Tag Archives: Mark Winterbottom

Supercars

NTI Townsville Supersprint 2020

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of August 29 and 30, 2020 was the NTI Townsville Supersprint.

Three races were run, each 39 laps of a Townsville Reed Park street circuit.

In the first race of the weekend, Race 19 Jamie Whincup started scored the pole position. Alongside him was David Reynolds.

Jamie Whincup made the most of it and got the jump into turn 1.

Further back in the pack Anton de Pasquale got turned at turn 2.

Then Shane Van Gibergen had damage due to hitting the cars in front of him. The Red Bull Team had to put him & his car 97 in the garage to repair the damage. Rick Kelly and Kelly Racing teammate, Andre Heimgartner also had damage. This wasn’t ideal because they are not near their home base in Victoria due to the COVID19 border closures.

Scott McLaughlin was shoved from behind and I was surprised that he escaped any significant damage so was able to keep going.

Scott McLaughlin was obviously not satisfied with starting position of 16 and gained 8 spots on the opening lap.

Todd Hazelwood left the track on lap 7 and didn’t return. By lap 23 his teammate Nick Percat also left the track without returning. Both received NC (Not Complete). Brad Jones Racing Team only had Jack Smith left on the track. Regardless of his dramas he did manage to finish the race.

There were a number of other drivers who didn’t make it to the finish line and received NCs. They included Zane Goddard, Andre Heimgartner and Macauley Jones. Five in total.

Jamie Whincup maintained his lead and continued to increase his lead. He managed to cros the finish line to take the win nearly 7 seconds ahead of Cameron Waters in 2nd place and close to 7 seconds after that was Chaz Mostert in 3rd place.

It was a much needed win for the Red Bull Team closing the gap on championship team leaders Shell V-Power Racing Team. It stepped up the competition for the rest of the weekend.

Results for Race 19

1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

Jamie Whincup earned himself another pole start for Race 20. Alongside him was Chaz Mostert.

Once again Jamie Whincup led into turn 1. The cars further back were trying to stay out of trouble and just maintain position.

Fabian Coulthard came in early so he wouldn’t interfere with teammate, Scott McLaighlin’s pit stop.

Shane Van Gisbergen also pitted first for the same reason. His teammate, Jamie Whincup was still leading.

Rick Kelly might have missed an opportunity but after the previous race didn’t want to risk making contact with another car.

By the middle of the race Jamie Whincup seemed to have secured his lead. He held his position right to the end. His experience ensured there were no slip ups or mistakes.

He crossed the finish line just over 3 seconds ahead of Chaz Mostert and his teammate, Shane VanGisbergen come in to collect 3rd place.

Things were really beginning to hot up in the competition.

Results for Race 20

1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen –  Red Bull Holden Racing Team

In Race 21 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position with Cameron Waters alongside him.

Scott McLaughlin had a mission and led into turn 1. From that point he didn’t look back! He was adamant that Jamie Whincup would not win 3 of 3 races for the weekend.

After a few average results in the last event, I was surprised Scott McLaughlin in car 17 dominated the race.

Cameron Waters who started from second on the grid also managed to keep his place and came in 2nd place.

Nick Percat slipped one place giving way to Jamie Whincup who gained 1 spot from his start and finished 3rd.

Results for Race 21

1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V-Power Racing
2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team

The 2nd Townsville event is this weekend on September 5th and 6th, 2020.

Just can’t wait!!!

 

 

 

Supercars

Beteasy Darwin Triple Crown

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 15th and 16th of August 2020 was the Beteasy Darwin Triple  Crown.

In Race 13 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position. Alongside him was Jamie Whincup.

Jamie Whincup led into turn 1. While the cars behind were setting their race pace.

Jamie Whincup kept the lead for the first few laps. An error saw him run wide at turn 5 and Mark Winterbottom stole the lead.

