got spun around by Michael Caruso. By the time he turned his car around and re-joined the race he ended up right at the back of the pack. This didn’t impress the Triple 8 team one bit.
When co-driver Alex Premat took over from Scott McLaughlin that’s when an engine issue started. Alex Premat brought the car in for the team to check it out. It was running off song. They couldn’t work out the problem and Alex Premat was told to push on. He went back out on track but stopped due to no oil pressure at turn 4 known as ‘the cutting’. Any corner is a high-risk spot to break down and the Vodafone Safety Car was deployed. The race was now under yellow. Car 17 had to be towed back to pits and to the team’s distress was out for the rest of the race. DNF at lap 74! Not even half way through the race.
It was a complete disaster for Scott McLaughlin as the 2017 Championship leader. There is only one other event to go for the year and he will now have to make up 30 points to close the gap on the new leader, Jamie Whincup.
Then 2 laps later, the Preston Hire Racing team of Lee Holdsworth and Karl Reindler left the track also due to engine problems. Another DNF!
Paul Dumbrell was running 3rd going down Conrod Straight and couldn’t see out of the front window because of the heavy rain. Due to some controversy earlier in the year the Triple 8 team made an official request to the V8 Supercars Technical Manager, David Stuart to be allowed to use a squeegee while driving. David Stuart weighed up the risk between visibility and ‘squeegeeing whilst driving’ and permitted its use for this occasion.
‘Squeegeeing Whilst Driving’ (SWD) a new technical phrase. You heard it here first at Williams Perfect Ride.
With permission now granted, both Paul Dumbrell and Matt Campbell also joined the SWD ranks.
A funny part was, while it was raining the crews had to carry the drivers on their backs out onto the pit lane so that the driver’s shoes didn’t get wet. No driver wants slippery feet going at those speeds.
I couldn’t believe how many cars went off the track throughout the race down at turn 23. It was just crazy.
It was funny to see one of fans up at the top of the hill in McPhillamy Park offering pit reporter Greg Rust a beer before he had to get back down to the pit lane.
As Lee Holdsworth was coming in, David Wall in nearly made contact with him in car 18.
In the middle of the race the Vodafone Safety car came out due to a Kangaroo being close to the track. In total there were 6 Safety cars.
On lap 141 James Moffat hit the wall at the top of the hill. Once again the Safety Car came out and car 34 was towed from the track. Co-driver Richard Muscat watching intently from the garage must have known what this meant for the race.
Towards the end of the race, at lap 152 Simona De Silvestro had DNF due to a wet track making her lose it at the last turn and hit the pit lane wall. It was so bad the car had to be towed off track. Except for possibly a bruised ego she came out of it fine. It was so close to the end of the race I am sure she and her co-driver David Russell felt terrible. They had done so well throughout the race.
Soon after, at lap 159 with Mark Winterbottom at the wheel, he and co-driver Dean Canto left the track with a DNF. Another casualty of the wet weather, dropping 19 spots from their start at position 3.
The gruelling race took another victim a lap later (160). Nick Percat and Macauley Jones had their car #8 taken from the track and also received a DNF.
As the race drew to a close no one else could catch the top 3 podium spots. The Erubus team with drivers David Reynolds and Luke Youlden finished an amazing 4 seconds ahead of the next team, Scott Pye and Warren Luff. They were followed less than a second later by Fabain Coulthard and Tony D’Alberto.
The reason why Craig Lowndes surprisingly finished 11th was because he had an issue with his car for the 2nd year in a row.
Also surprisingly, Jamie Whincup finished 20th completing only 124 laps when time was called. This was because his car dropped a cylinder. The team decided to get back out there was better than a DNF. Such bad luck for both of them.
Results for race 20
1st David Reynolds and Luke Youlden – Erebus Motorsport. 2nd Scott Pye and Warren Luff – Mobil 1 HSV Racing. 3rd Fabain Coulthard and Tony D’Alberto – Shell V Power Racing
Team.
4th Dale Wood and Chris Pither – Erebus Motorsport. 5th Shane Van Gisbergen and Matt Campbell – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
The next event is the Vodafone Gold Coast 600 on the 20th to the 22nd of October 2017.
Interesting to note, Fabian Coulthard has now taken back the championship over Jamie Whincup by 91 points and Scott McLaughlin has now dropped from 1st to 3rd, 97 points away.
This was David and Luke Youden’s first Bathurst win together.
Erebus Team owner Betty Klimenko couldn’t talk because she had happy tears coming out of her eyes.
On the Weekend of the 28th to the 30th of July, 2017 was the Coates Hire Ipswich SuperSprint.
In Qualifying for race 15 Scott McLaughlin got on his 2nd run to try and improve his time. He zoomed past 8 or 9 slower cars out on track, most moving out of the way for him. Later in the lap he had to pull back for safety as he came across Alex Davison right in his path. It was a close call and forced him to abort his qualifying lap. Post race there were many comments made about better race control to avoid such high risk situations.
For the main game it was a special day for Todd Hazelwood making his debut in the V8 Supercars Championship. He joins the ‘main game’ coming up from the Dunlop Super2s under sponsorship from Bigmate Racing.
Another interesting point is that during the Telecast on Friday, Saturday and Sunday on Fox sports 5 channel 506, there was a drone following the cars around the track. It is something that I had not seen before and should make for some interesting footage.
