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Supercars

Valo Adelaide 500 2024

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 14 – 17 November 2024 was Valo Adelaide 500, Round 12 of the 2024 Supercars Championship. This was the last round for the year held on the Adelaide Street circuit in South Australia.

The Adelaide Street Circuit was purpose built to host the Australian Grand Prix when Adelaide won the rights in 1985. The 3.80 km track combined sections constructed in Victoria Park as well as utilising city streets.

Supercars started racing at the Adelaide circuit in 1999. The event was known as The Sensational Adelaide 500 and run over 2 legs. At that very first event both races were won by legend Craig Lowndes. He won the first race from the second row of the grid and on the Sunday, he won after starting at the back of the pack. He unbelievably went from last to first.

This year marks the 25 year anniversary for Supercars at the venue.

This year it was the last event for the year, so is a milestone for two people leaving the sport as full-time drivers. Tim Slade is leaving after a 15 years career and Mark ‘Frosty’ Winterbottom ends his illustrious career after 21 years. We thank you and wish you all the very best for the future.

The event kicked off on a Thursday with warm weather. Great for the visitors but making it a hot 45 degrees plus inside the race cars.

The pre-race sessions results were:

  • James Courtney was fastest in Practice 1
  • David Reynolds was fastest in Practice 2
  • Will Brown was fastest in Qualifying. The session was cut short due to a red flag with 9 minutes 41 seconds remaining, caused by a big shunt between Richie Stanaway Cameron Hill and David Reynolds.
  • Broc Feeney was fastest in Practice 3
  • Cameron Waters was fastest in the top 10 Shootout

In Race 23 Cameron Waters started on pole position, alongside him was Thomas Randle.

Dale Wood started 24th on the grid as substitute for Richie Stanaway who was receiving medical attention after his crash in qualifying.

Cooper Murray was sitting in for “Dad to Be” Jack le Brocq who was heading home to be with his wife for the birth of their first child.

Chaz Mostert was having clutch problems pre-race and had to start from the pit lane.

The two Red Bull Ampol Racing driver’s came into this event as the only 2 in contention for the season title. So, although it was a tense situation it would have been relatively a friendly competition between the two, Will Brown and Broc Feeney.

At the start of the 78 lap race Thomas Randle got the jump and took the lead. Cameron Waters tucked into second place and Matt Payne was right behind them in third. The championship contenders Will Brown and Broc Feeney were battling for 4th and 5th place.

Both Broc Feeney and Will Brown soon passed Matt Payne for 3rd and 4th position.

Last year’s reigning champ, Brodie Kostecki had moved up 4 places into 7th.

Chaz Mostert who was 3rd on the season ladder wanted to keep his place on the scoreboard. He passed David Rynolds to take the 18th spot.

The first car to pit in this race was Tim Slade from 21st position on lap 17.

Soon after Slade returned to the track he was hit by David Reynolds. Slade was able to continue but David Reynolds was slowing and had to head into the garage to resolve the problems with car 20.

Broc Feeney in 3rd place was the first of the front runners to pit on lap 27. The stop was 5.5 seconds and he re-joined in 7th position. The 6 cars ahead were yet to take their pit stops. Once they did Feeney took the lead of the race.

Mark Winterbottom was spun around and pushed out of 5th place by Cooper Murray.

By the middle of the race Broc Feeney had a comfortable lead over Thomas Randle and Cameron Waters. Will Brown was in 4th place.

Broc Feeney kept edging ahead of the pack. It seemed he was untouchable.

With 8 laps to go Broc Feeney had created an 8.7 second lead on the rest of the pack. Meanwhile, his teammate Will Brown had passed Thomas Randle and Cameron Waters to take 2nd place. For Will Brown to finish within the top 5 places would be good enough for him to wrap up the 2024 Supercars Championship.

Will Brown wanted the win but just couldn’t close the gap on Feeney.

Broc Feeney crossed the finish line an amazing 12.117 seconds clear of Will Brown to take his 12th career win, and his 6th win of the 2024 season. Cameron Waters followed in 3rd place.

With this result Will Brown was named ‘2024 Champion Elect’. What a great moment for the Red Bull Ampol Racing team. Top two drivers and top team for the year!

Race 23 Results:

1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing
3rd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing

In Race 24 Broc Feeney started on pole position with Chaz Mostert alongside him.

As they took off Chaz Mostert and Broc Feeney were neck in neck until they got to turn 4 when Mostert was able to finally take the lead. Meanwhile Will Brown was right behind.

On lap 4 Matt Payne went into a tyre wall at turn 11. Payne couldn’t get the car into reverse and the front end was buried under the mountain of tyres. The safety car was deployed to rescue him & after a short stint in the garage returned to the race.

The restart was on lap 8 and Chaz Mostert still had control of the race. Broc Feeney in 2nd was looking very racy after the restart and put in several challenges for the lead but Mostert defended well.

At turn 7 Will Brown was hit and spun around by Brodie Kostecki trying to make a pass for 3rd place. The new Champion Elect, Will Brown dropped from 3rd all the way down to 22nd. Although already named champ aft the previous race, being at the back of the pack was surely not how he wanted to finish the season.

Thomas Randle took advantage of the mayhem, and he was now the driver in 3rd place.

Later in the race after the officials reviewed the incident, Brodie Kostecki was issued a 15 second time penalty.

Ryan Wood in 5th place got turned around by Anton de Pasquale at turn 9. Cameron Waters trying to avoid the incident hit Pasquale and went up onto 2 wheels which looked extremely scary.

The first car to pit was James Golding on lap 20 from 20th place.

By the middle of the race Chaz Mostert was out front with a 3 + second lead over Broc Feeney. There was then a 9.927 seconds gap back to Will Davison in third place.

On lap 50 the 3 leaders pitted for the final time. On exit there was contact between Chaz Mostert and Broc Feeney. Officials deemed it Feeney’s error and issued him with 15 second time penalty.

With 13 laps to go the lead pack had changed order. Anton de Pasquale was in the number 1 spot, followed by Broc Feeney, Chaz Mostert and Will Brown.

Take note that Brown was in 4th place after working his way back to the front after being pushed to the rear of the pack early on in the race. I guess that shows why he earned the championship crown.

Anton de Pasquale’s car was showing the strain of the gruelling 78 lap race. The spoiler on his car was hanging loose and scraping the track. He had to relinquish the lead and head to the pits for repairs before the officials gave him a mechanical black flag.

The lead had changed once again; Broc Feeney, Chaz Mostert then Will Brown. Although Feeney was in the lead he still had a 15 second time penalty that would be added post race. He knew he wouldn’t be standing on the podium.

Chaz Mostert in 2nd place looked like he would inherit the win from Feeney.  With 4 laps to go Mostert exceeded track limits and was issued a drive through penalty.

Once Mostert left the track to serve the penalty, Will Brown moved into 2nd place on the track.

Brown knew of the impending 15 second penalty hanging over Feeney, so he took no risks to challenge him. He would win by default.

When Mostert returned to the track after serving the drive through penalty he was miraculously in 3rd place.

Broc Feeney crossed the line first, followed by teammate Will Brown, Chaz Mostert and then Thomas Randle.

Feeney’s time penalty dropped him down to 7th place in the final results. Will Brown claimed the win, Chaz Mostert was declared 2nd and Thomas Randle 3rd.

It was bad luck for Feeney but what a great finish to Will Brown as the season champ.

Race 24 Results:

1st Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
3rd Thomas Randle – Castrol Racing

Well, that’s it for the 2024 Supercars season.

The Sydney 500 will be the first event to kick off the new season in Feb 2025. I can’t wait and hope you will join me in the new year.

In the meantime, I wish you all a very safe and happy festive season and new year.

Supercars

Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 2024

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of October 25 – 27 was the round 11 of the 2024 Supercars Championship, Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 held in Surfers Paradise in Queensland.