Later Rick Kelly made contact with Jack Le Brocq and both left the track. When Rick Kelly rejoined he made contact with the Matt Stone Racing car driven by Jake Kostecki. Jake Kostecki ended up bogged in the sand and lost his rear wing requiring the safety car to be deployed. Jake Kostecki was now out of the race having only completed 3 laps. Rick Kelly received a 15 second penalty.

On the restart, Scott McLaughlin tried to pass before the control line. This error earned him a 15 second penalty.

Later Jamie Whincup also earned himself a 15 second time penalty when leaving the pits. Mark Dutton, car controller (& team manager) admitted to making a mistake in terms of letting Jamie Whincup go too early.

These penalties changed the dynamics of the race.

At the end of the race the big surprise was Anton de Pasquale came across the line first and scored his first Supercars win. When the race time penalties were applied, Jamie Whincup was dropped from second place to 17th and Scott McLaughlin dropped to 20th.

Results for Race 13

1st Anton de Pasquale –Erebus Motorsport
2nd James Courtney – Tickford Racing
3rd Scott Pye – Team 18

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

Fabian Coulthard got the jump on his teammate and led into turn 1. During the opening laps Scott McLaughlin was trying to to pass his teammate but he just couldn’t get it done.

Meanwhile, the drivers back in the pack were trying to keep out of trouble.

After Shane Van Gisbergen completed his stop he re joined in front Anton de Pasquale.

Chaz mostert was trying to pass Anton de Pasquale but things were too tight..

Scott McLaughlin became the effective race leader with cars still to pit.

In the middle of the race Scott McLaughlin had maintained his race lead and was being followed closely by Jamie Whincup .

Unlike the previous race, there were no 15 second time penalties issued.

The leaders were spread apart but they held strong to their position to the end of the race. Scott McLaughlin was over one second ahead of Jamie Whincup who was trailed by Fabian Couthard nearly five seconds later. Shane Van Gisbergen was more than five seconds behind that.

Result for Race 14

1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
3rd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team

In Race 15 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position and alongside him was Jamie Whincup.

At the start of race 15 Scott McLaughlin got the jump and led into turn 1 while every body else was setting their race pace.

While the race leaders stayed longer, the cars further back came in to get out of the traffic.

Jamie Whincup was the effective race leader because their was still cars to stop.

After Scott McLaughlin had a tyre change the cold tyres gave Jamie Whincup the advantage and the lead.

Todd Hazelwood was trying not to get a badly damaged car because in race 13 Brad Jones Racing received some heavy duty damage.

Their was contact between Jack Smith and Jake Kostecki.

Fabian Coulthard had to avid making the same mistake backed off to not hit Jamie Whincup as he tried to take the lead.

In the middle of the race no one else could catch the three leading drivers; Jamie Whincup, Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen.

Where the previous race had a podium finish with Shell V Power Racing in 1st and 3rd position with Redbull Holden in the middle, this race Red Bull Holden Racing got their own back and held the 1st and 3rd positions with Scott McLaughlin in between.

With this win for Jamie Whincup he has now rounded off his career wins to 120. What a great achievment.

Results for Race 15

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

The next race will be in just one week on August 22 and 23, the Corestaff Darwin Supersprint. Just can’t wait!

Uncategorized

Truck Assist Sydney supersprint 2020

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around the world!

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.

 

 

 

 

 

Supercars

2007 Supercars Grand Finale

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around the world!

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.

Supercars

Beaurepairs Melbourne 400 Supercars

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HI to all you Supercars fans around the world!

Last weekend (starting on Thursday, March 12 through to March 15) was supposed to be the 2nd round of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship and the opening round of the World Formula 1 Championship.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 was the winner for the weekend in its mission to spoil our fun. COVID-19 is not a new race car to contend with the super fast Mustangs, it’s the Corona Virus causing the entire world a bunch of problems.

Some of the pre-race sessions were run (see further down for the results) but the spread of Corona Virus made itself known.

The McLaren F1 team are now in isolation because 14 of the team members tested positive to Corona virus.

In the end the officials decided on Friday to not let the event go ahead and cancel all the support categories and the Formula 1.

