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Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Skycity Darwin Triple Crown 2017

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 16th to the 18th of June 2017 was the CrownBet Darwin Triple Crown.

This year Darwin celebrated its 20th year anniversary for V8 Supercars races.

For the 42 laps of race 11, Rick Kelly started on pole position with Scott McLaughlin alongside him.

Rick Kelly got a good start and held Scott McLaughlin’s pass attempts off.

Craig Lowndes started in position 18 due to not getting a clear lap in Qualifying. Roland Dane (888 owner) didn’t attend the weekend’s racing probably based on Craig Lowndes poor starting position.  

Craig Lowndes immediately wanted to get out of the pack traffic to get some cool air but he had to hang out there for an extra lap and give pit priority to Will Davison whom he shares pit boom with.

On lap 2 Fabian Coulthard gained second position when Scott McLaughlin ran off the race track.

On lap 4 Garth Tander and Scott Pye put on a show as they battled for positions 5 and 6.

·        On lap 5 Rick Kelly was holding onto the race lead quite Comfortably. Which he was happy with. 

·        On lap 6 Shane Van Gisbergen was staying out on the track and doing good lap times.

On lap 7 Shane Van Gisbergen had moved from his starting position 5 into 3rd. His race engineer, Grant McPherson made the call to stay out on track while the going was good. Jamie Whincup wasn’t far behind him, so I guess the strategy was for the 888 team to hold onto those good positions.

·        On lap 8 Rick Kelly was enjoying not being back in the pack, and not hot brake temps and engine temps.

·        On lap 9 Simona De Slivestro had to get used to hot and warm Temperature’s in a v8 Supercar.

·        On lap 10 Maculey Jones was 1 of 4 wildcards to have a run in the main game. In prep for the Endurance races.

Rick Kelly had been comfortably holding the lead from the start but on lap 11 he overshot the first turn. Fabian Coulthard had been unable to catch the leader until now and used the opportunity to take the lead.

Soon after Shane Van Gisbergen had the lead but it didn’t last long. As he came down the main straight he wasn’t able to slow down and just kept going straight. His lead was over and once again Fabian Coulthard had the number 1 spot.

On lap 15 James Courtney made contact with Jack Le Brocq, which didn’t make him very happy because he went right to the very back of the pack.

It wasn’t the end of Rick Kelly’s unfortunate luck. Later, on lap 16 the throttle got stuck and he had a massive off hitting the tyre barriers. It was the end of the race for Rick Kelly and he received a DNF.

As it approached the middle of the race Fabian Coulthard maintained his lead but things had changed behind him, Scott McLaughlin and Nick Percat were now in 2nd and 3rd. The drivers further back in the pack couldn’t catch them.

With so many changes in the top ten positions up until now, it felt as though anything could happen and nothing could be taken for granted.

Amazingly these three drivers held position right to the end of the race and those behind them battled it out between themselves without hope of catching them.

Shane Van Gisbergen made contact with Garth Tander in lap 38. Garth Tander got to the finish the race but Shane Van Gisbergen lost his steering controls. It was just 4 laps to the finish but he had no option and left the track with a DNF.

In preparation for the Endurance races there were also a few wildcards on track. They seemed to benefit from the earlier mayhem:

·        Macauley Jones starting in position 26 moved up 2 positions finishing 24th.
·        Jack Le Brocq starting 24th finished 19th.
·        Tim Blanchard moved up 2 positions and finished 12th.
·        Cameron McConville made the best show, starting 28th gained 11 places and finished 17th.
In the following order Fabian Coulthard, Scott McLaughlin and Nick Percat crossed the finish line. Close behind was Jamie Whincup, Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters. Craig Lowndes was the closest car behind them about 4.5 seconds later. A surprising finish considering.

Results for race 11

1st Fabian Coulthard – Dick Johnson racing team Penske.
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson racing team Penske.
3rd Nick Percat – Brad Jones Racing.

4th Jamie Whincup – red bull Holden racing team.
 

In race 12 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position, alongside him was Jamie Whincup.

At the start of the 70 lap race Jamie Whincup got the jump on Scott McLaughlin and led during the opening stages. I was thinking that Jamie Whincup would get his first race win for 2017 in Darwin but wasn’t to be. Then Scott McLaughlan was trying to get past Jamie Whincup as quickly as possible so his engine didn’t overheat.

On the 2nd lap Mark Winterbottom was battling away with Cameron Waters and Chaz Mostert for the positions behind the two leaders.

Craig Lowndes was desperately trying to get out from behind his teammates and get some fresh air.

Shane Van Gisbergen didn’t quite get the result he wanted but did manage to get a position on the podium. Mark Dutton wasn’t pleased with the result either, having high expectations for Shane Van Gisbergen to win the race like last year.

Will Davison had come in early because how far down the in the race he was. Which he knew there was a long way to go but he was still happy with the pace of the Tekno car number 19.

Shae Davies had his first race at Darwin. He stuck close behind Rick and Todd Kelly.

Just 12 laps to go, James Moffat had a tyre blowout. It was bad timing and cost him dearly, crossing the finish line 25th from a start position of 3.

Jamie Whincup had control of the lead in the early stages of the race but in the end it was Scott McLaughlin’s day. He took the chequered flag ahead of Jamie Whincup by over 2 seconds.

This puts Scott McLaughlin second in the championship to his teammate Fabian Coulthard.

 Results for race 12

1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red bull Holden racing team.
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red bull Holden Racing Team.
The next event is the Watpac Townsville 400.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Woodstock Winton Supersprint 2017 Melbourne Victoria

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world.

On the weekend of the 19th to the 21st of May 2017 was the Winton SuperSprint.

Some interesting background notes on this race:
·        Craig Lowndes started 19th due to not getting a clear run in Qualifying.
·        There were 3 wild cards (solo debuts) at Winton which were Macauley Jones, Shae Davies and James Golding. I have no doubt that this would change the dynamics out on track.
·        Fabian Coulthard has a different colour number on his Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske car is because he is the current championship leader. This seems to be the ‘new thing’ since Shane Van Gisbergen turned down the traditional championship leader Number One sticker and kept his usual number. Was it superstition or other reasoning?  I am not sure.
·        Simona De Silvestro seemed to enjoy her first race at Winton, and did pretty well in this race finishing 2 spots up from her starting position on the grid.
·        During Friday’s practice there were a lot of drivers and cars that went off the wet track and onto the grass. It made the drivers weary of conditions but fortunately the weather cleared for the weekend.
·        LOL… During Friday’s 2nd practice session, presenter and commentator Neil Crompton got Mark Skaife’s name wrong during an interview and called him Mike Skaife.

In the 120km race 9, Scott McLaughlin started on pole position. Alongside him was Chaz Mostert.

On lap 1 of 40 Scott McLaughlin beat Chaz Mostert off the start line and led into turns 1 and 2. Between turns 6 and 7 James Moffatt spun James Courtney and put him right to the back of the pack. As a result, he had to start making his way back up through the pack.

