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Supercars

Bunnings Trade Perth Supernight

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of April 30th to May 1st was the Bunnings Trade Perth Supernight.

This year is the 43rd time that the Australian Touring Car / Supercars Championship have visited Barbagallo Raceway in Perth Wanneroo, Western Australia.

The first round was held back in 1973 but since 1978 this track has hosted a round every year except for 2020. The Saturday of the Perth Supernight will be the 90th championship race at this circuit, tying it with Symmons Plains Raceway.

Barbagallo now holds the record as the circuit to have hosted the most races in the history of Australian Touring Car Championship / Supercars Championship.

The second race of the weekend marked the 200th Supercars race for Cameron Waters. Waters is yet to record a win in the west. His best finish was 3rd in 2019 and a pole position in 2016.

Defending champion, Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position in 2018 but has also never won a race at Barbagallo.

Barry Ryan from Boost Mobile Racing Erebus Motorsport used this weekend to announce that Greg Murphy and Richie Stanaway will return for the Bathurst 1000 as a wild card entry.

Perth Supernight started on the Saturday with the pre-race sessions. The results were:

  • Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 1
  • Will Davison was fastest in Practice 2
  • Anton de Pasquale was fastest in Qualifying and started on pole for the first race.

In race 10 Anton de Pasquale started on pole position, alongside him was Cameron Waters.

Shane Van Gisbergen started 3rd, Chaz Mostert started 23rd and Nick Percat started 25th. As some of the fastest drivers this year their poor grid spots were due to getting held up by cars in front of them during Qualifying.

At the start of the race Anton de Pasquale got the jump and led into turn 1 for the first of 46 laps. Cameron Waters was right behind him.

Mark Winterbottom got a great start, but he had nowhere to go.

Shane Van Gisbergen also had nowhere to go and had to stay in 3rd position.

Further back in the pack the cars were 3 wide heading into turn 1. Thomas Randle got up the inside of Will Brown for positions 9th and 10th. Behind them were Todd Hazelwood and Will Davison battling for positions 11th and 12th. Lee Holdsworth had gained 3 positions to move to 21st.

Meanwhile with a little help from Bryce Fulwood, Chris Pither spun at turn 1 and went to the back of the pack. Later, Bryce Fulwood was issued 15 second penalty for his actions.

Before the first lap was over Shane Van Gisbergen found the space to pass Cameron Waters to move into 2nd place behind the race leader, Anton de Pasquale.

As the race moved on, the cars further back in the pack started to pit for clear track.

Jack Le Brocq was the first to pit on lap 8.

Will Brown had a miscommunication with car controller, Barry Ryan. He was told to come in but then to ‘push on’. He misheard and headed for the pits. The crew were not ready at all. Barry Ryan was not happy.

Cameron Waters pitted on lap 18 for rears tyres only.

One lap later Anton de Pasquale came in for 2 tyres.

On lap 21 Bryce Fullwood got another penalty. This time a bad sportsmanship flag for exceeding track limits.

Amazingly Shane Van Gisbergen pitted on lap 32. It’s a long way to go on one set of tyres. There was only 1 car yet to pit, Lee Holdsworth.

Shane Van Gisbergen came back out into position 4. He had Lee Holdsworth, Anton de Pasquale and Cameron Waters in front.

Lee Holdsworth finally pitted on lap 34. It put Anton de Pasquale back in the lead followed by Cameron Waters and Shane Van Gisbergen. The gap across the top 3 cars was about 2 ½ seconds.  

Bryce Fulwood was in the garage due to a transaxle failure and problems with 4th gear.

On lap 39 Scott Pye got a bad sportsmanship warning flag for exceeding track limits at turn 7. Will Brown got the same.

Shane Van Gisbergen got up the inside of Cameron Waters. He was only 2.4 seconds behind the race leader Anton de Pasquale.

Then the gap went down to 1.254 seconds.