In race 15 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position. Alongside him was Craig Lowndes.
On lap 1 of 39 C raig Lowndes got the jump on Scott McLaughlin and led into turn 1. This was a great start to the race for him considering he had qualified in 2nd spot on the front row of the grid.
Later at turn 3 all hell broke loose. Dale Wood made contact with James Moffat. As James Moffat spun around he made contact with his teammate James Golding. James Golding was able to just continue with bent steering, a brave thing to do. However, James Moffat wasn’t so luck and had to eventually pit with an overheating engine. All this mayhem cause Simona de Silvestro to make contact with Alex Rullo. He came out of turn 3 with a left front tyre pointing in the wrong direction and at the wrong angle. Alex Rullo limped his car back to the pits and unfortunate could not return the race. A DNF even before the first lap was over.
On lap 2 Scott McLaughlin was putting pressure on Craig Lowndes and down at turn 3 he passed him for lead of the race.
On lap 3 all the wildcards were following behind the main game drivers trying to learn as much as they could. It’s a good strategy to learn how the pros do ‘what and when’ as they navigate the track.
On lap 8 Shane Van Gisbergen was down in the position order after he pitted. However, he gained the advantage of rejoining the race with fresh air.
On lap 9 Simona de Silvestro had put the lap 1 incident behind her and was now enjoying her first race at Ipswich . She followed her team owners, Todd and Rick Kelly gaining valuable pointers from these experienced drivers.
Mark Winterbottom had to abort his attempt to pass Cameron Waters to avoid making contact.
As the race moved on, Shane Van Gisbergen easily made it back through the field after his one and only pit stop.
Fabian Coulthard tried to stay with his teammate Scott McLaughlin in the lead but soon found out just how fast Scott McLaughlin is.
Dick Johnson and Roger Penske would have been very happy with Scott McLaughlin’s race performance. He had held the lead for most of the race and made it look easy.
Shane Van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup were battling it out in attempt to gain a podium position.
On lap 33 Jason Bright left the race receiving a DNF.
As the race came to a close, Scott McLaughlin maintained his lead a past the checkered flag.
Chaz Mostert had a great run and moved up from his starting position of 3 to a finish of second.
Shane Van Gisbergen had come from a start further back in the track gaining 4 positions to come in 3rd.
Craig Lowndes who started the race next to pole position faced some great competition and came in 5th. Still a great performance.
The surprise for me was Jamie Whincup finishing 20th, down 6 spots from his start position and about 30 seconds behind the winner.
Results for race 15
1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson racing Team Penske.
2nd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap auto racing Team.
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – red bull Holden racing team.
4th Tim Slade – Freightliner Racing.
5th Craig Lowndes – Team Vortex
In race 16 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was Chaz Mostert
At the start of the 65-lap race Chaz Mostert got the right amount of throttle to get off the line with a fine start and take the lead into turn 1. Scott McLaughlin pulled in behind him.
At the start of the 2nd lap of the race Garth Tander wanted to pass James Moffat but wasn’t close enough to get the job done and losing his ongoing battle with James Moffat for pit priority.
Jamie Whincup was trying get by his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen but didn’t get close enough.
Craig Lowndes pitted early so that he wouldn’t have to double stack with Will Davison.
Scott McLaughlin was leading after the front runners went into the pits for the first round of pitstops.
Alex Rullo stayed out while his teammate Taz Douglas pitted and then re-joined with clear air which was handy.
There was contact between the 2 Nissan Motorsport cars of Michael Caruso and Shae Davies in between turns 1 and 2 which had ruled Michael out of race 16.
In the middle of the race Fabian Coulthard had made his way back into the top 3 for the final time, later dropping back a couple of positions to finish 5th.
By lap 41 Dale Wood left the race receiving a DNF. He was the fourth one out of the race receiving a DNF after Will Davison, Michael Caruso and Jack Le Brocq.
Towards the end of the race it was a certain for the top 3 drivers; Chaz Mostert, Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen. Jamie Whincup came in 4th about 1.5 seconds later.
Results for 16
1st Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing Team
2nd Scott Mclaughlin – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
4th Jamie Whincup Red bull Holden Racing Team
The next event is the Red Rooster Sydney Supersprint on the 18th to the 20th of August 2017.
On the weekend of the 5th to the 7th of May 2017 was the Perth Super Sprint at Barbagallo Raceway.
In the 2nd run of qualifying Shane Van Gisbergen nearly hit the wall at a top speed of 255km/h. It could have been catastrophic and put everyone on edge.
Mark Dutton, the team manager later stated he would like see qualifying be done via a ‘go point’. He felt such a close call was an obvious example of how dangerous it is for drivers qualifying (hot lap) to be dealing with drivers warming up on track (I must say that I do agree with him).
Regardless of this hair raising moment the racing this weekend was excellent. Scott McLaughlin held race 7 in the palm of his hand and then (spoiler alert) took out race 8 as well, an almost unimaginable feat.
So here is the run-down on how it happened.
In race 7 Fabian Coulthard was on pole position and alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.
On lap 1 of 50 Scott McLaughlin got the jump on his team mate, Fabian Coulthard in a fantastic launch. It was a pretty clean start no one ended off the race track.
