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Coates Hire Newcastle 500 2018 Supercars

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 23rd to the 25th of November 2018 was the Coates Hire Newcastle 500, the Supercars season grand finale.

The Newcastle race is held on local streets, part of which runs along its beautiful shore line and the city comes alive for the spectacle. Each year it gets better and better.

One of the funniest moment of the weekend was when Jessica Yates, Mark Skaife and Russell Ingall wore a t-shirt taking a dig at his fellow commentator (Russell Ingall) for a incident back in 2003. It was printed with ‘Dearest Mark, I am sorry for firing you into the fence at Sydney Motorsport Park Eastern Creek – Love Russ’. LOL.

In the sessions prior to the race:

  • Lee Holdsworth was fastest in Practice 1
  • Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 2
  • Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in the ‘Armour All’ Qualifying for race 30
  • Scott McLaughlin was fastest in the ‘Armour All’ Qualifying for race 31

In race 30 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position and alongside him was Jamie Whincup.

At the start of the 95-lap race Jamie Whincup got the jump on his teammate, Shane Van Gisbergen but then let him pass him up Watt Street so that Shane Van Gisbergen could close the Driver’s Championship points gap with Scott McLaughlin.

Fabian Coulthard got spun around by Jamie Whincup stopping Fabian Coulthard helping out his teammate, Scott McLaughlin up the front.

Later Fabian Coulthard got himself in more trouble. He made a mistake approaching turn 1 which put him in the wall. He then was also joined by Tim Blanchard and Nick Percat. In fact it was such a mess Nick Percat had half of Fabian Coulthard’s car in his lap. Fabians car looked pretty smashed up and he was out of the race with an NC (not complete). I didn’t think the team would be able to repair the car for Sunday’s race but somehow they worked their magic.

Craig Lowndes followed Scott Pye into pit lane for his pit stop. James Courtney was already in the pits causing Scott Pye to double stack, blocking the pit lane for Craig Lowndes. I’m sure he was mighty pissed off losing that valuable time.

When John McGregor asked Craig Lowndes what happened he replied angrily with ”Bloody Pye blocked the fastlane”.

In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen had enough fuel and tyre grip to chase down the cars in front of him.

However, burning up all that fuel meant when he pitted for his 3rd and final stop there was an extended wait to fill up the race requirement of 140 litres.

Towards the end of the race Scott McLaughlin was in the lead, heading for victory until the most embarrassing thing of all happened. On the 2nd last corner before the finish line he ran out of fuel! Amazingly his car continued to roll without fuel across the finish line.

Shane Van Gisbergen was close behind taking full advantage and crossed the line ahead of Scott McLaughlin.

Now Shane Van Gisbergen was just 2 points behind Scott McLaughlin in the championship. It was a very unusual finish to the race.

However, after the dust settled at the finish line the Stewards gave Shane Van Gisbergen a 25 second penalty for his car being lowered to the ground while fuelling up at his last pit stop. Whoops!

Gisbergen had lost his win and had now been relegated to finishing 5th in the race. So officially McLaughlin was the winner. With only 1 race for the weekend and season he now had the points to secure this year’s championship.

Results for race 30

1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
2nd David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.

Before the start of race 31 Craig Lowndes did his final lap around the Newcastle streets circuit waving to all the fans. When he got back he took a walk up the pit lane thanking everybody for their support. All the teams took part in congratulating Craig Lowndes on his fantastic career. All the Triple 8 team members wore a shirt that said ‘Thanks CL’.

Chaz Mostert showed one of the greatest gestures of respect and asked Craig Lowndes to sign his suit.

It was now time for Race 31 and Craig Lowndes was bestowed the honour of leading the drivers out to the start line.

David Reynolds started on pole position and alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.

All the Nissan drivers and cars were pink because they were supporting the McGrath Foundation. It was quite a sight.

As the 95 lap race started David Reynolds led with Scott McLaughlin following during the opening laps.

Scott McLaughlin seemed to be playing it safe which I thought was a good call; If Scott McLaughlin damaged his car and got a DNF he would lose the championship again (last year he lost the championship by only one race). All he had to do was hang in there.

Jamie Whincup helped out teammate Shane Van Gisbergen and pitted early to avoid a double stack.

Tim Blanchard got a pit lane drive through penalty for contact with Simona de Silvestro.

David Reynolds was still leading before his first pit stop.

Meanwhile Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen where battling it out in 2nd and 3rd position for the championship.

For a time they didn’t have the support of their team mates, Jamie Whincup in 7th place and Fabian Coulthard back in 9th.

Michael Caruso was trying to finish on a high with Nissan Motorsport with his contract still up for renewal. He finished the race 19th, gaining 5 places from a starting position 24.

Lee Holdsworth is  also another driver without a contract for next season. Mark Winterbottom will be replacing him at Team 18.

Nick Percat didn’t want a repeat of Saturday’s dramas which he thankfully avoided by qualifying further up the grid and running a clean race.

In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen had the front guards on the left and right hanging out.  It wasn’t that bad so he wasn’t about to lose time with a pit stop. His race engineer, Grant McPherson said him, ‘If the Safety Car comes out in the next few laps we will pit to fix it’ (but just keep racing).

Towards the end of the race no one else could catch Scott McLaughlin or David Reynolds in 1st and 2nd place.

At that point Ryan Story who is the team manager at Shell V Power Racing was being interviewed by Greg Murphy and said to Mark Skaife and Neil Crompton ‘We are good on fuel today. OK boys!’. LOL.

Right at the end of the race David Reynolds had great pace. Scott McLaughlin knew he had the championship all wrapped up and it seemed he moved over and let David Reynolds take the race win.

Results for Race 31

1st David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport.
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.

Congratulations to Craig Lowndes on everything you have achieved during your remarkable Supercars career. What you have done for the sport of Supercars racing has been documented. It will be weird not seeing you in the car full time next year. So, well done Craig Lowndes!

Thanks CL!

The next event is the 2019 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour on the 1st to the 3rd of February 2019.

But the Supercars Championship doesn’t start until 28th of February to the 3rd of March 2019.

https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/?ref=bookmarks please feel free to let me know how you think the grand finale went.

