Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 21st to the 23^rd of April 2017 was the WD-40 Phillip Island 500.

It was a fantastic weekend for many reasons, the main being that my Dad & I were actually there.

I am wheelchair bound with Cerebral Palsy and a long list of other issues, so getting to the races is not as simple as purchasing a ticket and booking a room. All sorts of things need to be considered and organised (it becomes damn expensive having to cater for a wheelchair!). In addition, I need someone to accompany me for support needs. So who better than my own dad to come with me? There is no one better to go to a sporting event with than your own father. He will never know how much I appreciate him not just for taking me, but also for spending the time with me and having a blast.

As you can see this was a special weekend for me and I’m really happy to share this experience, personal photos and videos with my readers.

Dad picked up the wheelchair accessible KIA rental from Freedom Motors Australia in St Marys (suburb of greater Sydney area) on the Tuesday. A big “Hello” to their fabulous sales manager, Carolyn Hurst. Thank you for such great, friendly service.

We left on the Wednesday to head down to Victoria ahead of the weekends racing. By mid-afternoon we crossed the border from New South Wales into Victoria and checked into The Comfort Inn Benalla (north east Victoria). There was a mix up with our bookings (due to on-line booking agency) but the operators Di and Brian Hogg, were so friendly and considerate they made sure we got a suitable room without any hassle. It is appreciated that they went out of their way but made it seem effortless and welcoming.

On Thursday morning we headed down to Phillip Island. We stayed at the Coachman Motel Phillip Island operated by a beautiful friendly couple Bill and Monica that also made us feel welcome. If you like a nice garden this is the place to stay. We rested up and got prepared for going out to the track the next day.

When we got to the track on Friday it was raining, so we had to go undercover until it stopped. We then went into “The Paddock” to see which drivers we could catch to get photos with. There was a Triple 8 autograph session but we didn’t know at what time, so we just stayed around the V8 pit paddock and tried to catch up with as many drivers as we could from both the V8 Supercars Championship series and the Dunlop Super 2 series.

I got photos with many of my favourites; Jamie Whincup, Craig Lowndes, Mark Dutton, Roland Dane, Jess Surrey Dane, Tim Schenken, Garry Rogers, Nick Percat, Brad Jones, Chaz Mostert, Cameron McConville, Paul Dumbrell, Dale Wood, David Reynolds,  Betty Klimenko, Simona De Silvestro and Doctor Carl Le (the official Supersprint medical delegate).

You can see these photos on my fan page: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1321664561282386.1073741847.554033848045465&type=1&l=f15b1bc9fd

Dad and I also got grid passes from the Red Bull Holden Racing team.  It was great and we got more photos out on the grid. Then dad and I returned to the pits to watch the race at the back of the Team Vortex garage.

Interesting to note, on Friday at the end of Practice 1 Craig Lowndes had a tyre blowout spearing him into the wall. His car had so much damage he wasn’t able to go out on track for Practice 2. Team Vortex did an all-nighter repairing the car for Saturdays qualifying and race.

Race 5 was 57 laps covering some 250Kms.

The Phillip Island track is known to be a fast track. What I did notice is the number of drive-through penalties received by drivers mostly caused by higher speeds coming around the track and crossing the safety line at the pit entry. Drivers receive a penalty if they cross over the pit line on the track which is to be kept clear for safe entry.

Early on in the race the drivers that got drive-through penalties were Scott McLaughlin Chaz Mostert, Will Davison, Shane Van Gisbergen, Fabian Coulthard, Mark Winterbottom, Tim Slade, Tim Blanchard, Nick Percat, Scott Pye, James Courtney and Simona de Silvestro. There wasn’t consistency in upkeeping the rule so there were a lot of drivers that didn’t get pinged for crossing the pit entry line.

Also there were a high number of tyre blowouts. Thirteen (13) in total. This is unusually high and caused teams concerns about the new regulation Dunlop supersoft tyres being used this season.