Nick Percat in car 2 was the next to be given a bad sportsmanship flag for exceeding track limits.

The gap was 1 second between 1st and 2nd. With 5 and half laps to go Shane Van Gisbergen closed the gap to 0.493.

With 5 laps to go, Shane Van Gisbergen was right on the back of Anton de Pasquale.

With 4 laps to go Shane Van Gisbergen took the race lead. Anton de Pasquale had no opportunity to re-pass him.

Shane Van Gisbergen kept increasing his lead. With 2 laps remaining he had built it to 1.563 seconds.

By the time he crossed the finish line he was 2.161 ahead of Anton de Pasquale. An incredible feat.

Shane Van Gisbergen had finally broken his winless streak at Barbagallo Raceway. It also chalked up Holden’s 600th race win.

Nick Percat had moved up 5 places from 25th to 20th. His teammate, Chaz Mostert moved up 1 place and finished in

22nd.

Results for Race 10:

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing.

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

3rd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing.

In Race 11 Will Davison started on pole position with Cameron Waters alongside him.

Mark Winterbottom started 22nd on the grid after being issued a 5-spot penalty for impeding Shane Van Gisbergen and Broc Feeney during Qualifying. Defending champion, Shane Van Gisbergen started in 11th position.

At the start of the race Will Davison got the jump and led into turn 1.

The cars further back in the pack were battling for positions. Thomas Randle made contact with Lee Holdsworth, putting him into the wall between turns 2 and 3 then coming to a stop on the grass. His front left corner was damaged big time but he managed to limp the car back to the pits. Surprisingly he later managed to re-join the race but was a few laps down.

As the pack came down to the final turn Cameron Waters had a 3/4 second lead over Will Davison.

As they came onto the main straight to begin lap 2 there was contact between Scott Pye and Jack le Broc.  Scott Pye hit the barrier walls so hard they actually came apart. He managed to get out of the car unassisted, but the car was a complete wreck and wouldn’t compete for the rest of the weekend.

The safety car was deployed to remove the wreck. Then James Taylor who is the race director, came on the radio and told all of the teams that the race was being suspended due to where Scott Pye’s car was positioned. When the red flag was called there was 43 laps to go. While they repaired the barrier walls the race was delayed for 40 minutes.

Team 18 owner, Charlie Schwerkolt said that Jack le Broc could have backed off to avoid the contact. He must have been annoyed that his car was a wreck.

When the race got restarted Cameron Waters was in the lead followed by Will Davison and Brodie Kostecki.

The cars further back in the pack pitted early because they were getting held up by other drivers in front of them.

Cameron Waters and Will Davison stayed out longer because they had track position.

Anton de Pasquale soon took Brodie Kostecki’s 3rd place.

I was amazed at how long Cameron Waters held onto the race lead for.

Around the middle of the race Will Davison had got down the inside of Cameron Waters to take the lead. They were virtually neck and neck. At turn 7 Cameron Waters went very wide out of track limits and dive-bombed Will Davison to regain the lead. Davison was furious at his risky move. He came on the radio to his engineer Richard Harris and said, ‘He can’t do this!’.

Later, after the officials had time to review the incident Cameron Waters got a 5 second penalty for an unsafe re-entry onto the track.

Cameron Waters may have been upset by this, but he held his focus and lead to the end of the race. Although he crossed the line first the penalty was applied after the finish. It knocked him off the podium into 4th place.

In the end Will Davison got his first race win for Dick Johnson Racing since 2008. He was followed by Anton de Pasquale and Andre Heimgartner.

The result was an unexpected bonus for Shell V-Power Racing Team, earning them a 1st and 2nd.

Results for Race 11:

1st Will Davison – Shell V-Power Racing Team.

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

3rd Andre Heimgartner – Brad Jones Racing.

4th Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing.

In race 12 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position with Will Davison next to him.

At the start of the race Will Davison got the jump from 2nd position on the grid and led into turn 1.