Post Race Report, Supercars

Vodafone Gold Coast 600 2018 Supercars

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans Around the world!

On the weekend of the 19th to the 21st of October 2018 Was the Vodafone Gold Coast 600 in Queensland, this race track is a Concrete Canyon.

Rick Kelly was fastest in Practice 1, James Golding caused a red flag in the final 30 seconds of practice number 1, meaning that if a car or driver brings out the Red Flag they are not allowed to continue in that session.

Aaren Russell was fastest in practice 2 for the co drivers, while Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in practice 3 for main drivers and Will Davison caused a red flag, when the front left suspension broke and as a result of that Will Davison went into the wall in-between turns 2 and 3.

In Qualifying Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest but in the Top Ten shootout, both Shane Van Gisbergen and James Courtney had their laps deleted by race control for putting all 4 wheels over the curbs at the Virgin Australia back chicane.

In race 26 Scott Mclaughlin and Alex Premat started on pole position alongside them was Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell.  Most of the co-drivers started the race accept for 1 main driver which was Craig Lowndes.

The minimum laps the co-drivers had to do were 34 before handing back to the main drivers and the maximum was 68 laps.

At the start of the race Alex Premat was leading the opening lap until Paul Dumbrell tried to make a move on car 17 which didn’t end well for Alex Premat. Because he ended up dropping from 1st to 11th. Which wasn’t ideal for Scott Mclaughlin’s championship hopes. But my first thought was I wouldn’t be surprised if Alex Premat had any damage as a result of the whack with the wall in-between turns 11 and 12.

The incident between Alex Premat and Paul happened on lap 2 which race control said no further action meaning there was no penalty to be issued.

Brad Jones Racing got pinged for losing a wheel, and that wasn’t all they also got fined $5,000 and also got docked 30 team’s championship points, which would not make Brad Jones a very happy team boss.

After Will Brown hit the wall heavily and broke the rear wing the Vodafone safety car was deployed, I thought there was no way that Steve Owen could get passed Will in that spot, but he tried it anyway.

While the Safety car was out, everybody took the opportunity to pit, that was when pit lane got busy.

Both Paul Dumbrell and Earl Bamber copped a drive thru penalty for unsafe pit releases after making contact with James Moffatt.

In the middle of the race most of the co drivers had done their 34 laps. Which was a good the only 1 that hadn’t done the 34 laps was Steven Richards because he didn’t start the race, James Courtney was battling with Craig Lowndes for 2nd spot. He finally got by after James Courtney made a mistake and ran wide.

What happened between the middle and the end? Will Davison tried to get passed Scott Pye while James Courtney was trying to hold back the people’s champion in Craig Lowndes from getting on the podium but wasn’t able to hold him back towards the end of the Race Shane Van Gisbergen had to fighting back because he was down in 15th spot.

 

Towards the end of the Chaz Mostert was battling Craig Lowndes for the race win, but unfortunately Craig didn’t have enough laps or time to catch up to him.  I thought Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards were going to win.

 

Results for race 26

1st Chaz Mostert & James Moffatt – Supercheap Auto Racing.
2nd Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards – Autobarn Lowndes Racing.
3rd James Courtney & Jack Perkins – Mobil 1 Boost Mobile Racing.

 

The only 2 drivers to get a Do Not Finish – DNF or NC – Not Complete were Will Brown and Steve Owen.

In total 24 cars finished race 26.

In Qualifying for race 27, Shane Van Gisbergen was the fastest driver meaning he got the last go in the top 10 Shootout.

The drivers who didn’t set a time were, Jamie Whincup, Scott Mclaughlin and Tim Slade who started 8th 9th and 10th respectively. This means that 3 drivers that started 8th 9th and 10th didn’t complete their laps.

In race 27

David Reynolds and Luke Youlden on pole, alongside them was Chaz Mostert and James Moffatt. What started out as a 102 lap, 300 kilometres race, ended short due to the weather.

Luke Youlden got the jump on and led though the turns 1, 2 and 3. While the start of the race was dry and for the opening, basically all of the co-drivers started accept for Erebus motorsport car 99 which was started with Anton De Pasquale.

After the race got underway the dark clouds started rolling in, I thought oh my god here comes the rain, when the conditions started to get worse everybody was out on the track with dry tyres on.

I thought if the drivers who started the race were out with dry tyres, they could end up hitting the wall if they are not careful.

Steven Richards turned Scott Pye around at turn 4 which normally would mean that Steven Richards would have copped a drive thru penalty.

When Scott Pye and Steven Richards come together Paul Dumbrell was right behind them.  And I thought oh no it looked like Paul Dumbrell was going to be involved in the Incident, but thankfully he missed it early on in that. I wondered why Luke Youden had moved over and it was because he knew there was a long way to go which is a good call because if the other doesn’t see you and turns in you can do a pit penalty, which wouldn’t be helpful, especially for the drivers who are in Championship contention,

Which is Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen, so if any of those drivers made a mistake they have either give the spot back or cop a pit lane penalty.

There were 5 cars in the wall at turn 12 when Neil Crompton first started counting them. Which allowed Paul Dumbrell to push on. The rain arrived and it came bucketing down with thunder and lighting at that point I was, oh no this is dangerous for not only drivers, but the fans and camera crew.

The drivers only did   29 laps under green flag racing, before the Vodafone Safety was deployed due to bad weather.

Both the Brad Jones Racing cars ended up in the wall at turn 12 they were driven by Macauley Jones and Ash Walsh. What does this mean? It mean that when the team got back to their Albury workshop they had to start repairing their damaged cars which Brad Jones wouldn’t have been happy with doing.

Also, David Russell ended hitting the wall at the same place due to having no grip.

Jamie Whincup was on standby waiting for Paul Dumbrell to come into the pit lane so that he could get in for his stint.  But interesting to note because Paul Dumbrell was stuck in tyres at turn 12 he couldn’t drive car 1 back to the pitlane, so, car 1 went back on the back of a tow truck.

While the Red Flag was out, which meant the race was suspended until the track dried out. I don’t think they wanted another incident like Symonds Plains Tasmania.

But the rains didn’t let up.