Mark Winterbottom ran well during the opening stages of the race.

Craig Lowndes’ race engineer, John McGregor (aka “Irish”) called him into the pits. As mentioned Craig Lowndes had a poor starting position of 19, so this was a strategy to get him out of the traffic and get a clear track and make headway later on.   

On lap 4 cars further back in the pack were crowded up so started pitting to get clear air. Scott McLaughlin was still leading the race so stayed out longer while the going was good.

On lap 5 Scott Pye and James Courtney were contending for positions 8 and 9 and desperate to stay in the top 10.

On lap 7 David Reynolds was close in behind his Erebus Motorsport teammate Dale Wood.

On lap 10 Craig Lowndes was making his presence felt and was in battle with Will Davison trying to gain another position.

On lap 11 Garth Tander was trying hard to get passed James Moffatt to get fresh air so that engine does overheat

On lap 13 Chaz Mostert could feel something wrong with his engine. Adam De Borre, his race engineer told him to come in to the pits. At first he stayed in the car then Adam De Borre told him to get out. It was all over for the race and Chaz Mostert received a DNF.

Rick Kelly was trying to pass Tim Slade at turns 1 and 2, both trying to stay in the top 10.

On lap 13 Todd Kelly also just made it into the top 10. He was desperate for this after his start position of 11th.

On lap 14 Will Davison was staying cautious after his experience in a12 car pile-up at Tasmania. He ended up in hospital and his car was close to demolished. The Tekno team had to do an all-nighter to get back out on track the next day.

On lap 17 Macauley Jones was safely following James Golding, one of the wildcards on the day to not get caught up in an incident.

At this stage engineers usually start calling cars in to the pits but the going was good and most drivers stayed out on track not wanting to lose any advantage they could gain pitting later on.

On lap 19 Tim Slade managed a successful pass of his teammate, Nick Percat after his pit stop.

On lap 21 Craig Lowndes was moving up through the field due to his pit stop strategy.

On lap 23 there was a battle between Garth Tander, James Moffatt, James Courtney and Nick Percat.

On lap 24 Scott McLaughlin was still leading over his teammate and Championship Leader, Fabian Coulthard.

On lap 25 Shae Davies had a close call with Simona De Silvestro and only just avoided making contact.

On lap 26 Shane Van Gisbergen was trying to keep up with his teammate, Jamie Whincup.  It was exactly Roland Dane wanted to see. The only thing that Roland Dane didn’t want to see was the 2 teammates making contact.

By this stage of the race Craig Lowndes was running in 6th after starting in the 19th spot. It is no easy feat to gain 13 positions in a 40 lap race and then maintain it to the finish. Proof of why he gets paid the big bucks.

On the second last lap James Courtney ended up in the sand and couldn’t get out. He received a DNF which was just plain bad luck for him.

As the race progressed into it final laps it was clear the top 3 drivers were untouchable; Scott McLaughlin (who managed to hold his lead from start to finish), Jamie Whincup and Fabian Coulthard.

David Reynolds was the closest in 4th position crossing the finish line nearly 8 seconds later, but it was a good race for him having gained 10 spots from his 14th position on the starting grid.

Things in the championship are now getting really interesting. With the win going to Scott McLaughlin, Fabain Coulthard only leads the Championship by only 4 points.

Results for race 9:

1st Scott Mclaughlin – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske Shell V Power racing team.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Fabain Coulthard – Dick Johnson Racing team Penske Shell V power racing team.

 

In race 10 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position. Alongside him was Jamie Whincup.

On lap 1 of 67 Jamie Whincup got into turn 1 and 2 first over Scott McLaughlin.

On lap 2 Shane Van Gisbergen and Fabian Coulthard were battling for 2nd and 3rd. Shane Van Gisbergen got the better of him making a pass for clear track. Scott McLaughlin slipping to 4th.

On lap 3 888 race engineer, David Cauchi stategised for Jamie Whincup to stay out on track longer and not pit too early, especially while he maintained pit priority over Shane Van Gisbergen.

On lap 4 Chaz Mostert was trying to find a way passed Cameron Waters. But he couldn’t get the job done.

On lap 5 Chaz Mostert wasn’t making headway out on track so pitted early to avoid the pit lane congestion. This strategy paid off for him later on.

On lap 7 Craig Lowndes was on a charge, moving up from 26th up to 23rd.

On lap 9 Fabian Coulthard dropped to 4th giving Scott McLaughlan an easy pass. He knew it was a long race so was saving his energies for later.

On lap 10 Mark Winterbottom was following his teammates Cameron Waters and Chaz Mostert. This was also OK by him so early on in the race.

On lap 11 Simona de Silvestro was keeping up with her team owners Rick and Todd Kelly. It was a great setup where she could get some first hand knowledge from them on her first visit to Winton Raceway.

On lap 13 Macauley Jones one of the other wild cards on the day was making his dad, Brad Jones proud of him in his solo V8 Supercars Championship debut.

On lap 14 Scott Mclaughlin was happy to be back in the lead after dominating the first race of the weekend. Roland Dane, 888 owner did not want to see their main rivals, Dick Johnson Racing make it 2 for 2.

On Lap 15 James Courtney was driving cautiously not wanting to have another bad race for the 2nd day in a row.

On Lap 17 Fabian Coulthard took advantage of Shane Van Gisbergen going wide at turn 3. He managed to slip through on the inside. It was a very cool move.

On lap 18 Mark Winterbottom also passed Shane Van Gisbergen and was now trying to find a way past Fabian Coulthard. Fabian Coulthard wasn’t going drop the ball and Mark Winterbottom couldn’t get far enough up to make the pass.

On lap 20 David Reynolds was on the charge after he disengaged the pit lane speed limiter. He just got in front of Rick Kelly which was planned by the team before the start of the race.

On lap 21 Craig Lowndes wanted to pit first but because he was behind teammate, Will Davison the pit priority was not his.

On lap 22 Alex Rullo stayed in close behind his more experienced teammate Taz Douglas, gaining valuable pointers.

Chaz Mostert was trying to catch up to the race leaders and capitalise on any mistakes made. Unfortunately for him, Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen weren’t giving him any opportunities.

On lap 25 Alex Rullo was blocking Mark Winterbottom, which is considered poor form so early in the race. In fact, later Mark Winterbottom told host of RPM Matthew White that he wasn’t impressed with the move that the Rookie made whatsoever

On lap 29 Todd Kelly passed his brother Rick Kelly but it was a short lived result. In usual sibling rivalry Rick Kelly took back the lead over his brother.

On lap 31 the 2 Red Bull Holden Racing team cars were holding the top two positions, Jamie Whincup 1st and Shane Van Gisbergen 2nd. 

In the middle of the race Mark Winterbottom gave Alex Rullo a lesson in good driving manners and didn’t block him as he passed.