At the moment there is talk that Tasmania and the ITM Super400 could also get cancelled due to this god damn Coronavirus.

So for the sake of keeping check on the form of the teams, here are the results from the pre-race sessions that were run:

  • Practice 1 – Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen finished 1st and 2
  • Practice 2 – Anton de Pasquale was fastest. However, Maculey Jones had a 16G-force impact with the wall at the end of turn 1. Scared the hell out of everyone.
  • Qualifying both Shane Van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup claimed pole position for races 3 and 4.

The next 2 rounds of the Supercars are at Symmons plains and Hampton downs. Let’s hope these next 2 events go ahead. Fingers crossed.

If you have any comments about the event or the affect of Corona Virus we would love to hear from you. Head to my V8 Supercars fan page at https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/ and have your say.

So until the next race – Keep well and healthy and keep it idling.

Drivers

Steven Richards retirement article

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around the world!

Steven Richards is an Australian motorsport legend who has recently announced his retirement from Supercars racing. He will no longer be running team SRM (Steven Richards Motorsport). I would like to list some of his outstanding career achievements.

Steven Richards was born on the 11th of July, 1972 in New Zealand.

He won the Australian Formula Ford Championship in 1994 before becoming a professional full time driver.

In 1995 Steven Richards made his Bathurst 1000 debut with co-driver Anders Olofsson, finishing 4th under the Gibson Motorsport team.

In 1996 Steven Richards moved over to Garry Rogers Motorsport.

In 1995 and 1997 Steven Richards also competed in an Alfa Romeo 155, Honda Accord and then he drove a Nissan Primera. In 1996 he made his Australian Touring Car Championship debut in a Holden VF Commodore.

Steven Richards competed with his father, Jim Richards at the Bathurst 1000 in 1996 and 1997 and again in 2004.

In the 1997 Bathurst 1000 he and his father finished in 2nd place.

At the 1998 V8 Supercars Bathurst 1000 as a co-driver to Jason Bright, Richards finished 1st for Stone Brothers Racing.

In that same year he finished 2nd with co-driver Matt Neil in the Touring Car Bathurst 1000. This was an amazing feat because they were driving a Nissan Primera for UK bases Team Dynamics.

He then backed up his Bathurst 1st place the following year (1999) with co-driver Greg Murphy for Gibson Motorsport.

He continued in the same way for nearly another 20 years with one success after the other.

Steven Richards has 5 Bathurst 1000 wins: 1998, 1999, 2013, 2015 and 2018.
He has also won pole position for Bathurst in 2004 and 2007.

In 2014 (just to prove he wasnt too old to be racing he won the Australian Carrera Cup Championship and scored 5th in the Australian GT Championship.

In 2016 he ran in both the Australian GT Championship and Endurance Championship under his own team, Steve Richards Motorsport (SRM).

In total Steven Richards has:

  • completed 451 races
  • 12 race wins
  • & 60 podium finishes.

Now work that out. It means he at approximately gets 1 podium finish per 7 races. Not bad at all.

Teams that Steven Richards have driven for are:

  • Garry Rogers Motorsport 1996 1997 1998
  • Gibson Motorsport 1999 2000
  • Ford Tickford Racing 2001
  • Perkins Engineering   2002 2003 2004 2005 2006.
  • Ford Performance Racing 2007 2008 2009 2010.
  • Ford Performance Racing 2011 2012 2013
  • Red Bull Racing Australia 2014 2015
  • Team Vortex 2016 & 2017 and Autobarn Lowndes Racing 2018.

Co drivers include:

  • Jim Richards 1996 1997 1998
  • Mark Winterbottom 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2013
  • Greg Murphy 1999 2000.
  • Craig Lowndes 2014 2015 2016 2017 and 2018.
  • Russell Ingall 2002.
  • Larry Perkins 2003.
  • Paul Dumbrell 2006.
  • Jason Bright 1998.
  • Glenn Seton 2001.
  • James Moffatt 2010.