The Surfers Paradise street circuit was opened on the 15th March 1991 for the 1991 Gold Coast Indycar Grand Prix. The track layout stretching along the local beaches and other main streets was a tricky 4.47km circuit with 20 turns. In 2010 its length was shortened to 2.96 km with 15 turns.

In 1994 the V8 Supercars started racing at the Gold Coast as a support category to the Indy 300. So, this year marks the 30th Supercars anniversary.

It wasn’t until 2002 that it became an official championship round in the Supercars competition.

Coming into this year’s Gold Coast 500 as the second last event of the year, there were 4 drivers in contention for the championship; Will Brown, Broc Feeney, Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters.

Things were set to be a super competitive event.

In the pre – race sessions the results were:

  • Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 1
  • Thomas Randle was Fastest in Practice 2
  • Richie Stanaway was fastest in Qualifying
  • Cameron Waters was fastest in the Top Ten Shootout

In Race 21 Cameron Waters started on Pole Position with Richie Stanaway alongside him. Season leader, Will Brown started 11th on the grid due to crashing in Qualifying at turn 11.

The first lap was a little messy. Cameron Waters got the jump off the start line and led into turn 1 for the first of 85 laps and 250kms. The cars back in the pack were crowded with no room so were forced off track at the first chicane. Broc Feeney was one of them with all wheels out of bounds. The manovuer was called into question by fellow driver Thomas Randle. Officials let it go without penalty.

Chaz Mostert moved up to 3rd place. James Golding was battling with Broc Feeney for 4th and 5th. Ryan Wood made contact with Jack le Brocq at turn 11 and ended up in the barrier wall. Wood was able to push on, but Jack le Brocq suffered damage and went straight into the garage to have repairs undertaken.

Richie Stanaway was still in 2nd place behind Cameron Waters on lap 7 but things were going to go badly over the next handful of laps.

First Chaz Mostert overtook Stanaway at turn 11. On the next lap James Golding also passed him at turn 11. Not long after Broc Feeney did the same. This was followed up by Thomas Randle. Richie Stanaway was now moved back from 2nd to 6th place.

Jaxson Evans was the first to pit on lap 20 returning in 23rd place.

The fierce competition between the top 5 drivers continued.

Broc Feeney and Thomas Randle pitted on lap 26 probably in efforts to move out the intensity up front.

James Golding pitted on lap 27. The team couldn’t get the left rear wheel off cleanly costing him time and any chance of a decent result. He was now out of the top 5.

Around the middle of the race Chaz Mostert did the fastest lap, 111.389 seconds.

Cameron Waters was still in the lead but now had Thomas Randle behind him followed by Broc Feeney.

From that point on Cameron Waters kept edging ahead. By the time they were coming closer to the finish he had a 10+ second lead.

Waters made no errors and proved to be uncatchable. He crossed the finish line 9.8 seconds ahead of his teammate Thomas Randle followed by Broc Feeney.

It was an incredible finish.

Race 21Results:

1st Cameron Waters – Monster Castrol Racing

2nd Thomas Randle – Castrol Racing

3rd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing

In Race 22 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position. Alongside him was Will Brown.

Brodie Kostecki got the jump off the start line and led into turns 1 and 2 over Will Brown for the first of 85 laps.

At turn 11 Anton de Pasquale spun. The car behind could not avoid crashing into him. It had a dominos effect and a total of 8 cars became part of the pile up. Most cars were severely damaged. The safety car was deployed to clear the track of what now looked like a wrecking yard.

All except Anton de Pasquale were able to get repairs and return to the action later. They would of course be at least a lap behind.

The restart was on lap 7. Brodie Kostecki was still leading followed by Will Brown and Chaz Mostert.

On lap 11 James Golding was the first to make a pit stop by choice. His crew, Nulon Racing Team dropped the car on the ground without the right rear wheel on. They had to jack the car up and refit the fourth wheel. The lost time resulted in returning to the race in 20th place.

Officials immediately started an investigation as to why Nulon Racing tried to send a car out with only three wheels. It wasn’t long before they issued a drive through penalty for the error.

Thomas Randle pulled off his impersonation of a pinball machine. He bounced off the tyre barriers from one side of the track to the other through turns 1 and 2. How he got out of it without any damage was just a miracle!

On lap 17 James Courtney’s car looked a mess after the damage sustained in the lap 1 pile up. It didn’t seem to stop him recording the fastest circuit time in the race so far.

Soon after Broc Feeney’s car had smoke coming from the right front corner. It was so noticeable there were concerns but as quickly as it started, it quickly disappeared.

Brodie Kostecki pitted from his leading position on lap 30. There were still 5 cars yet to pit including Will Davison who now had the lead. Before Will Davison was able to take his mandatory pit stop he received a bad sportsmanship flag for exceeding track limits going through the back chicanes; turns 8, 9 and 10.

Brodie Kostecki had resumed lead and control by the middle of race. He was followed by Will Brown, Chaz Mostert, and Broc Feeney. They were packed tightly together.

Within the last dozen laps Broc Feeney passed Chaz Mostert to sit behind teammate, Will Brown. Cameron Waters also managed to get by Chaz Mostert to take 4th position. Cameron Waters side-swiped the tyre bundles at turn 1 and 2 losing aerodynamic fittings. It didn’t help the downforce of the car as he made a bid for a podium finish.

With 11 laps to go Brodie Kostecki was looking strong and in a dominant position. I couldn’t believe that he led from start to finish.

Just like at the Bathurst 1000, Brodie Kostecki showed his championship winning form of last year. He drove faultless and increased his lead. Where they were packed close together earlier, he was now creating a noticeable gap.

Kostecki held strong to cross the finish line 3.731 seconds ahead of the series leader Will Brown. Broc Feeney followed close behind in 3rd place 0.443 seconds later.

Race 22 Results:

1st Brodie Kostecki – Erebus Motorsport
2nd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing
3rd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing

With the results of Race 22 and only one event remaining both Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters are out of championship contention.

The only driver able to challenge the season leader Will Brown is his teammate, Broc Feeney. There is only 108 points between the two. Once again, the final event will be a championship showdown: Will Brown Vs Broc Feeney.

The last and final event on the 2024 Supercars calendar is the Valo Adelaide 500, November 14 – 17 2024.

I hope you will all join me to find out who will be “The 2024 Supercars Champion”. Till then keep revving!

Supercars

Repco Bathurst 1000 2024

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Hi to all you Supercar fans around the world!

The weekend of October 10th–13th hosted the Repco Bathurst 1000, which was Round 10 of the 2024 Supercars Championship and the 64th running of the legendary Bathurst endurance race.

The Bathurst race circuit, known as Mount Panorama, first opened on March 17, 1938. The race itself originated in 1960 as the Armstrong 500, a 500 mile race held at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. In 1963, the event moved to Bathurst, where it retained the 500 mile distance until 1973 when it went metric and was extended to a 1000 kilometre race.

1000 is the most iconic race of the year in Australia and is internationally recognised as a tough and gruelling race on an extremely difficult track.

Over the years, the Bathurst 1000 has been the stage for many remarkable moments in motorsport history. Some of the most notable include:

  • Peter Brock (Brocky) was also nicknamed “King of the Mountain”. Between 1972 and 1987 (a period of 15 years) he won the Bathurst 1000 nine times. His win in 1979 was by a phenomenal 6 laps ahead of other competitors. On the final lap anyone would think he would play it safe. Instead, he broke the fastest recorded time in history.
    Peter Brock – Wins 1979 Bathurst 100 by 6 laps. Who would have thought being quick would make you popular with the girls. Sign of the times.
    • 2003: Greg Murphy astounded everyone in the top 10 shootout before the race. He clocked such a phenomenal lap time it has gone down in history as the “Lap of the Gods”.
    Lap of the Gods 2003. You don’t have to be a motor sports fan to enjoy this.
    • 2005: Marcos Ambrose was the season champion for 2003 and 2004. He was well on his way to making it three in a row. On lap 145, he and Greg Murphy were in the top 10 at the front of the pack. They made contact at The Cutting and Ambrose was taken out of the race. He earned no points for the championship. It not only ruined his chances of a Bathurst win (after 145 of 161 laps) but took him of the season running.
    • 2006: Paul Radisich crashed coming out of The Chase. His car was demolished, and he suffered injuries so bad he was unable to compete for the rest of the season.
    • 2008: Paul Radisich as co-driver to Rick Kelly locked up the front wheels at maximum speed smashing into a barrier of the upcoming turn. The impact was so intense, just watching it will give you whiplash. The car was out of the race.
    • 2010: On the first lap, competition was so fierce Fabian Coulthard left the track at max speed on Conrod Straight. He hit the sand trap, slid sideways and the car went into a 6 barrel roll. Needless to say, he missed the next 160 laps.

