On the weekend of the 16 – 18 of February 2024 was the Repco Bathurst 12 Hour.
The Bathurst 12 Hour was first run in 1991 so this year marks a milestone as the 21st running.
The Bathurst 12 Hour is not officially a part of the Supercars season. However, many of the Supercars drivers take part in the grand event. It is made of 4 classes; Pro AM, Silver, GT4 and the invitational class. Being a gruelling 12 hours on one of the most difficult tracks in the country, each car has three drivers that take turns behind the wheel.
Sheldon Van Der Linde claimed pole position and the Allan Simonsen Trophy for BMW team, WRT. Local Broc Feeney of the Triple 8 team qualified his 888 Mercedes to earn provisional pole position.
The race kicked off under safety car in the dark of Sunday at 5:45am. Bathurst is known for its erratic weather conditions but they started with a dry track and no major challenges. For the next 12 hours there was a spectacular display of driving from local and international teams alike.
2024 Bathurst 12 Hour Highlights
On the start, Sheldon Van Der Linde immediately made a break from the pack. Within a few laps he already created a gap of about 10 car lengths but there was still a long way to go.
There were no major incidents before the sun came up and all 25 cars were still on track.
At about the 75 minute mark, number 19 Racing Ginetta G55 GT4 caught fire in the pit lane. They were the first retirement of the race.
The first safety car was deployed after 2 hours 40 minutes of racing when the 701 Vortex spun off the track into the sand trap as it headed towards the S’s.
As the 12 hour countdown got to 8hrs 36 minutes car number 91 found the fence at turn 2 and came to a standstill on the blind corner.
A few minutes before they marked the 5th hour of driving, Charles Weerts behind the wheel of the pole sitting car made contact at “The Cutting”. In spectacular fashion his car was out of control and the rear mounted the concrete barrier sliding along for over 50 meters. He was lucky to have not gone right over the top. The damage was so severe # 32 was now out of the race. The team was doing so well throughout the whole weekend it is a great shame they were not able to continue. I am sure they would have been contenders for a win and offered up much more of their competitive driving.
When they were into the 6th hour of racing Bathurst did what Bathurst does. The weather changed completely and the rain came down heavily. At times there were sheets of water covering the track.
Cars were going off the track left, right and centre. The international drivers began sticking behind local drivers who knew the track and how to manage in the wet conditions. Still many cars aquaplaned off the challenging track and there were many moments that had viewers holding their breath.
Local Matt Campbell behind the wheel of #912 had the lead in the Manthey Racing / EMA Motorsport Porsche.
He was challenged multiple times with the biggest coming from the #13 Phantom Global Racing/Team 75 Porsche entry driven by Bastian Buus, Joel Eriksson and NZ local Jaxon Evans. The other challenge came from the SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes driven by Jules Gounon, Kenny Habul and Luca Stolz.
With 30 minutes remaining there was less than 1 second between the leading 3 cars and less than 8 seconds back to 8th place. It was anyone’s game and there was no room for mistakes.
The rain had stopped but the track was still wet. With leading cars so close to each other the competitive driving was incredibly fierce.
With 15 minutes on the clock the leading Porsche #912 with Matt Campbell behind the wheel edged ahead to create a 5+ second lead. Noone was giving up. Drivers were flying down the straights side by side heading into corners looking for any opportunity to make a pass.
Matt Campbells driving was incredible. He kept the lead in the #912 Porsche and even though the gap closed down to just over 2 seconds, he looked confident and strong on that last lap.
The #75 Mercedes driven by Jules Gounon crossed the finish line within 2.6 seconds to take 2nd place followed by the #22 Audi.
For Matt Campbell this is his second Bathurst 12 Hour win. It also breaks the Mercedes 3 time winning streak.
In the second half of last year Lee Holdsworth announced that the 2022 season would be his last as a full-time driver in V8 Supercars. To celebrate his contributions to motorsports I’m giving a quick rundown on his career to date. I say ‘to date’ because I believe he has not fully retired from the sport and will be adding more to his list of achievements.
Lee Holdsworth was born on the 2nd of February 1983 in Melbourne Victoria. (Happy Birthday for next month).
Lee Holdsworth started his motorsport career in go karts. He quickly progressed to racing cars in 2001 to compete in the Commodore National Series at only 17 years of age.
In 2002 he finished fifth in the Commodore Cup National Series and then in 2003 finished third.
In 2004 he moved up to compete in the Konica Series driving a Holden VX Commodore for Smith Trucks Racing. He earned some impressive results including finishing his first ever round in the top 10, winning the reverse grid race at Eastern Creek and taking third place in Queensland. It was this year that Lee Holdsworth also got his first taste of The Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000.
In 2005 Lee competed in the Australian Formula Ford Championship with Garry Rogers Motorsport. At the same time, he ran in a number of HPDC Development Series events.
The following year, 2006 was his big break earning a fulltime drive with Garry Rogers Motorsport (GRM) in the V8 Supercars Championship. In 2007 Lee Holdsworth won his first ever V8 Supercars round at Oran Park. His consistency and good strategies had paid off.
In 2008 Lee Holdsworth started working with the John Bowe Institute of Driving helping bring performance driving safety techniques to the public.
In 2009 Lee Holdsworth scored his first career pole position at the first ever Townsville round. He also scored pole position at the first running of the Sydney Telstra 500.
In 2010 Lee Holdsworth was still at GRM and earned 2 pole positions plus a race win.
His 4 year contract with GRM ended after the 2011 season and in 2012 he replaced Shane Van Gisbergen at Stone Brothers Racing.
In 2013 when Erebus Motorsport took over Stone Brothers Racing Lee Holdsworth had Tim Slade and Mario Engel as teammates. With co-driver Craig Baird they earned 3rd place in the endurance race of the Sandown 500.
In 2014 Lee Holdsworth hit a patch of bad luck and received 2 DNFs. One DNF was at Sandown and the other was Bathurst. He made amends by taking first place at Winton.
He spent the following year at Walkinshaw Racing.
In 2016 he moved on to join Team 18. After sustaining injuries at Hidden Valley Raceway, he had to sit out a number of events and didn’t return until the Bathurst 1000.
In 2017 Lee Holdsworth resigned with Team 18 to the end of 2018.
In 2019 Lee Holdsworth moved to Tickford Racing when the Ford Mustangs debuted in the Supercars Championship. It also meant it was his first time behind the wheel of a Ford since 2012.
In 2021 Lee Holdsworth lost his fulltime seat and became co-driver to Chaz Mostert. The relationship worked and they won the coveted Bathurst 1000.
With a Bathurst win under his belt, he returned to fulltime Supercars Racing in 2022 at Grove Racing.
So, after 16 years as a fulltime driver in V8 Supercars and 510 race starts (plus a few more in other categories) the Lethal Lee Holdsworth claims his retirement. Congratulations on what has been an amazing career! Best of luck for the future.
On the weekend of December 1 – 4, 2022 was the V8-Supercars season finale, The Valo Adelaide 500.
The event was held on the Adelaide Street Circuit, a 3.2km track with 14 turns and is made up of two 78 lap races (250kms each).
The circuit was first opened on the 31st October, 1985 for the F1 Australian Grand Prix. A few years later in 1999 the races became an official round of the Supercars Championship.
This year’s event marked a special milestone in the hearts of many Australians. It was the last race ever for the iconic Holden brand. In 2020 General Motors announced the retirement of the Holden brand name and 2022 was the last year of its manufacture. Supercars teams will now replace the Holdens with the Cheverolet Camaro. Australian motorsports will never be the same.