 

Post Race Report, Supercars

Coates Hire Newcastle 500 2019 Supercars

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 22nd to the 24th of November 2019 was the Coates Hire Newcastle 500.

The event at Newcastle has been running since 2017 so this is the third time they will be hosting the final event of the season.

The track at Newcastle is a street track and this year they tweaked it to provide better passing opportunities.

Newcastle really knows how to put on an event and had 155,000 people attend over the 3 days.

Before the weekend started Scott McLaughlin was declared ‘Driver Champion Elect’ based on a points lead that could not be caught up to with only this race remaining for the season. With that in mind, it must have been quite a fun weekend for him.

The Team Championship point spread was a little bit closer with a gap of just 116 and the Red Bull team were in a position take the lead away from the Scott McLaughlin’s Shell V Power Racing Team which made things a little more exciting.

The weekend got off to a great start. In summary the pre-race sessions took place with the following results:

  • Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 1
  • Jamie Whincup was fastest in Practice 2
  • Jamie Whincup was fastest in Armour All Qualifying
  • Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in the Armour All Top Ten Shootout.

In race 31 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position. Alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.

At the start of the 95-lap race Shane Van Gisbergen got the jump off the line.

Scott McLaughlin was held up high and wide at the first turn which allowed Jamie Whincup to go up to 2nd spot. I was surprised that Scott McLaughlin let Jamie Whincup pass him on the opening lap.

Shane Van Gisbergen continued to hold his lead all the way except for pit stops.

Fabian Coulthard came in to pits first to not double stack with the champion elect Scott McLaughlin.

David Reynolds was battling with Anton De Pasquale for pit priority.

In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup were still running 1st and 2nd .

It was only in the last laps that Jamie Whincup came off track at turn 1. He wasnt able to get into the reverse gear and lost time slipping from 2nd to 8th place by the race finish. It was this mistake that cost the Red Bull Team the season championship. The team championship spread was now just 77 points.

I think, to the surprise of everyone there were no safety cars on Saturday.

Results for Race 31

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

In preparation for the final race of the season:

  • Cameron Waters was fastest in Armour All Qualifying
  • Jamie Whincup was Fastest in the top ten shootout

In race 32 Jamie Whincup started on pole position. Alongside him was Cameron Waters.

At the start of the final race of the season Lee Holdsworth received damaged to his Ford Mustang requiring an immediate return to the pits after contact with another car.

As the rest of the pack prepped for the pits, the race leaders stayed out to avoid the dreaded double stacking.

Soon after James Courtney and Anton de Pasquale made contact in between turns 2 and 3 which required the first safety car of the weekend to be deployed to remove Anton de Pasquale’s car.

On the restart Shane Van Gisbergen was on the charge along with Will Davison after those drivers got pinged before the race and set further back on the start grid.

Regardless of efforts no could catch Jamie Whincup who dominated the race all bar pit stops. Jamie Whincup crossed the line first.

That now gives Jamie Whincup 118 career wins and 83 career poles.

Rick Kelly and Andre Heimgartner and Garry Jacobson had their final race with the Nissan Altama’s before they switch to the Ford Mustang, which will make 8 Mustangs on the Supercars grid for next year.

Results for Race 32

1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team
3rd Tim Slade – Brad Jones Racing

Please feel free to comment on how the Newcastle event went.

https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/

Post Race Report, Supercars

Penrite Oil Sandown 500 2019 Supercars

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 8th to the 10th of November 2019 was the Penrite Oil Sandown 500.

