On the weekend of June 27 to 28 the V8 Supercars returned to real racing for the Ultimate Sydney Supersprint. This was after 15 weeks of virtual racing they titled the E-Series.
It was also a milestone for Jamie Whincup who started his 500th race. Congratulations!
James Courtney made his return to the races since round 1.
Unfortunately, Will Davison was not on the grid due to sponsorship dramas.
There were 3 races over the weekend and each were 32 laps.
In the pre race sessions:
Bryce Fullwoos was the fastes in the ‘Rookie Drivers Only’ Practice.
Practice 1 Shane van Gisbergen was fastest.
Practice 2 Jamie Whincup was fastest.
Scott McLaughlin was fastest in the Armour All Qualifying for race 7 earning him pole position.
In race 7 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.
Shane Van Gisbergen got the jump on Scott McLaughlin off the start line, but it was short lived and Scott McLaughlin took the lead in turn 1. Both Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen were right on his tail.
Nick Percat got down the inside of Chaz Mostert at turn 5.
Alex Davison made contact with another car and pitted on lap 12 to retire from the race. Out of the 24 cars that started the race Davison was the only DNF.
In the middle of the race the drivers had completed their pit stops.
Towards the end of the race no one could catch the top 3 drivers. It was tense with Scott McLaughlin in the lead and the two Red Bull cars right on his bumper. Shane Van Gisbergen came across the finish line less the .2 sec behind Scott McLaughlan and Jamie Whincup over 9 seconds behind him.
Van Gisbergen hot on McLaughlin’s tail.
Results for Race 7.
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
In race 8 Jamie Whincup started on pole position and alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.
Jamie Whincup got the jump at the start of his 500th race and led into turn 1. His teammate, Shane Van Gisbergen held position right behind him.
When the drivers further back in the pack pitted, the race leaders stayed out longer to hold track position.
Nick Percat returned to the track with fresh tyres after his pit stop.
Jamie Whincup was still the race leader.
In the middle of the race Nick Percat was on Jamie Whincup’s tail and after some laps got down the inside of him to take the lead.
Nick Percat held the number 1 position to the end. Jamie Whincup put up a good fight and towards the end of the race tried to re-pass Nick Percat but just couldn’t get the job done.
Results for Race 8
1st Nick Percat – Brad Jones Racing.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
In race 9 Scott McLaughlin once again started on pole position. Alongside him was Jamie Whincup.
Jamie Whincup got the jump at first but then Scott McLaughlin led into turn 1.
Mark Winterbottom was trying to get up the inside of Chaz Mostert early on.
For Nick Percat this was the start of 200th race.
The drivers further back in the pack came in early while the cars up the front stayed out longer to keep track position.
On return to the track Fabian Coulthard was on the charge trying to pass James Courtney, but Courtney kept him at bay.
By the middle of race Scott McLaughlin was the effective race leader.
In the last lap Fabian Coulthard’s car broke down. Nick Percat (in good sportsmanship) gave him a lift back to the pits (LOL)
Once again Scott McLaughlin was just too quick and took 1st position.
Results for Race 9.
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
2nd Lee Holdsworth – Tickford Racing.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
The next event is the Truck Assist Sydney Supersprint July 18 and 19.
On the weekend of the 20th to the 23rd of February was the Superloop Adelaide 500. The first official race in the V8 Supercars season. I must say I have been counting down the days to this event.
I am happy to say the race kicked off the season in great nail-biting excitement.
So let’s get started with the results of the…
Pre-race sessions:
David Reynolds was fastest in Practice 1
Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Practice 2
Chaz Mostert was fastest in Practice 3
Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Armour All Qualifying for Race 1
Race 1:
In the line up for Race 1 Jamie Whincup started on pole position. Alongside him was David Reynolds.
Todd Hazelwood had his first round racing for Brad Jones Racing. He started at the back of the pack in position 23.
Brad Jones Racing has 4 cars out on track this year compared with 3 cars last year. I do wonder what kind of challenges this will bring the team. If you have an opinion: like and then share this article then have your say on my facebook fanpage (https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/ )
Kelly Racing had their 1st weekend in a Ford Mustang. After a long relationship with Nissan this is their maiden year as Ford drivers.
Scott McLaughlin started in 7th position just behind Shane Van Gisbergen in 6th.
So all the greats & favourites were crammed at the front of the grid for the first race of the season. Expections on everyone were high.
At the start of the 78-lap race Jamie Whincup got the jump off the line so David Reynolds had to tuck back in behind him.
As they reached turn 7 Nick Percat went straight aheadwide due to broken steering arm. Then at turn 8 There was contact between Nick Percat and Garry Jacobson causing Garry Jacobson into the wall.