Also, David Reynolds was in 2nd place by turn 1, dropping the pole sitter Shane Van Gisbergen back to 3rd.  I was amazed that Shane Van Gisbergen dropped from 1st to 3rd and David Reynolds went up from 4th to 2nd.

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

Thomas Randle was spun around on the run down to turn 6 and car 34 of Jack le Brocq from Matt Stone Racing had a big slide.

Jake Kostecki got up the inside of Andre Heimgartner at turn 6. David Reynolds locked up on the run into turn 6 which allowed Shane Van Gisbergen to pass him at turn 7 and move up to 2nd place. The gap between Will Davison and Shane Van Gisbergen was 1.4 seconds.

Shane Van Gisbergen was so focused on driving he needed a reminder from his race engineer, Andrew Edwards to turn on his helmet fan.

Shane Van Gisbergen had Anton de Pasquale behind him, followed by Will Brown and James Courtney, running 2nd, 3rd and 4th.

Garry Jacobson and Chris Pither were side by side in an all-out battle to move into the top 10.

There was a lot of biff and barge going on all the way through the pack.

At this stage the gap between 1st and 2nd was 1.5 seconds.

The cars further in the pack pitted early while the race leaders stayed out longer.

When the pitstops started the lead was changing left, right and centre.

Soon Anton de Pasquale had dropped 3 places into 6th.

In the middle of the race James Courtney was the race leader because he had not pitted at this stage. Shane Van Gisbergen was unaware that Courtney had not pitted and was leading the race. Gisbergen was on the lookout for Will Davison as the assumed leader.

With only a few laps to go Shane Van Gisbergen was on the attack and took the lead from James Courtney. Courtney just couldn’t keep up and fell back to take second place as Gisbergen raced to the finish line.

Results for Race 12:

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing.

2nd James Courtney – Tickford Racing.

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

The next Supercars event is the Winton Supersprint on the 21st and 22nd of May but, before that there will be the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 hour, a GT race.

Supercars

Beaurepairs Melbourne 400 2022

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 7th to the 10th of April 2022 was the Beaurepairs Melbourne 400.

This year marks the 25th time that the Supercars have competed at Albert Park. This is including an appearance at the 2020 event which was abandoned due to Covid 19. The event was cancelled at the 11th hour.

Albert Park is one of the longer circuits in Australia at 5.3km with 14 corners. This event was made up of 4 races, 20 laps each.

The first race of the event marked James Courtney’s 500th start. Wow! Congratulations, what an incredible achievement.

The Formula 1 cars were the main attraction for the weekend so, as support category the Supercars used the secondary pit lane.

Before the racing got underway, F1 drivers Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez had a spin in Thomas Randle and Broc Feeney’s Supercars around the track. I’m sure it was quite an experience for them.

In the pre-race sessions:

  • Anton de Pasquale was fastest in Practice 1.
  • Rookie, Broc Feeney crashed at turn 5 causing a red flag.
  • Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Practice 2.
  • Garry Jacobson hit the wall at turn 5 in Practice 2. The impact was so much that another red flag was used so they could move wall back into place.
  • David Reynolds was fastest in Qualifying for Race 6.
  • Will Davison was fastest in Qualifying for Race 7.
  • Anton de Pasquale was fastest in Qualifying for Race 8.
  • Will Davison was fastest in Qualifying for Race 9.

In Race 6 David Reynolds started on pole position for the 18th time in his Supercars career. Alongside him was Anton de Pasquale.

Championship leader, Shane Van Gisbergen started in 23rd position at the back of the pack. This was because during Qualifying he got a curb infringement. His lap was disallowed. He came back in to put another set of tyres on. Meanwhile the session was red flagged and he didn’t get back on track to record a lap time.

David Reynolds had a perfect start off the grid and led into the first corner.

Shane Van Gisbergen immediately started charging through the field. Before the first lap was complete, he had gone from 23rd to 19th.

