Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!
The ITM Auckland Super Sprint 2016 was run on the 4th, 5th and 6th of November 2016.
Race 24 started with Shane Van Gisbergen in pole position and Jamie Whincup alongside him for this 35-lap race.
Jamie got the jump on his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen. Scott McLaughlin and Mark Winterbottom made contact going in-between turns 3 and 4.
As a fly away event the teams are usually limited on spares so the drivers in the pack were going to be doing their best to avoid any risks that could cause damage.
On lap 2 Shane Van Gisbergen was trying to keep up with his teammate, but once Jamie Whincup took the lead he was never headed. Lap 3 saw the red flag go up as a result of Jason Bright having contact with Chris Pither.
When the race was restarted, it was a rolling start and Jamie Whincup immediately pulled away from the pack. The race went back to ‘green’ on lap 4 and the race was back on. Chaz Mostert nearly bogged his car 55 in the sand trap down at turn 8. On lap 5 James Moffatt and Dale Wood made contact on approach to turn 5.
With all this commotion Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen were way up front by lap 6 and it looked as if no one was going to catch them. Shortly after Garth Tander, wanting to have a clean race weekend and not be in headlines for all the wrong reasons eased off driving aggressively.
Lap 8 Todd Kelly was in front of Dale Wood. Dale Wood was trying to get down the inside of his boss at turn 8, but instead he made contact and copped a lot of damage. Dale Wood was not happy about it at all.
By lap 9 Jamie Whincup had a good lead which meant he could push on safely without having to watch his mirrors all the time.
On lap 10 Craig Lowndes passed Lee Holdsworth in between turns 9 and 10 which I thought was not going to work. Amazingly he made it safely? Mark Winterbottom tried the same thing with Garth Tander on the next lap but couldn’t make it. He tried again and his persistence paid off. Garth Tander wanted his position back and chased hard to catch Mark Winterbottom but just wasn’t able to pass him. On lap 13 James Courtney also got the better of Garth Tander and passed him to gain the 5th spot.
On lap 14 Jason Bright was watching the rest of the race from the garage after hitting the wall at the pit lane entry blocking access. This resulted in red flag going up.
Once the race restarted, the Red Bull cars still maintained their strong lead with Jamie Whincup up front. It still looked like no one could catch them.
In the middle of the race Jamie Whincup wanted to start getting the gap down in the hunt for his 7th Championship.
The last laps saw the Red Bull Teammates as unstoppable with Jamie Whincup taking 1st and Shane Van Gisbergen 2nd place at the finish line.
Results for race 24
1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia.
3rd – Scott McLaughlin – Volvo Polstar racing.
In race 25 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position with Jamie Whincup alongside him.
On the first of the 35-lap race Shane Van Gisbergen took the lead due to Jamie Whincup’s uncontrolled wheel spin start. Jamie Whincup caught up quickly and tried to pass him at the turn 8 hairpin.
While the Red Bull teammates were battling with each other they were gifting metres to Chaz Mostert. On the opening laps, Shane Van Gisbergen took the lead back off car 88 with the Fords running tightly behind. On lap 4 Shane Van Gisbergen had a half second lead. On lap 5 Garth Tander got up the inside of Cameron Waters, then James Moffatt was getting ready to have a dive. On lap 6 he was starting to close the gap on his teammate, Scott McLaughlan to .6 of a second.
On lap 7 Mark Winterbottom was on the back of his teammate Chaz Mostert. On lap 8 Craig Lowndes was behind Nick Percat and eventually passed him between turns 10 and 11. Will Davison was holding his position in front of Scott McLaughlin. On lap 9 David Reynolds was catching the Volvo in front of him. The two Holden Racing Team cars were competing for positions 9 and 10. On the 10th lap the two Red Bull cars were up front staying out of trouble and by the next lap Mark Winterbottom was in front of the next group of cars behind him. The 3 cars maintained control of the race through to the finish line.
Even though in the middle of the race Jamie Whincup tried to overtake his teammate to gain more championship points, Shane Van Gisbergen had his head down to take the race win.
In that last lap, Neil Crompton and Mark Skaife were both laughing when Shane Van Gisbergen came over the team radio and said, ‘What is my dad doing on TV?’ His father’s image large as life being displayed big screen near the finish line.