It was those two cars that dominated. Except for a few moments the other cars didn’t see the two for the rest of the race.
Fabian Coulthard tried passing to take the lead and pit priority but Scott McLaughlin held on to the number one position.
On lap 3 Chaz Mostert who started in position 5 was now in position 3 following the two Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske cars at the lead.
During the opening stages Craig Lowndes was doing well.
Alex Rullo was also doing well for his first race on his home turf.
Garth Tander was also on home turf showing his best form to impress his local crowd.
Simona de Silvestro was following her two team owners, the Kelly brothers out on track, getting some good pointers and experience.
James Courtney was outside the top 10 and just couldn’t understand why he wasn’t up near the leaders.
On lap 10 Fabian Coulthard’s race engineer, Phil Keed told him, if you get held up by Scott McLaughlin come in so that you re-join in clear air but that’s only if you’re getting held up.
On laps 16 & 17 the telecast crossed over to Mark Dutton (Red Bull Team Manager) and then Mark Skaife (Foxsports Commentator) and you could just see by their expressions how much they were enjoying the race.
By lap 24 the drivers had completed their 1st round of pit stops.
On lap 25 Scott McLaughlin was still holding the lead and looking strong.
It must have felt pretty good for him as he continually gained more lead on the chasing cars.
The Red Bull team seemed surprised and unsure of what to do about the two DJR cars up ahead that were getting further and further away. First, Shane Van Gisbergen gave chase but with little result. He then swapped his 3rd position with Jamie Whincup in 4th. I’m not sure but, it looked as though the strategy was for one to give chase and the other to hold off cars from behind. That way they would be sure to get Red Bull a spot on the podium.
It did pay off in the end with Jamie Whincup coming in at 3rd. However, Scott McLaughlan and Fabian Coulthard were just too good on the day; coming in at 1st and 2nd place respectively and Jamie Whincup over 7 seconds behind at 3rd. It was a spectacular finish for the DJR Team.
Results for Race 7
1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
2nd Fabian Coulthard – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
In race 8 Scott McLaughlin started in pole position with Chaz Mostert alongside him.
On lap 1 of the 83 lap race, Scott McLaughlin got the jump on Chaz Mostert. Chaz Mostert tried to go around the outside but it didn’t work so before the turns he quickly tucked in behind Scott McLaughlin.
On lap 2 Craig Lowndes was displaying his talents and coming through the field well.
In lap 7 Scott Pye saw the opportunity to put some pressure on James Courtney and tried passing him but he couldn’t get it done cleanly.
On lap 9 Todd Kelly was in front of Rick Kelly both pushing hard in their usual sibling rivalry.
By this stage Chaz Mostert dropped back in the pack from his 2nd position at the start. It didn’t seem to be going his way and Mark Winterbottom made it look easy to get a clean pass of Chaz Mostert to take 7th position.
On lap 14 Craig Lowndes came in for his next stop before he got trapped out on the track. His drive after that stop was cool.
On lap 15 Fabian Coulthard tried to pass Scott McLaughlin but it was the same as race 7, Scott McLaughlin was having his day and held tight to his position.
On lap 17 Todd Kelly came in because he was getting held up by the cars in front of him which wasn’t ideal in terms of track position and strategy.
On lap 18 Cameron Waters was handling the pressure from David Reynolds reasonable well.
In the middle of the race Jamie Whincup pitted to try to get track position. This did work for a while but soon after Scott McLaughlin took the lead of the again.
Chaz Mostert seemed to be going crazy as he tried to make his way up through the pack. It was like the stressed guy having to go into the office on a Sunday, appearing frustrated at not being able to make his way past the ‘Sunday Drivers’ fast enough. His pit stop strategies paid off ( his first at lap 21) and he was soon on his way to the podium pack (singing ‘Day-o, Day – ay – ay –ay –O!).
The leaders began moving further and further from the rest of the pack. It soon became obvious no one was going to catch them.
Scott McLaughlin held tight to his leading spot and came across the line first (a second race win for the weekend. It really was his day.
He was then followed by Chaz Mostert across the line and once again for this weekend, Jamie Whincup in third.
Results for Race 8
1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson racing Team Penske.
2nd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing Team.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
The next event after Perth Western Australia was the Winton Supersprint on the 19th to the 21st of May 2017.
Coates Hire V8 Supercars Challenge Albert Park 2017.
Hi to all you v8 Supercars fans around the world!
On the weekend of the 23rd to the 26th of March 2017 was the Coates Hire V8 Supercars Challenge, a non-championship round run at Albert Park (Vic).
This weekend the teams got the chance to try out the brand new Dunlop Super Soft tyres. It was the first time the V8 Supercars Championship has tried a super soft tyres normally used in F1 racing. These are under issue from Dunlop motorsport manager Kevin Fitzsimons and intended to be used for the entire Supercars 2017 season.
In race 1 Fabian Coulthard started on pole position. Alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.
On lap 1 of 13 Scott McLaughlin got the led into turns 1 and 2. Fabian Coulthard got a bit of wheel spin so didn’t get the traction that he wanted off the starting grid.
For the first lap Jamie Whincup was running 3rd, early behind Fabian Coulthard and Scott McLaughlin.