Towards the end of the race the Vodafone Safety Car was deployed due to Michael Caruso getting stuck in the tyre barrier after making contact with Shae Davies.

On the race restart Jamie Whincup was on target to match Craig Lowndes career wins of 104. It would have been a nice way for the 888 team to finish the weekend but things didn’t go quite to plan. At the final corner he ran wide, Shane Van Gisbergen slipped through on the inside to take the chequered flag. Jamie Whincup will just have to wait till net time.

Results for race 10:

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Fabain Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.

The next event of the v8 Supercars Championship is the Crown bet Darwin Triple Crown on the 16th to the 18th of June 2017.

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

New Zealand 2016 – Post Race Report

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

The ITM Auckland Super Sprint 2016 was run on the 4th, 5th and 6th of November 2016.

Race 24 started with Shane Van Gisbergen in pole position and Jamie Whincup alongside him for this 35-lap race.

Jamie got the jump on his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen. Scott McLaughlin and Mark Winterbottom made contact going in-between turns 3 and 4.

As a fly away event the teams are usually limited on spares so the drivers in the pack were going to be doing their best to avoid any risks that could cause damage.

On lap 2 Shane Van Gisbergen was trying to keep up with his teammate, but once Jamie Whincup took the lead he was never headed.  Lap 3 saw the red flag go up as a result of Jason Bright having contact with Chris Pither.

When the race was restarted, it was a rolling start and Jamie Whincup immediately pulled away from the pack. The race went back to ‘green’ on lap 4 and the race was back on. Chaz Mostert nearly bogged his car 55 in the sand trap down at turn 8. On lap 5 James Moffatt and Dale Wood made contact on approach to turn 5.

With all this commotion Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen were way up front by lap 6 and it looked as if no one was going to catch them. Shortly after Garth Tander, wanting to have a clean race weekend and not be in headlines for all the wrong reasons eased off driving aggressively.

Lap 8 Todd Kelly was in front of Dale Wood. Dale Wood was trying to get down the inside of his boss at turn 8, but instead he made contact and copped a lot of damage. Dale Wood was not happy about it at all.

By lap 9 Jamie Whincup had a good lead which meant he could push on safely without having to watch his mirrors all the time.

On lap 10 Craig Lowndes passed Lee Holdsworth in between turns 9 and 10 which I thought was not going to work. Amazingly he made it safely? Mark Winterbottom tried the same thing with Garth Tander on the next lap but couldn’t make it. He tried again and his persistence paid off. Garth Tander wanted his position back and chased hard to catch Mark Winterbottom but just wasn’t able to pass him. On lap 13 James Courtney also got the better of Garth Tander and passed him to gain the 5th spot.

On lap 14 Jason Bright was watching the rest of the race from the garage after hitting the wall at the pit lane entry blocking access. This resulted in red flag going up.

Once the race restarted, the Red Bull cars still maintained their strong lead with Jamie Whincup up front. It still looked like no one could catch them.

In the middle of the race Jamie Whincup wanted to start getting the gap down in the hunt for his 7th Championship.

The last laps saw the Red Bull Teammates as unstoppable with Jamie Whincup taking 1st and Shane Van Gisbergen 2nd place at the finish line.

Results for race 24

1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia.
3rd – Scott McLaughlin – Volvo Polstar racing.

In race 25 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position with Jamie Whincup alongside him.

On the first of the 35-lap race Shane Van Gisbergen took the lead due to Jamie Whincup’s uncontrolled wheel spin start. Jamie Whincup caught up quickly and tried to pass him at the turn 8 hairpin.

While the Red Bull teammates were battling with each other they were gifting metres to Chaz Mostert. On the opening laps, Shane Van Gisbergen took the lead back off car 88 with the Fords running tightly behind. On lap 4 Shane Van Gisbergen had a half second lead. On lap 5 Garth Tander got up the inside of Cameron Waters, then James Moffatt was getting ready to have a dive. On lap 6 he was starting to close the gap on his teammate, Scott McLaughlan to .6 of a second.

On lap 7 Mark Winterbottom was on the back of his teammate Chaz Mostert. On lap 8 Craig Lowndes was behind Nick Percat and eventually passed him between turns 10 and 11. Will Davison was holding his position in front of Scott McLaughlin. On lap 9 David Reynolds was catching the Volvo in front of him. The two Holden Racing Team cars were competing for positions 9 and 10. On the 10th lap the two Red Bull cars were up front staying out of trouble and by the next lap Mark  Winterbottom was in front of the next group of cars behind him. The 3 cars maintained control of the race through to the finish line.

Even though in the middle of the race Jamie Whincup tried to overtake his teammate to gain more championship points, Shane Van Gisbergen had his head down to take the race win.

In that last lap, Neil Crompton and Mark Skaife were both laughing when Shane Van Gisbergen came over the team radio and said, ‘What is my dad doing on TV?’ His father’s image large as life being displayed big screen near the finish line.

 

Results for race 25

1st – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
3rd – Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.

In the 35 laps of race 26, Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position with Scott Pye alongside him.

At the start, Scott Pye nearly got the jump on Shane Van Gisbergen but Mark Winterbottom went around the outside of Scott Pye. Scott McLaughlin received damage to the front of his Volvo after making contact with the back of Craig Lowndes car. Throughout the second lap Craig Lowndes fought to stay in front of Scott McLaughlin in the battle for 3rd spot in the season championship.

By lap 3 Mark Winterbottom had a good lead. Early on lap 4, Scott Mclaughlin was trying to get back in front of Craig Lowndes and closing the gap between 3rd and 4th.  As they went through lap 5 Mark Winterbottom was dominating the race. Lap 6 Garth Tander and James Courtney were racing each other. In lap 7 James Courtney showed he didn’t enjoy being further back in the pack and he pushed hard to get up near the front of the race. On lap 8 Craig Lowndes was moving up through the field very quickly. On lap 9 Fabian Coulthard knew that Craig Lowndes was catching him quickly and he let him go passed. On lap 10 the Red Bull cars were still battling it out and letting Mark Winterbottom get away. Not a great tactic for the Red Bull Team. Mark Winterbottom was now on his way to claiming his 2nd race win of the year. On lap 12 Jamie Whincup locked the rear brakes and spun Shane Van Gisbergen around. As a result, he ‘redressed’ but the Officials still gave him a drive thru penalty.

New Zealand 2016 Post Race Report Race 26 Image

From that point onwards through to the finish line, Mark Winterbottom dominated with an uncatchable lead.

 

Results for race 26

1st – Mark Winterbottom – Rod Nash Racing
2nd – Scott Pye – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
3rd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia.

In race 27 Jamie Whincup started on pole position alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.

On this 35-lap race Jamie Whincup got into the first corner which allowed him to take track position early on. David Reynolds hit one of the braking markers at turn 1 and Lee Holdsworth was battling with Todd Kelly. Garth Tander passed James Moffatt the drivers were 3 abreast.

