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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

Penrite Oil Sandown Supersprint 2021

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!On the weekend of the 20th and 21st of March was the Penrite Oil Sandown Supersprint.

The event was held at the Sandown International Raceway. It is a famous track of 3.1  kilometres  owned by Melbourne Racing Club with a rich history stretching beyond its opening as a raceway in 1962 and the first Sandown 500 in 1964. Prior to this it was a horse racing facilty built in the 19th century.

In motor racing it seems to be a tough and challenging track. History shows that both Ash Walsh and Lee Holdsworth crashed in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Both at the end of the back straight.

As for the event this year, it looked like it was going to be a tough one for the Red Bull Ampol Racing Team. Three weeks ago after the opening round of the Supercars Championship at the Bathurst 500, Shane Van Gisbergen broke his collar bone in a mountain bike accident. He was admitted to hospital for surgery.

With such an injury it was doubtful Shane Van Gisbergen would be racing at Sandown . The team had Garth Tander on stand by to fill in. Even commentator Mark Skaife said that he didn’t think that Shane Van Gisbergen would race but…  HE DID!!!.

I am sure Triple Eight had their concerns for Shane Van Gisbergen, as well as the impact on the team and the championship after his double win at the opening event, Bathurst 500.

Results for the Pre-Race sessions:

  • Jamie Whincup was fastest in Practice 1
  • Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 2
  • Chaz Mostert was fastest in the Armour All Qualifying
  • Shane Van Gibergen qualified 17th

In race 3 Chaz Mostert started on pole position with Cameron Water alongside him.

At the start of the race Chaz Mostert led into turn 1 but Cameron Waters took the lead between turns 2 and 3.. During the opening stages Mark Winterbottom and Jamie Whincup were flying up to turn 1.

When the pit window opened the front runners stayed out while cars further back pitted.

In the middle of the race the drivers were going nuts because they knew that every pass they made was critical.

As it turned outShane Van Gisbergen started 17th with his broken collar bone and finished 1st !  Wow!. After his double win at Bathurst a few weeks back this was an exciting finish.

What a incredible race. Well done SVG.

Results for Race 3

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.
2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.

Regardless of weather reports, races 4 and 5 were wet and created tension out on the track.

Shane Van Gisbergen astounded everyone by being fastest in the Qualifying for Race 4  earning him pole position. Alongside him was teammate Jamie Whincup.

At the start of the race Jamie Whincup took the lead into turn 1 but Shane Van Gisbergern was soon  passed him.

Early on in the race Will Davison spun in between turns 2 and 3 and nearly collected Anton de Pasqaule on the re-join. Thankfully that didn’t happen.

The front runners stayed out while the cars back in the pack pitted.

Will Brown was charging through the pack in Race 4 just like Shane Van Gisbergen did in Race 3.

Brodie Kosecki was back in the pack so the Erebus team brought him in to give him clear air.

Once Shane Van Gisbergen took his final pit stop and re-joined he was the clear leader and seemed impossible to catch. Yes, Shane Van Gisbergen won this race too. That was 2 of 2 races for the weekend and 4 out of 4 for the season. Just incredible!

Results for Race 4

1st Shane Van Gisergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.
2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.

In race 5 Shane Van Gisbergen again started on pole position with teammate Jamie Whincup alongside him.

During the opening laps Brodie Kostecki was up from 7th to 4th spot which Erebus Motorsport must have been happy with. I bet team owner Betty Klimenco regretted not being there and staying home with her sick dog. Boo hoo! Bow wow!

Will Brown, also from Erebus Motorsport came in early because he wasn’t moving forward.

Chaz Mostert was dogfighting up front for the lead. He just would’nt give in and some spectacular driving was on show.  The manoeuvres were just incredible as he traded the lead with Shane Van Gisbergen multiple times. Im sure Shane Van Gisbergen was thinking Mostert was like a fly at a picnic. Just buzzing around and being a pest.

Once again towards the end of the race no one could catch Shane Van Gisbergen.

Incredible! 5 out of 5 races for the season.

Results for race 5

1st Shane van Gisbrgen – Red Bull Ampol Racing team.
2nd Brodie Kostecki – Erebus Motorsport.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.

The next event is the Beaurepairs Tasmania Supersprint has been delayed 1 week due to COVID19 lock downs. It will now be run on the 17th and 18th  of April 2021.

Post Race Report, Supercars

crownbet Darwin Triple Crown 2018 Supercars

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Crownbet Darwin Triple Crown 2018

Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 15th to the 17th of June, 2018 was the Crownbet Darwin Triple Crown at Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin, Northern Territory.

There was lots of unexpected excitement in the preliminary events leading up to the two races this weekend:

  • Fastest in Practice 1 was Rick Kelly.
  • Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 2 and 3.
  • David Reynolds was fastest in Qualifying for race 15.
  • Scott McLaughlin was the fastest in Qualifying for race 16.
  • Rick Kelly was the fastest in the race shootout.

Same as at last event, the owner of the Erebus Motorsports team Betty Klimenko wasn’t at Darwin because she was sick with the flu. It must be a bad flu for her to stay away. Get well soon Betty!

Also, Fox Sports commentator Russell Ingall wasn’t in attendance either.

Macauley Jones was the wildcard for the weekend.

The LOL moment for the weekend was James Courtney got fined 1,000 dollars for calling Richie Stanaway a ‘Buffoon’ on the last lap of Saturday’s Race.

