On the weekend of the 7th to the 9th of April 2017 was the Tyrepower Tasmaina Supersprint.
Race 3 was meant to be 50 laps, a total of 120 Kilometres. As you will read below, things don’t always go to plan.
Although humorous in some ways but also a possible omen for what was to come, when Russell Ingall took Lee Holdsworth’s car out for a hot lap he hit the wrong button and set off the fire extinguisher. He exclaimed over the comms ‘Oops!!! what did I press?’
The wet weather at the Symmons Plains track seemed manageable enough and the drivers took their places.
Scott McLaughlin started on pole position and alongside him was Chaz Mostert.
On lap 1 Chaz Mostert got the jump on Scott McLaughlin and led the race on the opening lap. Shane Van Gisbergen was following not far behind.
On lap 2 the wet weather appeared to be affecting drivers as they headed down the straight. It looked as though Rick Kelly and Fabian Coulthard made contact. Cam Waters then hit Garth Tander spinning him around. Mayhem ensued and cars just kept piling up into an incredible expensive mess!! The 12 car pileup involved Rick Kelly, Garth Tander, James Moffatt, James Courtney, Scott Pye, Nick Percat, Tim Slade, Tim Blanchard, Simona De Silvestro, Alex Rullo, Taz Douglas and Will Davison. When Will Davison crashed his ice box opened letting the ice out, which was not pleasant but lucky compared to others.
Will Davison ended up in hospital overnight and couldn’t race on Sunday.
The red flag came out and all the remaining drivers were told to go back to the grid and get in to their starting positions.
Meanwhile Scott McLaughlin went into the pit lane due to a break down in radio communication.
The officials tried to get race 3 back underway. Garry Rogers advice to call off the race on the basis of it starting to get dark went unheeded. Mark Skaife Suggested that they don’t restart and re run it on Sunday. The problem with that was the Support categories would have to be cancelled to allow race 3 to be re-run on the Sunday. An option deemed unacceptable.
When the cars did get going again they only completed 4 laps before the race was called off.
Most teams would have been burning the mid night oil trying to repair their damaged race cars in time for the race on the next day. Some just couldn’t be repaired in time and as a result four cars did not take part in Sunday’s race; Will Davison, James Courtney, Taz Douglas and Alex Rullo.
Race 3 was declared a ‘no race’ and no points were awarded. However, triple 8 still were listed with 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions at the finish.
Results for race 3
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red bull Holden racing team.
3rd Craig Lowndes – Team Vortex.
In race 4 Jamie Whincup started on pole position and alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.
On lap 1 of 84 Jamie Whincup got the jump off the starting grid. Everyone settled into an even race pace and there was not much of a spread as the cars further back in the pack made ground on the leaders. Scott McLaughlin tried to pass Jamie Whincup at the turn 4 hairpin but didn’t get the acceleration out of the corner needed to take the lead. Chaz Mostert was running 3rd..
On lap 2 Mark Winterbottom was running along well before he had to pit so that Cameron Waters didn’t have to have double stack.
On lap 3 Jason Bright was screaming down the back straight until he spun near the pit entry which damaged the bonnet. The safety car had to be deployed to assist his removal from the pit lane entry.
On Lap 4 the cars further back were coming into pits early to get clear track and avoid having to double stack. Craig Lowndes didn’t have to worry about double stacking with teammate, Will Davison because he wasn’t in Sunday’s race due to the previous day’s multi car pileup.
On lap 5 Chaz Mostert was still running 3rd. Mark Winterbottom was trying to get passed his teammate Cameron Waters so he could take first option on the pits. Meanwhile Jamie Whincup was battling with Scott McLaughlin for the lead.
On lap 7 the safety car left the track and the race continued at full throttle. The wet weather got worse and at this stage the rain was pouring down. The Shell V Power Racing team called in both their cars, driven by Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard to change from slick tyres to wet tyres. Then all the other cars came into pits and changed to wet tyres. The 12 car pileup in the previous days’ race was strong in in everyone’s mind.
On lap 8 Tim Blanchard was trying his best to stay in front of Tim Slade so he wouldn’t have to double stack and gain pit priority. .
On lap 9 Simona De Silvestro was going to pit before Todd Kelly but he was leading so got pit priority.
The race was truly now underway. It was a great effort by the teams that were able to get their cars back on the race track for Sunday’s race.
On lap 13 Alex Rullo’s luck changed. He had been doing well after what happened the previous day, but an engine problem caused him to stop just outside the Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport Garage.
On lap 17 when Chaz Mostert took the race lead. Although he was doing well, he was really under pressure from Cameron Waters running in 2nd.
On lap 20 all the drivers were getting ready for their 2nd round of pit stops. The cars back in the field made their 2nd pit stops first while the front runners stayed out Longer.
On lap 21 the leaders pitted to not get in the way of the drivers that were a lap down.
In the middle of the race Chaz Mostert ran wide and ran off track losing 3 positions. At that point on the event TV coverage switch their view across to Tim Edwards, Chaz’s team owner showing his disappointment shaking his head in disbelief at the mistake Chaz made.
As the race continued it was the final laps were the tension really built up. The Dick Johnson Racing Team Cars were very fast and running first and second. Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes tried their best to catch them but just couldn’t. Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard were just too fast and finished in first and second place.
The next event is the WD 40 Phillip Island Supersprint on the 21st to the 23rd of April 2017.
Results for race 4.
1st Fabain Coulthard – Dick Johnson Racing – Shell V Power racing team.
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson Racing – Shell V Power Racing team.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
4th Craig Lowndes – Team Vortex
Coates Hire V8 Supercars Challenge Albert Park 2017.
Hi to all you v8 Supercars fans around the world!
On the weekend of the 23rd to the 26th of March 2017 was the Coates Hire V8 Supercars Challenge, a non-championship round run at Albert Park (Vic).
This weekend the teams got the chance to try out the brand new Dunlop Super Soft tyres. It was the first time the V8 Supercars Championship has tried a super soft tyres normally used in F1 racing. These are under issue from Dunlop motorsport manager Kevin Fitzsimons and intended to be used for the entire Supercars 2017 season.
In race 1 Fabian Coulthard started on pole position. Alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.
On lap 1 of 13 Scott McLaughlin got the led into turns 1 and 2. Fabian Coulthard got a bit of wheel spin so didn’t get the traction that he wanted off the starting grid.
For the first lap Jamie Whincup was running 3rd, early behind Fabian Coulthard and Scott McLaughlin.
Scott Pye went wide exiting turn 1. Fabian Coulthard passed his teammate, Scott McLaughlin heading into turn 3. However, as a result Fabian Coulthard ran wide and Jamie Whincup went from 4th to 3rd to 2nd then to 1st position on the opening lap.
Mark Winterbottom was in front of his teammate, Jason Bright.
Meanwhile further back in the pack, Cameron Waters got the better of Rick Kelly after some fierce competition against each other.
At the back end of the Albert Park track the other Kelly (brother), Todd was facing problems of his own. Smoke was coming out the back of his car. James Courtney gained a position passing him easily.
James Courtney soon found himself up behind the leading brother Rick Kelly, attempts to pass him but fails, tries again later and finally does? Tim Blanchard was also having a poor opening lap. First he ran wide in between turns 10 and 11 and Simona De Silvestro passed him. Then towards the end of the lap David Reynolds also passed.