Results for race 25
1st – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
3rd – Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.
In the 35 laps of race 26, Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position with Scott Pye alongside him.
At the start, Scott Pye nearly got the jump on Shane Van Gisbergen but Mark Winterbottom went around the outside of Scott Pye. Scott McLaughlin received damage to the front of his Volvo after making contact with the back of Craig Lowndes car. Throughout the second lap Craig Lowndes fought to stay in front of Scott McLaughlin in the battle for 3rd spot in the season championship.
By lap 3 Mark Winterbottom had a good lead. Early on lap 4, Scott Mclaughlin was trying to get back in front of Craig Lowndes and closing the gap between 3rd and 4th. As they went through lap 5 Mark Winterbottom was dominating the race. Lap 6 Garth Tander and James Courtney were racing each other. In lap 7 James Courtney showed he didn’t enjoy being further back in the pack and he pushed hard to get up near the front of the race. On lap 8 Craig Lowndes was moving up through the field very quickly. On lap 9 Fabian Coulthard knew that Craig Lowndes was catching him quickly and he let him go passed. On lap 10 the Red Bull cars were still battling it out and letting Mark Winterbottom get away. Not a great tactic for the Red Bull Team. Mark Winterbottom was now on his way to claiming his 2nd race win of the year. On lap 12 Jamie Whincup locked the rear brakes and spun Shane Van Gisbergen around. As a result, he ‘redressed’ but the Officials still gave him a drive thru penalty.
From that point onwards through to the finish line, Mark Winterbottom dominated with an uncatchable lead.
Results for race 26
1st – Mark Winterbottom – Rod Nash Racing
2nd – Scott Pye – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
3rd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia.
In race 27 Jamie Whincup started on pole position alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.
On this 35-lap race Jamie Whincup got into the first corner which allowed him to take track position early on. David Reynolds hit one of the braking markers at turn 1 and Lee Holdsworth was battling with Todd Kelly. Garth Tander passed James Moffatt the drivers were 3 abreast.
On lap 2 Jamie Whincup was traveling well up front of the race with his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen behind him. On lap 3 Mark Winterbottom was trying to get passed his teammate Chaz Mostert and get into fresh air for the brakes and engine. To his relief, he managed to pass him. If Mark Winterbottom had stayed behind him any longer, his car would have over heated and he would have to park back in the pits. On lap 4 Mark Winterbottom was moving forward to his next target, Scott McLaughlin. On lap 5 Garth Tander and James Courtney were like magnets (which held for them all weekend when racing each other). On lap 6 Dale Wood maintained the same tactic as in his previous race and stayed out of trouble.
On lap 7 Craig Lowndes was coming through the pack from 9th on the grid and was still in front of Scott McLaughlin in the battle for the 2016 V8 Supercars Championship 3rd spot.
Lap 10 Will Davison was trying to stay inside the top 10 and wanted a finish with a single digit position. On lap 11 Cameron Waters was also trying to stay in the top 10 and catch his teammates but wasn’t able to. Mark Winterbottom passed Chaz Mostert and pushed on with fresh air in front of him. On lap 12 Todd Kelly was battling it out with sibling rival, Rick Kelly.
On lap 13 Tim Slade had to take evasive action because the car that was in front of him completely missed turn 5. On lap 14 Jamie Whincup was on his way to claiming another career win and catching up to Craig Lowndes’ career tally. On lap 15 Mark Winterbottom needed clear air because the engine temperatures were starting to rise in the Bottle-O Ford. On lap 16 Jamie Whincup was up front with no problems and Shane Van Gisbergen close in behind.
In the middle of the race the leaders were starting to check out, increasing the gap to the cars behind and they just couldn’t be caught.
Jamie Whincup came across the line to his 103rd career victory, only 2 wins behind Craig Lowndes.
The weekend ended; Shane Van Gisbergen was awarded the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy for 2016, he has now extended his championship to 491 points with 1 event remaining and 2 races.
The next event is the Coates Hire Sydney 500 on the 2nd – 4th of December 2016. Good luck for the grand finale at Homebush everybody. Go Holden!
Well done to everybody in New Zealand.
Results for race 27
1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia.
3rd – Scott McLaughlin – Volvo Polstar Racing.