In the four day event the pre-race sessions results were:
Thomas Randle was fastest in Practice 1
Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Practice 2
Chaz Mostert was fastest Practice 3 and in Qualifying for Race 33
Cameron Waters was fastest in the Shootout for Race 33
For Race 33 Cameron Waters started on pole position with Scott Pye alongside him. The big surprise was the champion elect, Shane Van Gisbergen starting in 25th place after a bad wide turn in qualifying and running out of time to have another attempt.
At the start Cameron Waters got the jump and led into turns 1 and 2 while Scott Pye had to tuck in behind.
At turn 7 James Golding made a mistake which allowed Chaz Mostert to get up the inside of him at turn 9 to take 6th place.
As the field completed lap 1 Cameron Waters had the lead and was 0.9 second ahead of Scott Pye. Shane Van Gisbergen had gained 4 spots to be in 21st place.
Shane Van Gisbergen was soon on the charge. In the second lap he first passed Mark Winterbottom, then Broc Feeney and Bryce Fullwood.
Further ahead, Will Davison got up the inside of Will Brown to move into 13th.
Bryce Fullwood ran wide on the exit of turn 4 which allowed Broc Feeney and Mark Winterbottom to overtake.
Pretty soon Shane Van Gisbergen had gained 9 spots up to 16th position. He was still 11.6 seconds off the lead.
Will Davison passed Brodie Kostecki to move into 12th. The tightly packed group meant engine temperatures were rising and they would have to make attempts to get clean air as soon as possible.
The first car to pit was Nick Percat on lap 6 to get out of the traffic and help keep his engine temperature under control.
At turn 11 Jack Smith went off the track through his own error but it didn’t cause any incident.
On lap 7 James Golding in car 31 had power steering dramas after hitting the wall, so had to immediately head to the pits.
Up the front Anton de Pasquale and James Courtney were in a battle for 3rd and 4th.
I was amazed at Shane Van Gisbergen who was now up 13 places from the start.
Broc Feeney was the first of the 2 Red Bull cars to pit on lap 11 so that Shane Van Gisbergen didn’t have to double stack.
Will Davison was the first of the front runners to pit on lap 13.
On return to the track he locked the right front wheels and race engineer Richard Harris asked him to return to the pits to check for flat spots on his tyres.
Shane Van Gisbergen put in an aggressive effort and was now battling with Lee Holdsworth for 7th position. Yes folks, I do not lie! Shane Van Gisbergen had started 25th on the grid and was now in 8th place going hard.
When Anton de Pasquale came in, he overshot the mark. The crew managed it well, but it was less than perfect especially when you are one of the front runners.
A few laps later Broc Feeney went off the road at turn 11 and hit the tyre wall. It could have spelled disaster, but he managed the recovery well and was able to continue.
Chaz Mostert pitted from 3rd place and came back out in 10th.
Cameron Waters pitted from the lead and came back out with clear air.
In the middle of the race the safety car was deployed because Jack le Brocq was in the wall. The rest of the field took the opportunity to come in and fuel up.
After the race went back to ‘green’, Chaz Mostert made wheel to wheel contact with Shane Van Gisbergen but it didn’t result in any significant damage.
With 32 laps to go Thomas Randle and Todd Hazelwood were the first two drivers to complete their second and final pit stop.
Will Davison pitted a few laps later, lap 49.
On the next lap Shane Van Gisbergen went off the track at turn 11 and buried the front end in the tyre wall. Race control deployed the safety car. He managed to get the car out but had reasonable damage requiring repair.
On the restart Chaz Mostert was the leader of the race followed by Andre Heimgartner and Nick Percat.
At turn 5 Cameron Waters tried to get up the inside of Todd Hazelwood. It didn’t work but it sent Hazelwood into the wall. Will Brown was so close he couldn’t avoid following him into the wall, so it was less than a lap after restart that another safety car came back out on the track. Shortly after Cameron Waters was issued a drive through penalty for being the cause of the mayhem.
On the restart with 22 laps to go Andre Heimgartner tried to go around the race leader Chaz Mostert but failed and lost ground. On the exit of turn 6 he made another mistake which allowed Nick Percat to take 2nd place off him. Walkinshaw Andretti United now had the 2 front places in the running.
With 17 laps to go Bryce Fullwood had to serve a pit lane penalty for making contact with Scott Pye earlier. It ultimately put him out of the running for a place on the podium.
With 16 laps to go Chaz Mostert’s lead was 2.5 seconds over Nick Percat in 2nd place.
With 8 laps to go James Courtney was given a bad sportsmanship flag for exceeding track limits and was out of lives. Race control issued him with previous warnings and now gave him a drive through penalty.
In the end, on the final lap Chaz Mostert finished 1.9 seconds ahead of his teammate Nick Percat. It was a spectacular finish for Chaz Mostert, earning him his 21st career win and his 5th race win of 2022. It was also a welcome finish for Walkinshaw Andretti United having a 1st and 2nd place.
Results for Race 33
1st Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
2nd Nick Percat – Walkinshaw Andretti United
3rd James Courtney – Tickford Racing
In Race 34 Anton de Pasquale started on pole position and alongside him was his teammate, Will Davison.
As they took off Anton de Pasquale led into turns 1 and 2.
Back in the pack there was contact between Mark Winterbottom and James Golding. They both went off the track. Golding had to wait for all the cars to pass before he could re-enter putting him at the back of the pack.
There was only 0.373 seconds between Anton de Pasquale in first place and Will Davison in second. They were closely followed by champion Shane Van Gisbergen and Broc Feeney.
Cameron Waters was able to pass his former teammate, Chaz Mostert for 5th place.
On lap 3 Scott Pye ran extremely wide at the final corner and Anton de Pasquale hit the tyre bundle at turns 1 and 2 of the next lap putting some damage on his car.
Jack Le Brocq’s car had smoke coming out of the back due to an oil leak. Officials issued him a mechanical black flag and he had to come into the pits right away.
Broc Feeney was the first of the Red Bull cars to pit on lap 11 so teammate Shane Van Gisbergen wouldn’t have to double stack.
On lap 14 Anton de Pasquale was still in control of the race. Will Davison pitted to avoid a challenge from Broc Feeney who had just done the fastest lap of the race so far.
Todd Hazelwood had a massive slide between turns 13 and 14, while Will Davison got a bad sportsmanship flag for exceeding track limits.
On lap 18 Jake Kostecki hit the wall exiting turn 8 and the left rear wheel departed car 56. The safety car was deployed for the first time in the final race of the year.
On the restart with 58 laps to go Will Davison was leading the race with Broc Feeney and Anton de Pasquale close behind.
Yet again at turn 8, Brodie Kostecki hit the wall and put a bruise on car 99.
On the next lap David Reynolds got a bad sportsmanship flag for exceeding track limits at turn 2.
Meanwhile back up the front Will Davison was under pressure from Broc Feeney in 2nd place. Will Davison made a mistake at the turn 9 hairpin that allowed Broc Feeney to take the race lead.
In the middle of the race Broc Feeney was still the leader and looking confident. From that point he did a fantastic job of holding out against the winner of the previous race at this event, Chaz Mostert.
Chaz Mostert kept the pressure on but in the final laps Broc Feeney managed to create some space between the two. It was only about 1 second but enough to let Feeney concentrate on driving rather than defending.
Broc Feeney kept the more experienced Chaz Mostert at bay and crossed the finish line with 0.9644 of a second lead. It was just under another long 8.5 seconds before Anton de Pasquale followed in 3rd place.