Scott Pye went wide exiting turn 1. Fabian Coulthard passed his teammate, Scott McLaughlin heading into turn 3. However, as a result Fabian Coulthard ran wide and Jamie Whincup went from 4th to 3rd to 2nd then to 1st position on the opening lap.
Mark Winterbottom was in front of his teammate, Jason Bright.
Meanwhile further back in the pack, Cameron Waters got the better of Rick Kelly after some fierce competition against each other.
At the back end of the Albert Park track the other Kelly (brother), Todd was facing problems of his own. Smoke was coming out the back of his car. James Courtney gained a position passing him easily.
James Courtney soon found himself up behind the leading brother Rick Kelly, attempts to pass him but fails, tries again later and finally does? Tim Blanchard was also having a poor opening lap. First he ran wide in between turns 10 and 11 and Simona De Silvestro passed him. Then towards the end of the lap David Reynolds also passed.
Chaz Mostert also gained a position as he managed to get down the inside of Shane Van Gisbergen between turns 14 and 15. (This put Chaz in a great mood and he broke out into his favourite tune, ‘Day o, day ay ay ay yo. Come Mr Tally mon tally me banana’…)
On lap 2 Lee Holdsworth got past Dale Wood going into turn 1. Nick Percat also tried to make the move on Dale wood but couldn’t manage it.
Jamie Whincup was still in the lead but under pressure from Scott McLaughlin.
On lap 4 Alex Rullo was near the back of the pack understandably, as it was his first race at Albert Park and had to get used to the track.
On lap 4 Shane Van Gisbergen was trying to get as far up the field as possible.
On lap 6 the drivers were putting their best foot forward as it was already the middle of the race and only 7 laps to go. Jason Bright, however, overdid it and locked the loaded left front tyre as he was going into a turn and just sailed straight ahead.
On lap 7 pit reporter, Mark Larkham made comment about the rivalry between the two race leader’s teams, Red Bull Holden Racing Team and Dick Johnson Racing team Penske, stating how enjoyable it was to see these teams vigorously competing against each other today. I can only agree with his comments.
On lap 8 Chaz Mostert was near the front of the pack. Mark Winterbottom wasn’t too far behind.
On lap 9 Scott McLaughlin did not want to make any mistakes while Fabian Coulthard was following him so closely.
On lap 10 Nick Percat was close behind Lee Holdsworth. At his first opportunity he tried to overtake Lee Holdsworth on the inside of a turn. At 260kms/ph Nick Percat’s breaks failed on entry to the turn. He had no chance of taking the corner. His car screaming straight ahead and crossed in front of Lee Holdsworth’s path. Contact was made and they both ended up off track. They were both disappointingly now out of the race with a DNF.
On lap 11 Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard were running 1st and 2nd. Both cars being on the same team it was as if they were saying to everybody else behind them ‘catch us if you can we are the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske’.
On lap 12 Chaz Mostert was trying to catch Fabian Coulthard for 2nd spot but just wasn’t able to. Jamie Whincup was close behind them both, desperately wanting a piece of the action but it was the second last lap and they weren’t going to make it easy.
In the final lap the top 4 cars had such a good lead they couldn’t be caught; Scott McLaughlin, Fabain Coulthard, Chaz Mostert and Jamie Whincup.
Although this is a short race (only 13 laps) it was exciting and really enjoyable to watch.
Result for race 1.
1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson racing Team Penske.
2nd Fabian Coulthard – Dick Johnson racing team Penske.
3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing Team.
4th Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
In race 2 Fabian Coulthard started on pole position with his (Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske) teammate, Scott McLaughlin alongside him.
On lap 1 of 13 Fabian Coulthard took the lead over Scott McLaughlin. Garth Tander tried to make a move on Michael Caruso but it didn’t happen. He then tried it on with Chaz Mostert and did pass him.
Mark Winterbottom and Cameron Waters made contact which wouldn’t have made Tim Edwards a very happy team owner at all.
James Moffatt tried to get down the inside of Craig Lowndes but wasn’t successful. David Reynolds and Todd Kelly were battling back in the pack. Tim Slade was looking to make a move on Craig Lowndes as well and he got the job done. Scott Pye was following the two cars in front of him and hoping to take advantage of any mistake in their 1-on-1 battle.
On lap 2 Jamie Whincup went back to 7th from 3rd on the grid. Dale Wood made contact with Simona De Slivestro but both managed to stay on track.
Chaz Mostert was putting pressure on Shane Van Gisbergen and passed him at turn 3. But Shane Van Gisbergen had the racing line going into turn number 4 and he took back his original spot.
On lap 3 Chaz Mostert was under pressure from Jamie Whincup.
Then Chaz Mostert turned Shane Van Gisbergen around in between turns 14 and 15 clipping him at the left rear corner as he attempted a pass. As a result Chaz got a drive thru penalty. Shane Van Gisbergen then got into more trouble. As he went forward to turn his car around and get going in the right direction again, James Moffatt hit him head on. Both drivers had to walk back to pit lane. The damage caused was extensive enough and they were both out of the race.
Roland Dane and Garry Rogers would not have been happy with their 2 cars being damaged so severely.
On lap 3 the Safety Car came out to clean up the damaged Holden Commodores of Shane Van Gisbergen and James Moffatt.
Simona De Slivestro was also out of race 2 due to a stuck throttle.