Scott McLaughlin started on pole position. Alongside him was Fabian Coulthard.

On lap 1 Scott McLaughlin got the jump on his teammate Fabian Coulthard. Mark Winterbottom was up to 2^nd spot by turn 1. Then Fabian Coulthard got that spot back on the exit of turn 4. Shane Van Gisbergen was keeping up with the leaders. He wanted his presence felt even though it was early on in the race. Fabian Coulthard pushed hard to get his 2^nd spot back off Mark Winterbottom down at MG corner.

On lap 2 there were a couple of drivers that came into the pits early to avoid the double stacking. For some drivers this paid off.

In the early stages of lap 3 Chaz Mostert was holding 3rd position.

Taz Douglas’ car ran over something on the track and got a puncture causing him to make a spectacular exit off the track, leaving rubber and debris everywhere along the main straight.

On lap 5 Michael Caruso moved up within the top 10 positions.

On lap 7 Scott McLaughlin was still the race leader and he would have got pit priority if the safety car came out onto the track, but it didn’t until later on in the race.

On lap 8 Cameron Waters stayed out on the track to avoid a double stack with Mark Winterbottom. Even though they are not on the same team they share the same pit bay.

On lap 9 Jason Bright was getting held up on the track by his teammates, Mark Winterbottom and Chaz Mostert, so he decided to pit and get a clear race track to re-join on.

On lap 10 Garth Tander was running up front with the leaders so he stayed out on track longer while the going was good. His teammate, James Moffatt was back in the pack so he chose to take the opportunity to pit.

On lap 11 internal footage of Shane Van Gisbergen’s car showed him changing down with just a flick of the wrist. It was done with such proficiency as if it was nothing. It was a very cool thing to see.

On lap 13 Scott McLaughlin was still leading the race until he pitted for tyres and fuel then when he went to re-join the track he saw the red light on due to the Vodafone safety car going passed the pit exit. Scott McLaughlin got a pit lane penalty was because he wasn’t far enough over before he turned in to his pit bay.

On lap 14 Cameron Waters nearly got a punctured tyre due to the fast nature of the Phillip Island circuit. But he eased off and just got away with it.

On lap 15 when the Vodafone safety car came out nearly everyone up the front decided to stay out longer to keep their track position. This seems the right thing to do if there were more than 2 cars up at the pointy end of the field otherwise known as sharp end.

On lap 16 Rick Kelly pitted before the other 3 cars in his team. This was a good strategy call to avoid the ugly double stacking that the teams and drivers hate doing.

On lap 19 Jason Bright was pushing hard to get up into the top 5.

On lap 20 David Reynolds was on the charge trying to stay up with the leaders.

On lap 21 Shane Van Gisbergen was running well trying to get in front of Jamie Whincup but he wasn’t able to.

On lap 22 Fabian Coulthard was pushing hard after having to serve a pit lane penalty for not stopping when the red light was on at the pit lane exit. He admitted to his mistake but that didn’t make him any happier.

On lap 23 Simona De Silvestro was putting pressure on Todd Kelly to pass him at turn 4. Mark Winterbottom was putting pressure on Cameron Waters to get pit priority.

On lap 26 James Courtney was trying to pass Scott Pye to get inside the top 10 to get pit priority for the 2^nd round of pit stops.

On lap 27 the drivers were adjusting their anti-roll bars. I assume this was to reduce the chance of tyre blowouts as there had been so many by this stage.

On lap 29 all the drivers were getting their cars ready for the race to the checkered flag.

From that point on it seemed that one could catch the front 3 cars (Craig Lowndes, Fabian Coulthardt, Jamie Whincup) and there seemed that the number of tyre blowouts also changed driver tactics so the chance of a great catch up didn’t look to be on the cards.