Coming onto the main straight to commence lap 2 the cars were 3 wide but Shane Van Gisbergen was still able to move up three places to 16th by the time they hit turn 1.

The cars up ahead were warned by their engineers that Shane Van Gisbergen was on THE CHARGE!

David Reynolds still had the lead and was holding off Chaz Mostert and Anton de Pasquale.

Garry Jacobson got up the inside of Will Brown and his next car to pass was Will’s teammate Brodie Kostecki.

By lap 3 David Reynolds’ soft tyres began to wear down and his car started sliding. He lost the lead to Chaz Mostert.

Nick Percat also passed David Reynolds dropping him from 2nd to 3rd. It put Walkinshaw Andretti United 1 and 2 on the track.

Lee Holdsworth was in the middle of the field. The team called him into the pits on lap 6 so they didn’t risk his teammate David Reynolds double stacking behind him.

Jack le Brocq (#34) also came in on lap 6 to have the power steering arm looked at.

On lap7 David Reynolds pitted due to blistering tyres. As he peeled off into the pits he was dropping down the order. Race leader, Chaz Mostert also followed him in.

Meanwhile the 2 times Supercars champion Shane Van Gisbergen had gained 17 positions and was now placed 6th. I was amazed! This is no easy feat in a mere 7 laps of a 20 lap race.

When Chaz Mostert and David Reynolds rejoined the race, they were in positions 9th and 10th. At this point the leaders were Nick Percat and Macauley Jones.

On lap 8 at the exit of turn 3 Andre Heimgartner ran straight off the track taking James Courtney with him. Andre Heimgartner was warned with a bad sportsmanship flag for exceeding track limits.

Shane Van Gisbergen had made it all the way up to 4th position before coming in on lap 9 for his one and only pitstop. When he rejoined he was behind Nick Percat and in position 17 with only 4 cars yet to make their stops.

A few laps later all the pitstops were completed and Chaz Mostert was back in the lead followed by David Reynolds and Will Davison. Shane Van Gisbergen made his way up to 5th place.

With clean air Chaz Mostert kept edging further ahead. He was incredibly fast and drove faultlessly. It was soon apparent that he was uncatchable. All he had to do was just hang in there.

With four laps remaining Shane Van Gisbergen passed Nick Percat and Will Davison almost at the same time to put him in 3rd place. It was just incredible. He yelled over the radio comms ‘This is f-ing awesome!’. That really cracked me up.

To play it safe Chaz pulled back on the aggressive driving knowing he had a good lead. In the last few hundred meters he zig zagged to the finish line out of pure joy (That’s why I call him Cheeky Chaz). His next rival was David Reynolds 7.6839 second later followed by Shane Van Gisbergen who had started in 23rd place and finished 3rd. Now that is incredible racing!

Result for Race 6

1st Chaz Mostert – Mobil 1 Optus Racing.

2nd David Reynolds – Penrite Racing.

3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing.

In Race 7 Will Davison started on pole position. Alongside him was David Reynolds. Shane Van Gisbergen started 3rd.

At the start of the race Will Davison got the jump off the line and led into turn 1.

David Reynolds had a bad start and Shane Van Gisbergen immediately took the opportunity and moved into 2nd place.

Broc Feeney hit the wall on the exit of turn 1 after help from Brodie Kostecki.

At this stage Will Davison was looking strong. I was thinking that he may win might win his first race for Dick Johnson Racing and his first race win since Bathurst in 2016.

A few laps later the cars back in the pack pitted early for clear track.        

On lap 5 Andre Heimgartner got turned around by Will Brown. Heimgarter’s car was wedged in the wall. The safety car was deployed to tow it back to the pits. He wasn’t able to rejoin the race and received an NC (Not complete).

Shane Van Gisbergen now had the lead.