On the restart the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske cars were leading, that is Scott Mclaughlin and Fabian Coulthard. The Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske were putting in a good challenge to the Triple 8 race engineering team (Jamie Whincup, Shane Van Gisbergen and Craig Lowndes).
Pit reporter, Mark Larkham interviewed Roland Dane, team owner of Triple 8 Race Engineering. In regards to the extensive and costly car repairs needed after the incident with James Moffatt, he told Mark Larkham ‘I will never be as rich as Roger Penske’.
Mark Larkham then interviewed Shane Van Gisbergen who stated his deep disappointment about the incident with James Moffatt.
On lap 5 the cars were still under the safety car. After the restart there was bad news coming for Supercheap Auto Racing’ and Chaz Mostert. He copped a black flag (drive thru penalty) for spinning Shane Van Gisbergen around.
On lap 6 After Chaz Mostert came in to serve his pit lane drive thru penalty. The 2 DJR Shell V power racing team fords had bolted into the distance and couldn’t be caught by the cars behind them.
On lap 7 Todd Kelly was battling with his brother Rick Kelly for 8th and 9th spot. On 8 David Reynolds was following his teammate Dale Wood to get fresh and cool air for the engine due to how long he was behind him for.
On lap 9 Fabian Coulthard had Scott Mclaughlin chasing him down for the race lead. It was exactly what Dick Johnson racing Team Penske wanted.
On lap 10 Scott Pye was following James Courtney for 11th and 12th. On lap 11 Michael Caruso was putting pressure on Scott Mclaughlin for 2nd place but he couldn’t get the move done in time. Which Michael Caruso wasn’t happy with at all.
On lap 12 David Reynolds was following James Moffatt but wasn’t able to pass him cleanly. Meaning without contact and no damage.
In the final lap of the race teammates Fabain Coulthard and Scott Mclaughlin took the race win,
Results for race 2
1st Fabain Coulthard – Shell V Power racing team. Dick Johnson racing team Penske.
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power racing team. Dick Johnson racing team Penske.
3rd Michael Caruso – Nissan Motorsport.
4th Garth Tander – Garry Rogers Motorsport.
In race 3 Fabian Coulthard started on pole position alongside him was Jamie Whincup.
On lap 1 of 13 Jamie Whincup tried to go around the outside of the pole sitter Fabain Coulthard but couldn’t quite pass him. Jason Bright, Garth Tander and Alex Rullo made contact in concertina affect. Taz Douglas was right behind them and just managed to swerve around them. Jason Bright and Garth Tander both spun around. When they re-joined the race they were at the back of the pack. They were all doubled up on turn 3. Gath Tander was on the outside of Rick Kelly. Will Davison was on the outside of Michael Caruso. James Courtney was on the outside of David Reynolds. David Reynolds gave James Courtney enough racing room for them to continue their battle for positions 5 and 6.
Shane Van Gisbergen started race 3 in position 25 on the grid and made it all the way up to 11th on the first lap. Mark Winterbottom passed Craig Lowndes back in the pack. Tim Blanchard, Cameron Waters and Tim Slade were three abreast. Cameron Waters managed to pass both of them in 1 go. Then Tim Slade got up the inside of his teammate, Tim Blanchard.
On lap 2 the field was settling down into a race pace and rhythm. While everyone else was trying to catch the leaders up front, Simona De Silvestro went off the track due to trying to pass her teammate Rick Kelly . Scott Pye went off on to the grass to avoid making contact with Simona. James Courtney went into pit lane to inspect some damage that he may have suffered as a result of contact with another car. Garth Tander had a flat right front tyre (which meant he had to limp back to the pits to get it changed). It seemed that once again for a short race there was going to be lots of excitement.
On lap 3 Fabian Coulthard was pulling away from Jamie Whincup. Mark Larkham had a chat to Ryan Story, Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske team manager and asked why the 2 Dick Johnson Racing team Penske cars were going so well at Albert park.
Craig Lowndes got in front of Cameron Waters. Cameron Waters tried to get the spot back but couldn’t get the job done. At turn 3 Shane Van Gisbergen tried to get up the inside of Rick Kelly but the Champion couldn’t get job done
On lap 4 the drivers up front were doing well and had the cars behind chase them down. Tim Slade got up the inside of Cameron Waters at turn 3. But then Cameron Waters did the switch back and got the spot back after Tim Slade ran very wide. Tim Slade could only re-join safely on lap 5
On lap 6 Chaz Mostert was chasing Cameron Waters for 10th place, the cars were doing well in terms of No Damage, on lap 7 Scott Mclaughlin and Fabain Coulthard the 2 Dick Johnson Racing team Penske Cars couldn’t be caught because they were just too quick. On lap 8 Mark Winterbottom was following his teammates to get in front to be in the top half of the race instead of the bottom half. Which Tim Edwards wanted. So they did. On lap 9 James Courtney was doing a great job making places for the Mobil1 HSV Racing Team. Which he wanted to do on lap 10 the cars up the front of the field were racing towards the Checkered Flag. On lap 11 Jamie Whincup was running 2nd which he the red bull Holden Racing Team and Roland Dane who is the team boss at Triple 8 race engineering were very happy with. In the middle of the race the fords were just too fast for the Holden’s too catch them. On lap 12 No One was able to catch the front runners. Towards the end of the race no one could catch Fabain Coulthard and Jamie Whincup. On the final lap which was lap 13 Dick Johnson was getting Excited because his team was about to score another 1st and 2nd finish.