Chaz Mostert also gained a position as he managed to get down the inside of Shane Van Gisbergen between turns 14 and 15. (This put Chaz in a great mood and he broke out into his favourite tune, ‘Day o, day ay ay ay yo. Come Mr Tally mon tally me banana’…)
On lap 2 Lee Holdsworth got past Dale Wood going into turn 1. Nick Percat also tried to make the move on Dale wood but couldn’t manage it.
Jamie Whincup was still in the lead but under pressure from Scott McLaughlin.
On lap 4 Alex Rullo was near the back of the pack understandably, as it was his first race at Albert Park and had to get used to the track.
On lap 4 Shane Van Gisbergen was trying to get as far up the field as possible.
On lap 6 the drivers were putting their best foot forward as it was already the middle of the race and only 7 laps to go. Jason Bright, however, overdid it and locked the loaded left front tyre as he was going into a turn and just sailed straight ahead.
On lap 7 pit reporter, Mark Larkham made comment about the rivalry between the two race leader’s teams, Red Bull Holden Racing Team and Dick Johnson Racing team Penske, stating how enjoyable it was to see these teams vigorously competing against each other today. I can only agree with his comments.
On lap 8 Chaz Mostert was near the front of the pack. Mark Winterbottom wasn’t too far behind.
On lap 9 Scott McLaughlin did not want to make any mistakes while Fabian Coulthard was following him so closely.
On lap 10 Nick Percat was close behind Lee Holdsworth. At his first opportunity he tried to overtake Lee Holdsworth on the inside of a turn. At 260kms/ph Nick Percat’s breaks failed on entry to the turn. He had no chance of taking the corner. His car screaming straight ahead and crossed in front of Lee Holdsworth’s path. Contact was made and they both ended up off track. They were both disappointingly now out of the race with a DNF.
On lap 11 Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard were running 1st and 2nd. Both cars being on the same team it was as if they were saying to everybody else behind them ‘catch us if you can we are the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske’.
On lap 12 Chaz Mostert was trying to catch Fabian Coulthard for 2nd spot but just wasn’t able to. Jamie Whincup was close behind them both, desperately wanting a piece of the action but it was the second last lap and they weren’t going to make it easy.
In the final lap the top 4 cars had such a good lead they couldn’t be caught; Scott McLaughlin, Fabain Coulthard, Chaz Mostert and Jamie Whincup.
Although this is a short race (only 13 laps) it was exciting and really enjoyable to watch.
Result for race 1.
1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson racing Team Penske.
2nd Fabian Coulthard – Dick Johnson racing team Penske.
3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing Team.
4th Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
In race 2 Fabian Coulthard started on pole position with his (Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske) teammate, Scott McLaughlin alongside him.
On lap 1 of 13 Fabian Coulthard took the lead over Scott McLaughlin. Garth Tander tried to make a move on Michael Caruso but it didn’t happen. He then tried it on with Chaz Mostert and did pass him.
Mark Winterbottom and Cameron Waters made contact which wouldn’t have made Tim Edwards a very happy team owner at all.
James Moffatt tried to get down the inside of Craig Lowndes but wasn’t successful. David Reynolds and Todd Kelly were battling back in the pack. Tim Slade was looking to make a move on Craig Lowndes as well and he got the job done. Scott Pye was following the two cars in front of him and hoping to take advantage of any mistake in their 1-on-1 battle.
On lap 2 Jamie Whincup went back to 7th from 3rd on the grid. Dale Wood made contact with Simona De Slivestro but both managed to stay on track.
Chaz Mostert was putting pressure on Shane Van Gisbergen and passed him at turn 3. But Shane Van Gisbergen had the racing line going into turn number 4 and he took back his original spot.
On lap 3 Chaz Mostert was under pressure from Jamie Whincup.
Then Chaz Mostert turned Shane Van Gisbergen around in between turns 14 and 15 clipping him at the left rear corner as he attempted a pass. As a result Chaz got a drive thru penalty. Shane Van Gisbergen then got into more trouble. As he went forward to turn his car around and get going in the right direction again, James Moffatt hit him head on. Both drivers had to walk back to pit lane. The damage caused was extensive enough and they were both out of the race.
Roland Dane and Garry Rogers would not have been happy with their 2 cars being damaged so severely.
On lap 3 the Safety Car came out to clean up the damaged Holden Commodores of Shane Van Gisbergen and James Moffatt.
Simona De Slivestro was also out of race 2 due to a stuck throttle.
On the restart the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske cars were leading, that is Scott Mclaughlin and Fabian Coulthard. The Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske were putting in a good challenge to the Triple 8 race engineering team (Jamie Whincup, Shane Van Gisbergen and Craig Lowndes).
Pit reporter, Mark Larkham interviewed Roland Dane, team owner of Triple 8 Race Engineering. In regards to the extensive and costly car repairs needed after the incident with James Moffatt, he told Mark Larkham ‘I will never be as rich as Roger Penske’.
Mark Larkham then interviewed Shane Van Gisbergen who stated his deep disappointment about the incident with James Moffatt.
On lap 5 the cars were still under the safety car. After the restart there was bad news coming for Supercheap Auto Racing’ and Chaz Mostert. He copped a black flag (drive thru penalty) for spinning Shane Van Gisbergen around.
On lap 6 After Chaz Mostert came in to serve his pit lane drive thru penalty. The 2 DJR Shell V power racing team fords had bolted into the distance and couldn’t be caught by the cars behind them.
On lap 7 Todd Kelly was battling with his brother Rick Kelly for 8th and 9th spot. On 8 David Reynolds was following his teammate Dale Wood to get fresh and cool air for the engine due to how long he was behind him for.
On lap 9 Fabian Coulthard had Scott Mclaughlin chasing him down for the race lead. It was exactly what Dick Johnson racing Team Penske wanted.
On lap 10 Scott Pye was following James Courtney for 11th and 12th. On lap 11 Michael Caruso was putting pressure on Scott Mclaughlin for 2nd place but he couldn’t get the move done in time. Which Michael Caruso wasn’t happy with at all.
On lap 12 David Reynolds was following James Moffatt but wasn’t able to pass him cleanly. Meaning without contact and no damage.
In the final lap of the race teammates Fabain Coulthard and Scott Mclaughlin took the race win,
Results for race 2
1st Fabain Coulthard – Shell V Power racing team. Dick Johnson racing team Penske.
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power racing team. Dick Johnson racing team Penske.
3rd Michael Caruso – Nissan Motorsport.
4th Garth Tander – Garry Rogers Motorsport.
In race 3 Fabian Coulthard started on pole position alongside him was Jamie Whincup.
On lap 1 of 13 Jamie Whincup tried to go around the outside of the pole sitter Fabain Coulthard but couldn’t quite pass him. Jason Bright, Garth Tander and Alex Rullo made contact in concertina affect. Taz Douglas was right behind them and just managed to swerve around them. Jason Bright and Garth Tander both spun around. When they re-joined the race they were at the back of the pack. They were all doubled up on turn 3. Gath Tander was on the outside of Rick Kelly. Will Davison was on the outside of Michael Caruso. James Courtney was on the outside of David Reynolds. David Reynolds gave James Courtney enough racing room for them to continue their battle for positions 5 and 6.
Shane Van Gisbergen started race 3 in position 25 on the grid and made it all the way up to 11th on the first lap. Mark Winterbottom passed Craig Lowndes back in the pack. Tim Blanchard, Cameron Waters and Tim Slade were three abreast. Cameron Waters managed to pass both of them in 1 go. Then Tim Slade got up the inside of his teammate, Tim Blanchard.