The funniest part of race 27 was when Mark Skaife asked Neil Crompton “call him crazy” which was funny, but other people may not have seen it that way.

Even Barry Ryan from Erebus Motorsport said that the race should been stopped because the weather was so bad. And that would make it a non-Event. When tried to restart the race, I thought they were mad in doing so because that would’ve meant the teams would have wrecked race cars and knowing that the next race meeting is a fly away event the teams didn’t want to risk it. Which I thought was a good idea.

When the race was suspended again for the 2nd time Tim Schenken made a call to stop the completely.

Mark Skaife said it was the right call.

There were no results for race 27, their are still 14 points between Scott Mclaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen heading to the ITM Auckland Supersprint on the 2nd to the 4th of November 2018.

 

https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/ if you have any thoughts on the how the weekend went please feel free to let me know via my Facebook Fan page.

Post Race Report, Supercars

Red Rooster Sydney Supernight 300 2018 Supercars

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 3rd to the 4th of August 2018 was the Red Rooster Sydney SuperNight 300.

This year will be first time in a long time that the Supercars have raced at night. The last time the Supercars raced under lights was 1997 at Calder Park Melbourne, Victoria.  

It was an exceptional setup with a new lighting system that seemed to work really well. Check out the video links below to see just how much light they threw onto the track.

The other change to the weekend is that there will be only one V8 Supercars race. In previous years the Red Rooster SuperSprint has had two.

As well as only being one night race, it will also be longer – 300 kilometres over 77 laps.

In the race preliminaries before even taking off for the warm up lap, Jamie Whincup had a flat battery while stationary out on the grid. How this happened between driving out onto the grid and taking off is a mystery to me.

On Friday night in Practice 1, Chaz Mostert was fastest.

Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 2 on Saturday.

Before the race started the drivers were introduced to the crowd in the dark. It was a fantastic spectacle which everyone seemed to enjoy (drivers, teams and crowd).

As they come out to the grid for race 21, it was no surprise to see Scott McLaughlin started on pole position for the 11th time in 2018. Alongside was his teammate, Fabian Coulthard.

As they took off Shane Van Gisbergen tried to split the two Shell V Power Fords up but unfortunately he had tuck back into 3rd place during the opening laps.

Fabian Coulthard and Jamie Whincup made contact at turn 1. The angle of connection had me thinking that Jamie Whincup would be off the track and spun around. Commentators, Mark Skaife and Neil Crompton also thought it would be an incident at 270kmp/h and in the dark.  I reckon it was Jamie Whincup’s experience that saved Fabian Coulthard from a penalty.

Andre Heimgartner lost control out on track and then made contact with Garth Tander. The Nissan Motorsport Team had to push his car number 7 into the garage for some serious repairs before re-joining the race.

Garth Tander didn’t have a very good race at all. He got hit left right and centre from the start of the race all the way through. In fact, Garth Tander started 22nd and finished 20th. A result I am sure he won’t be happy with.

Craig Lowndes was made to come in on lap 7 to get clear track. Pit reporter, Mark Larkham calls it the undercut, meaning if a driver thinks he is getting held up by the car in front of him the Engineers will call the drivers in to get them out of the traffic.

Richie Stanaway having started in position 24 chose to stay a bit longer to see how far he could move up before pitting. It worked well for the first year rookie, by the end of the race he did gain 3 spots.

When the 2 Shell V Power cars took turns to pit they had go around the Red Bull garage. Whereas Tickford Racing let Craig Lowndes drive underneath there pit bay for a straight entry to his. Shell V Power and Red Bull just don’t share that kind of relationship.

In the middle of the race Lee Holdsworth was battling it out with Todd Hazelwood. As the came down the main straight the rear wing separated from Todd Hazelwood’s Ford Falcon causing him to leave the track at top speed of 270 killermeters an hour.  SCARY!!!

My first thought was, ‘Oh no! He is about to hit the wall. Somehow, he managed to re-join safely but the Supercars Officials wouldn’t let him continue until the team put the wing back in place. 

If you have an opinion on How Todd Hazelwood’s rear wing come off and how you thought the race went you can let me via my Facebook Fan page. Here is the link for you to make an express expression of your thoughts and opinions. https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/

On Lap 52 of 77 James Courtney had to slow down after getting a flat tyre and then hitting a curb which mangled his wheel and suspension. The damage was extensive enough to result in him retiring from race 21. He was the only one out of 26 cars that started Saturday night’s to not finish the race.

Anton De Pasquale was docked 35 points for contact with Michael Caruso.

As the final stint began Craig Lowndes had a margin of 5. 9 Seconds over Scott McLaughlin, so I thought, ‘Ok, time to look after tyres and save fuel’.

When Garth Tander got spun by Simona De Silvestro at turn 4 she wasn’t given a drive thru penalty.

As it came to the close of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was battling with Scott McLaughlin for the lead. How Craig Lowndes lost his 5.9 second lead is another mystery to me.

Shane Van Gisbergen seemed to get the better of ‘Speedie Scott’ McLaughlin to take the lead. It was later revealed the Scott McLaughlin felt like some debris was lodged in his tyre and it was going down.

With Scott McLaughlin slowing down it now looked like Triple 8 were to finish 1, 2 and 3 with Jamie Whincup also overtaking him and Craig Lowndes close behind.  However, Scott McLaughlin did manage to hold off Craig Lowndes and avoid the Triple 8 trifecta.

Fabian Coulthard finished 11th after he started 2nd due a buckled wheel on the left rear.

The gap between the championship leader, Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen is now just 89 points.

Triple 8 now lead the Teams Championship by 262 points.

The next is the OTR Bend Supersprint on the 24 to the 26th of August 2018.

results for race 21

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing team
3rd Scott Mclaughlin – Shell V Power Racing  team
4th Craig Lowndes – Autobarn Lowndes Racing.

Here is a video for the lead up to the Red Rooster Sydney Supernight 300

Who will lead the Championship after the next Supercars Races?

 

Post Race Report, Supercars

Coates Hire Ipswich Supersprint 2018 Supercars

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 20th to the 22nd of July 2018 was the Coates Hire Ipswich Supersprint.