On lap 2 Jamie Whincup was traveling well up front of the race with his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen behind him. On lap 3 Mark Winterbottom was trying to get passed his teammate Chaz Mostert and get into fresh air for the brakes and engine. To his relief, he managed to pass him. If Mark Winterbottom had stayed behind him any longer, his car would have over heated and he would have to park back in the pits. On lap 4 Mark Winterbottom was moving forward to his next target, Scott McLaughlin. On lap 5 Garth Tander and James Courtney were like magnets (which held for them all weekend when racing each other). On lap 6 Dale Wood maintained the same tactic as in his previous race and stayed out of trouble.

New Zealand 2016 Post Race Report Img 3

On lap 7 Craig Lowndes was coming through the pack from 9th on the grid and was still in front of Scott McLaughlin in the battle for the 2016 V8 Supercars Championship 3rd spot.

Lap 10 Will Davison was trying to stay inside the top 10 and wanted a finish with a single digit position. On lap 11 Cameron Waters was also trying to stay in the top 10 and catch his teammates but wasn’t able to. Mark Winterbottom passed Chaz Mostert and pushed on with fresh air in front of him. On lap 12 Todd Kelly was battling it out with sibling rival, Rick Kelly.

On lap 13 Tim Slade had to take evasive action because the car that was in front of him completely missed turn 5. On lap 14 Jamie Whincup was on his way to claiming another career win and catching up to Craig Lowndes’ career tally.  On lap 15 Mark Winterbottom needed clear air because the engine temperatures were starting to rise in the Bottle-O Ford. On lap 16 Jamie Whincup was up front with no problems and Shane Van Gisbergen close in behind.

In the middle of the race the leaders were starting to check out, increasing the gap to the cars behind and they just couldn’t be caught.

Jamie Whincup came across the line to his 103rd career victory, only 2 wins behind Craig Lowndes.

The weekend ended; Shane Van Gisbergen was awarded the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy for 2016, he has now extended his championship to 491 points with 1 event remaining and 2 races.

The next event is the Coates Hire Sydney 500 on the 2nd – 4th of December 2016.  Good luck for the grand finale at Homebush everybody.  Go Holden!

Well done to everybody in New Zealand.

Results for race 27

1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia.
3rd – Scott McLaughlin – Volvo Polstar Racing.

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Darwin Post Race Report 2016

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Craig in Darwin

Hi to all you v8 Supercars fans around the world.

For those of you that missed the Darwin event here is what happened on the weekend of the 17th -19th June 2016 was the Crown Bet Darwin Triple Crown.

In race 12. Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position alongside was Michael Caruso for the 42 lap race.

On lap 1 Michael Caruso got the jump and led the pack through turn 1. Craig Lowndes got spun around by Rick Kelly that was started by Tim Slade. When Craig Lowndes spun back around to get going again he re-joined at the very back of the field. Rick Kelly was the one who hit him, with help from Tim Slade. James Moffatt ran up the back of David Reynolds.

On lap 2 the pack was starting settle into a pace. Also on that lap the cars were still running around on the racetrack until the race leader had commenced the 5th lap of the race – Meaning the cars could not start peeling off into pit lane until the start of that lap.

On lap 3 the race leader was still Michael Caruso but when the safety car was deployed he decided to stay out on the track.

On lap 4 the cars further back in the pack were trying to keep out of trouble. On the restart Shane Van Gisbergen passed Michael Caruso before the control line which meant that race control gave him a pit lane drive thru penalty, also on the restart Jamie Whincup and Scott Pye came together heading down towards turn 1.

In the middle of the race no one was able to catch Michael Caruso.

Results for race 12.

1st – Michael Caruso – Nissan motorsport
2nd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia
3rd – Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing Team

 

In race 13 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position alongside him was Todd Kelly for the 70 lap race. The start of the was nuts on lap 1 Scott Pye, Fabain Coulthard, Lee Holdsworth and Chaz Mostert all ended up in the accident on the opening lap. There was a safety car which meant everybody came in for the first of 2 stops the pit lane was a mess, Shane Van Gisbergen gave Will Davison a bump forward so that he could get into the Red Bull pit bay.

On lap 2 the cars that were in the wall got removed and the race went back to green. But Scott Pye, Fabain Coulthard and Lee Holdsworth were not able to continue because of too much damage. But Chaz Mostert was able to keep going.

On the restart Craig Lowndes was leading and made a mistake so that meant that Shane Van Gisbergen took the lead of the race.

In the middle of the race Mark Winterbottom got 2 drive thru penalties, 1st was for hitting Todd Kelly up the back side, and the 2nd one was for speeding in the pit lane. Meanwhile no one could catch Shane Van Gisbergen.

The next Event is the Castrol Edge Townsville 400. On July 8th – 10th 2016.

Pre Race Report, V8 Supercars

Darwin Pre Race Report 2016

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Darwin 2015 1

Hi to V8 Supercar fans around the world.

Let take a look back at what happened on the weekend of 19th – 21st June 2015, in Darwin.

Race 13

In race 13 James Courtney started on pole position alongside him was Chaz Mostert. On lap 1 James Courtney made a good start. But Chaz Mostert got the jump and led the field around turn 1 for the first of 21 laps. Both Jamie Whincup and Fabain Coulthard went off the track at turn 1. Then Craig Lowndes and Tim Blanchard, also Craig Lowndes along with Tim Blanchard, spun at turn 5.

On lap 2 James was having an issue with the Holden Racing Team Commodore. Also on that same lap Rick Kelly got passed Shane Van Gisbergen. Fabain Coulthard had a bent steering arm. Both the Red Bull cars were at the back of the field.

On lap 3 Dale Wood tried to go around the outside of James Moffat from Nissan Motorsport. James got down the inside of David Reynolds.

The Safety car was deployed due to a grass fire. On the exit of the 5th corner, Greg Murphy was chatting Mark Dutton about the incident that sent both Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes to the back.

The restart was on lap 6.

In the middle of the race Andre Heimgartner couldn’t pull up the Super Black Falcon, the criss-cross was on for Jason Bright, Michael Caruso had a bit of speed way action on the exit of turn 1.

Towards the end of race 13 Scott Pye and Shane Van Gisbergen were following James Courtney.

 

Results for race 13.

1st – Chaz Mostert – Pepsi Max Crew
2nd – Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max Crew
3rd – Rick Kelly – Jack Daniel’s Racing

Race 14

In race 14 Rick Kelly started on position alongside him was Fabain Coulthard of the 21 lap race.

On lap 1 Craig Lowndes led the whole way through race 2. After the front 2 cars came together at turn 1, Craig Lowndes started 5th but was leading the race by the time they got to the first turn. Andre Heimgartner ran wide towards the end of first lap taking out Nick Percat, Will Davison and Jamie Whincup. Fabain Coulthard had contact with the Jack Daniel’s racing Nissan.

On lap 2 Andre Heimgartner had damage to the Super Black Racing Ford Falcon, also on lap 2 a safety car was deployed to clean up the mess left behind by the damaged race cars.