    Honestly, there are dozens more examples of moments in the Bathurst 1000 that have gone down in history.

    This year’s Bathurst 1000 was also a special milestone for several drivers. Craig Lowndes marked his 31st appearance, Warren Luff his 24th, Will Davison his 21st, James Courtney and Jack Perkins both celebrated their 19th Bathurst 1000.

    The hype around “The Big Race” starts well before the actual Sunday of the race itself. They even have a dedicated “Bathurst channel” starting a week in advance. The preliminary sessions started on the Thursday and went until the race on Sunday.

    Pre-Race Session fastest times:

    • Practice 1: Matt Payne.
    • Practice 2: Jamie Whincup in the co-driver session.
    • Practice 3: Broc Feeney.
    • Practice 4: Brodie Kostecki.
    • Qualifying: Matt Payne.
    • Practice 5: Cooper Murray in the co-driver session.
    • Practice 6: Broc Feeney.
    • Top Ten Shootout: Brodie Kostecki earning him Pole Position on the grid.
    • Warmup: Will Brown and co-driver Scott Pye shared the fastest lap.

    Race 20

    The 2023 champion Brodie Kostecki positioned himself in the number 1 grid spot. After last year’s brilliant performance, he has had a woeful time this season, so it was great to see him up front and ready to take on “The Big Race”.

    Cameron Waters pulled up alongside him on the front row. Just behind them was Broc Feeney in Position 3 (P3) and Richie Stanaway in P4.

    The moment finally came, and they were off for the gruelling 161 laps. Kostecki was out front from the moment they waved the green flag but it was Broc Feeney who had a blistering start and was close behind.

    Richie Stanaway passed Feeney and by the time they reached “The Chase” was putting in a challenge to Kostecki for the lead.

    Even with 160 laps and hours to go, all drivers were putting in 100%.

    By Lap 2, the young Broc Feeney in his 3rd Bathurst 1000 attempt as a main driver had passed Stanaway to take second place, 1.2 seconds behind leader Kostecki.

    The front group were beginning to spread out. Stanaway was just 1.1 seconds behind in third, followed by Cameron Waters 2.7 seconds adrift, and Will Brown 3.4 seconds back.

    A few laps later at the rear of the group Matt Chada went off track with an impressive half-spin and ended up in the sand trap. He was able to recover without a safety car intervening.

    Will Davison was the first car to pit on Lap 17 and handed over to co-driver Kai Allen for his first stint at Bathurst. Kai Allen along with Cooper Murray will be moving up from the Super-2s category to become full time V8-Supercars drivers in 2025. It must have been a moment  for both of them to achieve this goal.

    As Cameron Waters started lap 23 he made a mistake at Turn 1, going straight ahead off the track and losing the number 3 spot to Will Brown. He rejoined the race in 10th place.

    Kostecki continued to show fine form like that of his 2023 championship win. On lap 25 he did the fastest lap of the race recorded so far.

    A few laps later Chaz Mostert attempted an inside pass on Brad Vaughn at Forest Elbow (turn 18). They made contact causing significant damage to the front end of Vaughn’s car. His spoiler was left abandoned on the track with other car debris. I was surprised he was able to continue without pitting. Even so, there had been no safety car deployment so far.

    Brodie Kostecki and Broc Feeney both pitted on lap 28 from their 1st and 2nd spots. Will Brown briefly minded the lead as the pit stops cycled through.

    While Feeney handed over the wheel to co-driver Jamie Whincup, a fuel hose issue in the Red Bull Ampol Racing pit stall cost them valuable time (around 3 seconds).

    Todd Hazelwood took the wheel from Kostecki, emerging from the pits with a 6.6 second lead over Jamie Whincup.

    Meanwhile, Lee Holdsworth and Dale Wood were engaged in a fierce battle for 4th and 5th. Holdsworth’s poor positioning coming up to a turn and his own driving error had him go straight ahead and leave the track. Surprisingly it worked to his advantage as he cut the corners and re-entered the track in 3rd place. He wasn’t penalised for his short cut but normally it’s a “no no”.

    Garth Tander experienced a massive lockup at the final corner of the lap and dropped back to 14th place.

    Todd Hazelwood continued to lead but Jamie Whincup had closed the gap to 3.8 seconds. Due to pit stop cycling Scott Pye in 3rd was a further 11.028 seconds behind.

    There was also plenty of action in the main pack. Cooper Murray was having an impressive drive climbing six places into 12th. Declan Fraser moved up to 5th after passing Lee Holdsworth.

    Unfortunately, a Brad Jones Racing crewman had a fumble with the garage fuel pump hose connection whilst filling car 8 for driver Declan Fraser.  They were only able to take on 20 litres of fuel and were forced into an unscheduled pitstop shortly after. 20litres instead roughly 120 litres put them at a major disadvantage while in a competitive position.

    By the middle stages of the race Brodie Kostecki was on fire, extending his lead to a commanding 14.175 seconds over Jamie Whincup.

    When it came time for Jamie Whincup to give back the driving seat to Broc Feeney, Feeeny looked like he might have enough pace to challenge for the lead, but the gap was too big to close.

    Much loved legend Craig Lowndes was in 5th, having gained an astonishing 13 positions.

    On lap 132 of 161Matt Payne had a gear downshift issue as he zig zagged up “The Mountain” through The Cutting. At such high speed he was unable to make the upcoming turn and went straight ahead into the concrete barrier wall.

    After being on the track for more than 5 hours and coming close to the end of the race, it must have been a huge disappointment to Matt Payne and co-driver Garth Tander to see their car demolished and out of the race.

    The race went to “Yellow” and the first safety car of the day was deployed while the car wreck was removed.

    I must say it is so unusual for them to get this far into the race without a safety car deployment. It might have had to do with the good weather instead of the usual wet weather and sudden storms the Bathurst area can be prone to.

    While under “Yellow” drivers have to stay in formation behind the safety car, limited to 80Kmph. All the gaps are closed up. Brodie Kostecki’s 10 + second lead up the front was lost. It was going to make the last laps extremely exciting.

    The Big Race got back underway. Broc Feeney was now in a much better position to challenge the lead. Brodie Kostecki who had the number 1 spot almost the entire race was having none of that and defended with exceptional driving. There was simply no room at any stage for Feeney to get past him.

    They were both driving like demons. The rest of the pack were falling further behind. Pretty soon the two leaders had created 10 + second gap over them.

    In the final laps Brodie Kostecki held strong. Broc Feeney was no slouch either and kept on his tail, but still had no opportunity to pass. Not a single mistake was made by either driver as they charged to the end.

    The crowd went absolutely insane, cheering Kostecki on as he crossed the finish line 1.3 seconds ahead of Broc Feeney. It is only the 4th time in the history of the Bathurst 1000 that the pole sitter finished first.

    Will Brown was leading the rest of the pack, finishing 13.640 seconds behind in third.

    What a spectacular finish to the biggest race of the year.

    Race 20 Final Results:

    1st Brodie Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood – Erebus Motorsport

    2nd Broc Feeney and Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing

    3rd Will Brown and Scott Pye – Red Bull Ampol Racing

    With their 2nd and 3rd place finishes, Red Bull Ampol Racing secured the 2024 Teams Championship even with 2 events remaining. Broc Feeney moved back to 2nd place in the Drivers Championship, 204 points behind teammate Will Brown who remains the series leader. Chaz Mostert is in 3rd place, 222 points off the lead.