Broc Feeney and the team were ecstatic to claim his first win in his rookie year. It also seemed a fitting climax as the Holden brand name’s final race ever in Supercars.
A special congratulations to Broc Feeney on a great finish to your rookie year and your teammate, Shane Van Gisbergen who is now officially a 3 time Supercars champion.
Also, I would like to send out congratulations to Lee Holdsworth on his retirement race. You have been an absolute stalwart of the sport for two decades. Thanks for the brilliant memories and best of luck for the future. You will be missed.
Results for Race 34
1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
3rd Anton de Pasquale – Shell V-Power Racing Team
The next events are the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 hour, February 3rd to 5th 2023. Then the Supercars season begins on March 10 with the Thrifty Newcastle 500. I can’t wait and hope you will join me then.
On the weekend of the 19th to the 21st of August 2022 was the Penrite Oil Sandown Supersprint.
This will mark the 52nd event held at Sandown in ATCC – Supercars history. No venue has hosted more rounds than the Melbourne circuit. Its championship race history includes both endurance and sprint events. This weekend’s races will be the 80th, 81st and 82nd championship races to be held at the circuit.
In the opening race Lee Holdsworth will reach a career milestone, his 500th Supercars race start. The defending Bathurst co-champion will be just the 11th driver to achieve the feat, but the first to do so at the same venue as his first career race start. Lee Holdsworth made his Supercars debut at the 2004 Sandown 500. The Friday event will mark the 15th anniversary of the Penrite Racing’s drivers first championship race win at Oran Park in 2007.
Lee Holdsworth has announced his retirement from fulltime Supercars Racing at the end of this season. Congratulations Lee, best of luck for the future.
The weekend kicked off on Friday with the usual practice and qualifying sessions without any surprising results.
Will Davison was fastest Practice 1.
Jamie Whincup was fastest in Practice 2 for co-drivers only.
Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 3.
Will Davison was fastest in Qualifying.
In race 24 Will Davison started on pole position with Shane Van Gisbergen alongside him.
At the start of the race Will Davison got the jump and led into turn 1 for the first of 36 laps. Shane Van Gisbergen went straight to the inside covering any challenge from Will Brown right behind him. Anton de Pasquale was also making his challenge against Will Brown, but he too couldn’t make the pass.
The cars further back in the pack were settling into their race pace while the leaders were pulling away.
Will Davison had a margin of 0.985 seconds over the defending champion Shane Van Gisbergen.
Meanwhile, Broc Feeney was battling with Andre Heimgartner for positions 8th and 9th. As they approached turn 9 on Dandenong Road, Andre Heimgartner gave Broc Feeney a bump and turned him around. Broc Feeney went from 8th down to 25th position. He had lost 15 spots. The incident immediately went into investigation. After a short while Andre Heimgartner was issued a 15 second time penalty for the driving infringement.
As they crossed the line to commence lap 2 Will Davison only had a 0.720 second lead over Shane Van Gisbergen. It was then only 0.647 seconds back to Will Brown in 3rd place.
James Courtney had gained one place and was up to 6th position.
Mark Winterbottom tried to get up the inside of James Courtney, but he didn’t let the pass happen.
Will Davison couldn’t increase his lead over Shane Van Gisbergen who was sticking to him like glue.
The front of the field was tightly packed. Through lap 3 Shane Van Gisbergen was making it impossible for leader Will Davison to make any headway and kept the gap to about half a second. It was another 0.7 seconds back to Will Brown still in 3rd place with Anton de Pasquale just 0.8 seconds back. Thomas Randle was right behind and putting pressure on Anton de Pasquale.
A little further back in the pack, Brodie Kostecki was close in behind Andre Heimgartner. Cameron Waters had gained 2 places up to 10th and Chaz Mostert had moved up 1 spot into 12th.
Shane Van Gisbergen was still on the tail of leader Will Davison, ensuring the gap didn’t get to more than 1 second.
By lap 5 Brodie Kostecki had gained 6 positions to move into 8th place. His next target was 2015 Supercars Champion Mark Winterbottom.
Nick Percat had gained 5 places to move into 16th position right behind Lee Holdsworth, who had gained 3 places and was in 15th.
There were no changes at the tightly packed front of the field. Will Davison was still in the lead followed by Shane Van Gisbergen, Will Brown, Anton de Pasquale and Thomas Randle. Will Davison never being able to break past the 1 second lead.
On lap 6 Cameron Waters did the fastest lap of the race in 108.659 seconds but was still 6.3 seconds off the lead.
The first car to pit was Scott Pye in car 20 on lap 9. When he re-joined, he came back out in 22nd place.
On lap 10 Andre Heimgartner came into the pits and once done had to serve the 15 second penalty issued earlier. When he re-joined it was in 25th position.
On lap 11 David Reynolds broke the fastest lap time at 108.474 seconds.
It was only on lap 13 that Will Davison managed to break past the 1 second lead over Shane Van Gisbergen.
Anton de Pasquale had dropped back from the top 5 to 9th place and came into the pits at the same time as James Courtney.
In the middle of the race more of the front runners, Shane Van Gisbergen and Will Brown came into for their pit stops. They came back out into 15th and 16th position.
At this point there was 14 cars still yet to pit.
Shortly after, Will Davison and Thomas Randle pitted from 1st and 2nd place.
On lap 19 as Will Davison and Thomas Randle were exiting the pits, Chaz Mostert was entering for his 1 and only compulsory pit stop. Will Davison re-joined as the affective lead of the race followed by Shane Van Gisbergen. and
There were still 11 cars yet to pit.
On lap 20 Thomas Randle got a bad sportsmanship flag for careless driving. A bad sportsmanship flag is only warning to tell the driver that he is running out of lives.
Then on lap 22, Shane Van Gisbergen and James Courtney got a bad sportsmanship flag for exceeding track limits.
On lap 23 Cameron Waters, Broc Feeney and Macauley Jones pitted, leaving Lee Holdsworth as the last car to pit.
Cameron Waters and Macauley Jones re-joined in 8th and 9th position.
With 12 laps to go Will Davison was finally making headway and had increased his lead over Shane Van Gisbergen to 3+ seconds. It was only 0.531 seconds back to Anton de Pasquale.
Lee Holdsworth pitted on lap 24. On the way back out his car stalled which cost a lot of time and he dropped to 24th position.
By lap 25 Will Davison resumed the physical lead of the race and now 3.8 seconds ahead of Shane Van Gisbergen and Anton de Pasquale.
Back in the pack cars in positions 14 to 17 were pretty vigorously battling. I thought Chris Pither was going to make contact with Nick Percat but didn’t. At one stage I thought they were all going to go off the track but somehow, they all stayed on.
On lap 28 Cameron Waters in car 6 also got a bad sportsmanship flag for exceeding track limits.
Chris Pither was dropping down the order quickly because of a delaminating tyre.
With 10 laps to go Broc Feeney was still fighting and got up the inside of Tim Slade for 16th position.
By lap 29 Will Davison had squeezed almost another second onto his lead over Shane Van Gisbergen. It was now 4.765 seconds.
On lap 30 Will Davison broke past the 5 second mark on his lead.
With a clear track and not having to worry about defending his position he kept increasing his lead. In the end Will Davison absolutely dominated the race crossing the line 8.4 seconds clear of Shane Van Gisbergen, followed by Anton de Pasquale.
This was Will Davison’s 21st career victory in Supercars. Congratulations and happy 21st!
Results for Race 24:
1st Will Davison – Shell V-Power Racing Team.
2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing.
3rd Anton de Pasquale – Shell V-Power Racing.