I am sure a trip the garage on the opening lap was not in their plans. Credit to the team. The car was repaired and Percat returned to the race and finished 22nd . It may have been 13 laps down but still earned the team points.
James Courtney also hit the wall at turn 8 after trying to get a draft off Andre Heimgartner. Unfortunately for James Courtney it took him out of the opening race so he was 1 of the 2 cars to receive and NC (Not Complete). The other car was
When Matt Stone Racing came in for the first of 2 pitstops they had come in on an angle because the Team Sydney crew were trying to push James Courtney’s car back into the Garage.
Bryce Fullwood came into the pits after hitting the wall at turn 11. The damage had him stop the pitlane and get the rest of way into the garage hoisted on ‘go jacks’ for repairs.
Chaz Mostert was battling with his 2 former teammates from 2019 at Tickford Racing ; Will Davison and Cameron Waters.
The Team SYDNEY car that raced was number 22, driven by Chris Pither and he manged to stay out of trouble. By the end of the race he managed to gain 5 places finishing 19th.
For the Red Bull Team things were also looking good. From the middle of the race it seemed that (unless there were some really big mistakes or problems) Jamie Whincup was holding the lead lead with Shane Van Gisbergen running 3rd, which is a fantastic (and encouraging) way to start the year.
As the race drew to a close I couldn’t believe there were no safety cars used in race 1.
No else could catch the race leaders. Jamie Whincup still holding his lead, followed by Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen.
Results for Race 1
1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
Race 2:
Pre-Race Results for Race 2 set the scene for another nail-biting event ahead;
Jamie Whincup was fastest in Armour All Qualifying
Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in the Top 10 Shootout
So again Red Bull had prime position with Shane Van Gisbergen starting on pole position with Scott McLaughlin alongside him.
As they took off for another 78 laps in Race 2, Scott McLaughlin had a perfect start taking Shane Van Gisbergen around the outside for the lead of the race.
James Courtney went to the back of the field due to going down the escape road at turn 4.
Fabian Coulthard was trying to not double stack behind Scott McLaughlin while the safety car was out because the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske crew didn’t want to lose time and track position. However, the crew were not keeping an eye on the Red Bull Holden Racing Team which ended up costing Scott McLaughlin track position.
Rick Kelly was battling with Fabian Coulthard. The power from the brand new Ford Mustangs were crazy and Rick Kelly was happy to use it.
When Shane Van Gisbergen came into the pits the crew didn’t load the right amount of fuel which meant after getting back out on track he had to come back into the pitlane for the right amount of fuel and fresh tyres.
To regain lost time, Shane Van Gisbergen was on the charge. As he was coming back through the field he made contact between turns 6 and 7 resulting in a broken Anti Roll Bar Adjuster. He went from a ‘firm lead’ to a ‘Not Complete’ only 4 laps short of the finish line. He got a lift back to the pitlane with Cameron Waters. Must have been an awkward trip.
Scott Pye and Anton De Pasquale received their NC’s before the opening lap was completed. Chris Pither left the track with an NC at lap 11. Now, Shane Van Gisbergen so close to the end of the race also left the track. The dynamic of the race had changed significantly.
It seemed no-one was going to be able challenge the top 3 drivers and they held position to the finish line; Scott McLaughlin, Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters.
Results for Race 2
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
3rd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing Team
The next event is the Beaurepaires Melbourne 400 on March 12th to 15th , 2020.
Scott McLaughlin is the current championship leader over Jamie Whincup by 27 points.
Jamie Whincup weekend success gives him a amazing 119 career wins in Supercars.
On the weekend of January 31 to February 2nd was the 2020 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12-hour, a pre supercars season race.
This is one of the years most gruelling endurance races for GT cars. It is so well known it draws many international teams and drivers.
In the preliminaries to the race there were a number of mishaps.
The 777 car didn’t take the start due to too much damage on Saturday. Team manager, Roland Dane was not happy. He said that Cameron McConville should have retired a long time ago. Joke or not, that is pretty harsh!
39 cars were entered but only 34 started the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 hour before the sun came up, at the unholy time of 5:45am.
Most cars had experienced international drivers start behind the wheel.
The number 8 Bentley started near the back of the pack after not making Qualifying.
Matt Campbell put the Porsche on pole position but co-driver Patrick Pilet started the car.
During the opening stages the 999 Mercedes led the opening lap, then not long after that the McLaren took the lead and was hard to catch from there.
Craig Lowndes started the number 1 Porsche and he did a double stint early on.