    With just two events remaining in the 2024 Supercars Championship – the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 on October 25–27 and the final round on November 14–17

     The Valo Adelaide 500, the battle for the title is heating up. I hope you can join me for the final two rounds of an incredible season!

    Supercars

    Panasonic air conditioning Sydney Supernight 2024

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    Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

    On the weekend of July 19 – 21 2024 the Panasonic Air Conditioning Sydney Supernight was held. It was round 7 of the 2024 Supercars Championship.

    The event was held at Sydney Motorsport Park formerly known as Eastern Creek Raceway.

    Sydney Motorsport Park was first opened on the 10 November 1990 however, the main event came along in 1992 when the V8 supercars made their first appearance at the circuit. The venue has been host to events such as motorcycle racing, A1 Grand Prix, Touring cars and Muscle Car Masters.

    Just 2 days before this year’s event on July 17th 2024, James Courtney announced that he will be retiring from fulltime Supercars racing at the end of season 2025. He is now 44 years old and has been a full time driver since 2006. If he completes next season he will reach the 20 year milestone in Supercars. That is quite an achievement. 

    The pre-race sessions started on the Friday. Results were as follows:

    • Ryan Wood was fastest in Practice 1
    • Cameron Waters was fastest in Qualifying
    • Cameron Waters was fastest in the Top Ten Shootout

    In Race 15 Cameron Waters started on pole position with Thomas Randle alongside him.

    As they took off Thomas Randle got the jump and led into turn 1 for the first of 51 laps.

    As the pack got to turn 2 there was contact between Mark Winterbottom and Macauley Jones. Winterbottom’s car suffered damage and he had to head straight for the pits. Macauley Jones was just a victim in the process but he did manage to keep going.

    The top 3 cars were reasonably close to each other. Chaz Mostert started to apply the pressure on his former teammate Cameron Waters in a bid for second place.

    It wasn’t long before Chaz Mostert found his opportunity and before turn 7 passed Cameron Waters. Chaz Mostert was now in second but was still 2.079 seconds behind race leader Thomas Randle.

    On lap 13 Brodie Kostecki was the first to take his pit stop from 24th place.

    As they reached into the 20 something laps Thomas Randle pitted from the lead, followed by Chaz Mostert and then Broc Feeney. While Randle pitted it was Cameron Waters who assumed the lead.

    In the middle of the race there were 4 cars yet to still pit. Once they did Chaz Mostert took the race lead. He was followed by Thomas Randle and Anton de Pasquale in third place.

    Will Davison showed how eager he was and did the fastest lap of the race, 131.505 seconds.

    Chaz Mostert’s experience showed as he defended the lead throughout the rest of the race.

    Although he couldn’t fully break away from the pack, Chaz Mostert still managed to cross the finish line 2.6 seconds ahead of Matt Payne. A further 4.5 seconds later Thomas Randle came in to take 3rd place.

    Results for Race 15

    1st Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
    2nd Matt Payne – Grove Racing
    3rd Thomas Randle – Castrol Racing

    In Race 16 Will Davison started on pole position. Alongside him was Chaz Mostert.

    As they took off Will Davison got the jump and led into turn 1 for the first of 51 laps. At turn 4 Will Davison ran wide giving Chaz Mostert the opportunity to pounce and get to the front of the field.

    At turn 8 Broc Feeney ran extremely wide causing him to drop all the way down to 23rd place. It just didn’t seem to be his weekend.

    On the next lap at turn 2 David Reynolds got up the inside of Matt Payne to enter the top 10 spots.

    It didn’t last long, and Matt Payne re-took 10th place back.

    The positions up front had not changed except for Will Brown who made up 1 spot to hold 4th place.

    Chaz Mostert had extended his lead out to 2.3 seconds over Will Davison in P2. Matt Payne unbelievably got into 7th spot and stayed side by side to Anton de Pasquale down the entire straight.

    David Reynolds got into a bind and was trying to avoid leaving the track. Unfortunately, he made contact with Ryan Wood. Brodie Kostecki was behind the two and had no chance to avoid giving David Reynolds a helping bump off the track. What a mess, Kostecki and Reynolds were now at the back of the pack. Ryan Wood fell back to 13th place (unlucky).

    The first car to pit in this race was Broc Feeney. He returned to the track in 25th place.

    Cameron Waters and Anton de Pasquale pitted on lap 25.

    There were still 3 cars yet to pit. Once they took their mandatory stops, Chaz Mostert assumed the lead.

    Once again Chaz held his place and even clocked the fastest lap of the race,131.302 seconds.

    With 9 laps to go car 26 Ritchie Stanaway had a clutch issue causing his wheels to spin whilst hoisted on the air-jacks in the pits. They tried to resolve the issue but in the end chose to send him back out to finish the race and earn the points. A much better option than a DNF (Did Not Finish).

    Chaz Mostert kept edging away from the rest of the pack and the front runners became more spread out. Mostert took advantage of the clear track and crossed the finish line 8.3 seconds clear of Cameron Waters in second place. It was another 8.9 seconds back to Will Brown in 3rd place.

    It was great weekend for the Walkinshaw Andretti United team and their driver Chaz Mostert winning 2 out of 2 races this weekend. It was his third win in the 2024 Supercars season.

    A look at the Driver’s Championship points after this event shows Will Brown still holds the number 1 spot. He leads by 105 points over Chaz Mostert in 2nd. Broc Feeney’s bad weekend moved him down a spot from 2nd to 3rd. Things are getting mighty interesting!

    On the Team’s Championship scoreboard Red Bull Ampol Racing still lead by 805 points over Walkinshaw Andretti United.

    Results for Race 16

    1st Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
    2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
    3rd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing

    The next event is the Ned Whiskey Tasmania Supersprint 16 – 18 August 2024.

    Supercars

    Valo Adelaide 500 2023

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    Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

    On the weekend of the 23 – 26 November 2023 was the Valo Adelaide 500.

    The Adelaide street circuit was first opened in 1985 and hosted the F1 Australian Grand Prix until 1995. The street circuit came back into use in 1999 when Supercars moved their events from the Mallala Motorsport Park.

    Jason Bright took the very first pole position at this venue. Craig Lowndes started the leg 1 from 3rd on the grid and won the opening race. The next day he was sent to the back of the field and still came through to win leg 2. It was the stuff that legends are made of.

    This year’s Adelaide 500 was the 12th and final round of the 2023 Supercars Championship.

    As one of the longer events on the calendar made up of 2 races of 250km each, it was always going to be a tough event. To add to the tension it was also the decider for the Driver’s Championship.

    The defending champion Shane Van Gisbergen was trailing Brodie Kostecki in the number 1 spot by 131 points. A win in both races would total 300 points so the championship was still up for grabs. Shane Van Gisbergen is heading to the U.S. at the end of the season to try his hand at NASCAR so it could very well also be his final farewell to Supercars.

    The points gap from 3rd place onwards was too great to contend for 1st or 2nd place. However, the points were close enough between 3rd, 4th and 5th for there to be a change on the final scoreboard for Will Brown, Broc Feeney and Chaz Mostert.

    The Final Event and the Final Decider! A setting for nail biting stuff!

    The event started on Thursday with a wet Practice 1.

    The pre-race sessions results are as follows:

    • Chaz Mostert was fastest in Practice 1
    • Thomas Randle was Fastest in Practice 2
    • Brodie Kostecki was fastest in Qualifying
    • Brodie Kostecki was also fastest in the top 10 Shootout.

    For Race 27 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position which was his 9th pole for the year. David Reynolds was alongside him on the front row of the starting grid.

    At the start of the race Brodie Kostecki got the jump and led into turns 1 and 2 for first of 78 laps.