In practice 3 before Qualifying, Macauley Jones caused a red flag which meant he couldn’t take any further part in the race. The roof of his car was kinked because of the sideways angle he went into the sand trap.

It was also another milestone for Jamie Whincup, starting his 450th race on the weekend.

In race 15 David Reynolds started on pole position. Alongside him was championship leader, Scott McLaughlin.

David Reynolds led early on with Scott McLaughlin in hot pursuit.

On lap 2 David Reynolds cracked under the pressure, locking the right front wheel and running wide. It gave Scott McLaughlin the opening he was looking for to take the race lead.

Andre Heimgartner ran out of room when he was getting towards making it within the top 10. Although he didn’t make it, the point was he gave it a go!

Craig Lowndes qualified in position 12 and moved up 5 spots straight off the grid, which I though was very impressive.

Jamie Whincup almost made contact with the rookie Anton De Pasquale, but in the end backed off the throttle to avoid contact with him. That wouldn’t have been cool. I am also sure Jamie Whincup’s team owner, Roland Dane was happy to see his own driver make a call to back off and not risk his car.

It didn’t stop Jamie Whincup’s aggressive driving style. At the end of the race, Rick Kelly was defending his racing line while Jamie Whincup tried get to around the outside which was a brave move but it didn’t pay off. He ended up getting swamped by Shane Van Gisbergen and Craig Lowndes. Jamie Whincup dropped 2 spots from 8th to 6th.

Shane Van Gisbergen chose to stay out on track longer before pitting  in order to maintain track position or double stack with Jamie Whicup.

In the middle of the race Fabian Coulthard was getting towards the top 5, desperately wanting a single digit finish position next to his name.

At the end of the race Garth Tander came in to put a fresh set of tyres on which helped him charge through and finished 5th after starting 13th. An impressive effort.

Towards the end of the race nobody could catch the top 3 drivers they were Scott McLaughlin, Shane Van Gisbergen and David Reynolds.

Greg Murphy was hoping that Shane Van Gisbergen got onto the podium on Saturday and wasn’t let down. He finished 2nd  after starting 5th on the grid.

Craig Lowndes gained 5 spots, starting 12th and finishing 7th.

Everybody finished race 15. No DNFs.

No one else does the ‘shoey’ (drinking the winner’s Champaign from his driving boot) only David Reynolds. That is GROSS!

For Scott McLaughlin this makes his 6th race win for 2018.

It was very Entertaining race.

Results for race 15

1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport.

 

 

In race 16 Rick Kelly started on pole position. Alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.

Interesting to note, newcomer Anton De Pasquale made it into the top 10 shootout and started 3rd on the grid.

I’m sure Betty Klimenko would have been very happy and proud of Anton de Pasquale for being on Provisional Pole Position before the shootouts.

Garth Tander also made the top 10 shootout on Sunday.

The 3 Triple 8 cars Qualified 3rd 11th and 14th.

Jamie Whincup gained a better grid position on Sunday compared to Saturday.

I was surprised that David Reynolds starting at 4th position went right around the outside of everybody from turn 1 to take the lead.

Jamie Whincup tried to get into 2nd but it didn’t pay off.

Jamie Whincup and Anton De Pasquale nearly made contact at turn 1 in the opening laps.

Jamie Whincup then dropped a few places and was crowded so came in early to get a clear track.

Fabian Coulthard was inside the top 10 but after he had his first pitstop he was back in the pack a bit.

Pit reporter, Greg Murphy was talking to Barry Ryan, Erebus Team Manager about Anton de Pasquale’s race excellent performance and how moving David Reynolds to the other side of the garage was to help more to improve Anton de Pasquale’s consistency.

This year was Macauley Jones’ 2nd year as a wildcard in Darwin. Brad Jones was happy to see his progression. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up a full-time driver in the future.

A lot of cars that started in the top 10 stayed out longer while the going was good.

David Reynolds must have been really happy with his performance leading in the opening stint of the race after also finishing on the podium for race 15 the day before.

In the middle of the race Scott McLaughlin had smoke pouring out the back. My first thought was to bring it in, check it over, then fix it.

He did come into the pits but after he turned off the pit lane speed limiter the smoke started pouring out again. Then I started to think there is no way he would make it to the finish with the amount laps that were left. Comentator, Neil Crompton said the same thing but somehow, he made it to the finish line.

Later the team revealed the reason why Scott McLaughlin had smoke coming out of the back of his car was because of an overheating problem. Fabian Coulthard also suffered the same overheating problem.

Will Davison got through both of the races which was a great effort considering he had a moon boot on due to hurting his left ankle during training for the Darwin event.

Towards the end of the race it was getting very exciting to watch because David Reynolds was heading for another win in 2018.

Craig Lowndes gained 4 spots by starting 14th and finishing 10th.

There were 3 DNFS; Cameron Waters, Lee Holdsworth and Jack Le Brocq.

Cameron Waters car stopped on the main straight due to overheating and when interviewed by Riana Crehan he wasn’t happy at all.

In the end no one could catch the top 3 drivers – which were David Reynolds, Scott McLaughlin and Jamie Whincup.

What an amazing weekend for David Reynolds!

The next event is the Watpac Townsville 400 on the 6th to the 8th of July, 2018.

Results for race 16

1st David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport.
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team