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Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

V8 Supercars 2017 Coates Hire Newcastle 500

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 24th to the 26th of November 2017 was the Coates Hire Newcastle 500.

This was the final race for the season. It was very exciting because the season champion was still to be determined and this race weekend was going to be the decider. The main championship contenders were Scott McLaughlin and Jamie Whincup. They were only separated by 30 points in favour of Jamie Whincup. I didn’t get the feeling either would hold back and there would be some incredible racing.

It was also the first race event at Newcastle, a seaside city about 2 hrs north of Sydney. This was a street circuit that no one had driven at before so it made the practice sessions all critical in order to determine their car setup for the race.

Due to the circuit being local streets, some parts are quite narrow and there are plenty of ups and downs for the drivers to navigate. This would mean a reduced opportunity for passing and possibly slower speeds.

Jamie Whincup went there a couple weeks in advance in a reconnaissance mission to get a feel for the area.

The weekend finally arrived and Newcastle put on a beautiful show. The weather was beautiful and sunny with the main straight running along the shore of the sparkling beach and great crowds had turned out for the spectacle.

On the Saturday Race 25 was for 95 laps. Due to the tight schedule for other race events it was also time certain so when the time was up the winner would be called regardless of laps.

It was a special occasion for Todd Kelly as this was his 540th V8 Supercars race, which is a long time to be in this sport.

Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was David Reynolds.

Scott McLaughlin got the jump on David Reynolds and got to turn 1 first.

Later in the first lap, Jamie Whincup made contact with Michael Caruso which as a result put Jamie Whincup into the wall and broke his right front steering arm.  This was not ideal considering he went into the Newcastle event 30 points ahead of Scott McLaughlin.

Mark Skaife and Neil Crompton couldn’t believe that Jamie Whincup managed to steer his car back to the pits.

During the opening stages Scott McLaughlin was the race leader until the first round of pit stops.

Up until that first round of pit stops Craig Lowndes was on track for his first podium finish in 2017. The last time he got a podium finish (1st, 2nd or 3rd) was the Sydney SuperSprint 2016.

There was contact between Jason Bright and Alex Davison. Jamie Whincup just missed being involved which would have been disastrous as he was already 13 laps behind the race leader as a result of having a broken steering arm.

Soon after, Simona de Silvestro pulled off some amazing driving passing a bunch of cars at turn 7. My first thoughts were after looking at the racetrack that the drivers wouldn’t be able to pass at turn 7 safely but she somehow managed to do it.

In the middle of the race the two DJR cars held the lead strongly.

As the race went on the schedule time was running out and the race was going to be called short.

The 2 DJR cars driven by Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard were too quick, their pace was really fast and reached the flag in a 1, 2 finish at lap 91 (4 laps short of the set laps).

It was such bad luck for Jamie Whincup. He had been making incredible gains, after being 13 laps behind he finished in 21st position only 2 laps behind the leader. If he just had a bit more time it would have been really interesting.

Results for race 25

1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
2nd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing team.
3rd Tim Slade – Brad Jones Racing Team. 

In Qualifying for race 26 James Courtney caused a red flag meaning his fastest time to that point was deleted and also meant he couldn’t take any further part in the session.

Scott McLaughlin started on pole position once again for the 16th time in 2017.  Alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.

Jamie Whincup started 5th on the grid.

At the start of the 95-lap race, Scott McLaughlin took the race lead, which was good for the DJR Team.

As the first round of pit stops started the Championship leader Scott McLaughlin got a pit lane penalty for exceeding the speed limit of 40kms p/h.  Then Fabian Coulthard pitted and had to try and fix his gearbox issue. After that Fabain Coulthard also received a pit lane penalty for the same infringement. That was a blow for the DJR Team Penske Crew.

Later Scott Mclaughlin turned Simona de Silvrestro around at turn 2. Scott McLaughlin received another penalty of 15 seconds. Things for Scott McLaughlin as one of the main championship contenders were not looking good.  Commentators Mark Skaife and Neil Crompton said it will be the longest 15 seconds of his life.

In the middle of the race the teams started to get organized for the 2nd round of stops to take place and prepare for the run to the finish.

When the Vodafone Safety Car was deployed it was to get Aaren Russell out of the tyre bundle. As a result that helped Scott McLaughlin big time.

At this stage of the race Scott McLaughlin was down the order in 16th position. He needed to finish in 11th to claim the title for 2017.

Scott McLaughlin’s car was bruised and battered and he was trying to do the best he could on the day.

Towards the end of the race with 2 laps to go, Craig Lowndes tried to get up inside of Scott McLaughlin at turn 1 but Scott McLaughlin blocked his pass and they made contact. This resulted in 2 things. First Craig Lowndes dropped from 6th to 10th. Second Scott McLaughlin got a post-race penalty dropping him all the way down to 18th in the results. Even though Scott McLaughlin would have finished 12th and not won the championship it must have been a real kick in the guts to be pushed down to 18th after the race had finished.

Jamie Whincup won the race and the season championship for 2017. A great result for the Red Bull Holden Racing Team.

Results for race 26

1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd Shane Van Gisbergen -Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport.

 

Well done to all the drivers and teams in 2017.

Looking forward to seeing you in 2018.

The next event will be the Adelaide 500 on the 1st to the 4th of March 2018.

 

 

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Red Rooster Sydney Supersprint 2017

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 18th to the 20th of August 2017 was the Red Rooster Sydney Supersprint.