    As the pack rounded turn 4 Will Brown tried passing Anton de Pasquale. Shane Van Gisbergen also tried following Will Brown to jump up in position. However, Anton de Pasquale made contact with Will Brown and then from behind Shane Van Gisbergen made contact with Will Brown. Brown’s car came to stop almost immediately. Shane Van Gisbergen was able to get back to the pits but it was soon evident that he wouldn’t be returning to the track. Not only was it all over for this race but also his ability to contend for the championship title. Such bad luck.

    The safety car was deployed. It was only the opening lap and things were very messed up for Will Brown and Shane Van Gisbergen.

    Later, after reviewing the incident the officials took no further action and no penalty was issued to any of the three cars involved.

    Matt Payne and Cameron Hill were in the pits because of damage they received after the start.

    The restart was on lap 6 and Brodie Kostecki was still in control of the race, followed by David Reynolds and Thomas Randle in 3rd place.

    Broc Feeney passed James Courtney for 8th place.

    On lap 15 David Reynolds took the lead off Brodie Kostecki with some incredible manoeuvring through turns 8 and 9.

    The first car to pit in this race was Anton de Pasquale on lap 16.

    Broc Feeney was next to pit on lap 19. When he re-joined the race he was in 20th place with clear track ahead.

    Up front it started getting busy. Thomas Randle moved up to 2nd place dropping Brodie Kostecki back to 3rd place.

    Cameron Waters in 4th place was 3 + seconds behind. The front of the pack were beginning to spread out.

    Soon after, Thomas Randle pitted from second place handing over the spot to Cameron Waters.

    Thomas Randle came out of the pits and was like a rocket. Within a few laps he managed to move up through the pack and regain 2nd place.

    Cameron Waters wasn’t happy to give back the second spot to Thomas Randle and found the opportunity to pass him. Once again, the order of the top 3 cars changed.

    In the middle of the race Cameron Waters was still holding second place right on the rear bumper of David Reynolds in the lead. He found his opportunity and with precision driving made the pass to get the number one spot.

    Further back in the pack, Todd Hazelwood received a 5 second time penalty for contact with another car.

    David Reynolds never gave up the fight to regain 1st place. With 17 laps to go he did the fastest lap of the race, 119.957 seconds. Unfortunately, it didn’t give him what he wanted. He was also under pressure from Thomas Randle in 3rd place. The front 3 cars were once again tight and left no room for error.

    Cameron Waters stayed strong and held the lead using his experience to fend off the two drivers right on his tail.

    Soon Cameron Water and David Reynolds edged away from Thomas Randle still holding 3rd place.

    They were both on fire screaming ahead of the pack.

    They crossed the finish line 0.67 seconds apart and way ahead of the others. Thomas Randle came in 14.353 seconds later to earn 3rd place. It was an incredible finish for an intense race.

    Results for Race 27

    1st Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing.

    2nd David Reynolds – Grove Racing.

    3rd Thomas Randle – Castrol Racing & Tradie Racing.

    In Race 28 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position for the 10th time this season. This is an incredible feat and he was given the Armor All Pole Award for year along with $10,000. Next to him on the front row of the grid was Matt Payne.

    As they took off Matt Payne got the jump and led into turns 1 and 2 for the first of 78 laps. As much as Brodie Kostecki tried he was not able to pass Matt Payne.

    Further back Shane Van Gisbergen was trying to pass Anton de Pasquale but also wasn’t able to execute a pass. It wasn’t until a few laps later that he got into his stride.

    On lap 2 Broc Feeney was able to get up the inside of Cameron Waters for 4th place.

    David Reynolds made his move on lap 3 to pass Todd Hazelwood for 9th place.

    Shane Van Gisbergen was now moving through the pack and had now passed Anton de Pasquale, Will Davison and Will Brown for 11th place.

    On lap 6 Nick Percat made contact with Jack le Brocq who went off the track and into the tyre-wall at the final turn. Surprisingly, he managed to get himself out and the safety car did not have to be deployed.

    After investigation the incident the officials took no further action against either driver.

    By lap 10 Matt Payne had a 1.2 second lead over Brodie Kostecki.

    Broc Feeney was putting pressure on Chaz Mostert for 3rd place. He managed to get by at turn 6.

    Shane Van Gisbergen showed how eager he was to make up for the NC (Not Complete) he received in the first race at this event. He did the fastest lap of the race, 120.735 seconds.

    On lap 11 Chaz Mostert was desperately trying to get 3rd place back from Broc Feeney. In his attempt Chaz Mostert made contact with him and did manage to pass. It was a messy attack and Chaz Mostert was later issued a 5 second time penalty.

    Shane Van Gisbergen was the first of the Red Bull cars to take a pit-stop.

    In the pit area Macauley Jones was spun around by Tim Slade who was coming out of his garage.

    In the middle of the race Matt Payne was still in control with a 4.8 second lead over Broc Feeney flowed by David Reynolds in 3rd.

    As the race continued Matt Payne kept edging ahead. Towards the end of the race, he had a 7.5 second lead over Broc Feeney and was on target to claim his maiden win with Penrite Racing.

    Noone seemed able to make ground on the rookie Matt Payne. In fact he managed to edge further ahead of the competitors.

    He crossed the line with a 8.548 second lead over Broc Feeney. David Reynolds come in 3rd a few seconds later.

    It was a spectacular and solid win for Matt Payne. Congratulations!

    Results for Race 28:

    1st Matt Payne – Grove Racing.

    2nd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing.

    3rd David Reynolds – Grove Racing.

    A massive congratulations to Erebus Motorsport and Brodie Kostecki. Well done!

    This was the final race for the 2023 season. The next event will be the Bathurst Superfest on the 16th to the 25th of February 2024.

    It’s with a sense of sadness that we say farewell to Shane Van Gisbergen. Well done on everything you have achieved in Supercars and best of luck for your new adventures in Nascar. Go get em!

    Supercars

    Beaurepairs Sydney Supernight 2021

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    Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

    On November 19-21,2021 the Beaurepairs Sydney Supernight was run. It marks 4 of 4 events held back to back at the Sydney Motorsport Park (Eastern Creek). It is the penultimate event of the Supercars season for 2021 before they head to the Bathurst 1000.

    The event was made up of two races, both 250km (64 laps).

    The pre-sessions results for Race 29 were once again dominated by Anton de Pasquale.

    Matthew Payne was fastest in the additional co-driver practice session. He was co-driver for David Reynolds.

    Anton de Pasquale was fastest in Practice 1, Practice 2, the Armor All Qualifying and the Top 10 Shootout.

    So in race 29 Anton de Pasquale started on pole position with Jamie Whincup alongside him.

    There was the threat of rain but as the race got underway the track was dry. Jamie Whincup got a good start and led into turn 1.

    At turn 3 David Reynolds ran wide and lost a lot of pace out on the grass.

    IN the first part of the race Jamie Whincup held  the lead while the cars further back settled  into their race pace.

    On lap 7 Macauley Jones triggered the first safety car after going off the track at turn 8. A lot of the drivers chose to pit while the safety car was out. Shane Van Gisbergen had to double stack behind his teammate Jamie Whincup. When Shane Van Gisbergen rejoined the track he had dropped several place to 9th position.

    When the safety car finally left the track and the race went ‘back to green’ Cameron Waters had the lead.

    In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was in 6th position but soon worked his way up to the top 3.

    It took a long while but Shane Van Gisbergen managed to find a gap and take over teammate, Jamie Whincup in second position.

    With 5 Laps to go Shane Van Gisbergen took the race lead off Cameron Waters and from there was never headed.

    Jamie Whincup also managed to gain a spot giving the Red Bull Ampol Racing Team a 1,2 finish with Cameron Waters coming in third place.

    Results for Race 29

    1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing.

    2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing.

    3rd Cameron Waters – Monster Engery Racing.

    There was a surprising mix of results in the pre-race sessions for Race 30.

    Andre Heimgartner was fastest in Armor All Qualifying. The big surprise was the dominator of the last 4 events pre-race sessions, Anton de Pasquale was 17th.

    Nick Percat was fastest in the Armor All Top Ten Shootout earning him pole position.