On lap 2 the field was settling down into a race pace and rhythm. While everyone else was trying to catch the leaders up front, Simona De Silvestro went off the track due to trying to pass her teammate Rick Kelly . Scott Pye went off on to the grass to avoid making contact with Simona. James Courtney went into pit lane to inspect some damage that he may have suffered as a result of contact with another car. Garth Tander had a flat right front tyre (which meant he had to limp back to the pits to get it changed). It seemed that once again for a short race there was going to be lots of excitement.
On lap 3 Fabian Coulthard was pulling away from Jamie Whincup. Mark Larkham had a chat to Ryan Story, Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske team manager and asked why the 2 Dick Johnson Racing team Penske cars were going so well at Albert park.
Craig Lowndes got in front of Cameron Waters. Cameron Waters tried to get the spot back but couldn’t get the job done. At turn 3 Shane Van Gisbergen tried to get up the inside of Rick Kelly but the Champion couldn’t get job done
On lap 4 the drivers up front were doing well and had the cars behind chase them down. Tim Slade got up the inside of Cameron Waters at turn 3. But then Cameron Waters did the switch back and got the spot back after Tim Slade ran very wide. Tim Slade could only re-join safely on lap 5
On lap 6 Chaz Mostert was chasing Cameron Waters for 10th place, the cars were doing well in terms of No Damage, on lap 7 Scott Mclaughlin and Fabain Coulthard the 2 Dick Johnson Racing team Penske Cars couldn’t be caught because they were just too quick. On lap 8 Mark Winterbottom was following his teammates to get in front to be in the top half of the race instead of the bottom half. Which Tim Edwards wanted. So they did. On lap 9 James Courtney was doing a great job making places for the Mobil1 HSV Racing Team. Which he wanted to do on lap 10 the cars up the front of the field were racing towards the Checkered Flag. On lap 11 Jamie Whincup was running 2nd which he the red bull Holden Racing Team and Roland Dane who is the team boss at Triple 8 race engineering were very happy with. In the middle of the race the fords were just too fast for the Holden’s too catch them. On lap 12 No One was able to catch the front runners. Towards the end of the race no one could catch Fabain Coulthard and Jamie Whincup. On the final lap which was lap 13 Dick Johnson was getting Excited because his team was about to score another 1st and 2nd finish.
Results for race 3
1st Fabain Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team. Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson Racing team Penske.
4th Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing team.
In race 4 Jamie Whincup started on pole position alongside him was Fabain Coulthard on lap 1 of 13 Fabain Coulthard got the jump Jamie Whincup got Wheel spin off the line. Tim Slade lost a couple of spots at the start of the race. Shane Van Gisbergen tried to get up the inside of Chaz Mostert in between turn 15 and 16. But Chaz wouldn’t let him pass.
On lap 2 Garth Tander and Cameron Waters both had Damage to their race cars heading into turn 1. Scott McLaughlin passed Cameron Waters on exit of turn 1. Craig Lowndes tried to go around the outside of Cameron Waters and Craig managed to get him.
On lap 3 Tim Slade was putting a lot of pressure on the 2016 V8 Supercars Champion Shane Van Gisbergen. Cameron Waters had Extreme heat problem with the engine on the monster energy racing ford car 6.
On lap 4 Tim Slade tried to pass Shane Van Gisbergen at turn 3 but wasn’t able to be done. He was rattling the rear bumper of car 97 just letting him know that he was there. Michael Caruso was putting the pressure on James Courtney.
On lap 5 Shane Van Gisbergen was holding up a bunch of cars behind him.
On lap 6 the cars and drivers were starting to think about the end of the race, in the middle of the race Fabain Coulthard had a flat tyre due to an Aggressive Set up. On car 12.
On lap 7 Chaz Mostert was up in 2nd place while the cars were battling back in the pack. Which wasn’t ideal. But when the drivers don’t qualify up the front the car can get caught up in the mess.
On lap 8 Mark Winterbottom wanted to finish in a strong spot so that prodrive racing Australia. Didn’t have to do an all-nighter. Towards the end of race Jamie Whincup also had a Flat Tyre on the left rear due to a broken Anti Roll bar. Alex Rullo and Simona De Slivestro were battling for position 18 and 19. In the end no one could catch Chaz Mostert.
On lap 9 David Reynolds was following Dale Wood his teammate for position 12 and 13. Which they were not happy with. But they were just outside the of the top ten.
On lap 10 Chaz Mostert was the leading the race. Which Chaz Mostert wanted.
On lap 11 the cars and drivers behind him but couldn’t which made their teams Frustrated about.
On lap 12 Shane Van Gisbergen and Tim Slade and Todd Kelly all tried to get up to the rear bumper of Chaz Mostert’s Supercheap Auto Racing Car. Car number 55.
Results for race 4.
1st Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing Team.
2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Tim Slade – Brad Jones Racing.
4th Todd Kelly – Nissan Motorsport.
The hosts were Jessica Yates and Russell Ingall. The Commentators were Richard Crail and Jack Perkins. And the pit lane reporter was Mark Larkham. The next event is the Tyre power Tasmania Super sprint from the 7th to the 9th of April 2017.
On the weekend of the 2nd – 5th of March 2017 was the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide South Australia.
As the first race of the season it was interesting to note:
New season equals new cars. Many teams invest in new cars allowing their engineers to really show what they are made of. It’s always interesting to see how they tweak cars to get the best performance.
Alex Rullo was the youngest driver to make his debut in the V8 Supercars Championship at just 16 years and 8 months.
It was Jason Bright’s first race in the Prodrive Racing Australia team.
Scott McLaughlin did pretty well for his debut with the Shell V Power Racing Team and with Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
The space he left in Garry Rogers Motorsport Team has been taken up by Garth Tander.
This was Simona De Silvestro’s 3rd race in V8 Supercars. It was good to see her do well in her first event and first race as a full time V8 Supercars driver.
At the start of the 78 laps in race 1, Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position with Fabian Coulthard alongside him.
Fabian Coulthard got the jump off the start line and led the opening laps.
On Lap 2 Todd Kelly tried to go through turn 8 with three cars wide. As a result, Will Davison hit the wall and copped some bad damage. The red lights came on and he drove his car back to the pit lane. He was out of the race.
The safety came out to put the wall back in place. On restart Scott McLaughlin was weaving side to side, which is not allowed after the safety car lights have gone out and the race has gone back to green. Not sure what he was thinking but officials served him a pit lane penalty, sending him to the 24th spot at the back of the pack.
Meanwhile, Shane Van Gisbergen was putting as much pressure as possible on his fellow Kiwi, but Fabian Coulthard kept his position and the champion wasn’t able to pass.
At the start of lap 3 Jamie Whincup took an early pit stop. Once he re-joined the race he was clear of surrounding traffic and able to press on to gain valuable time.
On lap 4 Simona De Silvestro (what a honey-I want to take her home, cook her dinner & eat swiss chocolate from her clavicle) seemed to be enjoying her 3rd race in a V8 Supercar and also her first race in Adelaide.
On lap 5 Fabian Coulthard made a mistake running wide at a turn. It was just what Shane Van Gisbergen was waiting for. He passed on the inside and took the lead.
On lap 6 Mark Winterbottom was waiting for a clear pit lane to make the first of his 2 pit stops. When Mark Winterbottom came out of the pits he had to look for space to re-join the race and managed to pull in behind his teammate.
On lap 7 Chaz Mostert had taken his pit stop and really found his rhythm (playing the bongos and singing the banana boat song, ‘Daaay-0h, Da-a-a-ay oh, come Mr tally mon, tally me banana’!?) and was moving up through the pack with ease.