When Anton de Pasquale came into the pits he was in 3rd place. He couldn’t get car 11 re-fired and was sitting there for what seemed an eternity. As a result, he came back onto the track in 20th position.

By the middle of the race all pitstops were completed. Shane Van Gisbergen was back in the lead.

Broc Feeney (#88) was called into the pits with a front left tyre losing pressure. The Red Bull Ampol Racing team only changed the one tyre and he was back out on the track.

Also, on lap 10 Cameron Waters tagged Will Davison at turn 3 spinning him off into the gravel trap. For the second time, the safety car was deployed. Waters was issued a drive through penalty for his actions.

At this stage Shane Van Gisbergen was looking good for another win. David Reynolds was in 2nd, James Courtney in 3rd and Chaz Mostert 4th.

Cameron Waters served his drive through penalty with 7 laps to go. It dropped him all the way down to 22nd position.

On lap 14 Tim Slade got down the inside of Garry Jacobson for position number 8. He then passed Todd Hazelwood for 7th position.

Garry Jacobson got up the inside of Nick Percat in battle for 9th and 10th place.

With 5 laps to go Shane Van Gisbergen had a 1.6 second lead over David Reynolds, with James Courtney 1.1 seconds behind that. Chaz Mostert was in 4th position.

The races were ‘time certain’. Due to the 2 safety car deployments the race was looking to go overtime. On lap 18 the officials called time + 1 lap (cutting out the 20th lap).

On the last lap Shane Van Gisbergen did his best lap time of the race and increased his lead to 2 seconds.

Mostert was desperate to get on the podium. It was the last lap and he was pushing hard on James Courtney. As they reached the last corner before the home straight they locked horns and James Courtney spun around. Mostert kept going but Lee Holdsworth had taken him over so Mostert was back in 4th where he started.

There was no time for Mostert to make up the lost time.

Shane Van Gisbergen crossed the line 2+ seconds ahead of David Reynolds. They followed by a lucky Lee Holdsworth and then Chaz Mostert in fourth place. It was a dramatic last-minute finish.

James Courtney was so unfortunate and finished in 22nd place.

Results for Race 7

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing.

2nd David Reynolds – Grove Racing.

3rd Lee Holdsworth – Grove Racing.

In Race 8 Anton de Pasquale started on pole position alongside him was his teammate, Will Davison.

Shane Van Gisbergen and David Reynolds were 3rd and 4th on the grid.

At the start of the race Anton de Pasquale led into turn 1 for the first of 20 laps.  Will Davison was right behind him. David Reynolds hanging onto 3rd position followed by Shane Van Gisbergen.

Scott Pye went off the track at turn 1 on lap 1

The cars further back in the pack were going off the track left, right and centre. At turn 2 Percat, Hazelwood, Brodie Kostecki, Holdsworth, Jones, Heimgartner and Randle all came off the track but managed to recover.

Scott Pye left the track skiing across the sand trap but he also managed to recover.

It was amazing that the entire field got through turns 1 and 2.

However, on lap 2 Scott Pye came into the pits with a puncture on the front right. 

The race leader soon settled into his race pace with a ¾ second lead. There was active battling for positions 2, 3 and 4.

Between turns 9 and 10 on lap 2 Bryce Fulwood went very wide but surprisingly managed a quick return to the track.

By lap 3 Cameron Waters was in the pits changing tyres and dropped all the way down to 22nd position.

The top 4 places were unchanged; Anton de Pasquale, Will Davison, David Reynolds and Shane Van Gisbergen.

On lap 4 Anton de Pasquale locked up leaving the track at turn 1. It knocked him back from 1st to 3rd. Will Davison was the new race leader, with David Reynolds in 2nd place. For Anton de Pasquale who is second on the championship ladder it was a serious blunder.

When Tim Slade and Chaz Mostert came in for their stops he gave the back of Tim Slade’s car a wallop. It was a surprise but not serious and didn’t escalate.