    Shane Van Gisbergern was next to pole on the grid.

    The rain was really coming down and the race was delayed. It really put an edge on the scene with the rain continuing to come down.

    Finally the rain started to ease a bit and the officials wanted to take advantage and get the race going. It was a bit of an anticlimax. The track was extremely wet as the cars rolled off behind the safety car to checkout the track to decide if and when they drivers can start. They did 5 laps under yellow flag before the race was red flagged and all the drivers had to follow the safety car into pit lane in a single line.

    Most of drivers had got out of the cars except for the pole sitter Nick Percat, he was hoping the race was going to restart. As time moved on the officials had to make the call and they did’nt restart the race.

    With no real laps done there were no results for race 30.

    Shane Van Gisbergen won the Beaurepairs Sydney Cup and was declared the champion elect. The Red Bull Ampol Racing Team are also the champion team.

    The next event is the grand finale; the Repco Bathurst 1000 on the 30th of November to December 5th.

    Shane Van Gisbergen and Garth Tander are the defending champions heading into this year’s race.

    The Bathurst Channel 503 begins on Monday the 29th of November, 2021.

    Supercars

    Bunnings trade sydney supernight 2021

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    Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

    On Friday the 29th to the 31th of October, 2021 was the Bunnings Trade Sydney Supernight.

    This was the first of four back to back events scheduled for the Sydney Motorsport Park (Eastern Creek Raceway). This was made possible due to the removal of many COVID-19 restricts being lifted in NSW.

    However, commentator Mark Larkham (one of my favourites) was not at the track because of boarder restrictions in Queensland. So he was stranded with the banana benders for this event.

    Mark Winterbottom hit a milestone. This was his 550th Supercars race.

    Heading into the event the Red Bull Ampol Racing Team were at the top of the Teams Ladder. The team’s 2 drivers also are at the top of the Championship; Shane Van Gisbergen with a solid lead at the top of the ladder followed by teammate, Jamie Whincup in second place.

    In the pre-race sessions Anton de Pasquale dominated with amazing results:

    • Fastest in Practice 1
    • Fastest in Practice 2
    • Fastest in the Armour All Qualifying
    • and the Armour All Top Ten Shootout
    • He also started in Pole Position for all 3 races at this event.

    In race 20 Anton de Pasquale started on pole position. Alongside him was Will Brown.

    As the race got underway Will Brown was giving the pole sitter something to think about. He duelled with Anton de Pasquale into turn 1 and then again at turn 2. However, Anton de Pasquale held place and Will Brown had to tuck back in behind him.

    At the back of the pack Jack Smith in position 19 stalled car 4 off the start line and immediately dropped back to 24th, last place.

    Jamie Whincup also had a poor start and dropped to 9th off after starting 8th.

    On the exit of turn 3 Will Davison was on the outside, ran wide and did some lawn mowing on the grass dropping a few places on the first lap.

    Shane Van Gisbergen made up 3 spots on the first lap to run 3rd.

    Shortly after Anton de Pasquale slid out and lost some time allowing Will Brown to catch up, sitting right on his tail.

    Chaz Mostert was battling with Will Davison for positions 6 and 7.

    David Reynolds came in early because he was getting held up.

    Fabian Coulthard and Andre Heimgartner both started the race in the middle of the pack and also chose to pit early to get some clear track.

    The leaders decided to stay out to keep track position.

    On lap 16 Anton de Pasquale in position 1 and Will Brown came in at the same time.  Will Brown’s luck changed and his stop was delayed because the right rear wheel nut came lose. He lost so much time he rejoined the race in 21st place.

    In the middle of the race James Courtney in car 44 got a bad sportsmanship flag for track limits at turn 5.

    Meanwhile Jamie Whincup was trying to get further up the order but just couldn’t find the space.

    In the closing laps Shane Van Gisbergen in second place was giving Anton de Pasquale a very hard time. I would imagine that it would have been quite daunting for Anton de Pasquale to have the series leader right in your face, but credit to him he held his nerve and managed to cross the line first. It was a spectacular finish.

    Results for Race 20:

    1st Anton de Pasquale – Dick Johnson Racing.

    2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.

    3rd Brodie Kostecki – Erebus Motorsort.

    In race 21 yet again Anton de Pasquale started on pole position. This time alongside him was teammate Will Davison.

    Anton de Pasquale stalled on the start line and dropped back through the field at a rate of knots.

    Will Davison took the lead into turn 1 and the cars further back in the pack settled into their race rhythm.

    Anton de Pasquale was caught back in 7th place. I was surprised at his poor start considering how he had dominated the weekend so far.

    Up until the first pit stop I thought Will Davison was going win his first race since Bathurst 2016, but that didn’t happen.

    He had Shane Van Gisbergen on his tail and they came in to the pits at the same time. Shane Van Gisbergen did a 3 tyre change and Will Davison did 4 tyres. Will Davison’s dash was blank and they had to recycle through the electricals so he was stationary a lot longer than he would have liked.

    As a result, Shane Van Gisbergen re-joined the race in the lead.

    From that point on Will Davison and Anton de Pasquale were on the attack and putting pressure on the leader.

    Shane Van Gisbergen is no rookie and didn’t crack under the pressure. He simply just increased his lead and crossed the finish line 2+ seconds over his rivals. This was his 12th win for 2021.

    Anton de Pasquale had bad luck in this race. Although he finished 3rd it was soon revealed in his pit stop the team put the wrong tyres on. They belonged to his teammate , Will Davison so Poor Pasquale was disqualified after the race finish.

    Results for Race 21:

    1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing team.

    2nd Will Davison – Dick Johnson Racing.

    3rd Nick Percat – Brad Jones Racing.

    For the third time in three races on the weekend, Anton de Pasquale started on pole position. Alongside him was rookie, Will Brown.

    As Race 22 got underway Anton de Pasquale led into turn 1 with Will Brown close behind. The cars further back in the pack soon settled into their race pace.

    Shortly after Shane Van Gisbergen jumped the goat, Jamie Whincup.

    Andre Heimgartner was back in the pack getting held up so he choose to get out of the traffic and pit early.

    Before the pit stops started I thought at one stage Will Brown was going to take the lead. But Anton de Pasquale was having a great weekend and not about to let the rookie take his number one spot.

    Shane Van Gisbergen kept his lead over teammate Jamie Whincup and it was only mid race when he made a mistake that Whincup could reclaim his 3rd place.

    Nearing the end of the race Will Brown once again challenging for the lead but that didn’t happen and Anton de Pasqale won.

    It was an incredible performance by Anton de Pasquale. He started on pole position for all 3 races and won 2 out of 3. That is not bad going. Congrats Anton!

    Results for Race 22

    1st Anton de Pasquale – Dick Johnson Racing.

    2nd Will Brown – Erebus Motorsport.

    3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing.

    It was great fun to watch and I’m already looking forward to next weekend: Same place, Same time for the Armor All Sydney Supernight.

    Supercars

    Beaurepairs Tasmania Supersprint 2021

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    Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

    On the weekend of the 17th and 18th of April, 2021 was the Beaurepaires Tasmania Supersprint.

    Marcos Ambrose a Tasmanian native was apart of the broadcast team for Fox Sports.

    Neil Crompton who normally chairs the commentary box was sitting in on the hosting panel to fill in for Jess Yates. She and husband, Luke Egan have welcomed another baby into the world. His name is Samuel Lewis Egan and will be little brother to Isabella (7). Congratulations Jess and Luke.

    In the lead up to this event all eyes were on Shane Van Gisbergen who has been driving like a bat out of hell since his win in the final event (Bathurst) for last season.

    Shane Van Gisbergen took out the trophy for both races at the opening event for this season, The Bathurst 500. He then followed up with a triple win for races 3, 4 and 5 at the Sandown Supersprint.

    So everyone was keen to see what he could do at this event. That however may be wishful thinking because this year there is some stiff competition and some very fast cars.