On lap 8 Craig Lowndes was able to pit at his own choosing. He didn’t have to worry about a double stack with Will Davison as he was out of the race after crashing on lap 1.
On lap 11 David Reynolds was feeling the need to take his pit, but was forced to stay out longer so he wouldn’t double stack with teammate, Dale Wood.
On lap 13 the cars back in the pack came in to pits to get out of the traffic.
On lap 14 Mark Winterbottom was caught up in a tight pack of cars. Due to the aggressive competition, he nearly ended up making contact with a wall but managed to stay out of trouble. The incident scared the hell out of the Prodrive Racing Australia team. (Only their dry cleaners’ will know just how much it scared them.)
On lap 16 Shane Van Gisbergen pitted after Jamie Whincup. Meanwhile Garth Tander had a good pace going in his new Holden Commodore, number 33.
On lap 17 Craig Lowndes also put his new Team Vortex Holden Commodore to the test and pushed it to its limits.
In the middle of the race at turn 5, Jamie Whincup spun Mark Winterbottom’s car around. With the new season’s rules in place, Jamie Whincup didn’t receive a drive through penalty.
Towards the end of the race Craig Lowndes was struggling. He was running out of fuel and he had to compensate by altering his driving technique.
Shane Van Gisbergen had such a good lead he was virtually unstoppable. The other drivers were not put off and competition for placings was still heated.
It all made for exciting racing with Shane Van Gisbergen comfortably crossing the finish line first.
Results for race 1
1st – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd – Fabain Coulthard – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
3rd – James Courtney – Mobil 1 HSV Racing.
At the start of the 78 laps in race No. 2, Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position alongside him was Fabian Coulthard.
Jamie Whincup started 10th due to putting all 4 wheels over the curb at turn 2 in the qualifying race, which meant his lap was taken away from him.
On lap 1, Fabian Coulthard took the lead. Shane Van Gisbergen didn’t get a good start from pole position so Scott McLaughlin overtook into second place. Nick Percat hit the wall at turn 8 and as a result limped the car back to the pits for repairs.
On lap 2 the leaders were pulling away from the rest of the pack; Scott McLaughlin, James Courtney and Shane Van Gisbergen.
On lap 3 Jamie Whincup again came into the pits early. This appeared to be a good call because of where Jamie Whincup had qualified. Once again, he would be able to re-join the race and concentrate on gaining valuable ground. Scott McLaughlin was doing a great job for his new team, Shell V Power Racing Team. As the newbie to V8 Supercars, Alex Rullo was getting used to being around everybody else. Shane Van Gisbergen was battling with Fabian Coulthard and Scott McLaughlin to maintain the lead. Mark Winterbottom was doing his best to keep out of trouble.
On lap 4 Simona De Silvestro was doing very well in her first weekend as a fulltime female driver in the V8 Supercars Championship.
On lap 5 James Courtney had a close call with the wall. A hit into the wall like that would have been an all-night repair job for the Mobil 1 HSV Racing team.
On lap 6 Scott Pye was trying to find a way to get passed his teammate, James Courtney to gain pit priority.
On lap 7 Tim Slade was having a ‘friendly’ battle with his teammate, Nick Percat.
On lap 8 Shane Van Gisbergen wanted to keep track position so stayed out on track a bit longer.
On lap 9 Mark Winterbottom was chasing Cameron Waters for pit priority. Garth Tander and James Moffatt were praying for smooth sailing; if the Safety Car came out their cars 33 and 34 would have had to double stack one behind the other.
On lap 10 Shane Van Gisbergen seemed happy with his car set up for the two races.
On lap 11 Simona De Silvestro got spun around by James Courtney on her way into the pit lane.
On lap 12 Michael Caruso nearly hit the tyres at the first turn. If this did happen it would have an adverse effect on the aerodynamics his Nissan Altama.
Jason Bright’s Cool Suit failed. In emergency response, The Mega Racing Crew, a part of the Prodrive Racing Australia Team had to take out the two windows on the driver’s and passenger’s side.
On lap 13 Alex Rullo was following teammate, Taz Douglas.
In the middle of the race Scott McLaughlin was leading and Shane Van Gisbergen was working hard to keep up the chase for the lead.
Towards the end of the race Scott McLaughlin looked sure to be the winner. However, a mistake on Scott McLaughlin’s part gave Shane Van Gisbergen his second great opportunity for the day. He took the lead in the last minutes and went on to win his second race of the day.
Results for race 2.
1st – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd – Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
3rd – Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.
The next event is the non-Championship round at Albert Park in Melbourne Victoria, 23rd – 26th of March 2017. The next Championship race is Symmons Plains raceway in Tasmania, on the 7th – 9th of April 2017.
On the weekend of the 2nd to the 4th of December 2016 was the Coates Hire Sydney 500.
In race 28 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position. Alongside him was Jamie Whincup.
On lap 1 of 74 Jamie Whincup got the jump on his teammate at the first turn in an exciting start. Chris Pither spun between turns 2 and 3. James Moffatt got down the inside of Fabian Coulthard at turn 9.
Jason Bright passed his teammate, Tim Slade in the complex of turns on lap 2. Then Todd Kelly passed Scott Pye at turns 2, 3 and 4. Chris Pither was forced to park his car 111 back in the garage to deal with the damage he had after the spin earlier. Craig Lowndes made a great start and got into 2nd spot straight away. But for the championship leader, Shane Van Gisbergen the starting laps weren’t so great. His car copped a whack from one of the Prodrive cars. Chaz Mostert hit the back of Mark Winterbottom which in turn sent car 97 straight on.
On lap 3 Shane Van Gisbergen was still up with the leading group of cars. Lap 4 saw the Red Bull and Holden Racing team cars battling against each other. Meanwhile, the Prodrive Racing Australia team were madly trying repair car 111 and get it back out on the track. On lap 6 Cameron Waters came in to the pits first, to not double stack with Mark Winterbottom. On lap 7 Garth Tander looked pacey on the back of Shane Van Gisbergens car. Towards the end of lap 7 David Reynolds got passed Scott Pye. Reviewing the replay showed that the rear diffuser had been torn off Time Slade’s car 14 during the pass by David Reynolds.
On lap 8 and 9 Shane Van Gisbergen ‘Wild Child’ put the pressure on Mark Winterbottom trying to force him into error. It didn’t go exactly to plan and Shane Van Gisbergen earned himself a drive through penalty for spinning Mark Winterbottom. The penalty caused Shane Van Gisbergen to drop to position 22. Grant McPherson (Red Bull’s engineer) encouraged his team mate ‘we can recover from this’. Mark Winterbottom came into pits to try and repair the damage on his car 1. Shane Van Gisbergen couldn’t redress because Mark Winterbottom had pitted.
Meanwhile Jamie Whincup was still up front dominating the race. On lap 12 Shane Van Gisbergen came through the pits for PLP(Pit Lane Penalty) and David Reynolds was exiting the pits to re-join the race. On lap 14 Shane Van Gisbergen was trying to come back after the PLP. On Lap 15, Craig Lowndes needed to pass Scott McLaughlin in an effort to secure 3rd on the championship ladder. He put the pressure on Scott McLaughlin to try and force him into error. They battled it out and Craig Lowndes got his way.
On lap 16 the cars back in the pack pitted and re-joined the race with no traffic around them. In the middle of the race the cars took their last pits to get ready for the run to the finish. However, in the end no one could catch the clear leader, Jamie Whincup in car number 88.
Results for race 28
1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Garth Tander – Holden Racing Team.
3rd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia.