This was a weekend of some unusual events and some big fines for drivers and teams with Chaz Mostert losing a front position on the grid. Also, Jamie Whincup and the Erebus Team received fines for some strange behaviour.

This weekend Russell Ingall was out on track in Shane Van Gisbergen’s car for the additional co-driver session. He was sitting in for Earl Bamber who is still overseas racing on other events.

Russel Ingall is like the ‘go-to man’ when someone needs an extra driver. He is always happy to get there.

Jamie Whincup did a practice start in the wrong spot. It was a poor decision and received $1,000 fine with $500 suspended to the end of the year.

The Erebus team was also fined but much more severely, $10,000 with $5,000 suspended to the end of the 2019 season. This was for an infringement during Anton De Pasquale’s pit stop. The car was dropped while an Erebus crew member was still working on the front left wheel. The mechanic was knocked to the ground but apparently not injured. I guess it’s one of those things where the person at the wheel (on the right side of the car) has no way of knowing what is going on below at the front left. It is one hell of a fine. Fair or unfair? What do you think? If you have a point of view post it on https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/

Will Davison revealed the new sponsor signage on his car from Milwaukee. The change also meant he was issued with a new car number, 120 (from his old number 230).

In race 19 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position.

Chaz Mostert was supposed to be alongside pole but was penalised for blocking Shane Van Gisbergen in Qualifying, so his start position was shuffled from 2nd to 5th. As a result Fabian Coulthard joined his teammate on the grid front row.

At the start of the 39-lap race Scott McLaughlin didn’t get the ideal start and I was sure Fabian Coulthard would take the lead. However, even with a bad start Scott McLaughlin still has the speed and skill that is hard to contend with and he managed to hold his number 1 position.

Fabian Coulthard was cheered on by his partner, Becky Lamb and their kids who attended the races over the weekend.

I couldn’t believe the amazing start that Shane Van Gisbergen got. After qualifying 8th on the grid, he was in the 3rd spot by turn 2. I thought it was an amazing piece of driving. Well done Shane Van Gisbergen.

David Reynolds was pulling out all stops to try and stay in championship contention. If he wants this to happen he will have to prove himself all the way to the end of the season. As commentator Mark Skaife said, that it is pretty questionable because he is too far behind in terms of points.

Garth Tander and Rick Kelly spent some quality time up close and personal as they battled for position 5 and 6.

In the middle of the race Craig Lowndes was on the charge to get to the front of the field from his qualifying position of 10th. It worked out well and he did finish 3rd. It seems Queensland Raceway is his cup of tea. This is his 23rd podium finish on this track.

During the telecast, commentator Mark Larkham talked about the introduction of Ford Mustang for the 2019 season. That ought to shake things up a bit. They will not come into the game without the intention of winning so the competition will be tough.

Scott McLaughlin once again showed his stuff and was the race winner earning 150 points to his season tally. As a result this extends his championship lead from what was 131 points to 143 points. Scott McLaughlin! You missed out on the championship last year by bad luck. Will 2018 be your year?

Results for race 19

1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Craig Lowndes – Autobarn Lowndes Racing.

In race 20 once again, Scott McLaughlin started on pole position. Alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.

At the start of the 65 lap race James Courtney, Scott Pye and Mark Winterbottom all made contact which resulted in a lot of damage. All three were forced to return to the pits for repairs.

Shane Van Gisbergen led the entire way. I was happy to finally see a Triple 8 car up front instead of Scott McLaughlin.

Craig Lowndes came in to get his first pit stop out of the so he wouldn’t have double stack with Jack Le Brocq. I think was a good strategy that he must keep in mind because if the Vodafone safety car was deployed then Craig Lowndes would have to double stack behind Jack Le Brocq which can cause serious loss in track time.

Soon after the start Nick Percat went off the race track at turn 1 due to a flat left front tyre.

Fabian Coulthard took the opportunity to come into the pits while teammate Scott McLaughlin was running 2nd and staying out to maintain track position.

Chaz Mostert also stayed out early on for the same reason because he was racing near the front.

After the incident at the start causing Mark Winterbottom to spend repair time in the pits, he was able to rejoice on return to the track even though a couple of laps behind race leader Shane Van Gisbergen. I personally was quite surprised that Mark Winterbottom was able to get back out there.

James Courtney on the other hand did not re-join the race because he had too much damage to continue.

Garth Tander and Rick Kelly were once again battling it out this weekend. In race 19 it was for 5th and 6th, this time it was for positions 9th and 10th.

In the middle of the race Scott McLaughlin was trying to catch Shane Van Gisbergen. Scott McLaughlin might have the speed to earn him all his pole positions but out on the track Shane Van Gisbergen is a hard man to beat.

As the race came to its end Chaz Mostert was running 3rd under heavy pressure from Jamie Whincup who is never happy without a podium finish. Chaz Mostert kept him at bay and kept his position to the end.

Shane Van Gisbergen who led the entire race came across the line triumphantly more than 2 seconds ahead of Scott McLaughlin.

Results for Race 20

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
3rd Chaz Mostert – Tickford Racing.
4th Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.

The next event is the Red Rooster Sydney SuperNight 300 on the 3rd and 4th of August 2018.

The funniest moment of weekend was after Neil Crompton had finished interviewing Craig Lowndes. Craig Lowndes (having grown up as a fan of Greg Murphy) went to the port-a-loo yelling ‘5 minutes’ whilst acting out a tantrum in jest of a Greg Murphy incident at Bathurst back in 2002. Crompton immediately got the joke and had a good laugh.

 

Post Race Report, Supercars

crownbet Darwin Triple Crown 2018 Supercars

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Crownbet Darwin Triple Crown 2018

Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 15th to the 17th of June, 2018 was the Crownbet Darwin Triple Crown at Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin, Northern Territory.

There was lots of unexpected excitement in the preliminary events leading up to the two races this weekend:

  • Fastest in Practice 1 was Rick Kelly.
  • Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 2 and 3.
  • David Reynolds was fastest in Qualifying for race 15.
  • Scott McLaughlin was the fastest in Qualifying for race 16.
  • Rick Kelly was the fastest in the race shootout.