Results for the pre – race sessions were as follows:

  • Garth Tander was fastest in practice 1 for co-drivers
  • David Reynolds was fastest in Practice 2
  • Craig Lowndes was fastest in Practice 3
  • Scott Pye & Warren Luff were fastest in the warm up for the Sandown 500.
  • Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 4 & Armour All Qualifying for Race 28
  • Craig Lowndes won Race 28
  • Jamie Whincup won Race 29

Before the race on Sunday the Supercars community at Sandown paid tribute to the life of Mike Raymond, who passed away a few days earlier at the age of 76. Mike Raymond was most well known as a commentator in the late 80s, early 90s. He gave so much to the sport, our condolences to his family and all that knew him. If anyone has a good memory to share about Mike Raymond please post it on my Supercars Facebook Fan Page. I am sure others would love to hear it. https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/

At the start of the 500 kilometre 161 lap race Craig Lowndes started on pole position, alongside him was Bryce Fullwood from the Dunlop Super 2 Series.

All the co-drivers bar Scott Pye started behind the wheel for the race on Sunday. I guess this is part of the strategy as the co-drivers have to do a minimum of 54 laps and can only do a maximum 107 laps.

Jack Smith was behind the wheel co-driving with Todd Hazelwood in his debut at the Enduro’s.

Both Alex Premat (co-driver for Scott McLaughlin) and Garth Tander (co-driver for Shane Van Gisbergen) started in positions 24th and 25th. These two cars are normally at the front of the grid. Garth Tander’s positioning was caused by Shane Van Gisbergen unable to complete the ‘main driver’ race on Saturday due to to a spin off track from a poorly timed takeover with Anton de Pasquale.

Alex Premat was sentenced to the back of the grid due to officials finding Scott McLaughlin’s engine was over-specced dating back to Bathurst. Quite a drama. If you have a point of view on this please feel free to put it up for discussion on my Supercars Facebook Fan Page.

Without surprise the experienced Craig Lowndes got the jump on Bryce Fullwood off the start line. Further back in the grid 3 cars stalled on the green light causing a fair bit of havoc.

Alex Davison was in one of the cars that stalled and was extremely lucky not to be collected by the cars just behind him.

At the end of the opening lap Tony Dalberto got turned around by Richard Muscat and found himself at the very back of the pack.

Luke Youlden in car # 9 received damage and was missing the rear wing. When he got back to the pits he knew that the day was over. With only 30 laps completed it must have been a big blow for him and his main driver, David Reynolds.

I was actually surprised that Dale Wood and Luke Youlden managed to limp their cars back to the pits. They looked in very poor shape.

Later in the race there was contact between Michael Caruso and Jake Kostecki. This was a really messy situation. It was when Jake Kostecki was merging from the pit lane into the fast lane. It appeared he was unaware that Caruso was coming down the fast lane. Usually the car controller gives the driver warning to yield over the comms when merging back onto the track.

Kostecki was able to continue the race but Michael Caruso’s front left wheel was now at a strange looking angle. With this damage he had to complete a full lap at a slower in order to come back around to the pits.

It merge was deemed as unsafe and the Kostecki Brothers Racing team were issued a drive through penalty.

In the middle of the race the Red Bull Holden Racing Team were running 1st & 2nd. If they could maintain their lead to the end of the race it would also place them at the top of the Team’s Championship ladder. The pressure was on!

But as luck would have it, with only 10 laps to go and in the lead, Shane Van Gisbergen’s car lost a bolt and smoke was coming out of the right rear. He was forced to call into the pits which dropped him from 1st to 17th. Shane Van Gisbergen & co-driver Garth Tander must have been gutted. They had started from the back of the grid in position 24 and worked their way into the lead. That is pretty amazing but it wold have also been Shane Van Gisbergen’s first win at Sandown (and a second win at Sandown for Garth Tander)

It was lucky for the Red Bull Team that Jamie Whincup was just behind Shane Van Gisbergen and able to take the lead for the team. Once he was told that his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen had to pit he knew he had to hold the lead to the end.

This was not difficult for Jamie Whincup and he came across the line first.

It brings Jamie Whincup’s career win total to 117 and Craig Lowndes win total to 110.

However, Shane Van Gisbergen slipping back to 17th meant they only closed the Team Championship points trail from 132 to 116. I’m sure it will be their inspiration to ‘go hard’ in the coming last race of the season, The Newcastle 500.