    The results  for the pre-race sessions were as follows:

    • Cameron Waters was fastest in practice 1 and 2
    • Shane Van Gibergen was fastest in Armour All Qualifying for race 6

    In race 6 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position with Cameron Waters alongside him.

    At the start of the race Cameron Waters got the jump on Shane Van Gisbergen and led into turn 1 for the first of 44 laps.

    Jamie Whincup got up to 2nd on lap 1 but then Shane Van Gisbergen overtook his teammate.

    Then after a few laps Shane Van Gisbergen had the lead which was very impressive.

    The drivers who were up front stayed out because they had track position and clear air.

    Jamie Whincup came in early because he was looking for track position and clear air. It also ensured Shane Van Gisbergen in the lead wouldn’t risk a double stack.

    Chaz Mostert was again showing some great driving and up  in 5th place.

    There were 2 mandatory pit stops so strategy was going to be a big part of getting or maintaining track position.

    By the middle of the race Anton de Pasquale was in 3rd position but he didn’t seem to have much hope of catching Shane Van Gisbergen in 1st and Jamie Whincup 2nd.

    Shane Van Gisbergen held his lead with confidence to gain his 6th win out of 6 races for the season. Specatacular!

    Results for Race 6

    1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.
    2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.
    3rd Anton de Pasquale – Dick Johnson Racing.

    In race 7 Cameron Waters started on pole position, alongside him was Jamie Whincup.

    Cameron Waters led into turn 1 for the first of 44 laps.

    When they got to the hairpin turn  Jack Le Broq made contact with Anton de Pasquale and was spun round ending up at the back of the pack. Andre Heimgartner and Fabian Coulthard were also caught in the mayhem as the pack round the turn.

    Jamie Whincup tried to get by Cameron Waters early on but couldn’t so he had to pit early to get clear air which paid off.

    James Courtney had a massive slide on a left bend and ended up shooting across the traffic to the right hand side. He was lucky not to collect the cars following him. He managed to save it all by getting back on track and continue driving.

    Chaz Mostert was trying to move up through the field to get near the race leaders but that didn’t happen.

    In the middle of the race Jamie Whincup was the race lace leader and looking good for his first win of his final season.

    Regardless of Shane Van Gisbergen’s efforts, Jamie held the lead to the finish line with his teammate in tow. I wander if it was any consolation to Shane Van Gisbergen that it was his teammate that broke his winning streak.

    Results for Race 7

    1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.

    2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.

    3rd Will Davison – Dick Johnson Racing.

    In race 8 Cameron Waters started on pole position and alongside was Chaz Mostert.

    Zane Goddard qualified on the 2nd row of the grid. Not bad for a rookie when you consider the stiff competition out there.

    As the final race for the weekend got underway Chaz Mosert got the jump off the line and pretty much led the entire race accept for pit stops.  Early on there cars behind him were chasing him down but Chaz Mostert didn’t want to give up the race lead.

    Jack Le Broq came in early to get track position and clear air.

    After the mayhem on lap 1 of in the previous race Will Davison cleverly chose to pull back from the battle he was having with Anton de Pasquale.

    Jamie Whincup pitted first then Shane Van Gisbergen pitted the lap after.

    Chaz Mostert stayed out longer because he was leading the race.

    Bryce Fullwood was moving up the order while his teammate Chaz Mostert was up front.  

    By the middle of the race Shane Van Gibergen seemed relegated to being back in the pack. He and teammate, Jamie Whincup couldnt find the room to move up through the field. As it turned out they each gained only one position by the end of the race.

    On the other hand Chaz Mostert seemed to be increasing his lead crossing the finish line more than 10 seconds ahead of Anton de Pasquale in 2nd place. It was an incredible finish.

    Results for race 8

    1st Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

    2nd Anton de Pasquale – Dick Johnson Racing

    3rd Wil Davison – Dick Johnson Racing.

    The next event is the OTR Supersprint at the Bend on the 8th and 9th of May 2021.

    Supercars

    Superloop Adelaide 500 2019 Supercars

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    HI to all you Supercars fans around the world!                              

    From Thursday 28th of February to the 3rd of March, 2019 was the Superloop Adelaide 500.

    As the official first race of the 2019 V8 Supercars Championship Season it is an exciting start to the year with two races of 250Km each.

    Before I get into the rest of my review I must say that I really missed the familiar faces of Garth Tander and Craig Lowndes out on track. Both retired from full time driving at the end of last season and I am sure I am not the only one who will miss their presence.

    The big talk on the scene over the last few months is the introduction of the Ford Mustangs into the V8 Supercars Championship. It seems everyone out there loves the Mustang.  So its new cars all round for DJRTP drivers and Tickford with Chaz Mostert’s Supercheap Auto and Lee Holdsworth’s Bottle-O cars. I am sure that they will be under heavy scrutiny by everyone to see if the Mustangs have what it takes to race in Australia.

    In last year’s Superloop 500 it was Shane Van Gisbergen who made this his event for a second time by a double win of both races. That’s right! He won the 2 season opening races in both 2017 and 2018. This year was no exception to spectacular driving and amazing results.

    The Red Bull Holden Racing Team won the 2018 Teams Championship so it earned them the privilege to lead the field out of the pit lane this year (always an advantage).

    There were some interesting happenings in the pre-race sessions:

    Anton De Pasquale was the fastest in Practice 1 and Scott McLaughlin stopped outside turn 11 due to a loss of oil pressure.

    Scott McLaughlin wasn’t phased and proved himself and his car as fastest in Practice 2.

    Fabian Coulthard was fastest in Practice 3.

    Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Qualifying for Race 1 and then followed that up as fastest in Practice 4.

    Macauley Jones didn’t join Race 1 due to a massive accident caused by brake failure at the end of Practice 4.

    Fabian Coulthard followed up his great run in Practice 3 and was fastest in the Race 1 Top Ten Shootout.

    So in Race 1, Fabian Coulthard started on pole position and alongside him was Jamie Whincup.

    Surprisingly both Fabian Coulthard and Jamie Whincup stalled off the starting grid which allowed Scott McLaughlin to take the race lead early on.

    Off the line the cars were 4 wide which I thought was going to end up in a massive shunt.

    After the opening lap Fabian Coulthard got pinged by race control for jumping the start. This mistake earned him a 10 second stop and hold penalty dropping him from 2nd to 20th.

    Pretty soon Cameron Waters was complaining about the heat because his cool suit failed. I’m sure it didn’t help him cool down when officials forced him to come in to the pits.

    Lee Holdsworth and Scott Pye ended up in tyre bundle together at turn 7.  Surprisingly they managed to get out of the mess themselves without needing assistance from the safety car so the race continued.

    In the middle of the race Fabian Coulthard was still fighting back from his 10 second Stop and Hold Penalty.

    Also, the Red Bull Holden Racing Team had a problem with their regulator which holds the pressure for the rattle guns hose.  It was going nuts and hissing loudly because it wasn’t done up tight enough.

    Towards the end of the race no one could catch Scott McLaughlin who dominated Race 1.

    As Scott McLaughlin crossed the finish line he appeared to be singing. When Greg Murphy asked him what he was singing he said ‘Horses from Daryl Braithwaite’. LOL!

    Results for Race 1

    1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Ford Mustang
    2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
    3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team

     Scott McLaughlin once again proved he is one of the fastest out on track claiming the Qualifying and Top ten Shootout rounds to earn him Pole Position. It was a nice way for Scott McLaughlin to start the 200th race of his career.

    In race 2 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position and alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.

    Shane Van Gisbergen was the only Red Bull Holden Racing Team car to make the Top Ten Shootout. His teammate Jamie Whincup qualified 12th.

    At the start of the 78 lap race Shane Van Gisbergen tried to go around the outside of Scott McLaughlin but that didn’t work. When Scott McLaughlin ran wide at turn 4 Shane Van Gisbergen tried to criss cross, over and under but that didn’t work either. McLaughlin was not prepared to give up the race lead that easily so Shane Van Gisbergen had to pull back in behind him.