Same as at last event, the owner of the Erebus Motorsports team Betty Klimenko wasn’t at Darwin because she was sick with the flu. It must be a bad flu for her to stay away. Get well soon Betty!

Also, Fox Sports commentator Russell Ingall wasn’t in attendance either.

Macauley Jones was the wildcard for the weekend.

The LOL moment for the weekend was James Courtney got fined 1,000 dollars for calling Richie Stanaway a ‘Buffoon’ on the last lap of Saturday’s Race.

In practice 3 before Qualifying, Macauley Jones caused a red flag which meant he couldn’t take any further part in the race. The roof of his car was kinked because of the sideways angle he went into the sand trap.

It was also another milestone for Jamie Whincup, starting his 450th race on the weekend.

In race 15 David Reynolds started on pole position. Alongside him was championship leader, Scott McLaughlin.

David Reynolds led early on with Scott McLaughlin in hot pursuit.

On lap 2 David Reynolds cracked under the pressure, locking the right front wheel and running wide. It gave Scott McLaughlin the opening he was looking for to take the race lead.

Andre Heimgartner ran out of room when he was getting towards making it within the top 10. Although he didn’t make it, the point was he gave it a go!

Craig Lowndes qualified in position 12 and moved up 5 spots straight off the grid, which I though was very impressive.

Jamie Whincup almost made contact with the rookie Anton De Pasquale, but in the end backed off the throttle to avoid contact with him. That wouldn’t have been cool. I am also sure Jamie Whincup’s team owner, Roland Dane was happy to see his own driver make a call to back off and not risk his car.

It didn’t stop Jamie Whincup’s aggressive driving style. At the end of the race, Rick Kelly was defending his racing line while Jamie Whincup tried get to around the outside which was a brave move but it didn’t pay off. He ended up getting swamped by Shane Van Gisbergen and Craig Lowndes. Jamie Whincup dropped 2 spots from 8th to 6th.

Shane Van Gisbergen chose to stay out on track longer before pitting  in order to maintain track position or double stack with Jamie Whicup.

In the middle of the race Fabian Coulthard was getting towards the top 5, desperately wanting a single digit finish position next to his name.

At the end of the race Garth Tander came in to put a fresh set of tyres on which helped him charge through and finished 5th after starting 13th. An impressive effort.

Towards the end of the race nobody could catch the top 3 drivers they were Scott McLaughlin, Shane Van Gisbergen and David Reynolds.

Greg Murphy was hoping that Shane Van Gisbergen got onto the podium on Saturday and wasn’t let down. He finished 2nd  after starting 5th on the grid.

Craig Lowndes gained 5 spots, starting 12th and finishing 7th.

Everybody finished race 15. No DNFs.

No one else does the ‘shoey’ (drinking the winner’s Champaign from his driving boot) only David Reynolds. That is GROSS!

For Scott McLaughlin this makes his 6th race win for 2018.

It was very Entertaining race.

Results for race 15

1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport.

 

 

In race 16 Rick Kelly started on pole position. Alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.

Interesting to note, newcomer Anton De Pasquale made it into the top 10 shootout and started 3rd on the grid.

I’m sure Betty Klimenko would have been very happy and proud of Anton de Pasquale for being on Provisional Pole Position before the shootouts.

Garth Tander also made the top 10 shootout on Sunday.

The 3 Triple 8 cars Qualified 3rd 11th and 14th.

Jamie Whincup gained a better grid position on Sunday compared to Saturday.

I was surprised that David Reynolds starting at 4th position went right around the outside of everybody from turn 1 to take the lead.

Jamie Whincup tried to get into 2nd but it didn’t pay off.

Jamie Whincup and Anton De Pasquale nearly made contact at turn 1 in the opening laps.

Jamie Whincup then dropped a few places and was crowded so came in early to get a clear track.

Fabian Coulthard was inside the top 10 but after he had his first pitstop he was back in the pack a bit.

Pit reporter, Greg Murphy was talking to Barry Ryan, Erebus Team Manager about Anton de Pasquale’s race excellent performance and how moving David Reynolds to the other side of the garage was to help more to improve Anton de Pasquale’s consistency.

This year was Macauley Jones’ 2nd year as a wildcard in Darwin. Brad Jones was happy to see his progression. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up a full-time driver in the future.

A lot of cars that started in the top 10 stayed out longer while the going was good.

David Reynolds must have been really happy with his performance leading in the opening stint of the race after also finishing on the podium for race 15 the day before.

In the middle of the race Scott McLaughlin had smoke pouring out the back. My first thought was to bring it in, check it over, then fix it.

He did come into the pits but after he turned off the pit lane speed limiter the smoke started pouring out again. Then I started to think there is no way he would make it to the finish with the amount laps that were left. Comentator, Neil Crompton said the same thing but somehow, he made it to the finish line.

Later the team revealed the reason why Scott McLaughlin had smoke coming out of the back of his car was because of an overheating problem. Fabian Coulthard also suffered the same overheating problem.

Will Davison got through both of the races which was a great effort considering he had a moon boot on due to hurting his left ankle during training for the Darwin event.

Towards the end of the race it was getting very exciting to watch because David Reynolds was heading for another win in 2018.

Craig Lowndes gained 4 spots by starting 14th and finishing 10th.

There were 3 DNFS; Cameron Waters, Lee Holdsworth and Jack Le Brocq.

Cameron Waters car stopped on the main straight due to overheating and when interviewed by Riana Crehan he wasn’t happy at all.

In the end no one could catch the top 3 drivers – which were David Reynolds, Scott McLaughlin and Jamie Whincup.

What an amazing weekend for David Reynolds!

The next event is the Watpac Townsville 400 on the 6th to the 8th of July, 2018.

Results for race 16

1st David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport.
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team

 

Post Race Report, Supercars

Supercars Winton Supersprint 2018

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HI to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 18th to the 20th of May 2018 was the Winton Supersprint in Melbourne Victoria at the Winton Motor Raceway.

It was a weekend of milestones for a few drivers:

·        Lee Holdsworth celebrated his 400th race
·        Craig Lowndes his 650th race start
·        Michael Caruso celebrated his 150th round start

It is unfortunate to note, James Courtney missed the 2 practices sessions on Friday due to being taken to hospital on Friday night with a gastro bug.  Also, Roland Dane was not at Winton due to being on the other side of the world.  