Meanwhile Greg Murphy was interviewing Brad Jones about the start of race 2 and Riana Crehan was interviewing Mark Dutton about opening race tangles.

The restart was on lap 7. In this race it was the 888th race in V8 Supercars. Craig Lowndes was only 15 laps away from claiming his 100th win in this sport. Scott Pye got down the inside of Michael Caruso.

In the middle of the race David Reynolds tried to get down the inside of Michael Caruso at turn 5, Dale Wood and David Wall went off the track at turn 5.

Towards the end of the race Chaz Mostert tried to get up the inside of Tim Slade but in the end Craig Lowndes was the first of the current V8 drivers to reach that incredible milestone of 100 career wins.

Results for race 14

1st – Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Racing Australia
2nd – Tim Slade – Supercheap Auto Racing
3rd – Chaz Mosert – Pepsi Max Crew

Race 15

In race 15 David Reynolds started on pole position alongside him was Fabain Coulthard of the 70 lap race.

On lap 1 Fabain Coulthard got the jump on David Reynolds and led the field into turn 1. Fabain Coulthard was still out in front while the car to make a compulsory pit stop was Jamie Whincup.

On lap 2 then Todd Kelly was first to make a pit stop, so that the 2 Kelly boys didn’t have to double stack behind.

On lap 3 the 2 Red Bull Racing Australia had to split their strategy to stop them from doing the awful double stacking. This is Craig Lownde’s 19th season in V8 Supercars.

On lap 4 Scott McLaughlin ran wide on the exit of turn 1, then he went onto grass out of the first corner. The Red Bull Racing Australia team thought that they could do the whole race on the soft compound tyres, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.

In the middle of the race both the Red Bull cars came back due to flat spots on both tyres on the front left.

Towards the end of the race, David Reynolds was the leader of the race all the way to the end.

The commentators were Greg Rust and Neil Crompton the pit reporters were Greg Murphy and Riana Crehan.

Results for 15

1st – David Reynolds – Bottle ‘O’ Racing
2nd – Chaz Mostert – Pepsi Max Crew
3rd – Fabain Coulthard – Brad Jones Racing

 

Pre Race Report, V8 Supercars

Woodstock Winton Pre Race Report 2016

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Winton Pre race pic 1

Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world.

This weekend 20th – 22nd May, is the Woodstock Winton Supersprint.

Let’s take a look at what happened at Winton in 2015.

On the weekend of the 15th – 17th May 2015 was the Winton Supersprint.

In race 10 Chaz Mostert started on pole position alongside him was Michael Caruso.

On lap 1 Michael Caruso made a brilliant start due to him starting right up the pointy end of the starting grid, in second spot the Nissan Altama was coloured in red because Nissan Narvra were the main sponsor for the Winton Supersprint, weekend. David Reynolds had a tough start, the two Pepsi Max Crew Ford Falcons led into turns 1 and 2. A couple of cars were trying to run side by side on the opening lap. Craig Lowndes was putting the pressure on Jason Bright. While the front Runners were just pulling away. Chaz Mostert had a 1.2 second lead after the opening lap.

On lap 2 Mark Winterbottom had gone from 4th to 2nd. Shane Van Gisbergen had passed Jamie Whincup to put him up into 8th and Jamie Whincup back 1 spot to 9th Craig Lowndes was still following the Team BOC car. The Margin after 2 laps was 1.55 seconds.

On lap 3 Mark Winterbottom had the grip and then he took off. Todd Kelly was hunting down David Reynolds. Dick Johnson once described the Winton track as like running an F1/11 around your clothes line. Scott McLaughlin went backwards after contact with Dale Wood, Scott McLaughlin’s s60 spun around approaching the halfway mark, (Dutto said they had no car pace. No one could catch the 2 Pepsi Max Crew Prodrive Racing Australia. Cars 5 and 6.)

Results for race 10

1st – Chaz Mostert – Prodrive Racing Australia
2nd – Mark Winterbottom – Prodrive Racing Australia
3rd – Michael Caruso – Nissan Motorsport

In race 11 Chaz Mostert started on pole position alongside him was his teammate Mark Winterbottom.

On lap 1 of 20 the 3 Walkinshaw racing cars of cars 2 22 and 18 of Garth Tander James Courtney and also involved was Lee Holdsworth on approach to turns 1, 2 and 3 for the first time Andre Heimgartner went off the racetrack and onto the grass, Michael Caruso was holding off Scott McLaughlin in the Volvo. Rick Kelly ran the fastest lap of the race, after the race 11 start, Shane Van Gisbergen did the over and under manoeuvre on Jamie Whincup.

That was on lap 2 also on that same lap Craig Lowndes tried to get down the inside of Will Davison. Lee Holdsworth had to watch the rest of the race from the pit lane. James Courtney got a drive thru penalty for making contact with Garth Tander. After he served his pit lane penalty he then came back in again, the team put wet tyres on the car then sent him back out again onto the circuit.

In the middle of the race Craig Lowndes was still putting pressure on the Mercedes E63 AMG.

Towards the end of race, no one could catch the 2 race leaders.

Results for race 11

1st – Mark Winterbottom – Prodrive Racing Australia
2nd – Rick Kelly – Jack Daniel’s Racing
3rd – Chaz Mostert – Prodrive Racing Australia

 

In race 12 Chaz Mostert started on pole position alongside him was Mark Winterbottom.

On lap 1 of 67 Chaz Mostert got the jump off the line and led the field through turns 1 and 2 turns. Micheal Caruso got swamped off the starting grid by Will Davison. Scott Pye tried to go around the outside at turns 1 and 2 Michael Caruso. Craig Lowndes got in position 3 by turn 3. Rick Kelly tried to make space to get down the inside during the opening lap, Scotty McLaughlin found himself in no man’s land, on the outside. but then the Volvo driver had to Yield. Rick Kelly had a lot of oversteer on the exit of turn 5. Craig Lowndes went from 3rd to 2nd in between turns 8 and 9. Will Davison had the inside line for turn 10.  Scott McLaughlin was on the dirty side of the Winton racetrack.

On lap 2 Craig Lowndes took the race lead at turn 3. David Wall in the Volvo s60 also come in on the 2nd lap, the 2 Holden Racing team cars were side by side into turn 8. Tim Slade was on the wrong side for turns 8, but on the right side for turn 9 meaning he was able to pass easier at the hairpin. James Courtney was on the outside of the Scott McLaughlin. But James Courtney managed to cover him around the outside. Garth Tander tried to pass Tim Slade at turn 10, but he didn’t. he managed to pass him in between turns 11 and 12. Craig Lowndes started race 12 (race 3 for the weekend) on soft compound tyre.

On lap 3 Fox Sports had a replay of the start. Craig Lowndes cleared the cars that were in front of him. Early on in the 3rd and final race

On lap 4 Garth Tander went down the inside of Will Davison at turn 3. Craig Lowndes had a 1.4 second lead in front of the field. Towards the end of lap 4 both Fabain Coulthard and Scott Pye got down the inside of David Reynolds.