Results for Race 30

1st Jamie Whincup & Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd Chaz Mostert & James Moffatt – Supercheap Auto Racing Team.
3rd Lee Holdsworth & Thomas Randle – Bottle O Racing Team.
Congratulations to Jack Smith who will be making his full time Virgin Australia Supercars Championship debut in 2020. Read about it in the link: https://www.speedcafe.com/2019/11/13/bjr-confirms-smith-in-expanded-four-car-2020-line-up/

Please feel free to comment on how Sandown went via my Facebook Fanpage.

https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/

 

Post Race Report, Supercars

Vodafone Gold Coast 600 2019 Supercars

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 25th to the 27th of October was the Vodafone Gold Coast 600.

Pre-race sessions:

  • Jamie Whincup was fastest in Practice 1.
  • Garth Tander was fastest in Practice 2 for co-drivers.
  • Cameron Waters was fastest in practice 3 the season was red flagged due to a lot of water on the track.
  • Chaz Mostert was fastest in Armour All Qualifying.
  • Scott McLaughlin was the fastest in the Armour All top ten shootout.

In Race 26 Alex Premat started on pole position alongside him was Craig Lowndes.

At the start of the 102 lap race Craig Lowndes got the jump off the start line. Alex Premat stalled his car losing his number 1 position on the grid which put the championship leading car back into 2nd off the start.

All of the co-driver’s started the race behind the wheel except main game driver. Jack Le Brocq.

During the opening stages it got overcrowded in the S-bends. In order to avoid making contact with other cars eight drivers were forced to short cut the circuit and drove straight over the chicanes. Race Control issued warnings to them about having all four wheels out of track bounds and short cutting the circuit but they didn’t penalise anyone at that stage.

Thomas Randle who was making his debut in the V8-Supercars Championship as co-driver for Lee Holdsworth showed his inexperience and held up Michael Caruso. Eventually the pass was made and he was lucky not to be penalised. Even commentator Mark Skaife said that Thomas Randle should have let Michael Caruso by a lot earlier than he did.

Mark Winterbottom had a problem with his car which made him have to re visit the pit lane to have the problem sorted out.

Fabian Coulthard was watching the opening stages race from the garage while Tony Dalberto was behind the wheel doing his minimum 34 laps required by all co-drivers. I’m sure Fabian Coulthard’s heart must have skipped a beat when Dalberto made contact Jack Perkins. Luckily it wasn’t major and both continued without stopping.

By the middle of the race Jamie Whincup was effectively leading. The cars ahead of him only lead because they had not perform their second pit stop.

Jamie Whincup was not going to blow this opportunity. He maintained his lead all the way to the finish line. Shane Van Gisbergen was on his tail pushing him along. This was a great result for the Triple Eight team and the only time this year to get a 1st & 2nd in a race.

As co-driver to Jamie Whincup, Craig Lowndes statistics breach 1000 laps of lead for all combined races. A momentous occasion for such a legend.

Results for Race 26

1st Jamie Whincup & Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
|2nd Shane Van Gisbergen & Garth Tander – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Scott McLaughlin & Alex Premat – Shell V Power Racing Team.

In Qualifying for race 27 Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest and then again in the Armour All top ten shootout.

Scott McLaughlin did not take part in this race at all because he crashed in Qualifying.

As co-driver for Shane Van Gisbergen, Garth Tander started on pole position. Alongside him was Craig Lowndes, co-driver for Jamie Whincup.

As they started the 102 lap race Craig Lowndes got the jump on Garth Tander but then Garth Tander took the lead and held position.

On the opening there was an accident between Ash Walsh, Will Brown, Todd Hazelwood and Dean Canto.

Garth Tander led his opening stint until it was time to pit and hand over to Shane Van Gisbergen.

James Courtney’s driver’s swung open. He tried to close it but at the next turn it swung open again. He faught with the door but it just wouldn’t close. He ended up getting a Mechanical Black Flag meaning he was forced into the pits for the team to tape it shut.