In race 25 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position and alongside him was Cameron Waters.
Will Davison started 11th on the grid due to an electrical problem during qualifying. There was no fire but a lot of smoke that filled the cabin of the Shell V-Power Racing Ford Mustang. Will Davison had to pull into the pits and get out of the car. Amazingly they got back out on the track before the end of qualifying and even with this interruption they managed to get a place just outside the top 10.
Chaz Mostert had problems of his own. Engine issues had Walkinshaw Andretti United stumped. Just prior the race they decided to do an engine change! To my amazement they managed this in 8 minutes. Can you imagine dropping your car off at the mechanic and having an engine change in under 10 minutes! I don’t think so.
As they took off from the start line Shane Van Gisbergen got the jump and Chaz Mostert stuck right behind him. Broc Feeney who started in 4th had a good run but was blocked in and had nowhere to go.
As Shane Van Gisbergen led into turn 1 for the first of 36 laps, Cameron Waters was 1 back and 1 wide to Chaz Mostert.
Jack le Brocq went off the track between turns 2 and 3. As he was re-joining he made contact with another car. Unfortunately, it was his own teammate, Todd Hazelwood. The impact broke the left side steering arm of car 34 driven by Jack le Brocq. Todd Hazelwood in car 35 also had damage. He dropped back to 25th place and car 34 dropped 10 places to 24th. They bath limped around the track to make it back to the pits so were the first car in.
Within the first half lap Will Davison had gained 3 spots up to 8th place.
On lap 2 the front runners were still tightly packed. Chaz Mostert was only 0.250 seconds behind Shane Van Gisbergen. It was then only 0.416 back to Broc Feeney in 3rd place.
At turn 7 James Courtney went straight ahead over the top of the curb leaving the track. He recovered quickly enough to block an effort from Tim Slade trying to get up the inside of him so managed to hold onto his position in 14th.
Chaz Mostert’s attack on Shane Van Gisbergen was blocked and the leader was even able to edge further ahead a little to 0.499 seconds.
Broc Feeney was right behind Chaz Mostert putting in an effort to take his place in 2nd.
On lap 5 Cameron Waters and Will Davison made contact. After starting on the front row in 2nd position Cameron Waters had dropped 5 places from 2nd down to 7th position.
As the pack was approaching the end of the back straight, Andre Heimgartner made contact with Scott Pye. As a result Andre Heimgartner went straight ahead at turn 7 leaving Scott Pye and Cameron Waters in a messy battle still on track.
On lap 6 Lee Holdsworth was back in the pack. He was getting held up so pitted to try and get some clear track. No one else followed him into the pits.
The leaders were still bunched closely and Shane Van Gisbergen managed to only just get ahead of Chaz Mostert by 1.1 seconds. Chaz Mostert was tailed by Broc Feeney by a mere 0.563 seconds.
James Golding was the first of the front runners to pit on lap 7. He dropped all the way down to 21st position on his return to the track.
Thomas Randle also pitted on the same lap.
By lap 8 Shane Van Gisbergen could only manage to extend his lead to 1.7 seconds over Chaz Mostert.
Further back in the pack, Mark Winterbottom was putting pressure on Andre Heimgartner for 9th position.
They both pitted on the next lap and re-joined the race in 17th and 18th position.
At this point there were 16 cars yet to pit.
On lap 10 David Reynolds made contact with Cameron Waters on the exit of turn 1 and again on the exit of turns 2 and 3. Cameron Waters then copped another whack, this time from Brodie Kostecki in car 99.
By lap 11 Shane Van Gisbergen had increase his lead to 2.255 seconds over Chaz Mostert. Chaz Mostert had also finally shaken Broc Feeney off his tail and had a gap of 4.223 seconds.
On lap 13 Will Davison pitted but on leaving the crewman still had the rattle gun on the wheel. It didn’t cause any accident but the team was issued a pit lane infringement.
Getting close to the halfway mark of the race on lap 14, two of the front runners came into pit; Chaz Mostert and Broc Feeney. They were fast stops and they came back out in 9th and 10th position.
Jack Smith in car 4 got a bad sportsmanship flag for exceeding the track limits.
On lap 21 Shane Van Gisbergen pitted with a + 14.8 second lead over Cameron Waters who had assumed 2nd place.
Towards the end of the race there were only 3 cars to pit, Tim Slade, Nick Percat and Bryce Fullwood. Once they pitted Shane Van Gisbergen assumed the lead of the race once again.
From that point on Shane Van Gisbergen was in control. He had 3.8 second lead over Chaz Mostert and it was another 7.7 seconds back to David Reynolds.
As the race got close to the finish, Shane Van Gisbergen kept edging away. He just could not be caught. It was faultless driving and he crossed the line 7.5 seconds clear of the rest of the field. Chaz Mostert in 2nd place was followed 4+ seconds by Will Brown.
This was Shane Van Gisbergen’s 15th win out of 25 races this season. That is 60% of the time he has been on the top step of the podium. That is the stuff legends are made of!
Results for Race 25:
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing.
2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United.
3rd Will Brown – Boost Mobile Racing.
In Race 26 Will Davison started on pole position with the defending Supercars Champion Shane Van Gisbergen alongside him.
As they took off at the start Will Davison got the jump and led into turn 1 for the first of 36 laps.
Shane Van Gisbergen was trying to go around the outside of Will Davison but couldn’t make the ground and had to tuck back in behind.
The gap that the leaders had on the on rest of the field was huge.
At turn 3 four cars made contact and spun around to face the wrong way. The drivers involved were Jake Kostecki, Chris Pither, Macauley Jones and Todd Hazelwood. The drivers all got the cars moving again so there was no need for a lap 1 safety car to be deployed. The incident went into investigation but Motorsport Australia took no further action.
On lap 2 Shane Van Gisbergen was on the charge looking for the lead of the race which he got at the second last corner.
Will Davison’s teammate Anton de Pasquale made contact with him and as a result Pasquale’s two front wheels were in the air. He had to come straight into the pits to have the damage on car 11 looked at. While in the pits he had dropped all the way down to 23rd position.
Will Davison also had damage on the front left corner of car 17. The guard was rubbing on the tyre, but he didn’t want to lose 2nd place so didn’t pit. The gap between Shane Van Gisbergen in 1st and Will Davison in 2nd was only 0.141 seconds.
Due to damage caused by the incident on lap 1, Todd Hazelwood had to also pit at the same time as Anton de Pasquale.
During lap 3 Shane Van Gisbergen made a mistake coming out of turn 4. Will Davison tried to take advantage and regain the lead but Gisbergen recovered quickly and fended off the attack.
Behind the two leaders, Broc Feeney was putting pressure on Cameron Waters for 4th position. Chaz Mostert was unaffected in 3rd place.
On lap 6 Will Davison was proving a headache to Shane Van Gisbergen and had done the fastest lap of the race so far 109.365.
Chris Pither who was involved in the 4-car accident on lap 1 finally had to pit for rear tyres and bonnet repair on car 22.
Jack le Brocq and Andre Heimgartner also pitted on this lap.
In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen pitted. On the re-join to the race he only dropped to 8th position.
Shane Van Gisbergen had Chaz Mostert right behind him in 9th but in effect they were battling for 1st and 2nd with the 7 cars ahead still yet to pit. Broc Feeney was behind them in 3rd but was 38 seconds further back.
On lap 20 Cameron Waters and Will Brown pitted from 4th and 5th.
Andre Heimgartner left the track at turn 7. He was issued a bad sportsmanship flag for exceeding track limits.