On lap 5, Marcos Ambrose was watching on from the Dick Johnson Racing Team, Penske Garage.

On lap 6 Greg Murphy was chatting to Adrain Burgess at the SP Tools Holden Racing Team about the Strategy, the HRT guys, the Walkinshaw racing guys and Triple 8 guys, all of those teams were going for track position, meaning they were trying to get towards the front to not get caught up in any incidents or accidents. Jamie Whincup started the last race in 22nd on the grid, he was the first driver to make a pit stop, the double stacking issues happen, when a team that runs 2 cars if the second car is behind on the track that means when it comes to pit the other car has to sit in the cue and wait for the car that is in front to exit the pit lane so the 2nd car can enter and get serviced.

In the middle of the race Chaz Mostert put on the back of the tyre Bundle after getting turned around by himself and the front of the car was full of sand.

Towards the end of the race the 2 Red Bull cars were coming through the field because they were behind. The Pepsi Max crew was leading, chasing him was Fabain Coulthard.

Results for race 12

1st – Mark Winterbottom – Prodrive Racing Australia
2nd – Fabain Coulthard – Brad Jones Racing
3rd – Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Racing Australia

 

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Perth Post Race Report 2016

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Hi to all you v8 Supercars fans around the world.

On the weekend of the 6th – 8th May 2016 was the Perth Supersprint.

Shane Van Gisbergen Perth 2016

In qualifying both Michael Caruso and David Reynolds both caused a red flag which meant those 2 cars started from the back of the pack.

In race 8 Cameron Waters started on pole position alongside him was Chaz Mostert for the 50 lap race.

On lap 1, Cameron Waters got the jump and led the field into turn 1 for the first lap. Shane Van Gisbergen looked for the long way around the outside at turn 1 but it didn’t work because Craig Lowndes held onto 2nd place, also on the opening lap Shane Van Gisbergen got passed Craig Lowndes. Cameron Waters had checked out – meaning he had pulled away.

On lap 2 Mark Winterbottom was in front of Aaren Russell. Shane Van Gisbergen was right behind the monster falcon car 6 with Cameron Waters driving. Shane Van Gisbergen took the race lead and then pulled away.

On lap 3 Shane Van Gisbergen was the new race leader. Craig Lowndes was struggling, Jamie Whincup tried to get up the inside at turn 1 but that wasn’t able to be executed because Craig Lowndes was looking for grip on a wet racetrack. Craig Lowndes got too much wheel spin on the exit of turn 7 on the very, very slippery painted curb.

On lap 4 Mark Winterbottom had dropped 3 places. Jason Bright got passed Scott McLaughlin the replay of the start showed that Mark Winterbottom got massive amount of wheel spin off the start line.

On lap 5 Michael Caruso was near the back of the pack along with David Reynolds, Scott McLaughlin had bent steering as a result of contact with Dale Wood.

On lap 6 the teams could start doing their pit stops. Scott McLaughlin had a bunch cars behind him forming a Queue. Scott Pye got passed him at turn 1. Craig Lowndes did the fastest lap of the race, Shane Van Gisbergen moved over to the right hand side of the track to keep his tyres cool on a wet road. The Red Bull Racing Australia team were re-pressuring the dry tyres – slick tyres just in case, to have them on standby.

On lap 7 Jamie Whincup was following Chaz Mostert. The teams were doing their best to get rid out some the water that was still in the pit boxers where the cars have to stop.

On lap 8 James Moffatt got up the inside of Nick Percat.

In the middle of the race Craig Lowndes came in twice the first stop was for tyres, no fuel and the 2nd one was for tyres only.

Towards the end of the Craig Lowndes passed 16 cars in the final 21 laps, it was enough for him to get into the lead of the race.

That now Craig Lowndes’s race win tally go up to 16 and his career tally 104.

Results for race 8

1st – Craig Lowndes – Team Vortex
2nd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia
3rd – Jamie Whincup. – Red Bull Racing Australia

Before race 9 started Scott McLaughlin and James Moffatt did 2 hot laps. After they had completed them Neil Crompton said good news the Logies are coming up pretty soon so those 2 blokes will be up for an Overacting award.

In race 9 Chaz Mostert started on pole position alongside him was Craig Lowndes for the 83 lap race. Craig Lowndes got jump and led the through the first 5 turns, Fabain Coulthard was putting pressure on Mark Winterbottom. Shane Van Gisbergen got down the inside of Chris Pither at turn 7.

On lap 2 Jamie Whincup got passed Chris Pither at turn 1. Chris Pither dropped 2 spots to the Red Bull cars, Chaz was trying to put pressure on the race leader.

On lap 3 both Cameron Waters and James Courtney passed Lee Holdsworth on the downhill into turn 7.

On lap 4 James Moffatt was up the inside of Dale Wood. Dylan Talabarni who is Chris Pither’s race engineer was reminding him about his throttle use.

On lap 5 the replay of the start showed that Fabain Coulthard had all 4 wheels out in the Boones – out in the grass that is a racing term that Mark Skaife often uses.

On lap 6 Chris Pither was back on Jamie Whipcup’s rear bumper.

On lap 7 James Courtney putting pressure on Will Davison. Back to the front of the field, the cars stayed in there spot early on.

On lap 8 Mark Winterbottom was trying to catch Chris Pither and put some pressure on him.

On lap 9 Chaz Mostert was right on the back of Craig Lowndes watching his car slide.

On lap 10 the order for the front group of cars remained the same. Craig Lowndes looked a lot tidier the next time around. Jamie Whincup was the first of the 2 Red Bull cars to stop.

In the middle of the race both Chaz Mostert and Shane Van Gisbergen got passed Jamie Whincup.

Towards the end of the race Mark Winterbottom said that lapped car of Aaren Russell, he thought that he had ruined Mark Winterbottoms race as a result of Craig Lowndes finishing on the podium on Sunday in Perth Western Australia. He now leads the V8 Supercars championship by 42 points over his teammate Jamie Whincup.

The commentators were Neil Crompton, Mark Skaife, Greg Murphy, Greg Rust and Riana Crehan.

The next event is the Woodstock Winton Supersprint on the 20th – 22nd of May 2016.

Results for race 9

1st – Mark Winterbottom – Rod Nash Racing
2nd – Scott McLaughlin – Volvo Garry Rogers Motorsport
3rd – Craig Lowndes – Team Vortex

 

Pre Race Report, V8 Supercars

Perth Pre Race Report 2016

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Perth pre race 2016

Hi to all you v8 supercars fans around the world.

This weekend 6th – 8th May 2016 is the Perth Supersprint.

Let’s take look back at what happened in 2015.

On the weekend of the 1st – 3rd of May was the Ubet Perth Super Sprint.

In race 7 Chaz Mostert started on pole position alongside him was his teammate Mark Winterbottom (Frosty).