In race 29 Garth Tander started on pole position. Alongside him was Champion Elect, Shane Van Gisbergen. Jamie Whincup started 10th position because of a mistake in the top ten shootout when he completely missed a turn.
On lap 1 of 74 Garth Tander got the jump on Shane Van Gisbergen at turn 1 and led the opening laps. Jason Bright hit the wall on the exit of turn 2, which put him towards the back of the pack. David Reynolds kept close behind Shane Van Gisbergen and made his presence felt. Lap 2, Tim Blanchard copped damage to the front of his car 21. On lap 3 Garth Tander maintained race lead. Jamie Whincup put the moves on Michael Caruso to take 8th place.
Cars back in the pack came into pits early on lap 4 to avoid double stacking with their 2nd team cars out on track. Jamie Whincup waited till the next lap to pit, avoiding a double stack with Shane Van Gisbergen.
On lap 6 Jason Bright lost his chance to finish his career well with Brad Jones Racing, his car came to a stop after his wall incident in lap 1.
On lap 7 Shane Van Gisbergen had a hard time with the outgoing Holden Racing Team driver and it took a while to get by him.
On lap 8 Todd and Rick Kelly were driving cautiously not wanting to risk car damage in the middle of the busy pack. The Nissan Motorsport team made it clear they did not want to park either car 7 and/or 15 off track in this race. Fortunately they stayed out of trouble.
On lap 10 the cars back in the field pitted early for track position and clear track.
On lap 11 Shane Van Gisbergen showed the right stuff and took the lead from Garth Tander, wanting to be remembered in the last ever race at the Homebush track.
On lap 16 everybody had completed their first round of pit stops and then re-joined on lap 17.
In the middle of the race the 2nd round of pit stops had started, with the cars up front choosing to stay and the cars near the back of the pack come in.
Towards the end of the race Rick Kelly showed his frustration at losing valuable time in the pits, having a battery problem checked on his car 15.
In the last laps no one could catch the front 4 cars with Shane Van Gisbergen crossing the line first.
A great finish for an historic last ever Motor race at Homebush.
Also noted as it was the last race of the season:
Roland Dane (one of the owning partners of the Triple 8 Team) was looking very happy with his team’s performance for the year.
Craig Lowndes has had a great run in his first year with Team Vortex.
Cameron Waters also had a good run for a rookie in his first year of driving full time.
James Courtney had first win.
Mark Winterbottom wanted to keep the number 1 season spot on the Bottle-O car but he hasn’t been constant enough.
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year. See you in 2017.
Results for race 29
1st – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Garth Tander – Holden Racing Team.
3rd – David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport V8.
The final event of the 2016 V8 Supercars Championship is coming up this weekend at the Sydney Olympic Park Street Circuit in Homebush.
Let’s take a look back at what happened in 2015 Coates Hire Sydney 500 at Homebush.
In race 34 Mark Winterbottom started in pole position with Shane Van Gisbergen alongside him. It’s also noted:
Craig Lowndes had to start right at the back of the pack due to not completing his shootout lap after crashing.
Jack Perkins was driving car 222 for Nick Percat while he recovered from the injury sustained at the Gold Coast.
On lap 1 of 34 lap race, Mark Winterbottom immediately took the lead and stayed there with Shane Van Gisbergen glued behind up to lap 3. On lap 3 Mark Winterbottom was playing the championship game, letting drivers pass him because he was leading the championship ladder at the time. His race result was not critical to him.
On lap 4 Craig Lowndes was making his way through the pack to try and stay in contact with Mark Winterbottom. It took until lap 6 for Shane Van Gisbergen to take the race lead and start pulling ahead from the pack. On the next lap James Courtney was following Garth Tander until he found a spot on the track where he could pass safely.
On lap 7 Jamie Whincup was trying to stay up front of the pack so that when the cars that haven’t pitted did, he would be the race leader. On lap 8 the cars back in the pack pitted. On lap 9 Mark Winterbottom had pitted too, to avoid traffic of cars returning to the race from the pits.
On lap 11 teams were putting fresh new tyres on for the run to the finish. From there, Jamie Whincup took position 1 and through to the finish line was never headed. Now the cars with track position stayed out longer.
From the middle of the race the leaders up front just cruised to the chequered flag with Jamie Whincup crossing first.
Who Will Win this weekend’s Coates Hire Sydney 500?
Results for 34
1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – David Reynolds – Rod Nash racing.
3rd – Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max Crew.
Race 35 is a 37-lap race, Jamie Whincup started in pole position with David Reynolds alongside him.
On lap 1, Jamie Whincup got the jump on David Reynolds pulling ahead straight away and looked to be never headed. Early on lap 2 David Reynold tried to take the lead, but Jamie Whincup had the line going into turn 1 and couldn’t be passed. On the next lap Mark Winterbottom was doing his best to stay in touch with the cars ahead of him.
On lap 4 Garth Tander wanted to get by his teammate James Courtney, so that the engine, brake and water temperature didn’t rise. On lap 5 the teams with 2 cars out on the track brought in one of the two cars to pit, a strategy used so the second cars would not have to double stack.
On lap 6 Craig Lowndes was moving up through the pack a lot faster than in his first race of the day. On lap 7 Steve Owen (driving for Chaz Mostert after his injuries sustained at Bathurst) was trying to stay out trouble in car 6.
On lap 8 Jack Perkins came for his pit stop in car 222 then headed back out into clear track. On lap 9 Jamie Whincup was starting to put the race out of reach for everyone else. Behind him was Rick Kelly putting in good effort for his 2nd last race with the Jack Daniel Racing.
From the middle of the race onwards Jamie Whincup was just cruising to his second win for the weekend. In the last laps he appeared comfortable and confident no one could catch him.
Results for race 35
1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – David Reynolds – Rod Nash Racing.
3rd – Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max Crew.
In race 36 James Courtney started on pole position, alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.
At the start of the 74-lap race, James Courtney got the jump at the first turn and held lead for the first couple of laps. During lap 3 he got turned around by Shane Van Gisbergen. As a result, James Courtney had smoke coming out of the left hand.
On lap 4 Mark Winterbottom was being very cautious because he knew a bad race result of DNF would mean Craig Lowndes could close his gap on the championship ladder.
On lap 5 Shane Van Gisbergen was the new leader of the race. James Courtney was complaining that his car was not very well balanced after the hit. On lap 6 Jamie Whincup could see the smoke coming from car 22 and had to slow up to avoid further mishaps. On lap 7 Shane Van Gisbergen was just cruising out in front of the pack, while the cars further back in the pack were battling it out with each other. On lap 8 the pit stops started. The first cars that pitted were the cars back in the field to get track position.
On lap 9 Garth Tander had no car damage which meant he could push on and keep moving up towards the front of the race. For the next couple of laps after lap 10, Steve Owen kept car 6 straight. However, towards the middle of the race his car stalled on the exit of turn 1. He wasn’t able to get the engine started again and had to be towed off the track.
Towards the end of the race Shane Van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup were battling for first place. In the end went to Shane Van Gisbergen in car 97.
Results for race 36
1st – Shane Van Gisbergen – Tekno Autosports.
2nd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
3rd – Rick Kelly – Jack Daniels Racing Nissan Motorsport.
This weekend’s races are 74 laps, each and 250 kilometres.
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.
This weekend is the ITM Auckland Super Sprint 4th – 6th November 2016.
To get us primed for the event let’s look back at what happened in 2015 in race 28.
Jamie Whincup started on pole position, alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen for the 21 lap race.
On lap 1, Jamie Whincup got the right amount of revs to not stall the car off the start line and took command straight away.