On lap 5 Will Davison was the next to pit, handing over the lead to David Reynolds. Anton de Pasquale was still 2nd, Shane Van Gisbergen was 3rd and his teammate, Broc Feeney was in 4th (only + 2.601 seconds behind). Soon Anton de Pasquale pitted but the top 14 cars were still yet to pit.

By lap 6 Shane Van Gisbergen had taken the race lead off David Reynolds which then gave Shane Van Gisbergen clear track.

Broc Feeney had dropped to 8th place. Then Mark Winterbottom got down the inside of him to take another spot from him.

By the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was back in the lead after pitting.

Shane Van Gisbergen never looked back. He held his lead and increased the gap to 5.6473 seconds by the time he crossed the finish line. Next was Will Davison, David Reynolds and Anton de Pasquale all spread a few seconds apart.

This win for Shane Van Gisbergen also means he has outdone Russell Ingall’s record of 8 race wins at Albert Park. Ingall set this record back in 2003 (19years ago). Im sure it’s quite an honour for Gisbergen.

Results for Race 8

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing.

2nd Will Davison – Shell V-Power Racing Team.

3rd David Reynolds – Penrite Racing.

In race 9 Will Davison started on pole position. Alongside him was teammate Anton de Pasquale. Chaz Mostert started 3rd. The hero of the weekend, Shane Van Gisbergen 6th on the grid.

Generated by pixel @ 2022-04-10T23:50:02.030284

At the start of the race Will Davison got the jump on his teammate going into turn 1. I was amazed, it was such a perfect start.

However, Jack Smith didn’t have the same launch. He stalled car 4 on the start line and was unable to get it started. The safety car was deployed for it to be removed from the track. Jack Smith Received an NC (Not Complete) without even starting the race!  

Shane Van Gisbergen tried to go around the outside of Cameron Waters at turn 3 but it didn’t work.

The cars back in the pack were battling for positions early on. There was quite a lot of movement. About 12 cars shuffled positions with some moving as much as 10 places.

Some others moved up but then moved back, like Tim Slade who got down the inside of Brodie Kostecki at turn 4. Brodie Kostecki then got him back at turn 5.

While the race leaders were staying out because they had track position the others soon started pitting.

I was surprised that leader Will Davison pitted on lap 5. Mostert was in 2nd place and now had the lead. It was only brief. Shane Van Gisbergen took him over moment later.

David Reynolds was keeping out of trouble early on but he was in position 10. He then hit the wall on lap 6 and had to pit. The car couldn’t be repaired and he had to retire from the race.

In the middle of the race all driver pitstops were in the process of being completed. It was now even racing to the finish.

On lap 11 Thomas Randle also suffered the same fate as Reynolds and Smith. He was the 3rd driver forced to retire from the race.

Towards the end of the race Chaz Mostert had the lead again. He had Shane Van Gisbergen putting pressure on him and it looked to be a strong challenge. There were only a few laps remaining.

Shane Van Gisbergen was pushing hard. On lap 18 (2 lap to go) Shane Van Gisbergen’s car gave in under the strain. The front tyre blew out and he was forced into the pits. He must have been extremely disappointed as he is fast enough even to challenge the super-fast Chaz Mostert. It would have meant 3 out 4 wins for the weekend.

Chaz Mostert now had a clear run to the finish line. It earned his second win at the event.

In 2nd place Will Davison followed 5.2 seconds later, with Anton de Pasquale another 1.66 seconds behind. It was an incredible finish to the weekend.

Results for Race 9

1st Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United.

2nd Will Davison – Shell V-Power Racing Team.

3rd Anton de Pasquale – Shell V-Power Racing Team.

The Bathurst 6 Hour was the next event of interest on the calendar. It is always run on the Easter long weekend. It is not part of the Supercars series but is a production car event. Shane Van Gisbergen was meant to defend the title but was unable to due to COVID. Nick Percat sat in for him.