On lap 1, Frosty led the field through turns 1, 2 and 3. Will Davison tried to pass Tim Slade on the run up to turns 2 and 3, but wasn’t able to get it done, Jamie Whincup (JDUB) went from 21st to 19th during the opening lap, Scott McLaughlin passed Todd Kelly at turn 7.

On lap 2 the 2 Pepsi Max Crew, Prodrive Racing Australia cars 5 and 6 were just pulling away. Jason Bright had the line for the next corner which was turn 7. David Reynolds thought that James Courtney was going to leave him some room at the final turn to go down the inside.

On lap 3 the Falcons were still leading the opening race on Saturday.

On lap 4 Craig Lowndes was starting to close the gap down to the 2 Fords.

On lap 5 Craig Lowndes was still following those 2 cars like a hawk and getting closer and closer, Jamie Whincup was right near the back of the pack but moving forward, Garth Tander had a left rear suspension, car 888 closed right up on the back of car 6 coming out of turn 6.

In the middle of the race Nick Percat pushed Andre Heimgartner towards the old pit lane entry. Towards the end of the race JDUB braked really late and avoided hitting the back of the Erebus Motorsport V8. In the end nobody could catch the 2 Pepsi Max Crew Fords.

Results for race 7

1st – Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max Crew
2nd – Chaz Mostert – Pepsi Max Crew
3rd – Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Racing Australia.

Race 8

In race 8 Mark Winterbottom started on pole position alongside him was Jamie Whincup for the 25 lap race.

On lap 1 Frosty again got the jump off the start line, and led the field through turns 1, 2 and 3, Fabain Coulthard passed Craig Lowndes approaching turn 7.

On lap 2 James Moffat was trying to maintain his position in front of David Wall. David was lucky to save that big tank slapper that he had on the exit of turn 5.

On lap 4 Jamie Whincup held off Fabain,Coulthard.

On lap 6, JDUB was struggling in sector 1 only because the car wasn’t set up the way that he wanted, that’s why he had to look at the setup on Craig’s Car. Scott McLaughlin had a drama with the throttle sensor, after 7 laps were complete.

In the middle of the race Mark Winterbottom had command of race 8.

Towards the end of race 8 no one was able to catch car 5. In the end Frosty made it 2 from 2.

Results for race 8.

1st – Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max Crew
2nd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
3rd – Fabain Coulthard – Freightliner Racing.

Race 9

In race 9 Chaz Mostert started on pole position alongside him was Mark Winterbottom.

On lap 1 Frosty got the jump off the line for 3rd straight race. Garth Tander made contact with the back of Chaz Mostert. Red Bull didn’t have a great weekend in Perth.

On lap 2 Craig Lowndes was having a look at his teammate Jamie Whincup.

On lap 3 Jamie went into the sand trap down at turn 6.

On lap 4 JDUB was down in 24th place and 17 seconds behind the race leader.

On lap 5 Craig Lowndes was near the front of the pack.

On lap 6 Scott McLaughlin was under pressure from Tim Blanchard. Craig Lowndes pitted on lap 26 for his first pit stop.

In the middle of the race Craig Lowndes was being hunted down by Todd Kelly. Craig made his 2nd and final stop on lap 43.

Towards the end of race Will Davison was hunting Craig Lowndes down for his first race win with Erebus Motorsport V8.

The next event is the Winton Super Sprint on the 15th – 17th of May 2015.

Results for race 9.

1st – Will Davison – Erebus Motorsport V8.
2nd – Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Racing Australia.
3rd – Fabain Coulthard – Frieghtliner Racing.

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Phillip Island Post Race Report 2016

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Renee Gracie

Hi to all you v8 Supercars fans around the world.

On the weekend of the 15th – 17th of April 2016 was the Phillip Island Supersprint. Last year this event was held in November.

Dad and I headed down to Phillip Island on the 13th April which was a Wednesday, so that we could stop over night at Wangaratta then go to the Cowes Hotel on the Thursday. Upon arriving in Cowes, we went to the hotel. The Pelican Hotel, this place was deserted and Dad kept ringing them, at 5pm we went and found a new hotel to stay in… While we had booked the accessible room at the Pelican Hotel, we had to settle for a room that was not. This made it difficult for me to have a shower each day as the bathroom wasn’t set up for my shower chair. Dad is my hero, he managed to get things done… This problem cost us more money than we had budgeted for… I would also like to thank you to the Tropicana Hotel that looked after us…

Practice 1

Practice 2

Practice 3

In race 6 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was Chaz Mostert on the 27 lap race.

Scott McLaughlin got the jump to be the front runner, but Michael Caruso had a shocking start, Will Davison was in behind Lee Holdsworth they were all making contact with each other. Jason Bright and Nick Percat were pushed wide. Michael Caruso was way back in the pack after the drama at the start. Jamie Whincup made a very good move down the inside of Mark Winterbottom at turn 1.

On lap 2 both Craig Lowndes and Shane Van Gisbergen had a wheel locked going into turn 2. Meanwhile James Moffatt just pulled out from the car in front to get some fresh air to make the engine water and oil temperatures didn’t spike too much.

On lap 3 Rick Kelly was behind David Reynolds. Greg Rust was telling Neil Crompton and Mark Skaife that he been to see Barry Rogers at GRM Volvo, they told him that it was a water temperature light but there was no issue with it.

On lap 4 Fabain Coulthard was trying to get the big toe in behind James Courtney going into turn 1. Then James Moffatt a had big lockup on the left hand front corner. Three cars came in for their compulsory pit stop on lap 5 because that was when the pits opened after Shane Van Gisbergen completed his stop he was very racy against Mark Winterbottom.

In the middle of the race Mark Winterbottom had both Shane Van Gisbergen and Craig Lowndes right behind him.

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

Race 1

Results for 6

1st – Scott McLaughlin – Volvo Polstar racing
2nd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia
3rd – Fabain Coulthard – Dick Johnson racing Team Penske

In race 7 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was Jamie Whincup of the 45 lap race. Scott McLaughlin got the jump and led the pack down to turn 1. Fabain Coulthard got a horrible start and pulled over to the left hand side of the track. Jamie Whincup tried to go around the outside of Scott McLaughlin, but it did not work. Also on the first lap Chaz Mosert got turned around the turn 4 hairpin by Garth Tander and Will Davison.

On lap 2 Tim Blanchard ran wide coming onto the Wayne Gardner pit straight, then James Moffatt was the first of the Volvos to pit. Mark Winterbottom was in front of Shane Van Gisbergen.

On lap 3 the replay of Chaz Mostert spining showed that both Garth Tander and Will Davison turned Chaz Mostert around.

On lap 4 Shane Van Gisbergen was the first of the 2 Red Bull cars to pit.

On lap 5 Jamie Whincup was closing the gap to the race leader Scott McLaughlin the front runners had not pitted at that time to keep track position, when the leaders did finally pit they still had plenty of gap to the cars back in the pack.