On lap 2, had Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen in the lead. The other cars trailing behind could not catch them and just stayed in their race rhythm.
On lap 3, Shane Van Gisbergen was trying to catch Jamie Whincup in the lead but it couldn’t be done.
On lap 4, Craig Lowndes was trying to move up through the pack to finish the race in a strong spot.
On lap 5, the cars in the back of the pack were fighting hard against each other to gain a top 10 position.
On lap 6, Mark Winterbottom knew how critical this race was for him last year and really put the pressure on.
On lap 7, Jamie Whincup was still in position 1.
On lap 8, the cars further back could not catch the leaders, Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen.
On lap 9, Shane Van Gisbergen was still in 2nd chasing down Jamie Whincup but he just wasn’t able to catch him.
On lap 10, Will Davison was further back in the field.
On lap 11, Steve Owen was driving car number 6 for Chaz Mostert, who was recovering from his Bathurst accident. He was pushing hard to gain a race spot.
In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen made a mistake down at the hair pin which allowed Jamie Whincup to pull away a little bit more.
The end of the race saw no one able to catch up with the leader, Jamie Whincup.
Who will win this weekend’s ITM Auckland Super sprint?
Shane Van Gisbergen will start his 300th race on the weekend. Will he make it even more special & wrap up his first title at his home ground or will he have to wait until Homebush?
His teammate Jamie Whincup is just 148 points off his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen.
Can Craig Lowndes get his first race win at Pukekohe this week? Craig Lowndes has won over 100 races in his V8 career but has not got a title in New Zealand yet.
The winners 12 months ago for Race 28 were Jamie Whincup & David Reynolds. Race 29 saw Jamie Whincup win again.
Results for race 28
1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Tekno Autosports.
3rd – David Reynolds – Rod Nash racing.
In race 29 (2015) David Reynolds started on pole position, alongside him was Craig Lowndes for the 21-lap race.
On lap 1, Craig Lowndes got the jump on the rest of the field and immediately pulled away from the pack. Everybody else had to chase him down.
On lap 2, Craig Lowndes was far ahead and on target to win his first race in New Zealand.
Early in lap 3, David Reynolds was following Craig Lowndes.
On lap 4, Garth Tander was closing in on the leaders but couldn’t quite catch them.
On lap 5, Craig Lowndes was still in front of David Reynolds in the Bottle-0.
On lap 6, James Courtney was trying to not hit his teammate Garth Tander up the rear end.
On lap 7, Jamie Whincup was in 3rd at the start.
In the middle of the race Craig Lowndes hit the wall as a result of popping his left rear tyre.
The final result saw David Reynolds take the win. Well done to David Reynolds.
Results for race 29
1st – David Reynolds – Rod Nash Racing.
2nd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
3rd – Scott McLaughlin – Volvo Polstar Racing.
Race 30
In race 30 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position, alongside him was Jamie Whincup for the 69-lap race.
The Red Bull team didn’t get any sleep having to repair Craig Lowndes’ car overnight.
On lap 1, Jamie Whincup got the jump on Scott McLaughlin and led the field through turn 1. Scott McLaughlin was putting the defending champ under pressure.
Mark Winterbottom (aka Frosty) was spun by Garth Tander and Cameron Waters.
On lap 2, Mark Winterbottom now found himself at the back as a result of the spin in lap 1. This didn’t help his championship lead at the time. The pressure was on for him but he recovered well and he moved back up the field throughout the race.
On lap 3, Scott Pye was running behind Craig Lowndes and at one point he was trying to pass him but couldn’t.
On lap 4, Jason Bright was trying to come through the field from his qualifying position of 12th. This was due to unexpected qualifying round results.
On lap 5, Scott Pye was now further back in the pack but managed to stay out of trouble so that his DJR Team Penske team didn’t have to repair his car overnight or do an all-nighter like the Red Bull team did.
On lap 6, Jamie Whincup was dominating the opening laps. Craig Lowndes was moving up the field quickly to catch up with his teammate. Garth Tander was running in the top 5 until he got called in by his team to pit.
On lap 7, Craig Lowndes stayed out on the track a little bit longer to avoid double stacking with Jamie Whincup.
On lap 8, Craig Lowndes got Fabian Coulthard very aggressively but the move paid off which was critical.
On lap 9, Scott Pye was trying to overtake Jamie Whincup but he wasn’t able to pass him at the time.
On lap 10, the pit stop strategies had started which meant that when the drivers got called in, they came in straight away.
On lap 11, the car to pit was Craig Lowndes’ Red Bull car.
On lap 12, Mark Winterbottom did not want to double stack with Steve Owen so he stayed out on the track for 1 more lap.
In the middle of the race the Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes were just too strong for the cars behind them to catch up.
Towards the end of the race no one else could catch the top 3 cars.
Result for race 30
1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Racing Australia.
3rd – Scott Pye – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
On the weekend of the 23rd – 25th October 2015 was the Castrol Gold Coast 600.
It appeared that Russell Ingall really didn’t want to retire, first he stepped in to cover for James Courtney in a Holden, then he covered for Chaz Mostert who drives a Ford. Very versatile Russell…
Also we welcomed back to James Courtney after a 2 month recovery time from his incident at Eastern Creek.
In race 26 all the co-drivers started in the cars of the 102 lap race.
Jonathon Webb started on pole position alongside him was Alex Premat. On lap 1 Jonathon Webb got the jump and led the field down to the turns 1, 2 and 3. chicanes. Alex Premat was able to stay in behind through the chicanes, Steven Richards had to get out of the way so he didn’t end up making contact with anyone else. Steve Owen did not get a very good start, Taz Douglas had to straight line the first 3 turns. Russell Ingall tried to pass Jack Perkins at the back chicane. Towards the end of the opening lap there was contact between Alex Davison and Russell Ingall.
On lap 2 Alex Premat was putting the pressure on Jonathon Webb, driving for the race lead. David Russell was trying to catch the race leaders. Towards the end of lap 2 Paul Dumbrell was under pressure from Dean Canto.
On lap 3 Dean Canto was in the middle of the 2 Red Bull cars. Jack Perkins was trying to pass Andrew Jones but Andrew had to tuck back in behind the Holden Racing Team Car.
The main drivers could get back in to their cars after the co drivers had completed their minimum co-drivers laps which was 34.
In-between laps 4 and 5 Paul Dumbrell had damage on car 1 as a result of him turning in on Dean Canto. He completed 2 laps before Mark Dutton called him into the pits for repair as a result of that spin by the defending Pirtek Enduro cup Champs. At that moment. Steve Richards had to stop and then further down the track at turn 4 Taz Douglas turned in on Paul Dumbrell, as a result he pitted and went 13 laps down.
Riana Crehan made a mistake in saying it was Jamie Whincup and Dean Canto. In fact it was actually Paul Dumbrell and Dean Canto. When Steve Owen came into do a driver change with Mark Winterbottom, Chris O’Toole let him go out of the pit bay.
During the first pit stop, Mark Winterbottom did an unsafe pit release and ran into Garth Tander, this caused Mark Winterbottom to bounce into the path of the Red Bull Racing Australia mechanics. Mark Winterbottom was penalized by going out of pit lane and coming back in for repairs before he had to do a drive thru penalty.
Towards the end of the race Shane van Gisbergen was still up the front of the pack and in the end he just managed to drive away with the rest of the race.
Results for race 26
1st – Shane Van Gisbergen and Jonathon Webb – Tekno Autosports.
2nd – David Reynolds and Dean Canto – Rod Nash Racing.