Results for race 3
1st Fabain Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team. Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson Racing team Penske.
4th Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing team.
In race 4 Jamie Whincup started on pole position alongside him was Fabain Coulthard on lap 1 of 13 Fabain Coulthard got the jump Jamie Whincup got Wheel spin off the line. Tim Slade lost a couple of spots at the start of the race. Shane Van Gisbergen tried to get up the inside of Chaz Mostert in between turn 15 and 16. But Chaz wouldn’t let him pass.
On lap 2 Garth Tander and Cameron Waters both had Damage to their race cars heading into turn 1. Scott McLaughlin passed Cameron Waters on exit of turn 1. Craig Lowndes tried to go around the outside of Cameron Waters and Craig managed to get him.
On lap 3 Tim Slade was putting a lot of pressure on the 2016 V8 Supercars Champion Shane Van Gisbergen. Cameron Waters had Extreme heat problem with the engine on the monster energy racing ford car 6.
On lap 4 Tim Slade tried to pass Shane Van Gisbergen at turn 3 but wasn’t able to be done. He was rattling the rear bumper of car 97 just letting him know that he was there. Michael Caruso was putting the pressure on James Courtney.
On lap 5 Shane Van Gisbergen was holding up a bunch of cars behind him.
On lap 6 the cars and drivers were starting to think about the end of the race, in the middle of the race Fabain Coulthard had a flat tyre due to an Aggressive Set up. On car 12.
On lap 7 Chaz Mostert was up in 2nd place while the cars were battling back in the pack. Which wasn’t ideal. But when the drivers don’t qualify up the front the car can get caught up in the mess.
On lap 8 Mark Winterbottom wanted to finish in a strong spot so that prodrive racing Australia. Didn’t have to do an all-nighter. Towards the end of race Jamie Whincup also had a Flat Tyre on the left rear due to a broken Anti Roll bar. Alex Rullo and Simona De Slivestro were battling for position 18 and 19. In the end no one could catch Chaz Mostert.
On lap 9 David Reynolds was following Dale Wood his teammate for position 12 and 13. Which they were not happy with. But they were just outside the of the top ten.
On lap 10 Chaz Mostert was the leading the race. Which Chaz Mostert wanted.
On lap 11 the cars and drivers behind him but couldn’t which made their teams Frustrated about.
On lap 12 Shane Van Gisbergen and Tim Slade and Todd Kelly all tried to get up to the rear bumper of Chaz Mostert’s Supercheap Auto Racing Car. Car number 55.
Results for race 4.
1st Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing Team.
2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Tim Slade – Brad Jones Racing.
4th Todd Kelly – Nissan Motorsport.
The hosts were Jessica Yates and Russell Ingall. The Commentators were Richard Crail and Jack Perkins. And the pit lane reporter was Mark Larkham. The next event is the Tyre power Tasmania Super sprint from the 7th to the 9th of April 2017.
On the weekend of the 2nd – 5th of March 2017 was the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide South Australia.
As the first race of the season it was interesting to note:
New season equals new cars. Many teams invest in new cars allowing their engineers to really show what they are made of. It’s always interesting to see how they tweak cars to get the best performance.
Alex Rullo was the youngest driver to make his debut in the V8 Supercars Championship at just 16 years and 8 months.
It was Jason Bright’s first race in the Prodrive Racing Australia team.
Scott McLaughlin did pretty well for his debut with the Shell V Power Racing Team and with Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
The space he left in Garry Rogers Motorsport Team has been taken up by Garth Tander.
This was Simona De Silvestro’s 3rd race in V8 Supercars. It was good to see her do well in her first event and first race as a full time V8 Supercars driver.
At the start of the 78 laps in race 1, Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position with Fabian Coulthard alongside him.
Fabian Coulthard got the jump off the start line and led the opening laps.
On Lap 2 Todd Kelly tried to go through turn 8 with three cars wide. As a result, Will Davison hit the wall and copped some bad damage. The red lights came on and he drove his car back to the pit lane. He was out of the race.
The safety came out to put the wall back in place. On restart Scott McLaughlin was weaving side to side, which is not allowed after the safety car lights have gone out and the race has gone back to green. Not sure what he was thinking but officials served him a pit lane penalty, sending him to the 24th spot at the back of the pack.
Meanwhile, Shane Van Gisbergen was putting as much pressure as possible on his fellow Kiwi, but Fabian Coulthard kept his position and the champion wasn’t able to pass.
At the start of lap 3 Jamie Whincup took an early pit stop. Once he re-joined the race he was clear of surrounding traffic and able to press on to gain valuable time.
On lap 4 Simona De Silvestro (what a honey-I want to take her home, cook her dinner & eat swiss chocolate from her clavicle) seemed to be enjoying her 3rd race in a V8 Supercar and also her first race in Adelaide.
On lap 5 Fabian Coulthard made a mistake running wide at a turn. It was just what Shane Van Gisbergen was waiting for. He passed on the inside and took the lead.
On lap 6 Mark Winterbottom was waiting for a clear pit lane to make the first of his 2 pit stops. When Mark Winterbottom came out of the pits he had to look for space to re-join the race and managed to pull in behind his teammate.