Let’s hope that SVG is on the mend and in good health for the next Supercars event; The Bunnings Trade Perth Supernight on the 30th of April to the 1st of May.

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Supercars

Beaurepairs Sydney Supernight 2022

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the 4th to 6th March was the Beaurepairs Sydney Supernight. It was the first event the 2022 Supercars Championship. It’s great to see the Supercars back. Lets hope we don’t get a repeat of last year and there are no Covid interruptions to the events calendar.

It was great to see Riana Crehan returning the Fox broadcast as pit lane reporter. She spent last year working in Super Bikes. Charli Robinson hands back the mic after filling in for her. It is a shame to see Charli  leave. Both women are great reporters. I wish we could have them both at Fox.

Mark Winterbottom’s slipped past a personal milestone. This weekend was his 561st and 562nd race in Supercars.

Nathan Prendagast head of TV at Supercars is leaving in June to take skill set to an international level. He has been with Supercars for 18 years and has only missed 3 events in that time. A sure sign of his dedication.  

TV BOSS TO LEAVE SUPERCARS – Auto Action

In the pre-race sessions:

  • Anton de Pasquale was fastest in Practice 1
  • Chaz Mostert was fastest in Practice 2
  • Anton de Pasquale was fastest in Qualifying and the Top Ten Shootout.

In race 1 Anton de Pasquale started on pole position alongside him was defending champion, Shane Van Gisbergen.

Anton de Pasquale led into turn 1. Shane Van Gisbergen hot on his tail tried to get up the inside between turns 2 and 3 but couldn’t manage to find the space.

David Reynolds ran wide onto the grass between turns 4 and 5. The cars further back in the pack were trying to keep up with the leaders.

On lap 8 Scott Pye had another power steering drama like he had in the last race for 2021 at Bathurst.  He was able to drive back to the pits but moments after pulling up the car caught FIRE! Scott Pye jumped out of the car so quick. If he had been that fast at the start line he would be in the lead. LOL. But truly, glad no one was hurt. Unfortunately, he was out of the race. The only one to receive an NC (Not Complete).

Meanwhile in the middle of the pack drivers were still battling for position. Thomas Randle found the space to get down the inside of car 56 driven by Jake Kostecki. Cameron Waters also found the opportunity to pass Nick Percat.

In the early stages Shane Van Gisbergen was running 2nd to Pasquale. He was on a 3 stop strategy compared to everybody else who did the 2 mandatory stops. By the middle of the race he picked the right time to pass Anton de Pasquale for the lead.

With every lap Shane Van Gisbergen seemed to be edging further ahead. He was looking strong and confident. It seemed if he could make it to the end of the race without error he was sure to win.

The defending champion held his place and continued to increase his lead. It was soon obvious he was out of reach from other drivers.

In spectacular form he continued to increase the gap from the others. By the time he crossed the finish line he nearly had a 20 second lead. It was an incredible win for him.

Next across the line was Anton de Pasquale followed by the other fast driver on the day, Chaz Mostert.

Results for Race 1

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing.
2nd Anton de Pasquale – Shell V-Power Racing Team.
3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United.

For the second race of the weekend, Chaz Mostert was fastest in the Qualifying session which meant he was on provisional pole position. That is to say, he had the advantage to be the last driver for the Top 10 Shootout.

However, it was Brodie Kostecki who earned pole position for Race 2. His maiden pole in Supercars. Alongside him was Anton de Pasquale.

Shane Van Gisbergen was 21st on the grid due to getting held up by other cars in Qualifying.

At the start of the race Anton de Pasquale lead the opening laps with Brodie Kostecki right behind him.

The cars further back in the pack were jostling for position. Chaz Mostert had gained 2 places, 7th to 5th and Shane Van Gisbergen went from 21st to 15th.

While Shane Van Gisbergen was aggressively marching forward, he ran wide and left the track. He didn’t realise until later that he had a puncture. The tyre change cost him valuable time. On return from the pits he was 1.6 laps down. A big blow for the defending champ.