On lap 23 Will Davison who was in the lead had to pit. Now Lee Holdsworth was the only one left to do so. Once that happened Shane Van Gisbergen assumed the lead of the race.
When Will Davison re-joined the race it wasn’t long before he returned to 2nd place just 2.2 seconds from Shane Van Gisbergen.
Within the last 10 laps Chaz Mostert was under pressure from his ex-teammate Cameron Waters. Right behind them was Broc Feeney trying to look for a gap to make his move.
Mark Winterbottom was further back and he got a bad sportsman flag for exceeding track limits.
Tim Slade had gained 5 spots and was now up to 7th position.
For 2 laps in a row Chaz Mostert was under attack from Cameron Waters trying to earn 3rd place. Chaz Mostert was able to hold him off.
Will Davison was desperate to catch Shane Van Gisbergen and did the fastest lap of the race 108.613 seconds.
Heading down into turn 9 on Dandenong Road, Cameron Waters locked up the front right brakes and went off the track. He came back on in 10th position. It gave Broc Feeney the opportunity he was looking for and he moved up to 4th place.
Shane Van Gisbergen had a 1.3 second lead over Will Davison. It was another 6.6 seconds back to Chaz Mostert then only another 0.605 seconds back to Broc Feeney.
On lap 33 Broc Feeney finally passed Chaz Mostert for 3rd position.
Shane Van Gisbergen held his lead but only just. He crossed the line a mere 0.4611 seconds ahead of Will Davison.
Broc Feeney crossed the line 11.3437 seconds later in 3rd place.
This was Shane Van Gisbergen’s 2nd win for the weekend, earning him a commanding 500 points lead over Cameron Waters in the Driver’s championship for the season. It was also his 70th career win in Supercars. This is the stuff legends are made of. Congratulations Shane!
Results for Race 26
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing.
2nd Will Davison – Shell V-Power Racing Team.
3rd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing.
The next event is the ITM Auckland Supersprint September 9th to the 11th.
On the weekend of the 15th to the 18th of October, 2020 was the Grand Finale of the V8 Supercars season, the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.
In the previous event Repco Supersprint The Bend, Scott McLaughlin was named ‘Champion Elect’ having enough championship points to be unreachable with only one event remaining for the season.
However, it was the Red Bull Holden Racing Team leading Teams Championship ladder but were still within reach by the Shell V-Power Racing Team. So for Jamie Whincup, Shane Van Gisbergen and their co-drivers, Craig Lowndes and Garth Tander this event was make-or-break for the Teams Championship.
Regardless, for all teams the Bathurst 1000 is an incredibly gruelling race and is Australia’s biggest motor race of the year.
With that in mind the pre-race sessions were full of intense competition with some great performances. The results were:
Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 1.
James Moffat was fastest in Practice 2.
Cameron Waters was fastest again in Practice 3.
Will Davison was fastest in Practice 4.
Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 5.
Lee Holdsworth was fastest in the Armour All Qualifying.
Warren Luff was fastest in Practice 6.
Cameron Waters and Will Davison were fastest in Practice 7.
Cameron Waters was fastest again in the Armour all Top 10 Shootout earning pole position
Andre Heimgartner was fastest in the Warm U
So in Race 31, The Big Race and grand finale of the season Cameron Waters and Will Davison started on pole position with the formidable Champion Elect Scott McLaughlin alongside them.
Most of the co-drivers started the race except for Scott McLaughlin, Rick Kelly and Macauley Jones.
I was surprised the The Shell V-Power Racing Team started the race with Scott McLaughlin in the driver’s seat of car 17 but it may have been a last minute strategy when they earned P2 alongside pole position.
Craig Lowndes started the race in car 888 and was battling with Michael Caruso for position 7.
As they kicked off the 161 lap race Will Davison got the jump at first but then Scott McLaughlin soon overtook and led up mountain straight for the first time.
Unlike previous years there were no major incidents in the first lap, but it wasn’t long before the pressure started to show.
During lap 2 Macauley Jones had a problem with his drivers side door, the Brad Jones Racing team couldn’t get the door to stay closed on car 3. As he rounded corners the door was flying open! Of all the issues to have in this race! Race control issued a mechanical black flag requiring he return to the pits immediately. For whatever reason Macauley Jones went another lap before coming in which earned him a Drive Thru Penalty.
The Brad Jones Racing Team had to put a new drivers door on car 3 because the one they had on the car wouldn’t close.
Rick Kelly had a clutch problem with car 15 but put up with it during the opening stages.When Car 15 finaly came in for repairsthey put Dale Wood in the driver’s seat.
When the safety car was deployed Car 15 was able to be waved passed to get his lap back under the new safety car rules.
When Jamie Whincup took the wheel of car 888 from Craig Lowndes he was battling with Bodie Kostecki and Chaz Mostert in front and behind in cars 99 and 25. On lap 33 Jamie Whincup was racing through ‘The Cutting’, a particularly dangerous part of the track and lost control smashing into the concrete barrier.
The impact was huge and car 888 was now out of the race! Not only that but with a DNF Red Bull Holden Racing Team could not earn enough points to stay at the top of the Team’s Championship ladder. Rubbing further salt into the wound was the fact that Team’s Championship would now go to driver champion elect Scott McLaughlin’s team, Shell V-Power Racing Team.
On restart the race leader was Will Davison in car 6, and that’s when it started to rain.
At lap 50 Todd Hazelwood and Jordan Boys in car 14 were the next to leave the track.
Not long after on lap 62 Garry Jacobson and David Russell also left the track to keep the guys in car 50 some company for the duration of the race.
The next 65 laps didn’t see any major incidents and let the race continue.
In the middle of the race Garth Tander, co-driver to Shane Van Gisbergen in car 97 took the lead. Garth Tander’s years of experience were on show with supreme driving skills and flying like he had some Red Bull wings.
This is the Bathurst 1000 and Garth Tander, a three time winner was not going to give up a chance to make it his fourth.
Car 97 was still leading when he handed over the wheel to Shane Van Gisbergen, yet to win his first Bathurst 1000.
As they drivers all completed their mandatory 7 pit stops Shane Van Gisbergen was still holding the lead. For all his efforts he could not shake Cameron Waters right behind him.
Every moment was tense as the race drew to a close. Any slip up and Cameron Waters would take advantage and Shane Van Gisbergen could kiss his 1st Bathurst win good-bye.
At lap 147 of 161 Bryce Fullwood and Kurt Kostecki in car 2 were stranded on the track with power steering dramas and the safety car was deployed. Shane Van Gisbergen must have been pleased to get a chance to breath from Cameron Waters incessant chase.
When the race resumed it was only 2 laps later at lap 149 that the safety car was deployed again as the two Jacks (Smith and Perkins) in car 4 left the track. I bet Shane Van Gisbergen was beginning to feel he would lose his form with these interruptions.
Soon enough they were back to full throttle. There were just a few laps remaining and Shane Van Gisbergen was no only holding his lead but squeezed a few seconds ahead of his pesky shadow Cameron Waters. At lap 155 the other Kostecki (Jake) and Zane Goddard were the cause of the safety car being deployed yet again.
You could feel the tension as the cars squeezed up in formation behind the safety car ready to finish those last few laps.
They resumed for the final time. Shane Van Gisbergen driving like a bat out of hell and Cameron Waters right on his tail. At every opportunity he would pull out from behind the leader and show himself – ready to pounce at any opportunity.
Shane Van Gisbergen kept his cool and didn’t choke at the threat from Waters. In an incredibly tense few laps Shane Van Gisbergen managed to cross that finish line first to get his first Bathurst 1000.