3rd – Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards – Red Bull Racing Australia.
In race 27 like in the previous race was 102 laps and the co-drivers were the first in the drivers’ seat.
Alex Premat started on pole position alongside him was Steven Richards. On lap 1, Steven got the jump off the start line and led the pack through turns 1, 2 and 3. The cars that were near the back of the pack when straight ahead at the first Chicane. There were cars battling for positon up the front of Alex Premat and which allowed Steven Richards to get a 1 point 1 second lead.
At the start of lap 2 Steve Richards had gap of 1 point 5 Second lead, Jonathon Webb had the inside line approaching the turns 1, 2 and 3. Paul Dumbrell tried to pass him on the outside but that wasn’t successful. Paul Dumbrell went straight ahead at the first chicane. But in the end Paul Dumbrell knew he had to redress the situation otherwise he would have been given a drive thru penalty. Paul Dumbrell lost a spot in the process to with Steve Owen driving. Steve Owen had to fall back in behind Paul Dumbrell. Towards the end of lap 2 Jack Le Brocq had an issue with the rear of car 4.
On lap 3 Steve Richards was dominating the opening stages of the 2nd race. Alex Premat shaved half a second off the lead that Steve Richards had enjoyed. The gap had gone from 1 point 5 seconds to just under a second. During the opening laps fox sports showed a replay of the race start. Luke Youlden hit the right hand side wall on the exit of turn 11. All the co drivers were trying not to get caught up in any accidents or incidents to bring their cars back for the main drivers in one piece.
Around lap 34 most of the main drivers take over in the race to the checkered flag. The Critical lap to get to the finish on fuel was lap 61.
But the safety car came out onto the track way too early to make to the finish line. So everybody had to make 1 extra stop for petrol, had everybody reached lap 61 they would have been okay till the end.
Chris Pither and David Wall were out of race 27 due to hitting the wall out of the back chicane.
Results for race 27
1st – James Courtney and Jack Perkins – Holden Racing Team. Car 22.
2nd – Rick Kelly and David Russell – Jack Daniels Racing. Car 15.
3rd – Garth Tander and Warren Luff – Holden Racing Team. Car 2.
On the weekend of the 6th – 9th of October 2016 was the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. This is the one race that both Dad and I stay glued to the TV to watch the race, he goes for Craig Lowndes and I go for Jamie Whincup. We become armchair critics through the whole race… Hehe…
At the beginning of the race we had the main drivers in except for these co-drivers, Tony Dalberto, Renee Gracie and Aaron Russell.
Jamie Whincup started on pole position alongside him was Scott McLaughlin for the 161lap race.
On lap 1, Jamie Whincup got the jump and led everybody up Mountain Straight. Scott tried to him catch him at turn 2, Bloodstone bend but wasn’t able to get the move done. Going across the top of the mountain everyone had to stay single file until the cars got onto Conrod straight.
On lap 2, everyone had started to settle down into a race pace. But there were no safety cars for the first couple of hours.
On lap 3, with Jamie Whincup still out in front saying catch me if you can.
On lap 4, Shane Van Gisbergen tried to pass Garth Tander but wasn’t able to get it done unless the other driver left a lot of room.
On lap 5, the crowd did a standing 0oation for the late great Peter Brock. Lee Holdsworth’s car sounded sick.
On lap 6, the Red Bull team was happy to see Jamie Whincup pulling away early on.
On lap 7, the pack settled down Jamie Whincup started his 400th race, Rick Kelly went up the inside of Cameron Waters at turn 1.
On lap 8, Shane Van Gisbergen was in front of the three time Bathurst winner Garth Tander. Russell Ingall made his 25th start at Bathurst on the weekend.
On lap 9, Craig Lowndes was moving up from 21st to 13th.
On lap 10, Rick Kelly was behind Chris Pither but he made contact with his car at turn 1.
On lap 11, the reason why most of the co drivers were ready just in case there was going to be an early Safety car.
On lap 12 Chris Pither had dropped all the way down to 25th as a result of contact with Rick Kelly.
On lap 13 Craig Lowndes was up to 12th spot after getting passed Tony Dalberto, after that he set his sights onto Will Davison.
On lap 14, the first car to make a pit stop was James Moffatt handing over to the rookie James Golding. The Nissan motorsport crew had to use the pit board due to radio failure.
On lap, Rick Kelly and Dale Wood pitted for a drive change tyre change and fuel. Rick had a 10 second stop and hold penalty at his next stop.
On lap 16, Craig Lowndes was chasing his teammate down for pit priority.
On lap 17, Dean Canto was chasing Jack Perkins.
On lap 18, Steven Richards came in to get fresh air and to not get caught up in traffic.
On lap 20, both Scott Pye and Matt Campbell nearly hit the wall coming out of the cutting and approaching the top of the mountain with the car was stuck in gear. Brad Jones Racing had an oil fire on the right front calliper. I was laughing at Mark Skaife and Neil Crompton when they said its pot of Penguins. Neil’s response ‘was handy if you’re at Phillip Island not so at Mount Panorama’.
On lap 21, then everybody started to file through one car at a time, because teams that have two or three cars have got to have different strategies from those that have only one.
On lap 22, the leaders stayed out on the track, meanwhile the cars further back pitted to not get caught up in traffic.
On lap 24, the leading cars were breaking laps records, Jamie Whincup holds the lap records at Bathurst now.
On lap 25, the next cars to stop were Jack Perkins along with Dean Canto respectively.
On lap 26, Rick Kelly was going off his brain about not having a good race which ultimately cost him any chance of a solid result.
On lap 27, Paul Dumbrell was sitting in the pits watching Jamie Whincup do his stuff in the car.
On lap 28, I couldn’t believe there was no safety car early. Drivers must have been behaving themselves.
on lap 29, the co-drivers were in the cars for their stint.
On lap 30, Paul Dumbrell still had the race lead by over 30 seconds.
On lap 31, Ash Walsh came into to hand car 14 back to Tim Slade in the process the Freightliner Racing doing the brake pad change, there was a fire due to the pistons popping out of the calliper which had put them 2 laps behind.
On lap 33, the leaders were still controlling the race out front Tim Slade was running 2nd behind car Jamie Whincup.
On lap 34, the Team Vortex crew had to put car 888 the defending winners of the great race, into the garage to repair the broken gear linkage.
On lap 35 in the middle of the race the Bathurst 1000 was still under green flag.
The first safety car wasn’t until lap 92, for the crash involving Andrew Jones.
On the restart the two Red Bull cars were in control of the race.
Towards the end of the race there was a safety car to rescue Frosty because he was stuck in the sand trap down at the chase.
With 10 laps to go Jamie Whincup was behind Scott McLaughlin going down the Conrod Straight then he was told to stay behind Scott McLaughlin for the redress due to an small tap previously. This end up causing an incident between Scott McLaughlin and Garth Tander. I’m sure you have heard all about it.
In the end, Will Davison and Jonathon Webb took the Bathurst 1000 victory which is Will’s second win and Jonathon Webb’s first Bathurst win.
Results for the 2016 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.
1st – Will Davison & Jonathon Webb – Tekno Autosports.
2nd – Shane Van Gisbergen & Alex Premat – Red Bull Racing Australia.
3rd – Nick Percat & Cameron Mcconville – Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport.
The Next event is the Castrol Gold Coast 600 on the 21st – 23rd of October 2016.
On the weekend of the 8th – 11th of October 2015 was the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 event 10.
For those of you who missed it, here is what happened.