In the middle of the race Scott Pye and Michael Caruso were the first 2 cars to make their final stops. The next 3 cars to pits for the last time were James Moffatt, Lee Holdsworth and Nick Percat.

Towards the end of the race Scott McLaughlin was very hard to catch and also near the end Cameron Waters nearly had big moment, on entry to the pit straight were the right front tyre had delaminated big time and as a result the Safety Car was deployed the first one for the weekend. While the cars were behind the Safety Car Jason Bright had a problem with no power steering. The restart was on lap 39. Jamie Whincup tried to get a good run on Scott McLaughlin to be able to take the lead after the yellow flag was withdrawn. Jamie Whincup was throwing dirt to the other competitors behind him and he had dropped to 4th place.

Results for race 7.

1st – Scott Mclaughlin – Volvo Polstar Racing
2nd – Mark Winterbottom – Rod Nash Racing
3rd – Scott Pye – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske

 

I was lucky enough to get photos taken with Josh Kean from the Dunlop Series. Lee Holdsworth from the V8 Supercars. Charlie Schwerkolt team owner for Lee Holdsworth, Jonathon Webb team owner for Tekno Autosports, Greg Murphy pit reporter, Renee Gracie from the Dunlop Series. Chelsea Angelo from the Dunlop Series. Jamie Whincup, Shane Van Gisbergen and Craig Lowndes at the autograph session on the Friday. and Chris Kean is the father of Josh Kean and also Paul Dumbrell.

The next event is Perth Supersprint May 6th – 8th 2016.

 

 

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Sydney Coates Hire 500 2015 – Post Race Report

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William and Chris Brady
HI to all you v8 Supercars fans around the world.

On the weekend of the 4th – 6th December 2015 was the Coates Hire Sydney 500

This year dad and I stayed at the Novotel again, it’s one of our favourite hotels… They look after us very well, this year they tried to put us on the 14th floor, but the bathroom was too small for my wheelchair, so they went out of their way to find a room that was wheelchair friendly. We ended up on the 7th floor and had a great view of the track.

In race 34 Mark Winterbottom started on pole position alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen, as Craig Lowndes was after the championship, but due to hitting the wall in qualifying, he has to start at the back of the pack. On lap 1 of 37 Mark Winterbottom got the jump into turn 1. James Moffatt had right front steering damage as a result of contact with Jason Bright. Rick Kelly got squeezed by Tim Slade and Garth Tander.

On lap 4 Frosty still had the lead, meanwhile Craig Lowndes was still coming through the pack. Then Shane Van Gisbergen took the race lead.

On lap 5 when Shane Van Gisbergen pulled off into the pits Mark Winterbottom took over the race lead again, then James Courtney took over the when Frosty had pulled off into the pits the race lead had changed again James Courtney took the lead. On departure Jamie Whincup got out in front of Shane Van Gisbergen.

On lap 6 Rick Kelly was chasing Garth Tander on lap 7 both James Courtney and Jason Bright made there pit stop.
In the middle of the race Steve Owen was holding Craig Lowndes behind.

Riana Crehan and Greg Murphy were chatting with Tim Edwards and Mark Dutton about their chances at winning the championship. Towards the end of the race Jamie Whincup was out in front. And running away with opening race. That first race win for Jamie Whincup took his career tally up to 95.

Results for race 34

1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia
2nd – Shane Van GISBERGEN – Tekno Autosporrts
3rd – Jason Bright – Team BOC

In race 35 Jamie Whincup started from the pole position alongside him was David Reynolds. On lap 1 of 37 Jamie Whincup led the field down to turn 1 for the first of 37 laps. There was contact between Fabain Coulthard and Todd Kelly.

On lap 2 Craig Lowndes was back in the pack trying to move forward passing Scott Pye, but he couldn’t get the move done at turns 2, 3 and 4. But Craig Lowndes managed to pass him at turn 5; his next car to pass was Lee Holdsworth.

On lap 3 Shane Van Gisbergen got swamped as he was chasing James Courtney in.

On lap 4 Lee Holdsworth was being chased by Scott Pye.

In the middle of the race all the pit stops had been completed towards the end of the race Jamie Whincup was again in the right position to make it 2 from 2.

Results for race 35

1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia
2nd – David Reynolds – Rod Nash Racing
3rd – Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max Crew

Today my mate Jesse Ellis and his dad joined us to watch the race… It was so nice to have a like-minded friend to share the experience with.

In race 36 James Courtney started on pole Position alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen. On 1 of 74 James Courtney led at the start of the 36th and final race of 2015, Jamie Whincup and Mark Winterbottom started on the 2nd row of the grid. Towards the end of the opening lap Shane Van Gisbergen was trying to pass James Courtney, but that didn’t work. At the final turn James Courtney got tagged by Shane Van Gisbergen in the left rear quarter panel.

On lap 2 James Courntey was still the race leader and Frosty was running 3rd. Jason Bright was the first of the Brad Jones Racing Cars to make a pitstop. David Reynolds passed Rick Kelly in between turns 9 and 10. Tim Slade was sitting behind them just in case one of the cars ahead of him made a mistake.

On lap 3 Shane Van Gisbergen was trying take control of the race but he couldn’t until James Courtney let him pass.

On lap 4 Shane Van Gisbergen was still putting pressure on the Holden Racing Team car, and then Shane Van Gisbergen spun James Courtney around in between turns 9 and 10. As a result he didn’t get a drive thru for that incident. Then James Courtney had smoke coming out of the right rear guard.

On lap 5 Scott McLaughlin was right behind the outgoing champ in Jamie Whincup, at turns 9 and 10. Jamie Whincup just pulled straight away.

On lap 6 Scott Pye saw the damage on the back of the 22 car. McLaughlin made a move at turn 1, which would give him the racing line for turns 2, 3 and 4. David Reynolds was following the HRT car. Craig Lowndes was following Fabain Coulthard, Tim Slade hit the wall on approach to the final turn which triggered a safety car and a flurry of activity in the pits while the Safety car was out, Nissan Motorsport had to put the pit boom back in place.

The restart was on lap 15. In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was still leading with Jamie Whincup hunting him down.
Towards the end of the race Jamie Whincup couldn’t pass Shane Van Gisbergen.

Results for race 36

1st – Shane Van Gisbergen – Tekno Autosports
2nd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia
3rd – Rick Kelly – Jack Daniels Racing

Well done to everybody on a great 2015 V8 Supercars championship season. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Safe and Happy New Year, see you in 2016.

Will Grant McPherson be the race engineer for on car 888 in 2016 For Team Vortek?

Jamie Whincup will go back to the car No. 88 which he has not had since 2011.

Shane Van Gisbergen will have 97 under the Red Bull banner and next year will be the first time that Craig Lowndes will have his own car. But he will be sharing a pit Boom with Tekno. Because Triple 8 race engineering are going to be going to 3 cars.