When the sun came up the accidents started to happen.
The first safety car was dispatched just under 90 minutes into the race. Car 188, the Aston Martin driven by Côme Ledogar took a turn too wide, bounced over S-bend curbs and heavily hit a concrete wall. He then bounced off the wall and made contact with cars on the left and then the right. The the whole right hand side was torn clean off the car, passenger door and rear wheel included coming to a halt in the middle of the track
This wasn’t the last of the carnage. There was much more to come during the race.
Chaz Mostert’s 12-hour race got ruined in the third hour. After his co-driver Nicky Catsburg took the wheel, in his first few laps collided with a kangaroo. It must have been a big disappointment; Chaz Mostert is yet to win the 12 hour.
Also, Warren Luff was behind the wheel when the 95 MARC car caught fire in the pitlane. Twice!
Garth Tander crashed out in the # 22 Audi between Reid Park and McPhillamy Park after contact with the 222 Audi which completely decimated the 22 Audi. I thought there is no way that the team could repair the car in time for the rest of the race, which unfortunately they didnt.
Jamie Whincup spun Marc Cini around in number 9 Hallmarc Audi and didn’t get pinged for it.
In the middle of the race most of the teams changed brake pads and rotors. This improved performance and the drivers went nuts with grip.
The number 1 Porsche had brake dramas and finished the race 2 laps down.
Towards the end of the race the bad weather forecasted hit with a dust storm, thunder, lighting and buckets of rain.
I was surprised how many crashes there were in the Bathurst 12-hour last weekend.
Out of the 34 cars that were in the start line only 23 finished. Awesome but gruelling race!
Results for the 2020 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour:
1st Jules Gounon & Maxine Soulet – Bentley Team M Sport.
2nd Alvaro Parente & Ben Barnicoat – 59 Racing.
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen Jamie Whincup & Maximilan Gotez. – Mercades AMG Team Triple Eight.
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.
On the weekend of the 13th to the 15th of September 2019 was the ITM Auckland Supersprint.
Results for the Pre – Race sessions:
•Will Davison was fastest in Practice 1. •Lee Holdsworth was fastest in Practice 2. •Chaz Mostert was fastest in Practice 3.
Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Qualifying so started on pole position with Cameron Waters alongside him.
At the start of the 70 lap race Shane Van Gisbergen had a perfect start and led the opening stages.
Cameron Waters tried to go around the outside of Shane Van Gisbergen at turn 1 but he couldn’t get the pace so had to tuck back in behind the leader.
Back in the pack Jamie Whincup started in position 12 behind Scott Pye in 11th and Nick Percat in 10th. Jamie Whicup wanted to immediately gain ground and took Scott Pye on the inside. It seemed he was going too fast and bumped Nick Percat out of the way, taking his position. I was surprised that Jamie Whincup didn’t redress (return race positioning) with Nick Percat. It didnt look good like good form on Whincup’s behalf but the officials made no mention of it. It was something that would later haunt Jamie Whincup.
Most of the field pitted early to get clear track and avoid double stacking with teammates.
Scott McLaughlin who surprisingly started the race from the 6th position wanted to keep with the race leaders. By the middle the race it seemed it wasn’t going to be a great weekend for him and he couldn’t find himself within the top 3 spots.
As the race drew to a close Shane Van Gisbergen crossed the finish line with confident 3 second lead over his Red Bull teammate, Jamie Whincup. They were followed by Cameron Waters and David Reynolds.
It must have been a proud moment for the Red Bull Team to take 1st and 2nd places after such a tough year of Scott McLaughlin’s domination.
The real race drama took place after the podium presentations. The officials who made no comment about the incident between Nick Percat and Jamie Whincup on lap 1, retrospectively issued Jamie Whincup a 15 second penalty. It must have been devastating for Jamie Whincup to go from 2nd place to 6th. I’m sure he was wondering why the officials waited until after the race to take up on the issue. If it was during the race, at least then he would have an opportunity to make up for it. A big blow for the Red Bull team.
Results for Race 23
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team. 2nd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing. 3rd David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport.
In Qualifying for Race 24 Scott McLaughlin continued his bad weekend and nearly wrote off his Ford Mustang after he spun off track. As he hit the signage on track side it made a loud thud and I thought there was no way he would race. Even though he had kept his foot planted on the throttle and didnt back off while the car was in a spin (total mad man), somehow he kept the car straight and the damage didn’t appear that bad at all.
Also in the same session David Reynolds mismanaged a corner and ran off track into the tyre barriers. He didn’t get off as lightly as Scott McLaughlin and was Red flagged, which meant he had to sit out the rest of the session and positioned 22nd at the back of the starting grid for race 24.