    Simona De Silvestro made a mistake in all the traffic at turn 4 and went straight up the escape road.

    Rick Kelly nearly made contact with Nick Percat on track.

    Jack Le Brocq caused the first deployment of the Vodafone Safety Car due to him being stranded at turn 11 unable to get restarted. With the race now under ‘yellow’ most teams took the opportunity to head to their pits to meet race requirements.

    Then the day of the ‘Pit Lane Mess’ started. As the pit lane became very busy I knew there was going to be chaos. Chaz Mostert had just been in the pits a lap before but still went back like all the others. I don’t know how this happened but his car controller gave him the go-ahead. As he came out of the pits Rick Kelly was travelling along the pit lane and ‘T-boned’ him. Kelly seemed angry and didn’t take his foot off the accelerator. They were blocking the pit lane. The other cars had to drive through the DJRTP and Red Bull garages to get around. All high risks activities. Chaz Mostert copped a drive through penalty and later apologised publicly but there were differing opinions on this.

    Nick Percat and David Reynolds stayed out on track to avoid the congestion and it worked to their advantage. Both of them ended up with track position coming in at 5th and 9th respectively.

    Towards the end of the race officials had to ‘call time’. They weren’t going to complete the total number of laps and cut the race short.

    Once again no one could catch Scott McLaughlin who managed to start his title defence of the Supercars Championship with a perfect score 300 points. A double win puts him up there with some of the great drivers of all time.

    Mark Winterbottom was my hero of the day. He started 24th due to not recording a time in Qualifying. Throughout the race he managed to gain 18 places to finish 6th. What an amazing effort.

     

    Results for Race 2

    1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing team
    2nd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing
    3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team

    In my opinion personally I would like to see Supercars get rid of timed race because it would make more enjoyable for the fans not only watching on but live at the track as well.

    That is my Opinion anyway.

    https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/ please feel free to let me know how the event from your Opinion via my Facebook Fanpage.

    The next event is the Beaurepairs Melbourne 400 on the 14th to the 17th of March 2019.

    Post Race Report, Supercars

    Tyrepower Tasmainia Supersprint 2018

    1 Comment

    Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

    On the weekend of the 6th to the 8th of April 2018 was the Tyrepower Tasmainia Supersprint.

    It is interesting to see Supercars trying a brand new Qualifying format based on the Formula 1 method. This was the first run and it went well. There was good feedback from all the drivers, teams, commentators and spectators.

    In race 7 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position and alongside him was Jamie Whincup.

    On the first of the 50-lap race Craig Lowndes who started in fourth position tried to go in between Shane Van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup but that didn’t work so he had to drop back to third. 

    Shane Van Gisbergen continued to lead the opening laps. Then the Red Bull Holden Racing Team pitted Shane Van Gisbergen on lap 5 for track position but Mark Dutton later admitted the strategy was wrong and too soon to be of benefit.

    Commentator, Mark Skaife was also surprised that Shane Van Gisbergen came in as early as he did. I’m guessing there was some sort of plan but it didn’t work out for the best.

    Shane Van Gisbergen’s early pit stop put Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes into 1st and 2nd spot.

    Before their pit stops took place Jamie Whincup continued as the leader of the race with Craig Lowndes behind him.

    During the first half of the race Rick Kelly didn’t leave enough racing room for Cameron Waters to sneak past him at turn 2 which he didn’t like.

    Michael Caruso’s contact with another car left his Nissan Altama’s front left headlight and panel smashed in, needing to be patched up while in pit lane. The pit team finding yet another use for Gaffe Tape

    On lap 23 Chaz Mostert pitted. When leaving the pit lane to re-join the racetrack the seal panel on his car 55 caught fire. The cabin filled with smoke and Chaz Mostert seemed to struggle when he climbed out and walked away from the car.  The repairs needed to get back out on the track were too extensive and he ended the race with a DNF (Did Not Finish).

    It seemed no one else could catch the top 3 drivers Jamie Whincup, Craig Lowndes and James Courtney. The finish was still a nail biter with Craig Lowndes doing his best to take the number one position from Jamie Whincup. The pressure brought out some amazing last minute driving from both of them. Ultimately Jamie Whincup prevailed.

    Mark Skaife said that if Craig Lowndes was on pole position for Saturday’s Race he would have won and I agree. He was in his best form.

    But Jamie Whincup doesn’t give over that easily and this gives him his 110th career race win! Congratulations Jamie!

    Results for race 7

    1st Jamie Whincup – Red Holden Racing Team.
    2nd Craig Lowndes – Autobarn Lowndes Racing.
    3rd James Courtney – Walkinshaw Andretti United.

     

    You will have to excuse the way this sounds but it is the honest truth (I love the play on words). In Qualifying for Race 8, Triple 8 qualified 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

    So in Race 8 Craig Lowndes started on pole position with Shane Van Gisbergen alongside him. The last time Craig Lowndes started on pole position was back in 2016, Race 16 at Queensland Raceway.

    At the start of the 84 lap Race Craig Lowndes got the right amount of wheelspin to get swamped off pole position. Michael Caruso got damage on the front left-hand corner of car 23 due to a concertina pile up. Richie Stanaway also didn’t have a good start to race 8. He had damage on the left rear of the Mega Bolts Fuel car 56 which didn’t make Richie Stanaway happy at all. He has just joined Supercars as a fulltime driver (rookie) and just needs to go through the learning curve. I think he is a great driver and in no time he will be one of the drivers to watch for.

    Craig Lowndes was enjoying being in the lead of the race and out of trouble.

    Shane Van Gisbergen didn’t have a good race at all due to a mechanical issue with the clutch.

    I thought there was no way Shane Van Gisbergen would finish the race due his gearbox dramas and just wasn’t able to get the speed he wanted because of his lack of control over the clutch.

    Grant Mcpherson who is Shane Van Gisbergen’s race engineer asked him if he wanted to come in and get it fixed or press on. To my surprise Shane Van Gisbergen made the choice to press on.

    Intresting to note Chris O Toole who is the Car Controller at Tickford Racing was not in Tasmania last weekend due to being injured and coming off his bike. As a result Matty Robert filled in as car controller.

    In the middle of the race Craig Lowndes was getting held up by Chaz Mostert before he pitted for his first stop.

    Grant McPherson said to Shane Van Gisbergen I am ready to bring it in, are you? – meaning Grant Mcpherson felt the risks were too high and it was time to bring the car into the garage to fix the throttle issue. Neil Crompton and Mark Skaife both agreed also saying it was time to bring the car into the pits otherwise Shane Van Gisbergen would have lost the car.

    According to what Mark Dutton said, he could see  When Shane Van Gisbergen came into the pits for 2nd and final stop the Red Bull Holden Racing Team dived in to the foot well of Shane Van Gisbergen’s car to try and resolve the Issue. Pretty soon though, the Red Bull Mechanic was shaking his head. That said everything and I knew straight away that he couldn’t fix it.

    The Drama was Shane Van Gisbergen’s throttle kept running on at the end od the  back and turn 4 in first gear.  

    I felt they should have brought the car in earlier and they may have been able to make the repair and at least try to get a solid result. By leaving it so late there was not enough time to get back out on track.

    Towards the end of the no one else could catch the top 3 drivers which were Craig Lowndes, Scott McLaughlin and Jamie Whincup.

    Once again Craig Lowndes showing great form along with Jamie Whincup. They both made a podium finish for both races over the weekend.

    Results for race 8

     1st Craig Lowndes – Autobarn Lowndes Racing.
    2nd Scott Mclaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
    3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing.

     

    Jamie Whincup is now the Championship leader but only by 11 points.

    Craig Lowndes two podium finishes over the weekend places him in 6th spot on the Championship ladder, only 61 points away from the Championship lead.

    His win in Race 8 also means Craig Lowndes has earned his 106th career win, only 5 away from Jamie Whincup’s total wins.

    The next event is the WD40 Phillip Island 500, on the 20th to the 22nd of April 2018.