On lap 7 Chaz Mostert had taken his pit stop and really found his rhythm (playing the bongos and singing the banana boat song, ‘Daaay-0h, Da-a-a-ay oh, come Mr tally mon, tally me banana’!?) and was moving up through the pack with ease.
On lap 8 Craig Lowndes was able to pit at his own choosing. He didn’t have to worry about a double stack with Will Davison as he was out of the race after crashing on lap 1.
On lap 11 David Reynolds was feeling the need to take his pit, but was forced to stay out longer so he wouldn’t double stack with teammate, Dale Wood.
On lap 13 the cars back in the pack came in to pits to get out of the traffic.
On lap 14 Mark Winterbottom was caught up in a tight pack of cars. Due to the aggressive competition, he nearly ended up making contact with a wall but managed to stay out of trouble. The incident scared the hell out of the Prodrive Racing Australia team. (Only their dry cleaners’ will know just how much it scared them.)
On lap 16 Shane Van Gisbergen pitted after Jamie Whincup. Meanwhile Garth Tander had a good pace going in his new Holden Commodore, number 33.
On lap 17 Craig Lowndes also put his new Team Vortex Holden Commodore to the test and pushed it to its limits.
In the middle of the race at turn 5, Jamie Whincup spun Mark Winterbottom’s car around. With the new season’s rules in place, Jamie Whincup didn’t receive a drive through penalty.
Towards the end of the race Craig Lowndes was struggling. He was running out of fuel and he had to compensate by altering his driving technique.
Shane Van Gisbergen had such a good lead he was virtually unstoppable. The other drivers were not put off and competition for placings was still heated.
It all made for exciting racing with Shane Van Gisbergen comfortably crossing the finish line first.
Results for race 1
1st – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd – Fabain Coulthard – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
3rd – James Courtney – Mobil 1 HSV Racing.
At the start of the 78 laps in race No. 2, Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position alongside him was Fabian Coulthard.
Jamie Whincup started 10th due to putting all 4 wheels over the curb at turn 2 in the qualifying race, which meant his lap was taken away from him.
On lap 1, Fabian Coulthard took the lead. Shane Van Gisbergen didn’t get a good start from pole position so Scott McLaughlin overtook into second place. Nick Percat hit the wall at turn 8 and as a result limped the car back to the pits for repairs.
On lap 2 the leaders were pulling away from the rest of the pack; Scott McLaughlin, James Courtney and Shane Van Gisbergen.
On lap 3 Jamie Whincup again came into the pits early. This appeared to be a good call because of where Jamie Whincup had qualified. Once again, he would be able to re-join the race and concentrate on gaining valuable ground. Scott McLaughlin was doing a great job for his new team, Shell V Power Racing Team. As the newbie to V8 Supercars, Alex Rullo was getting used to being around everybody else. Shane Van Gisbergen was battling with Fabian Coulthard and Scott McLaughlin to maintain the lead. Mark Winterbottom was doing his best to keep out of trouble.
On lap 4 Simona De Silvestro was doing very well in her first weekend as a fulltime female driver in the V8 Supercars Championship.
On lap 5 James Courtney had a close call with the wall. A hit into the wall like that would have been an all-night repair job for the Mobil 1 HSV Racing team.
On lap 6 Scott Pye was trying to find a way to get passed his teammate, James Courtney to gain pit priority.
On lap 7 Tim Slade was having a ‘friendly’ battle with his teammate, Nick Percat.
On lap 8 Shane Van Gisbergen wanted to keep track position so stayed out on track a bit longer.
On lap 9 Mark Winterbottom was chasing Cameron Waters for pit priority. Garth Tander and James Moffatt were praying for smooth sailing; if the Safety Car came out their cars 33 and 34 would have had to double stack one behind the other.
On lap 10 Shane Van Gisbergen seemed happy with his car set up for the two races.
On lap 11 Simona De Silvestro got spun around by James Courtney on her way into the pit lane.
On lap 12 Michael Caruso nearly hit the tyres at the first turn. If this did happen it would have an adverse effect on the aerodynamics his Nissan Altama.
Jason Bright’s Cool Suit failed. In emergency response, The Mega Racing Crew, a part of the Prodrive Racing Australia Team had to take out the two windows on the driver’s and passenger’s side.
On lap 13 Alex Rullo was following teammate, Taz Douglas.
In the middle of the race Scott McLaughlin was leading and Shane Van Gisbergen was working hard to keep up the chase for the lead.
Towards the end of the race Scott McLaughlin looked sure to be the winner. However, a mistake on Scott McLaughlin’s part gave Shane Van Gisbergen his second great opportunity for the day. He took the lead in the last minutes and went on to win his second race of the day.
Results for race 2.
1st – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd – Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
3rd – Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.
The next event is the non-Championship round at Albert Park in Melbourne Victoria, 23rd – 26th of March 2017. The next Championship race is Symmons Plains raceway in Tasmania, on the 7th – 9th of April 2017.
On the weekend of the 2nd to the 4th of December 2016 was the Coates Hire Sydney 500.
In race 28 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position. Alongside him was Jamie Whincup.