By the middle of the race Chaz Mostert was affectively the leader after moving up from 5th to 1st with 3 cars in front who were still yet to pit.

The speed that Chaz Mostert showed at end of last season to win the Bathurst 1000 was still there. From the moment he had the lead to the end of the race he held position to the finish line. He was over 3 seconds ahead of Brodie Kostecki, followed by Anton de Pasquale.

Defending champion, Shane Van Gisbergen who was 1.6 laps down in the early stages, made an amazing recovery to finish 6th! OMG!

Results for Race 2

1st Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United.
2nd Brodie Kostecki – Boost Mobile Racing.
3rd Anton de Pasquale – Shell V-Power Racing Team.

Chaz Mostert is now the championship leader by 12 points. The first time in his career to earn the right to display the orange (leader) numbers on his car. Congratulations!

The next event is the Ned Whiskey Tasmania Supersprint on March 25th to the 27th 2022.

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Supercars

Beaurepairs Sydney Supernight 2021

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for Race 29

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing.

2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing.

3rd Cameron Waters – Monster Engery Racing.

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

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

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

Shane Van Gisbergern was next to pole on the grid.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Supercars

BP Ultimate Sydney Supersrint 2021

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jamie Whincup had a phenomenal pit stop, 3.6 seconds.

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

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

Results for 26

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It was an intense first lap!

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

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

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

Results for Race 27

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

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

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

During the opening stages the leaders kept pulling ahead.

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

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

Results for Race 28

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

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

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

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

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

Supercars

Armor All Sydney Supernight 2021

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Hi to all Supercars Fans around the world!

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

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

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

In the Pre-race sessions:

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

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

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

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

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

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

This week the opening laps were a lot calmer.

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

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

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

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

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

Results for Race 23

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

2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for Race24

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

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

3rd James Courtney – Boost Mobile Racing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The wet conditions worsened but Jamie Whincup kept his lead.

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

Results for Race 25

1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.

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

3rd Chaz Mostert – Mobil 1 TM Appliances Online.

There are 3 events to go!

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

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

Supercars

Bunnings trade sydney supernight 2021

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The leaders decided to stay out to keep track position.

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

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

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

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

Results for Race 20:

1st Anton de Pasquale – Dick Johnson Racing.

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

3rd Brodie Kostecki – Erebus Motorsort.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for Race 21:

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

2nd Will Davison – Dick Johnson Racing.

3rd Nick Percat – Brad Jones Racing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for Race 22

1st Anton de Pasquale – Dick Johnson Racing.

2nd Will Brown – Erebus Motorsport.

3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing.

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

Supercars

WD 40 Townsvlle Supersprint 2021

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the World!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cameron Waters led he opening stages of the race.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for Race 17

1st Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing.

2nd Anton De Pasquale – Dick Johnson Racing.

3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for Race 18

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

2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team

3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United.

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

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

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

The leaders stayed out longer because they had track position.

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

Shane Van Gisbergergen came in to get clear track.

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

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

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

Results for Race 19

1st Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing.

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

3rd Will Davison – Dick Johnson Racing.

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

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

Supercars

NTI Townsville 2021

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now that is what I call an incredible finish.

Results for Race 15

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing

2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing

3rd Anton De Pasquale – Dick Johnson Racing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for race 16

1st Sane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing

2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing

3rd Anton De Pasquale – Dick Johnson Racing

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

Supercars

Merlin Triple Crown 2021

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for Race 12

1st Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing

3rd Nick Percat – Brad Jones Racing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for Race 13

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team

2nd Will Davison – Dick Johnson Racing

3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team

4th Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for Race 14

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team

2nd Will Davison – Dick Johnson Racing

3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team

Social media reacts to Mostert WAU contract extension – Supercars

Randle confirmed for 2022 full-time Supercars seat – Speedcafe

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