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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
On the weekend of the 3rd to the 5th of November 2017 was the ITM Auckland SuperSprint.
This is held at the Pukekohe Park Raceway just south of Auckland in New Zealand.
The V8 Supercars have been racing here since 2013. The track has changed a little from last year with more turns added for the drivers to navigate so I’m sure that the teams would use a different setup for this race weekend.
Other factors that will affect team strategies are:
– With only one race to go for the season after this one, the drivers who are in the championship fight will probably hold back from any risks as they do not want to damage their cars.
– The cars had to be flown over to NZ for the race and their trucks stay in Australia, meaning they have limited spares on hand for repairs.
– There are only 3 safety cars being used for the race.
I think the Red Bull team will be extra careful to ensure they don’t have a repeat of last year when Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen came together in the race.
Race 23 on Saturday and Race 24 on Sunday are both 70 laps and 200Kms each.
In the preliminaries to the race, the Qualifying session was abandoned part way through due to the wet weather. As a result, the grid was set from the Friday Practice times.
Things got better and conditions had improved by the time Race 23 started. Rain had stopped and the track had dried out somewhat.
Cameron Waters started on pole position alongside him was Jamie Whincup.
Jamie Whincup beat Cameron Waters to turn 1 and held lead for the first couple of laps. It wasn’t long before Scott McLaughlin got into 2nd place and was pressuring Jamie Whincup’s number 1 position.
Scott McLaughlin took a risk as he tried to go around the outside of Jamie Whincup but didn’t succeed. Jamie Whincup was defensive and didn’t leave him enough room which earned him a bad sportsmanship flag.
On lap 56 David Reynolds and Fabian Coulthard made contact sending David Reynolds into a tyre barrier and Fabian Coulthard had a massive roll over. He was the only DNF for the race. The car was a mess and the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske didn’t finish the repair until 4:30a.m. Fabian Coulthard was adamant to race on Sunday.
Shane Van Gisbergen was now the race leader followed by Mark Winterbottom and Scott McLaughlin.
Chaz Mostert was trying to re dress so that he wouldn’t get pinged after making contact with David Reynolds exiting turn 8.
In the last laps Shane Van Gisbergen held his lead confidently. No one seemed to be able to catch him.
It was a tight finish. Shane Van Gisbergen reached the chequered flag first having moved up 5 places from his starting position. Mark Winterbottom had taken advantage of his grid starting position 3 and came in 2nd just over 0.8 seconds later. Closely followed by Scott McLaughlin, Jamie Whincup and Jason Bright, with finishing times 01:24:00.2363, 01:24:00.6912 and 01:24:01.3644.
Results for race 23
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd Mark Winterbottom – Prodrive Racing Australia.
3rd Scott Mclaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
4th Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
In race 24 Jamie Whincup started on pole position alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.
During Qualifying for race 24 Craig Lowndes nearly caused a red flag due to running wide in between turns 3 and 4. He recovered well and managed to be placed 12th on the starting grid.
I couldn’t believe that DJR managed to repair Fabian Coulthard’s car after he rolled it the day before, especially due to the limited spares that all the teams have at an ‘away’ race. Fabian Coulthard is a determined man and scored himself the 8th position on the starting grid. It was great to see.
At the start of the 70 lap race Jamie Whincup got the led into the first corner. Scott Mclaughlin had to pull in behind him and stay put because there isn’t room to pass between turns 2 and 3.
Garth Tander was running well early on. He started 11th on the grid but soon moved inside the top 5.
Shane Van Gisbergen was another driver doing well early on and had drama free pit stops.
After the first round of stops and the drivers re-joined the race, Jamie Whincup took his lead back.
Simona de Silvestro was following Rick and Todd Kelly because it was her first race at Pukekohe raceway in New Zealand.
When the 2nd round of pit stops started, Tim Slade making entry to the pits had his pit lane speed limiter on and Shane Van Gisbergen came into the pit lane entry behind him way too fast, and I mean way too fast! He rear-ended Tim Slade who must have gotten the shock of his life. It was a bizarre mistake on Shane Van Gisbergen’s part and he ended up with a bent up bonnet resembling a tent that blocked his view and required him to be guided into his bay. The result was devastating; By the end of the race he had dropped from 7th place on the starting grid to 24th. Such a poor result now put an end to him being a possible contender for the championship.
In the middle of the race the weather was getting worse with clouds starting to come over the race track. It was really dark so fast. I laughed at Neil Crompton comment to fellow commentator Mark Scaife, “It’s gotten so dark, it is like night”.
Towards the end of the race no one else could catch the top 3 drivers which were Jamie Whincup, Scott McLaughlin and Cameron Waters.
Jamie Whincup said he wasn’t feeling very well before the race but he managed to start from pole and basically lead the whole way all bar pit stops.
Results for race 24
1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Team.
2nd Scott Mclaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
3rd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing Team.
4th Craig Lowndes – Team Vortex.
Jamie Whincup now leads the championship by 30 points heading into the Coates Hire Newcastle 500 which will take place between the 24th and the 26th of November 2017.
With this win Jamie Whincup now has 75 career pole positions and 107 career race wins.
The big question at the moment is, “who will win the 2017 V8 Supercars Championship?”.
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.
Jamie Whincup now leads the championship by 30 points heading into the Coates Hire Newcastle 500 which will take place between the 24th and the 26th of November 2017.