LOL moment of the weekend was when Neil Crompton interviewed Fabian Coulthard. He tried to put a beanie on Neil Crompton’s head while he was on the grid and Neil Crompton’s response was, get it off you Lunatic!!.

In the co drivers session Earl Bamber who is a 2 times Le Man winner 2015 & 2017 was acting co-driver for the Triple 8 team. He went out because he had no experiences driving in a Supercar.  It is a hell of a way to enter the field with such little Supercar experience. Credit to him.

Saturday came and all was set for the 13th race of the season. Scott McLaughlin started on pole position for the 40 lap race and alongside him was Fabian Coulthard. Scott McLaughlin got the jump to lead into turn 1 while his teammate Fabian Coulthard seemed to have a really bad start and dropped all the way down to 5th.

On the opening lap there was contact between Simona De Silvestro, Todd Hazelwood and David Reynolds. As a result David Reynolds had to limp back to the pits for the Erebus team to repair his car. His frustration was clear, knowing he was losing plenty of lap time so early on.

The other drivers went into the pits for tyres but Craig Lowndes, Shane Van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup chose to stay out because of where they qualified. I think it was a good call as it allowed them to gain track position. Fabian Coulthard was the first of the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske car to stop due to his poor start. Fabain Coulthard choose to pit Early to get caught in Traffic out on Track to also have clear and clear pit lane

In the middle of the race Scott McLaughlin was still leading the race which would have made the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske crew happy. Rick Kelly was racing behind Scott McLaughlin for most of the race. Jamie Whincup wanted to get on the podium to get another trophy to add to the Triple 8 collection but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. So he ended the outside the top 10 in 17th which didn’t help him close the points to current Championship leader Scott Mclaughlin.

Towards the end of the race the Vodafone Safety Car was deployed due to Tim Blanchard getting bogged in the sand trap between turns 3 and 4.

Then on the restart Scott McLaughlin had not got the right amount of temperature into his tyres which meant  he had  lost the race lead to Rick Kelly and dropped back to as far as 5th spot.

Todd Kelly was nervous because he wasn’t used to watching the race from the Nissan Motorsport garage. I bet he was happy to see his brother win the race.

Shane Van Gisbergen started 14th gained 11 spots to finish 3rd. Craig Lowndes started 24th, gained 11 spots to finish 13th.

Jamie Whincup started 11th finished 17th so he dropped 6 spot.

David Reynolds started 17th and finished 25th.

As a result Craig Lowndes is now 3rd in the championship.

The only driver to get a DNF (did not finish) complete was Cameron Waters.

Result for race 13

1st Rick Kelly – Castrol Racing Nissan Motorsport.
2nd Scott Pye – Mobil 1 Mobile Racing.
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
4th Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team.
5th Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.

 

In race 14 Scott McLaughlin started pole position alongside him was Fabian Coulthard.

At the start of the 67 lap, 200 kilometre race Scott McLaughlin went 1st to 8th with Fabian Coulthard leading the early stages of the race.

Scott McLaughlin came in to the pits on lap 5 to get out of the traffic. On return to the race his timing gave him clear track speed and clear air. I thought there was no way that Scott McLaughlin was going to re-join the race track safely.

David Reynolds wasn’t happy with qualifying 26th he thought he was going to qualify up near the front of the grid. Interesting to note on the Supercars coverage Russell Ingall, Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard were wearing beanies to keep their heads warm. Mark Skaife mocked them saying, ‘they looked very average’.  

Craig Lowndes was not happy with qualifying  23rd he would have been happier with qualifying inside the top 10 but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. He decided to stay out and make positions from his poor qualifying which paid off. Because he was out with a clear racetrack.

Michael Carso and Rick were battling for position which allowed the cars in front of them to gap the cars behind. When I saw how far Scott McLaughlin had dropped back I thought there was no way he was going to win Sunday’s race and the race for was going to be difficult for him to recover.

In the middle of the race Fabian Coulthard was leading until he had to come into pit lane for his 2nd pit stop. Which meant that all the cars that were behind him moved up 1 spot each. Craig Lowndes had gained 22 spots at one stage to take the race lead only because had not pitted at that point.

Towards the end of the of the race Fabian Coulthard had a 14 second gap over the 2nd placed car which was Shane Van Gisbergen. which is not heard of much these days. 

the end of the race was really exciting to watch and congratulations to Fabian Coulthard, Shane Van Gisbergen and Scott Mclaughlin.

The gap between 1st and 2nd in the Championship is just now 131. Jamie Whincup is now 326 points behind. Craig Lowndes is only 299 points behind.

Fabian Coulthard was heading for his first win for 2018 with Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.

The last that Fabian Coulthard had won at Winton Motor Raceway was 2014 With Brad Jones Racing.

The next is the Crown bet Darwin Triple Crown on the 15th to the 17th of June 2018.

Results for race 14

1st Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing team
2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team

Post Race Report, Supercars

Tyrepower Tasmainia Supersprint 2018

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for race 7

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for race 8

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

 

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

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

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

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

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Coates Hire Supercars Melbourne 400

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 22nd to the 25th of March 2018 was the Coates Hire Supercars Melbourne 400 at Albert Park.  This year there has been a change to the Melbourne 400. It is now officially a part of the Championship and the teams and drivers were racing for points for the first time.

This now became round 2 of the championship and included races 3, 4, 5 and 6.

It was also a milestone for Jamie Whincup with this being his 200th championship event.

In race 3 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position, alongside him was his teammate Fabian Coulthard. Craig Lowndes started 17th which wasn’t ideal, but it was because James Golding held him up on his ‘hot lap’ during Qualifying.

At the start of the 25 lap race, Scott McLaughlin led into turn 1 in front of Fabian Coulthard while everybody else was settling down into their race pace.

During the opening laps Simona De Silvestro was trying to pass Jack Le Brocq, but in the end it resulted in Simona De Silvestro having damage on the left front corner of her car # 78. She managed to get back to the pits but things didn’t look good and she was out of the race getting a DNF or NC (Not Complete).