By the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was the effective race leader with cars in front of him yet to complete their 2nd pit stops.

It was looking good again for the Triple Eight Team.

In the closing stages Jamie Whincup had fresh rubber on and grip to his advantage but he just fell short on getting another race win for 2019. It was his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen who crossed the line first.

It was another 1st and 2nd for the Red Bull Holden Racing Team for the weekend.

Results for Race 27

1st Shane Van Gisbergen & Garth Tander – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd Jamie Whincup & Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
|3rd David Reynolds & Luke Youlden – Erebus Motorsport.

The next event is the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 on the 8th to the 10th of November 2019.

Please feel free to comment on how the Gold Coast event was.

https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/

 

Supercars

The Bend Supersprint 2019 Supercars

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 23rd to the August 2019 was The Bend Supersprint.

This is the second year that Tailem Bend, South Australia played host to a V8 Supercars event.

It was also a milestone for Will Davison making his 200th championship round start and Triple 8 marking their 500th Supercars race.

As part of the preparations for the biggest event of the year The Bathurst 1000, the co-drivers had their own practice session. Thomas Randle was the fastest co-driver in this practice.

Then Scott McLaughlin once again proved his invincibility by being fastest  in Practice 1, 2 and 3.

Chaz Mostert earned himself the Pole position for Race 21 being fastest in the Armour All Qualifying.

In race 21 Scott McLaughlin lined up next to Chaz Mostert in the pole position.

At the start of 24 lap race, Chaz Mostert originally took the lead off the start line but then Scott McLaughlin took him and led into turn 1.

During the opening lap there was contact between Will Davison, Todd Hazelwood and Simona De Silvestro. All 3 cars suffered damage but managed to get back the pits under their own power but all received NC’s (Not Complete). It appeared they all felt there was no point returning to track  due to the race being so short, only 24 laps.

By the middle of the race the three race leaders appeared uncatchable;  Scott McLaughlin, Chaz Mostert and Anton de Pasquale.

From that moment Scott McLaughlin set out to prove just how fast he was and stretched his lead on the other two. He crossed the finish line nearly 8 seconds ahead of Chaz Mostert and just over 25 seconds ahead of Anton de Pasquale. It was an incredible finish.

Results for race 21

1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
2nd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.
3rd Anton de Pasquale – Erebus Motorsport.

 In race 22 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position, alongside him was Will Davison.

At the start of 41 lap race Will Davison got the jump and led into turn 1.

Scott McLaughlin followed Will Davison for most of the opening stint and wasn’t able to to get by him.

I thought that Will Davison looked on track to claim his first race win for 2019.

In an effort to claim his second race for the year, Jamie Whincup also tried to pass Will Davison but couldn’t get the job done.

Will Davison made his first mistake, locking up his tyres he almost when off the track. I thought he was going to lose race positioning but somehow he held on to the lead. It honestly surprised me.

Jamie Whincup then dropped a couple of spots. It was still early on he knew there was a long way to go to the finish line.

Rick Kelly was trying to keep up with his teammates but it wasn’t his day and fell further back into the pack.

In the middle of the race Scott Mclaughlin was still the race leader and looking good for another race win.

Towards the end of the race no one could catch Scott Mclaughlin.

In the middle of the race Will Davison had an air box fire on pit entry. Although he managed to get back out on the track it had slowed him down. Now Scot McLaughlin had the lead with Chaz Mostert in hot pursuit.

Scott McLaughlin was unbeatable and held his lead to the finish line followed by Will Davison and then Chaz Mostert.  Who can stop Scott McLaughlin’s winning run?

The teams’ cars and equipment will be going to New Zealand via a boat because the its too expensive to fly everything to New Zealand by plane. The drivers of course will be flying in.

Results for race 22

1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
2nd Will Davison – 23 Red Racing.
3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.

The event is the ITM Auckland Supersprint on the 13th to the 15th of September 2019.

 

https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/ please feel free to comment on how the Bend was.