Hi to you V8 Supercars fans around the world!
This weekend is the ITM Auckland Super Sprint 4th – 6th November 2016.
To get us primed for the event let’s look back at what happened in 2015 in race 28.
Jamie Whincup started on pole position, alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen for the 21 lap race.
On lap 1, Jamie Whincup got the right amount of revs to not stall the car off the start line and took command straight away.
On lap 2, had Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen in the lead. The other cars trailing behind could not catch them and just stayed in their race rhythm.
On lap 3, Shane Van Gisbergen was trying to catch Jamie Whincup in the lead but it couldn’t be done.
On lap 4, Craig Lowndes was trying to move up through the pack to finish the race in a strong spot.
On lap 5, the cars in the back of the pack were fighting hard against each other to gain a top 10 position.
On lap 6, Mark Winterbottom knew how critical this race was for him last year and really put the pressure on.
On lap 7, Jamie Whincup was still in position 1.
On lap 8, the cars further back could not catch the leaders, Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen.
On lap 9, Shane Van Gisbergen was still in 2nd chasing down Jamie Whincup but he just wasn’t able to catch him.
On lap 10, Will Davison was further back in the field.
On lap 11, Steve Owen was driving car number 6 for Chaz Mostert, who was recovering from his Bathurst accident. He was pushing hard to gain a race spot.
In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen made a mistake down at the hair pin which allowed Jamie Whincup to pull away a little bit more.
The end of the race saw no one able to catch up with the leader, Jamie Whincup.
Who will win this weekend’s ITM Auckland Super sprint?
Shane Van Gisbergen will start his 300th race on the weekend. Will he make it even more special & wrap up his first title at his home ground or will he have to wait until Homebush?
His teammate Jamie Whincup is just 148 points off his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen.
Can Craig Lowndes get his first race win at Pukekohe this week? Craig Lowndes has won over 100 races in his V8 career but has not got a title in New Zealand yet.
The winners 12 months ago for Race 28 were Jamie Whincup & David Reynolds. Race 29 saw Jamie Whincup win again.
Results for race 28
1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Tekno Autosports.
3rd – David Reynolds – Rod Nash racing.
In race 29 (2015) David Reynolds started on pole position, alongside him was Craig Lowndes for the 21-lap race.
On lap 1, Craig Lowndes got the jump on the rest of the field and immediately pulled away from the pack. Everybody else had to chase him down.
On lap 2, Craig Lowndes was far ahead and on target to win his first race in New Zealand.
Early in lap 3, David Reynolds was following Craig Lowndes.
On lap 4, Garth Tander was closing in on the leaders but couldn’t quite catch them.
On lap 5, Craig Lowndes was still in front of David Reynolds in the Bottle-0.
On lap 6, James Courtney was trying to not hit his teammate Garth Tander up the rear end.
On lap 7, Jamie Whincup was in 3rd at the start.
In the middle of the race Craig Lowndes hit the wall as a result of popping his left rear tyre.
The final result saw David Reynolds take the win. Well done to David Reynolds.
Results for race 29
1st – David Reynolds – Rod Nash Racing.
2nd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
3rd – Scott McLaughlin – Volvo Polstar Racing.
Race 30
In race 30 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position, alongside him was Jamie Whincup for the 69-lap race.
The Red Bull team didn’t get any sleep having to repair Craig Lowndes’ car overnight.
On lap 1, Jamie Whincup got the jump on Scott McLaughlin and led the field through turn 1. Scott McLaughlin was putting the defending champ under pressure.
Mark Winterbottom (aka Frosty) was spun by Garth Tander and Cameron Waters.
On lap 2, Mark Winterbottom now found himself at the back as a result of the spin in lap 1. This didn’t help his championship lead at the time. The pressure was on for him but he recovered well and he moved back up the field throughout the race.
On lap 3, Scott Pye was running behind Craig Lowndes and at one point he was trying to pass him but couldn’t.
On lap 4, Jason Bright was trying to come through the field from his qualifying position of 12th. This was due to unexpected qualifying round results.
On lap 5, Scott Pye was now further back in the pack but managed to stay out of trouble so that his DJR Team Penske team didn’t have to repair his car overnight or do an all-nighter like the Red Bull team did.
On lap 6, Jamie Whincup was dominating the opening laps. Craig Lowndes was moving up the field quickly to catch up with his teammate. Garth Tander was running in the top 5 until he got called in by his team to pit.
On lap 7, Craig Lowndes stayed out on the track a little bit longer to avoid double stacking with Jamie Whincup.
On lap 8, Craig Lowndes got Fabian Coulthard very aggressively but the move paid off which was critical.
On lap 9, Scott Pye was trying to overtake Jamie Whincup but he wasn’t able to pass him at the time.
On lap 10, the pit stop strategies had started which meant that when the drivers got called in, they came in straight away.
On lap 11, the car to pit was Craig Lowndes’ Red Bull car.
On lap 12, Mark Winterbottom did not want to double stack with Steve Owen so he stayed out on the track for 1 more lap.
In the middle of the race the Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes were just too strong for the cars behind them to catch up.
Towards the end of the race no one else could catch the top 3 cars.
Result for race 30
1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Racing Australia.
3rd – Scott Pye – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