When the pit stops started to happen Scott McLaughlin and the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske had an issue with their pit gear. It resulted in them losing the lead track position to Jamie Whincup.

Interesting to note this wasn’t the only incident for the team on the weekend. During practice, Mark Skaife saw one of Dick Johnson Racing (DJR) Team Penske’s wheel nearly go onto Jamie Whincup car, so the guy from DJR tapped the mechanic on the shoulder to say that’s the wrong wheel for the wrong car! LOL!

In the middle of the race Jamie Whincup was still the leader until Scott McLaughlin found a way around him at turn 3. It was a great pass, nice and clean. It allowed him to later take off and put some space between him and Jamie Whincup.

Towards the end of the race nobody else could catch the three leaders. Scott McLaughlin crossed the finish line first about 1.3 seconds ahead of Jamie Whincup. Fabian Coulthard followed him about 1 second later.

After Simona De Silvestro’s NC, the 24 of 25 remaining cars finished the race.

Results for race 3

1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team.
4th Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.

 

In race 4 Jamie Whincup started on pole position and alongside him was Scott McLaughlin. The race started behind the Mercedes Safety Car due to the rain, and wet weather, but Jamie still led for pretty much the entire race.

Once the race went under green after starting under yellow Jamie Whincup just took off. Fabian Coulthard and Scott McLaughlin couldn’t keep up the with Jamie Whincup’s car  #1. He made two mistakes due to wet conditions but managed to stay out front.

During the opening laps everyone else was settling down into a race pace. 

There were no pit stops because it was only a 13 lap race.

David Reynolds was already on ‘wets’ for the start because it was safer than being on dry weather slicks (tyres).

Craig Lowndes once again started at the back of the pack in 26th position due to getting held up and not getting a clear track in the Qualifying.

It wasn’t the end of his bad luck. In the opening laps he came together with another driver which caused a steering problem. He was forced to pull into the pits. When Greg Murphy interviewed Craig Lowndes later, he said the steering ‘was bent and Cactus’. It was his first Did Not Finish – Not Complete for 2018.

In the middle of the race Jamie Whincup was still leading the race and on target for his first win of the year.

Towards the end of the race Jamie Whincup took the chequered flag and he also took his 109th career win in Supercars!

Results for race 4

1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd Scott McLaughlin -Shell V Power Racing team.

3rd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team
4th Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team

 

In race 5 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was Nick Percat.

At the start of the 25-lap race Scott McLaughlin got the jump into turn 1 for the 1st time which he was happy with.

Then after the opening lap Scott McLaughlin made a big mistake by running off the race track in between turns 1 and 2. This put Scott Pye and Jamie Whincup into 1st and 2nd which they knew would have been a great result for both drivers.

Scott Pye was out in front being chased  by Jamie Whincup when the rain came pelting down.  

A lot of the drivers nearly lost control of their cars on the slippery pit apron.  Garth Tander wasn’t warned about the wet pit box and he come in at a strange angle and looked like he was going to hit the wall. He only narrowly missed 2 of his own crew members! It looked like a disaster waiting to happen.  

Towards the end of the race no one could catch the top 3 drivers who managed to hold their positions from lap two to the end ; Scott Pye, Jamie Whincup, and Nick Percat.

Scott McLaughlin’s mistake cost him dearly finishing 15th. A drop of 14 spots from his pole starting position.

Results for race 5

1st Scott Pye – Mobil 1 Boost Mobile Racing.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing.
3rd Nick Percat – Brad Jones Racing.

 

In race 6 Jamie Whincup started on pole position and alongside him was David Reynolds.

At the start of what was supposed to be a 13 lap race David Reynolds took the race lead from turn 1 after Jamie Whincup got bogged down from his pole position on the start.

Jamie Whincup’s poor start lost him another spot with Nick Percat moving into 2nd place. Jamie went from 1st to 3rd straight off the start.

Anton De Pasquale nearly hit the fence going around the back of Albert Park during the opening lap.

On lap 2 James Courtney got spun around at turn 3 by James Golding. James Courtney’s car didn’t move after that and he was out of the race, DNF. There were no penalties given to James Golding but the officials are investigating the incident and will have a verdict by the running of the Symmons Plains event in two weeks.

In the middle of the race James Golding had plumes of smoke coming out from underneath his car. It was a suspected oil fire. He pulled in near the Fire Marshall’s area. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was caused due to the contact he made earlier with car 25 of James Courtney. The race went under Yellow while the Safety Car came to his rescue.

No one else could catch the top 3 drivers David Reynolds, Nick Percat and Jamie Whincup.

Shane Van Gisbergen started from 26th after a poor Qualifying time but proved himself and charged through to finish 13th.

David Reynolds had led from start to finish, an amazing effort.

Results for race 6

1st David Reynolds – Erebus Penrite Racing.
2nd Nick Percat – Brad Jones Racing.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.

Jamie Whincup was awarded the Larry Perkins Trophy and is now 6th in the championship. Well done Jamie!

The next event is the Typerpower Tasmania Supersprint from the 6th to the 8th of April 2018 in 2 weeks.

Bathurst 12 hour

Liqui Moly Bathurst 2017

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HI to all you v8 Supercars fans around the world!

With the 2018 race season about to start I thought I would review last year’s 1st race of the season.

The Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour was run from the 3rd to the 5th of February 2017.

It is a preseason race. For those of you that missed it and to get us geared up for the new season here is what happened.

The race at the Mount Panorama Circuit started at 5:45AM and it was broadcast on 7mate.

The 12 hour is a timed race. To state the obvious it’s a 12 hour race and not run based on a lap or distance count.

It is a huge endurance race and there were 51 cars on the starting grid.

The commentators were Richard Crail and John Hindhaugh.

The pit reporters were Chad Neylon and Shae Adam.

Will Davison didn’t get to race in the 12 hour because his co-driver Ben Barnicoat crashed in the McLaren car number 59. McLaren was the defending 2016 Bathurst 12-hour champions.

Toni Vilander, a seasoned GT3 driver started in pole position in Car 88 under Maranello Motorsports. He had co-drivers Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes. Alongside them was the Marc Cars Australia BMW Car 90 driven by Chaz Mostert.