On lap 1 of 74 Jamie Whincup got the jump on his teammate at the first turn in an exciting start. Chris Pither spun between turns 2 and 3. James Moffatt got down the inside of Fabian Coulthard at turn 9.
Jason Bright passed his teammate, Tim Slade in the complex of turns on lap 2. Then Todd Kelly passed Scott Pye at turns 2, 3 and 4. Chris Pither was forced to park his car 111 back in the garage to deal with the damage he had after the spin earlier. Craig Lowndes made a great start and got into 2nd spot straight away. But for the championship leader, Shane Van Gisbergen the starting laps weren’t so great. His car copped a whack from one of the Prodrive cars. Chaz Mostert hit the back of Mark Winterbottom which in turn sent car 97 straight on.
On lap 3 Shane Van Gisbergen was still up with the leading group of cars. Lap 4 saw the Red Bull and Holden Racing team cars battling against each other. Meanwhile, the Prodrive Racing Australia team were madly trying repair car 111 and get it back out on the track. On lap 6 Cameron Waters came in to the pits first, to not double stack with Mark Winterbottom. On lap 7 Garth Tander looked pacey on the back of Shane Van Gisbergens car. Towards the end of lap 7 David Reynolds got passed Scott Pye. Reviewing the replay showed that the rear diffuser had been torn off Time Slade’s car 14 during the pass by David Reynolds.
On lap 8 and 9 Shane Van Gisbergen ‘Wild Child’ put the pressure on Mark Winterbottom trying to force him into error. It didn’t go exactly to plan and Shane Van Gisbergen earned himself a drive through penalty for spinning Mark Winterbottom. The penalty caused Shane Van Gisbergen to drop to position 22. Grant McPherson (Red Bull’s engineer) encouraged his team mate ‘we can recover from this’. Mark Winterbottom came into pits to try and repair the damage on his car 1. Shane Van Gisbergen couldn’t redress because Mark Winterbottom had pitted.
Meanwhile Jamie Whincup was still up front dominating the race. On lap 12 Shane Van Gisbergen came through the pits for PLP(Pit Lane Penalty) and David Reynolds was exiting the pits to re-join the race. On lap 14 Shane Van Gisbergen was trying to come back after the PLP. On Lap 15, Craig Lowndes needed to pass Scott McLaughlin in an effort to secure 3rd on the championship ladder. He put the pressure on Scott McLaughlin to try and force him into error. They battled it out and Craig Lowndes got his way.
On lap 16 the cars back in the pack pitted and re-joined the race with no traffic around them. In the middle of the race the cars took their last pits to get ready for the run to the finish. However, in the end no one could catch the clear leader, Jamie Whincup in car number 88.
Results for race 28
1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Garth Tander – Holden Racing Team.
3rd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia.
In race 29 Garth Tander started on pole position. Alongside him was Champion Elect, Shane Van Gisbergen. Jamie Whincup started 10th position because of a mistake in the top ten shootout when he completely missed a turn.
On lap 1 of 74 Garth Tander got the jump on Shane Van Gisbergen at turn 1 and led the opening laps. Jason Bright hit the wall on the exit of turn 2, which put him towards the back of the pack. David Reynolds kept close behind Shane Van Gisbergen and made his presence felt. Lap 2, Tim Blanchard copped damage to the front of his car 21. On lap 3 Garth Tander maintained race lead. Jamie Whincup put the moves on Michael Caruso to take 8th place.
Cars back in the pack came into pits early on lap 4 to avoid double stacking with their 2nd team cars out on track. Jamie Whincup waited till the next lap to pit, avoiding a double stack with Shane Van Gisbergen.
On lap 6 Jason Bright lost his chance to finish his career well with Brad Jones Racing, his car came to a stop after his wall incident in lap 1.
On lap 7 Shane Van Gisbergen had a hard time with the outgoing Holden Racing Team driver and it took a while to get by him.
On lap 8 Todd and Rick Kelly were driving cautiously not wanting to risk car damage in the middle of the busy pack. The Nissan Motorsport team made it clear they did not want to park either car 7 and/or 15 off track in this race. Fortunately they stayed out of trouble.
On lap 10 the cars back in the field pitted early for track position and clear track.
On lap 11 Shane Van Gisbergen showed the right stuff and took the lead from Garth Tander, wanting to be remembered in the last ever race at the Homebush track.
On lap 16 everybody had completed their first round of pit stops and then re-joined on lap 17.
In the middle of the race the 2nd round of pit stops had started, with the cars up front choosing to stay and the cars near the back of the pack come in.
Towards the end of the race Rick Kelly showed his frustration at losing valuable time in the pits, having a battery problem checked on his car 15.
In the last laps no one could catch the front 4 cars with Shane Van Gisbergen crossing the line first.
A great finish for an historic last ever Motor race at Homebush.
Also noted as it was the last race of the season:
Roland Dane (one of the owning partners of the Triple 8 Team) was looking very happy with his team’s performance for the year.
Craig Lowndes has had a great run in his first year with Team Vortex.
Cameron Waters also had a good run for a rookie in his first year of driving full time.
James Courtney had first win.
Mark Winterbottom wanted to keep the number 1 season spot on the Bottle-O car but he hasn’t been constant enough.
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year. See you in 2017.
Results for race 29
1st – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Garth Tander – Holden Racing Team.
3rd – David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport V8.