During the qualifying laps on Friday, Chaz Mostert had a spectacular crash and broke his leg and his wrist, took out 7 Marshalls while he was at it. He now needs a new car…
On the Saturday, Damien Flack of the Aussie Racing Cars Series had a magnificent crash in which he turned his vehicle from a car to a Go Kart in 5 seconds flat rolling the car 6 times. The vehicle also caught fire and Damien had to be dragged out of it. He was very lucky to be alive. He was taken to Orange Base Hospital with 12 broken ribs, a punctured lung and a shattered collarbone. Damien always the optimist, said he would be back in 6 weeks. I don’t like his chances…
All the main drivers started accept for 3, which was Paul Dumbrell, Dean Canto and Tony D’Alberto. They had to complete a minimum of 54 laps, before the main driver could get back in to the car for the rest of the race.
Dean Canto started on pole position alongside him was Scott McLaughlin. The favourites started Jamie Whincup in 8th Craig Lowndes in 15th Mark Winterbottom in 14th and Garth Tander in 22nd, the Harvey Norman Supergirls in car 200 started from the pits, so as not to get caught in any accidents on the very first lap.
On lap 1 of 161 Jason Bright stalled off the start line and dropped down just a few spots, early on Dean Canto led the pack up mountain straight for the time.
Scott McLaughlin had a poor start, meaning he didn’t get off the line very well heading across the mountain the cars felt a bit Lazy, due to the tyres were not up to temperature and pressure. Towards the end of the first lap Craig Lowndes had made up 4 spots from 15th to 11th.
On lap 2 Scott McLaughlin was putting massive pressure on Dean Canto, while at the same time Dean Canto was doing a great job at holding off the cars that were behind him who were trying to make some progress from their starting spots.
The Xbox ford falcon was trying to make a move at turn 2 on James Moffatt, at Blundstone Bend with Scott Pye behind the wheel he went up to 9th as a result of that move, McLaughlin had to stay in front of Lee Holdsworth while trying to pass Dean Canto, but he had to tuck back in behind through the chase then he managed to pass the Bottle O ford Falcon FX at the last corner.
Towards the end of the lap Shane Van Gisbergen picked up a spot at Forest Elbow which put him into 3rd place.
On lap 3 Scott McLaughlin tried to grab the race lead but had to pull back in behind until he got to the final turn.
On lap 4 there was a new race leader with Scott McLaughlin behind the wheel. Paul Dumbrell was trying to stay with Craig Lowndes.
On lap 5 Fabain Coulthard got car 47 at turn 2 which was been driven by Tony D’Alberto. Also on the same lap Will Davison passed Tony D’Alberto at the chase.
On lap 6 Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes were starting to put pressure on Scott Pye. Fabain Coulthard was getting closer to Lee Holdsworth.
On lap 7 Lee Holdsworth got up the inside of Dean Canto, Paul Dumbrell was trying his best to get back in to the top 10. Craig Lowndes and Paul Dumbrell were running 10th and 11th.
On lap 8 Will Davison passed Dean Canto, Tony D’Alberto was following the 2 cars ahead of him. Steve Owen down in 20th. Steve Owen had no shift lights and no data on the steering wheel. Craig Lowndes passed Greg Murphy who was chatting with Mark Winterbottom.
On lap 9 the pack that was trying to get fresh air. So that the brake and oil temperatures didn’t rise too quick.
On lap 10, Paul Dunbrell covered by going all the way to the pit wall. Then Andre Heimgartner had to try and the over and under trick.
On lap 11, Paul Dumbrell was trying to keep the position that he had just gained the first driver to pit was car 23 with Dean Fiore at the wheel changing over to Michael Caruso.
On lap 12 Andre Heimgartner and Renee Gracie were the 2 and Simona de Slivestro were the Debutions.
On lap 13, Fabian Coulthard was injecting a lot of hot air into the front air dam. Paul Dumbrell had managed to pass Scott Pye before pitting. On the exit of the pit Scott stalled his car.
The first safety car was on lap 16 due the Harvey Norman Supergirls hitting the wall at Forest Elbow. The restart was on lap number 18, David Reynolds was trying to pass Lee Holdsworth.
Garth Tander was back in the race after last year’s incident. In the middle of the race the skies were starting to become black as the as the ace of spades.
Oh let’s watch the video…
Craig is now a 6 time Bathurst winner. Steve Richards is now a 4 time Bathurst winner. Craig Lowndes is back up into 2nd place in the Championship with 399 points behind the championship leader, Mark Winterbottom.
There were only 4 Safety cars in the Bathurst 1000, this year. Jamie was told by the team not to pass the Safety car, he thought he saw a green light so he went passed, as a result he got a Drive thru penalty for that which dropped him all the way down to 18th, and it could have been a Red Bull 1 and 2. Roland Dane was not a happy chappie. Greg Murphy had not seen Jamie that Guttered – Disappointed in a very long time.
The commentators on the weekend at Bathurst were Greg Rust, Neil Crompton and Chad Neylon. The pit reporters were Riana Crehan, Greg Murphy along with the Dude Paul Morris.
Results for race 25
1st – Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Mark Winterbottom and Steve Owen – Pepsi Max Crew.
3rd – Garth Tander and Warren Luff – Holden Racing Team.
Main and co drivers for the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000
Car 1 – Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell – Red Bull Racing Australia
Car 888 – Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards – Red Bull Racing Australia
Car 5 – Mark Winterbottom and Steve Owen – Pepsi Max Crew
Car 55 – David Reynolds and Dean Canto – Rod Nash Racing
Car 9 – Will Davison and Alex Davison – Erebus Motorsport V8
Car 4 – Ash Walsh and Jack Le Brocq – Erebus Motorsport V8
Car 111 – Andre Heimgartner and Ant Pederson – Superblack Racing Team.
Car 99 – James Moffatt and Taz Douglas – Nissan Motorsport
Car 23 – Michael Caruso and Dean Fiore. – Nissan Motorsport
Car 22 – Jack Perkins and Russell Ingall – Holden Racing Team
Car 200 – Renee Gracie and Simona De Slivestro. – Harvey Norman Supergirls
Car 34 – David Wall and Chris Pither – Volvo Polestar Racing
Car 62 – Aaren Russell and Drew Russell – Novocastrians
Car 8 – Jason Bright and Andrew Jones – Team BOC
Car 97 – Shane Van Gisbergen and Jonathon Webb – Tekno Autosports
Car 17 – Scott Pye and Marcos Ambrose – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske
Car 18 – Lee Holdsworth and Sebastian Bourdais – Walkinshaw Racing
Car 222 – Nick Percat and Oliver Gavin – Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport
Car 3 – Tim Blanchard and Karl Reindler – Team Cool Drive
Car 21 – Dale Wood and MacAuley Jones – Brad Jones Racing Team
Car 47 – Tim Slade and Tony D’Alberto – Supercheap Auto
Car 14 – Fabian Couthard and Luke Yaulden – Freightliner Racing
Car 7 – Todd Kelly and Alex Bunkin – Jack Daniels Racing
Car 15 – Rick Kelly and David Russell – Jack Daniels Racing
Car 2 – Garth Tander and Warren Luff – Holden Racing Team
Car 33 – Scott McLaughlin and Alex Premat – Volvo Polestar Racing
The Peter Brock Trophy Winners have been.
Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup 2006.
Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup 2007.
Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup 2008.
Garth Tander and Will Davison 2009.
Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife 2010.
Garth Tander and Nick Percat 2011.
Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell 2012.
Mark Winterbottom and Steven Richards 2013.
Chaz Mostert and Paul Morris 2014.
Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards 2015.