Results for race 31
1st Shane Van Gisbergen and Garth Tander – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd Cameron Waters and Will Davison – Tickford Racing.
3rd Chaz Mostert and Warren Luff – Walkinshaw Andretti United.
The Supercars will be back at Bathurst in Feburary 2021.
On the weekend of September 19th and 20th, 2020 was the Repco Supersprint The Bend.
Before I get into the event details, the hot news at the time of completing this article is Channel 7 made their formal announcement about their multi-year agreement to broadcast Supercars events (alongside fox sport) starting 2021.
Here is the video of the formal announcement on Channel 7. I really like the promo clip with lots of old footage that starts at 3m35s in.
So now, on with the race….
The results for the pre-race sessions were as follows:
Practice – Rookie Drivers Only – Macauley Jones (Team CoolDrive)
Practice 1 – Shane Van Gisbergen (Red Bull Holden Racing Team)
Practice 2 – Fabian Coulthard (Shell V-Power Racing Team)
Armor All Qualifying & Top 15 Shootout – Chaz Mostert (Mobil 1 TM Appliances Online)
In Race 25 Chaz Mostert claimed his first pole position under his new team, Walkinshaw Andretti United. Alongside him on the grid was Scott McLaughlin.
Scott McLaughlin got the jump over Chaz Mostert while Jamie Whincup moved up to 2nd at turn 1. Chaz Mostert had a bad start and dropped from 1st to 4th.
Jamie Whincup wanted to get down the inside of Scott McLaughlin at turn 18 but things didn’t go to plan and both championship contenders left the track. Jamie Whincup copped a 15 second time penalty after his pit stop which put him way down in position order.
The weather was hot and as the cars came in to pit a lot had heat blisters and flat spots on their tyres. No good at all. Driving strategies needed to be implemented to avoid tyres disintegrating out on the track.
In the middle of the race as Scott McLaughlin was coming back up through the field before making contact with Car 5 of Lee Holdsworth. The incident earned Scott McLaughlin a 15 second time penalty which was applied to his time at the end of the race. So even though he physically crossed the finish 3rd he ended up receiving 14th place. Now the two main contenders (McLauglin and Whincup) battling for the championship title were way back in the field.
Shane Van Gisbergen had the lead well in hand by the middle of the race.
However, his early pit stop in the race meant towards the end he was on some pretty well worn tyres. He couldn’t get the grip or speed needed and dropped from 1st to 9th.
Towards the end of the race drivers were changing positions like hot tyres. With the heavy weight drivers pushed back in the results order due to penalties it was Fabian Coulthard (up 4 spots), Jack le Brocq (up 5 spots) and Bryce Fullwood (up 10 spots) who took the podium. It was most unexpected.
Results for Race 25
1st Fabian Coulthard – Shell V-Power Racing Team
2nd Jack Le Brocq – Tickford Racing
3rd Bryce Fullwood – Walkinshaw Andretti United
In Race 26 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position, alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.
Scott McLaughlin got the jump but then Shane Van Gisbergen took the race lead.
Once Scott McLaughlin lost the lead he knew not to make contact with car 97.
During the opening laps Shane Van Gisbergen held his race lead while the cars further back in the pack were trying to move up the field. The only time Shane Van Gisbergen lost the lead was when he took the compulsory pit stop.
When Jamie Whincup took to the pits the car didn’t go up on the jacks due to problems with the air spike. This killed his pit stop time and his ability to close in on the Championship title.
When Shane Van Gisbergen rejoined the track after his stop, he made contact with the back of Scott McLaughlin’s car. It created a very tense moment because there appeared to be a lot of damage to Scott McLaughlin’s car. Thanksfully (for Red Bull fans) Shane Van Gisbergen wasn’t penalised.
The drivers back in the pack were 3 wide and that opened the door for Chaz Mostert who got down the inside of Andre Heimgartner.
Shane Van Gisbergen held fast to his lead and was not going to make any mistakes for the other drivers to take advantage of. He crossed the finish line with Andre Heimgartner and Scott McLaughlin hot on his tail.
Results for Race 26
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Andre Heimgartner – Kelly Racing
3rd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V-Power Racing Team
In race 27 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position for the second time this weekend. Alongside him was Chaz Mostert.
At the start of the race Fabian Coulthard took Chaz Moster’s place in 2nd. Shell V-Power Racing were running 1st and 2nd.
Meanwhile there was a major incident further back in the pack. Shane Van Gisbergen turned Andre Heimgartner and caused a dominos effect with a bunch of other cars. What a mess! There were multiple cars damaged. James Courtney was lucky not to roll car 44. Mark Winterbottom was out of the race due to too much damage.
Shane Van Gisbergen copped a 15 second time penalty for hiss mistake.
In the middle of the race Scott McLaughlin and teammate, Fabian Coulthard were running 1st and 2nd.
They held their positions all the way to the finish line with Jamie Whincup trying his best to keep up in 3rd position.
Results for Race 27
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V-Power Racing Team
2nd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V-Power Racing Team
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
Things are really hotting up in the championship. Th gap between Shell V-Power Racing and Red Bull Holden Racing Teams is reduced to a mere 104 points. However, Scott McLaughlin has slightly increased his points to 215 over Jamie Whincup.
Next up is the the second of the double header at ‘The Bend’ , The OTR Supersprint. It will also be the 2nd last event of 2020. The final event will be The Bathurst 1000.
On the weekend of July 18th and 19th, 2020 was the Truck Assist Sydney Supersprint.
Before I get into the race article, the hot news in Supercars is that Channel 10 has confirmed it will not be renewing its broadcasting contract after this season. It looks to be going to Channel 7 next year. You can find out more in this article https://www.speedcafe.com/2020/07/24/network-10-confirms-supercars-exit/?fbclid=IwAR3uG9J-FXhX8NK8gFL3X05ELRfv9wuQSE0siN6PSBB1NKIlDUOD5vpSKq4
As COVID-19 causes havoc through Australia (especially Victoria) teams have had to temporarily relocate and operate out of Queensland. This is in an effort to stay in a COVID low risk state so they can join races avoiding border closures in other states (i.e. Victoria).
Now back to the race.
As the teams entered the weekend, Shell V-Power Racing Team led the team’s ladder by 22 points and Scott McLaughlin led the driver’s ladder, 107 points over Jamie Whincup.
There were three races, each being 125kms over 32 laps. The only change to the race setup was tyre changes had to be done with one gun.
Scott McLaughlin was aiming for his own milestone with the opportunity to equal legend Peter Brock’s race win tally.
With all this in mind, Supercars were primed for a great weekend of racing.
In the Pre-race sessions results were as follows:
Macauley Jones was fastest in the Rookie Only Practice.
Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 1.
Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Practice 2.
Scott McLaughlin took out the Armor All Qualifying for Race 10. This eaned him his 9th Pole Position at Sydney Motorsport Park.
In race 10 Scott McLaughlin was on Pole Position with Shane Van Gisbergen alongside him.
At first Scott McLaughlin got the jump off the start line but then got passed into turn 2 by Shane Van Gisbrgen.
Cameron Waters then went down the inside of Scott McLaughlin at turn 3.
During the early laps Shane Van Gisbrgen was pulling away, while the drivers behind him came in to Pit to get out of the traffic.
When Scott McLaughlin came in to the pits they changed car 17 over to soft tyres. I assume this would help his grip in the turns (where he could overtake) and gain track position. Shane Van Gisbergen was still leading the race at that stage.