This was a great weekend of racing at the Sydney Motorsport Raceway (Eastern Creek) because I’m a Sydneysider and was able to attend. Alongside me in Pole Position was my Dad (bless him for getting the wheelchair accessible van for the weekend, navigating and supporting me in my V8 Supercars passion).

We also had my Support Worker and friend, Sam join us for the Friday practice sessions. It was Sam’s first race event and he really got into it. He spent the day running around like a made chook filming and photographing the on and off track action. This was later edited along with my own footage and photos for my youtube channel and Facebook fan page.

Before the practice started on Friday we walked and talked our way through the pit viewing area. The ‘Dunlop Promo Girls’ past us going the other way. To our surprise Sam broke conversation and in split second reflex spun around, whipped out his ……er um ….phone and was filming as he followed them. Dad and I just burst into hysterical laughter. We knew we found the right man for the job of cam man and were going to have a great day.

Over the weekend I managed to get autographs, take photos and videos that you can see ……here.

My YouTube Channel

Facebook Fan Page Eastern Creek album.

There are plenty of other stories to tell but that would take all day. Following is a quick summary of the on-track action for the weekend.

The qualifying session for race 17 was exciting. Yet again, Scott McLaughlin won the pole position. That’s the 7th time in a row!. Not only that but he broke the Supercar record for the fastest lap around the Eastern Creek track.

It was also a first for both Alex Rullo and Simona de Silvestro to race at this track.

So as I mentioned, Scott McLaughlin started on pole position for race 17. Alongside him was mark Winterbottom.

At the start of the 31 lap race Mark Winterbottom got the jump and led into turn 1.

Will Davison spun at turn 1 sending him to the back of the field. As a result of his incredible spin he had to pit early due to the massive flat spot on all 4 tyres.  Meanwhile, Jamie Whincup moved up from 5th to 4th.

At the early stage of the race, Fabian Coulthard tried to stay on the rear bumpers of the leaders but couldn’t quite hang on. They were just too quick and pulled away.

Will Davison had to come into pits earlier than expected. It was later revealed he was having engine problems.

Craig Lowndes started in 10th position and went from 10th straight to 9th and was now moving up trying to catch the cars in front of him.

In the middle of the race the Vodafone safety car was deployed due to Todd Kelly’s tyre exploding.

On restart the leaders were bumping which wasn’t ideal.

Later towards the end of the race Scott McLaughlin had the living nightmare of all drivers. He was in the lead but got spun by Shane Van Gisbergen. It was so late in the race that by the time they recovered Scott McLaughlin ended up finishing 21st. A far cry from his pole position. Shane Van Gisbergen also dropped 20 places from his start position and finished 23rd.

Due to this there was an unexpected change in the race leaders. They stayed in sequence to the chequered flag. Fabian Coulthard, Chaz Mostert (singing the ‘Banana Boat Song’ at the top of voice; Day-o, Da-ay-ay O…) and then Jamie Whincup .

Results for race 17

1st Fabian Coulthard – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske Shell V Power racing team.
2nd Chaz Mostert – Super Cheap Auto Racing.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.

In race 18 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position yet again. This claimed his 13th pole position for 2017. Alongside him was Chaz Mostert.

At the start of the Scott McLaughlin got swamped and he went from pole back to 5th which was caused by him bogging down getting off the start line. It didn’t impress the Championship leader at all.

The mistake by Scott McLaughlin paid Chaz Mostert with the lead.

Craig Lowndes got called in by engineer, John McGregor (aka ‘Irish’) because the team suspected he had a tyre going down, which wasn’t the case at all. It wasn’t a bad mistake because on rejoining the race he was in the clear with no cars in front or behind him.  Unfortunately, his troubles weren’t over and was soon back in the pits for an unscheduled stop.  His car was off song and it turned out it dropped a cylinder from 8 to 7.

When Dad and I heard the team Vortex boys restart Craig’s car we knew that it was off song. Craig Lowndes said himself that he was very disappointed about being parked in the garage. But there is nothing he could do about it.   

Todd Kelly was trying to get passed Simona De Silvestro.

In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen got told by his engineer, Grant Mcpherson to let Jamie Whincup go, which he did.

Towards the end of the race Fabian Coulthard said to Phil Keed, “Keep the information coming”.

He responded with, “There are 5 laps to go. You need to pass Gizzy to come 2nd “.

Fabian’s response was, “Well that’s OBVIOUS”.

Mark Skaife said that’s the best line of the weekend. And Neil Crompton said we will give that a run later in the week.

In the thrilling final moments of the race Fabian Coulthard passed Shane Van Gisbergen to break the hopes of 888 cleaning up with 1st and second position.

Close behind Scott McLaughlin and Chaz Mostert were in very close pursuit for the 3rd position. They were just split seconds apart.

Jamie Whincup made it look all too easy coming across the finish line first over 9 seconds ahead of Fabian Coulthard, followed by Shane Van Gisbergen another 3 seconds later.

This gives Jamie Whincup his 106th career win. He humbly talked it down but it beats the record currently held by Craig Lowndes. Whincup wil go down in V8Supercars history.

Results for race 18

1st Jamie Whincup – red bull Holden racing team.
2nd Fabian Coulthard – DJR Team Penske.
3rd Shane van Gisbergen – red bull Holden racing team.
 

As Jeromy Moore exclaimed at the  2015  Red Rooster Sydney Supersprint, “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner”.

The next event is the Wilson Security Sandown 500 on the 15th to the 17th of September 2017.