In the last 5 laps Craig Lowndes was leading the race. Even though he crossed the finish line first, the 15 second pit lane penalty he received meant he ultimately finished 12^th. It must have been a hard pill to swallow considering if he kept the race win it would be his first race win for 2017 with team Vortex and his career tally would have gone up to 106 wins.

Nevertheless, Fabian Coulthard took race win followed by Jamie Whincup, then Garth Tander.

Results for race 5.

1^st Fabain Coulthard  –  Shell V Power Racing Team.  Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
2^nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3^rd Garth Tander – Garry Rogers Motorsport.

In race 6 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was Fabian Coulthard

On lap 1 of 57 Fabian Coulthard got the jump on Scott McLaughlin. The cars further back in the pack were trying to find clear space.

On lap 2 most of the cars came in to the pit lane, all bar the race leaders.

On lap 3 Will Davison hit the wall coming out of turn 2. The car was damaged but he managed to get it back to the garage. When he emerged from the garage later, he did not look happy at all.

On lap 4 Chaz Mostert was running in 4^th which the Supercheap Auto racing team would have been happy with.

Rick Kelly pitted before the rest of the Nissan team.

On lap 5 Jamie Whincup was running in the top 5. Cameron Waters wanted to get passed his teammate Mark Winterbottom to get to the pit box first.

On lap 6 Simona De Silvestro just outside the top 10 was keeping the Nissan Motorsport team happy.

Lap 7 was when the tyre blowouts started happening again. Overall there weren’t as many as in race 5 the previous day. It must have helped that most teams reduced tyre pressure on cars, even though it does affect handling.

On lap 8 Fabian Coulthard came in to the pits before Scott McLaughlin.

On lap 10 Garth Tander made his first pit stop which helped get him out of the traffic and get fresh air for the engine so it didnt get too hot. On the next lap, James Moffatt was in the same situation.

On lap 12 Tim Slade tried to pass his teammate Nick Percat but wasn’t  able to get far enough up to make the move stick.

On lap 13 James Courtney came in to pits so that Scott Pye didn’t have to wait later on.

On lap 16 Scott Pye followed James Courtney into the pits and double stacked when the safety car came out. Im sure there was strategy from the team on this choice.

On lap 17 Jamie Whincup was up near the front which he and the team were happy with.

On lap 18 Mark Winterbottom was back on the track after his first pit.

On lap 19 Cameron Waters wanted to be strong during the race which he was.

On lap 20 Chaz Mostert was near the race leaders. His parents, Anne and Eddy Mostert looked proud as the watched the race from the side lines.

On lap 25 the safety car returned to the track to clear up spent rubber. Not moments later, on the next lap Nick Percat had a tyre blowout on the front right hand side of the car. He had to limp straight into the pits.

On lap 27 Todd Kelly and Rick Kelly were battling for positions 11 and 12 in their usual display of sibling rivalry.

The triple 8 Team’s luck had run out. Where in the previous day’s race they didn’t have a single tyre blowout, in this race all 3 cars had blowouts.

I’m sure that the Teams’ big question is ,why? Kevin Fitzsimmons is the Motorsport Manager for Dunlop. He had a lot of to do to find out what would have caused the tyres to blow.

It was lap 41 when Chaz Mostert took the lead. From that point on no one could catch him. Mark Winterbottom tried but Chaz Mostert was in great form and crossed the finish line so forcefully it was as though he had a higher purpose.

Andrew Roberts was down at Phillip Island which was good because Dad and I hadn’t seen him in a while.

My personal experience at Phillip Island for the weekend of racing was memorable. I had a ball with dad.

Results for race 6.

1^st Chaz Mostert – Prodrive Racing Australia. Supercheap Auto Racing.
2^nd Mark Winterbottom – Bottle O Racing Team Prodrive Racing Australia.
3^rd David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport.

The next event is the Perth Supersprint on the 5^th to the 7^th of May 2017.

http://www.freedommotorsaustralia.com.au/

http://www.comfortinnbenalla.com.au/

http://www.coachmanmotel.com.au/