Shane Van Gisbergen did 20 laps on the soft tyre before pitting to go on the hard tyre. However, staying out longer was not his best strategy because now Scott McLaughlin had the number 1 track position.
It now looked very good for Scott McLaughlin to extend his series lead and be psyched for the rest of the weekend.
As it came to the closing laps Scott McLaughlin secured his lead and noone could catch him. His nearest competitor, Lee Holdsworth was just over 1.3 seconds behind. Anton de Pasquale in 3rd was well over 4 seconds behind that. Shane Van Gisbergen had slipped into 4th position just ahead of his teammate Jamie Whincup. Im sure that it was not the result the Red Bull Team was expecting.
Results for Race 10
1st Scott McLaughlin –Shell V Power Racing Team
2nd Lee Holdsworth – Tickford Racing
3rd Anton de Pasquale – Penrite Racing
Once again Scott McLaughlin took out the Qualifying for Race 11 earning him Pole Position. Once again he had Shane Van Gisbergen alongside him at the start line.
Scott McLaughlin led into turn 1 with the cars behind him desperately trying to keep up with the series leader.
During the opening stages the drivers that had track position stayed out longer but the cars back in the pack pitted for clear track and to stay out of trouble.
A lot of the drivers got warnings from Motorsport Australia Race Control for ‘track limits’ at turn 5.
In the middle of the race Nick Percat was leading and continued to increase his lead. The cars behind simply ran out of laps to pass him.
Nick Percat just kept pulling ahead and finished in first position nearly 9 seconds ahead of Fabian Coulthard and surprisingly 19.6363 seconds ahead of Scott McLaughlin. A great result for Nick Percat and the Brad Jones Racing Team.
Results for Race 11
1st Nick Percat – Brad Jones Racing
2nd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing
3rd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing
In Race 12 Andre Heimgartner started on pole position. Alongside him was Jamie Whincup.
As the lights went out and the cars left the start line Andre Heimgartner led for the opening stint.
Meanwhile, Scott McLaughlin who started from 3rd position made contact with another car. He now had smoke coming out of the right rear corner which meant he had to pit to fix it.
After he re-joined he came out near the back of the pack which I thought he was going to get stuck in the pack and not be able to make a break for the lead.
In the middle of the race drivers were fighting for the lead.
The 3 leading cars seemed to be firmly ahead of the pack. Andre Heimgartner who started in pole position slipped 1 place coming behind a very happy Jack Le Broq. Todd Hazelwood followed in third, also very close behind. It was a great finish.
Results for Race 12
1st Jack Le Brocq – Tickford Racing
2nd Andre Heimgartner – Kelly Racing
3rd Todd Hazelwood – Brad Jones Racing
The next race is the BetEasy Darwin Triple Crown on August 15 and 16.
But who knows what will happen in the strange times. So in the meantime be safe and check out my facebook fanpage and Youtube channel.
I am back after a long absence and although I am still in hospital (this is week 10 – which increases my strong hate for hospitals) I am getting well enough to think about the races again.
Due to the COVID 19 affect on us all and more importantly the cancellation of V8 Supercars races, I thought I would revisit the Grand Finale for 2007. It was only the other day that I found the recording of this race on YouTube. It certainly helped keep my mind occupied from utter frustration of being ‘locked down’ in a damned hospital.
The event took place at Phillip Island (Victoria) on the weekend of November 30 to December 2, 2007.
As it turned out, it was John Bowe’s final race in Supercars. John Bowe is a multi-winning champion in several different race categories (Aussie Drivers Championship in the Formula Mondial, Aussie Sports Car Championship, two time winner of The Bathurst 1000 and much more). He was teamed with many other great champions such as Dick Johnson and Brad Jones. He is still racing in the Touring Car Masters.
This race also notched up Mark Skaif ‘s 200th round start.
Garth Tander was having a fabulous weekend. He took first place in races 1 and 2 and closed the point score between Whincup and himself so it basically became a showdown for the year’s title.
As they moved out to the starting grid it was a young Garth Tander who started on pole position. Alongside him was Todd Kelly.
At the start of 120Km 27 lap race Tod Kelly (in those days driving for Holden) got the jump on Garth Tander.
Jamie Whincup moved up to 3rd and had cover from Craig Lowndes for Team Vodafone because Whincup was battling Garth Tander for the title.
Meanwhile Todd Kelly was helping Garth Tander.
During the opening laps Jamie Whincup knew he had to try and get around Garth Tander to win his first title.
When the pit window opened the contenders stayed out until they got called to pit. The compulsory pit window opened on lap 5 for 2 tyres.
Rick Kelly tried to get down the inside of Will Davison but wasn’t close enough.
In the middle of the race Garth Tander later stated he was put in a difficult situation ‘caught in the sandwich between Jamie [Whincup] and Craig [Lowndes]. It was high-speed chess from there on. It was about managing the situation.’
Although Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes got by Tander it was Todd Kelly who still had the lead.
Todd Kelly maintained his position and crossed the finish line first robbing Jamie Whincup of the points needed for him to take ‘The Title’.
Whincup took second place, Lowndes third and Garth Tander came in fourth.
Regardless of Tander coming fourth for race 3, Whincup was 2 points shy of a draw (625 vs 623). Tander had won the title for 2007.
Results for Race 3
1st Todd Kelly – Holden Racing Team.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Team Vodafone.
3rd Craig Lowndes – Team Vodafone.
On the weekend of the 20th to the 23rd of February was the Superloop Adelaide 500. The first official race in the V8 Supercars season. I must say I have been counting down the days to this event.
I am happy to say the race kicked off the season in great nail-biting excitement.
So let’s get started with the results of the…
Pre-race sessions:
David Reynolds was fastest in Practice 1
Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Practice 2
Chaz Mostert was fastest in Practice 3
Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Armour All Qualifying for Race 1
Race 1:
In the line up for Race 1 Jamie Whincup started on pole position. Alongside him was David Reynolds.
Todd Hazelwood had his first round racing for Brad Jones Racing. He started at the back of the pack in position 23.
Brad Jones Racing has 4 cars out on track this year compared with 3 cars last year. I do wonder what kind of challenges this will bring the team. If you have an opinion: like and then share this article then have your say on my facebook fanpage (https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/ )
Kelly Racing had their 1st weekend in a Ford Mustang. After a long relationship with Nissan this is their maiden year as Ford drivers.
Scott McLaughlin started in 7th position just behind Shane Van Gisbergen in 6th.
So all the greats & favourites were crammed at the front of the grid for the first race of the season. Expections on everyone were high.
At the start of the 78-lap race Jamie Whincup got the jump off the line so David Reynolds had to tuck back in behind him.
As they reached turn 7 Nick Percat went straight aheadwide due to broken steering arm. Then at turn 8 There was contact between Nick Percat and Garry Jacobson causing Garry Jacobson into the wall.
I am sure a trip the garage on the opening lap was not in their plans. Credit to the team. The car was repaired and Percat returned to the race and finished 22nd . It may have been 13 laps down but still earned the team points.
James Courtney also hit the wall at turn 8 after trying to get a draft off Andre Heimgartner. Unfortunately for James Courtney it took him out of the opening race so he was 1 of the 2 cars to receive and NC (Not Complete). The other car was
When Matt Stone Racing came in for the first of 2 pitstops they had come in on an angle because the Team Sydney crew were trying to push James Courtney’s car back into the Garage.
Bryce Fullwood came into the pits after hitting the wall at turn 11. The damage had him stop the pitlane and get the rest of way into the garage hoisted on ‘go jacks’ for repairs.