On lap 1 the Maranello Motorsport Ferrari got the jump in the hands of the Factory Ferrari driver Toni Vilander. He led the opening laps of the race.

On lap 2 Chaz Mostert was trying to keep up with the prancing horse but just wasn’t able to.

By lap 3 the Ferrari was flying and no other car could catch it.

On lap 4 the race was going smoothly and still under green with no incidents.

Garth and Leanne Tander were racing in the 12 hour. As husband and wife it is an unusual scenario but good to see. However, it was probably good for their marriage that they weren’t on the same team.

By lap 6 everyone settled in to their race mode knowing they still had a long time to go.

Soon Chaz Mostert had the lead and Toni Vilander fell back in the pack. Chaz held the lead for the next hour.                   

On lap 8 the safety car slowed the field down to recover car 74, Jam Mec Pem Racing’s Audi driven by Frank Stippler. He had a bad meeting with the wall and came off second best.

On the restart at lap 15 Toni Vilander got a penalty for weaving after the safety car lights had gone out.  So he had to go through the pits to serve a drive through penalty.

Also during the race on one of the restarts, Craig Baird in Car 22 turned Craig Lowndes in Car 88 around into the sand trap. Craig Baird earned himself a drive through penalty for that.

After Chaz Mostert’s stint in the lead he handed over to Max Twigg. Unfortunately, Max Twigg crashed their BMW Car 90. This resulted in a gearbox problem later on and they had to pull out of the race.

In the middle of the Russell Ingall was in the wall. Mark Skaife knew that meant they wouldn’t get another drive in the BMW for Steven Richards Motorsport (SRM).

After Toni Vilander got out of the Ferrari to handover to Jamie Whincup, he got a massive clap and congratulations by the team because he had just done an outstanding job.

Towards the end of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was chasing Jamie Whincup for the race lead until he hit another car. Shane Van Gisbergen connected with a Porsche sending it bouncing off the wall and onto the grass. Shane Van Gisbergen was given a penalty but it was in vain. Shane Van Gisbergen hit the wall coming out of The Dipper putting him, Craig Barid and Maro Engel out of the Bathurst 12 hour with just minutes to go before the race ended.

Jamie Whincup in his first GT3 race drove the Ferrari to the chequered flag taking the win.

By the time all was said and done, out of the 51 cars that were on the starting grid only 32 saw the finish of the race.

Oliver Jarvis, a factory racer for Bentley stated, “This is an incredible place and I don’t think I’ve been in a race as brutal as that”.

I think that really sums up the Bathurst 12 hour; Incredible and brutal!!! I can’t wait for it to run again.

 

Results for the 2017 Bathurst 12 hour.

1st Jamie Whincup, Craig Lowndes and Toni Vilander – Maranello Motorsport.
2nd Matt Campbell, Marc Lieb and David Calvert-Jones – Competition Porsche.
3rd Andy Soucek Maxime Soulet car 17 Bentley.

 

Can Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup win the Bathurst 12 hour again in 2018.?

 

http://www.bathurst12hour.com.au/

this is a great website it covers everything to do with Bathurst 12 hour.

Including practice, Qualifying, race, results, Live Timing.

Drivers

Todd Kelly Retires from fulltime V8 Supercars racing

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

The reason why I am writing this article is because Todd Kelly has now retired from fulltime V8 Supercars racing after a 20+ year career. He has had outstanding success and given a great deal to the sport so I wanted to say thanks by summarising his career.

Todd Kelly was born on the 9th of October 1979.

He started racing in the Australian Formula Ford Championship way back in 1996 to 1998 before joining The Shell Championship Series (aka the V8 Supercars Championship) in 1999.

He stayed with the Holden Young Lions in 1999 before moving to the Holden Racing for Enduro races in 2000 which were at the Queensland 500 and FAI 1000 at Mount Panorama Bathurst New South Wales.

Then in 2001 he joined the Kmart Racing Team and he stayed through 2002.

From 2003 to 2007 was with the Holden Racing Team to be teammates with Mark Skaife.

He spent the following year, 2008 with Jack Daniel’s Racing – Perkins Engineering before Tod and his brother, Rick Kelly started their own race team in 2009 called Kelly Brothers Racing.

Todd and Rick share a passion for racing so starting their own team made sense. However no one could ever say there was no sibling rivalry. When it came to racing, brother or not they were very competitive.

Unfortunately Todd Kelly’s competitive nature means he was going to be in the thick of it resulting in some bad incidents:

·       Barbagallo 2009 in race 24 he crashed on lap 40 of 84
·      Sydney Olympic Park 2011 in race 28 he crashed on lap 47 of 74
·       Albert park 2005 in race 2 he crashed on lap 1

Some of his career highs (and a few lows) include:

·       1st Bathurst 2005
·       1st Clipsal 500 2007
·       2nd Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 2006

·       1st Symmons Plains 2008

·       DNF 2015 race 2

·       DNF 2013 Clipsal 500 race 2

·       DNF Race 1 1999 Eastern Creek New South Wales.

·       1st Shanghai 2005

·       1st Bahrain 2006

He has had

·       1 Bathurst win

·       19 race wins

·       Competed in a total of 546 races

All done within his 20 years of fulltime driving. They are impressive statistics.

Engineers he has worked with include Dillan Tallibarni  and Matthew Crawford.

The following list shows he has also been co-driver to some other great names in the sport:

·       Mark Skaife 2005

·       Rick Kelly 2006

·       Greg Murphy 2001

·       Nathan Pretty 2000

·       John Falkner 1998

·       Mark Noske 1999

·       Shane Price 2008

·       2009 Rick was Todd Kelly’s co driver

·       2010 Dale Wood was Todd Kelly’s co driver.

·       David Russell 2013

·       2014 Alex Buncombe was Todd Kelly’s co driver

·       In the 2003 Bathurst 24-hour co drivers in car 05 were Peter Brock, Jason Bright, Todd Kelly and Greg Murphy.

Thanks for the Entertainment over the years Todd Kelly.  Best of luck with the next chapter in your life.

.