Chaz Mostert was battling with his 2 former teammates from 2019 at Tickford Racing ; Will Davison and Cameron Waters.
The Team SYDNEY car that raced was number 22, driven by Chris Pither and he manged to stay out of trouble. By the end of the race he managed to gain 5 places finishing 19th.
For the Red Bull Team things were also looking good. From the middle of the race it seemed that (unless there were some really big mistakes or problems) Jamie Whincup was holding the lead lead with Shane Van Gisbergen running 3rd, which is a fantastic (and encouraging) way to start the year.
As the race drew to a close I couldn’t believe there were no safety cars used in race 1.
No else could catch the race leaders. Jamie Whincup still holding his lead, followed by Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen.
Results for Race 1
1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
Race 2:
Pre-Race Results for Race 2 set the scene for another nail-biting event ahead;
Jamie Whincup was fastest in Armour All Qualifying
Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in the Top 10 Shootout
So again Red Bull had prime position with Shane Van Gisbergen starting on pole position with Scott McLaughlin alongside him.
As they took off for another 78 laps in Race 2, Scott McLaughlin had a perfect start taking Shane Van Gisbergen around the outside for the lead of the race.
James Courtney went to the back of the field due to going down the escape road at turn 4.
Fabian Coulthard was trying to not double stack behind Scott McLaughlin while the safety car was out because the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske crew didn’t want to lose time and track position. However, the crew were not keeping an eye on the Red Bull Holden Racing Team which ended up costing Scott McLaughlin track position.
Rick Kelly was battling with Fabian Coulthard. The power from the brand new Ford Mustangs were crazy and Rick Kelly was happy to use it.
When Shane Van Gisbergen came into the pits the crew didn’t load the right amount of fuel which meant after getting back out on track he had to come back into the pitlane for the right amount of fuel and fresh tyres.
To regain lost time, Shane Van Gisbergen was on the charge. As he was coming back through the field he made contact between turns 6 and 7 resulting in a broken Anti Roll Bar Adjuster. He went from a ‘firm lead’ to a ‘Not Complete’ only 4 laps short of the finish line. He got a lift back to the pitlane with Cameron Waters. Must have been an awkward trip.
Scott Pye and Anton De Pasquale received their NC’s before the opening lap was completed. Chris Pither left the track with an NC at lap 11. Now, Shane Van Gisbergen so close to the end of the race also left the track. The dynamic of the race had changed significantly.
It seemed no-one was going to be able challenge the top 3 drivers and they held position to the finish line; Scott McLaughlin, Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters.
Results for Race 2
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
3rd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing Team
The next event is the Beaurepaires Melbourne 400 on March 12th to 15th , 2020.
Scott McLaughlin is the current championship leader over Jamie Whincup by 27 points.
Jamie Whincup weekend success gives him a amazing 119 career wins in Supercars.
On the weekend of the 13th to the 15th of September 2019 was the ITM Auckland Supersprint.
Results for the Pre – Race sessions:
•Will Davison was fastest in Practice 1. •Lee Holdsworth was fastest in Practice 2. •Chaz Mostert was fastest in Practice 3.
Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Qualifying so started on pole position with Cameron Waters alongside him.
At the start of the 70 lap race Shane Van Gisbergen had a perfect start and led the opening stages.
Cameron Waters tried to go around the outside of Shane Van Gisbergen at turn 1 but he couldn’t get the pace so had to tuck back in behind the leader.
Back in the pack Jamie Whincup started in position 12 behind Scott Pye in 11th and Nick Percat in 10th. Jamie Whicup wanted to immediately gain ground and took Scott Pye on the inside. It seemed he was going too fast and bumped Nick Percat out of the way, taking his position. I was surprised that Jamie Whincup didn’t redress (return race positioning) with Nick Percat. It didnt look good like good form on Whincup’s behalf but the officials made no mention of it. It was something that would later haunt Jamie Whincup.
Most of the field pitted early to get clear track and avoid double stacking with teammates.
Scott McLaughlin who surprisingly started the race from the 6th position wanted to keep with the race leaders. By the middle the race it seemed it wasn’t going to be a great weekend for him and he couldn’t find himself within the top 3 spots.
As the race drew to a close Shane Van Gisbergen crossed the finish line with confident 3 second lead over his Red Bull teammate, Jamie Whincup. They were followed by Cameron Waters and David Reynolds.
It must have been a proud moment for the Red Bull Team to take 1st and 2nd places after such a tough year of Scott McLaughlin’s domination.
The real race drama took place after the podium presentations. The officials who made no comment about the incident between Nick Percat and Jamie Whincup on lap 1, retrospectively issued Jamie Whincup a 15 second penalty. It must have been devastating for Jamie Whincup to go from 2nd place to 6th. I’m sure he was wondering why the officials waited until after the race to take up on the issue. If it was during the race, at least then he would have an opportunity to make up for it. A big blow for the Red Bull team.
Results for Race 23
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team. 2nd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing. 3rd David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport.
In Qualifying for Race 24 Scott McLaughlin continued his bad weekend and nearly wrote off his Ford Mustang after he spun off track. As he hit the signage on track side it made a loud thud and I thought there was no way he would race. Even though he had kept his foot planted on the throttle and didnt back off while the car was in a spin (total mad man), somehow he kept the car straight and the damage didn’t appear that bad at all.
Also in the same session David Reynolds mismanaged a corner and ran off track into the tyre barriers. He didn’t get off as lightly as Scott McLaughlin and was Red flagged, which meant he had to sit out the rest of the session and positioned 22nd at the back of the starting grid for race 24.
In Race 24 Jamie Whincup finally broke his pole drought and started in the number 1 position with Lee Holdsworth 2nd alongside him.
Jamie Whincup took full advantage of his prime position and led into turn 1 with Lee Holdsworth close behind in 2nd.
Jamie Whincup kept his lead through the opening laps until he pitted.
On lap 14 David Reynolds continued his bad lack from the Qualifying and his car stopped in a terrifyingly bad spot on the hairpin turn. The Vodafone safety car was deployed to remove him from the track.
On the restart Jamie Whincup was still leading the race and looking good to claim his 2nd race win for 2019.
Unfortunately Jamie Whincup passed the Vodafone safety car with the amber lights flashing which caused quite a level of confusion. Officials didn’t recognise that Jamie Whincup was not in the lead and issued him a drive through penalty. If he was the leader he would have been obliged to to tuck in behind the safety car but that wasn’t the case. Team boss at Tickford Racing, Tim Edwards said that Jamie Whincup should’ve been waved by because he wasn’t the leader at that time, Scott McLaughlin was.
The safety car should not have had the amber lights flashing at this time. It was a mess up from the officials side. They then incorrectly penalised Jamie Whincup under the premise of the leader’s obligation to tuck in behind the safety car. It not only affected him but lots of teams were disadvantaged by the official’s stuff up.. not a happy moment for the sport at all.
It even caused Whincup to lose his cool after the race with officials not taking too kindly to his comments and threatened him with a fine and being banned from racing. It was the Officials fault and caused things to escalate but they used their power call Jamie Whincup’s comments into question as ‘unprofessional behaviour’. See the links below for more info on the drama.
Towards the end of the race Scott McLaughlin followed by Shane Van Gisbergen had a convincing lead. Chaz Mostert crossed the line 3rd over 6 seconds behind number 1 and over 4 seconds after the number 2 position. Nick Percat managed to come in soon after with a 25 second + lead on the rest of the pack. It was spectacular!
Results for Race 24.
1st Scott Mclaughlin – Shell V Power Racing. 2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team. 3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.