In Race 24 Jamie Whincup finally broke his pole drought and started in the number 1 position with Lee Holdsworth 2nd alongside him.
Jamie Whincup took full advantage of his prime position and led into turn 1 with Lee Holdsworth close behind in 2nd.
Jamie Whincup kept his lead through the opening laps until he pitted.
On lap 14 David Reynolds continued his bad lack from the Qualifying and his car stopped in a terrifyingly bad spot on the hairpin turn. The Vodafone safety car was deployed to remove him from the track.
On the restart Jamie Whincup was still leading the race and looking good to claim his 2nd race win for 2019.
Unfortunately Jamie Whincup passed the Vodafone safety car with the amber lights flashing which caused quite a level of confusion. Officials didn’t recognise that Jamie Whincup was not in the lead and issued him a drive through penalty. If he was the leader he would have been obliged to to tuck in behind the safety car but that wasn’t the case. Team boss at Tickford Racing, Tim Edwards said that Jamie Whincup should’ve been waved by because he wasn’t the leader at that time, Scott McLaughlin was.
The safety car should not have had the amber lights flashing at this time. It was a mess up from the officials side. They then incorrectly penalised Jamie Whincup under the premise of the leader’s obligation to tuck in behind the safety car. It not only affected him but lots of teams were disadvantaged by the official’s stuff up.. not a happy moment for the sport at all.
It even caused Whincup to lose his cool after the race with officials not taking too kindly to his comments and threatened him with a fine and being banned from racing. It was the Officials fault and caused things to escalate but they used their power call Jamie Whincup’s comments into question as ‘unprofessional behaviour’. See the links below for more info on the drama.
Towards the end of the race Scott McLaughlin followed by Shane Van Gisbergen had a convincing lead. Chaz Mostert crossed the line 3rd over 6 seconds behind number 1 and over 4 seconds after the number 2 position. Nick Percat managed to come in soon after with a 25 second + lead on the rest of the pack. It was spectacular!
Results for Race 24.
1st Scott Mclaughlin – Shell V Power Racing. 2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team. 3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.
On the weekend of the 5th to the 7th of July, 2019 was the Watpac Townsville 400.
While Scott McLaughlin has dominated the season, his teammate Fabian Coulthard has also had a great season. On this weekend he will be hitting a milestone, his 400th race. He is 2nd in the championship with career stats including 12 race wins, 54 podiums, 9 pole positions and held the lead for 689 laps over all races. It is no wonder that even this early in the year the Shell V Power Racing Team have announced re-signing Fabian Coulthard (and Scott McLaughlin) for next season.
This news ends the speculation about Scott McLaughlin racing for Roger Penske in the US. The following link is an article by ‘FoxSprts’ and gives some insight to some of the big name drivers and their prospects for 2020.
As the weekend wound up to the big event, the results in the pre-race sessions were as follows:
·Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 1
·Lee Holdsworth was fastest in Practice 2
·Fabian Coulthard was fastest Practice 3
·David Reynolds was fastest in Qualifying for race 17
In race 17 David Reynolds started on pole position. Alongside him was Chaz Mostert.
Rick Kelly ran with a new car number, 100 in honour of one of his big supporters, Castrol to celebrate 100 years in Australia and New Zealand.
At the start of the 70 lap race David Reynolds got the jump on Chaz Mostert and kept his lead for most of the opening laps.
Andre Heimgartner, Cameron Waters and Jamie Whincup nearly came together and almost hit the wall but somehow they missed.The drivers who started back in the pack came in early to try and get track position.
Jamie Whincup also came in early to get out of the traffic and also get track position. It worked out well for him and he found the clear air he was looking for. It was a big help in keeping him up front with a chance of taking his first race win of 2019.
In the middle of the race David Reynolds had bad luck in his pit stop. It was unfortunate that cross threaded wheel nut cost him his chance at victory.
David Reynolds’ bad luck was just the opportunity Scott McLaughlin was looking for and he was soon in the lead.
As the race came to a close he and Jamie Whincup had a good lead on the rest of the pack without a chance of being caught.
Shane Van Gisbergen who wanted to get on the podium also had some bad luck (that went by the name of Chaz Mostert ) and finished 4th with Chaz Mostert in front of him.
Results for Race 17:
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team 2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team 3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing
In race 18 on the Sunday, Cameron Waters started on pole position. Alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.
As they started the 70 lap race the rain started. A wet and slippery track usually spells disaster.
David Reynolds and Scott McLaughlin made contact between turns 1 and 2. The damage was significant enough for them to both head back to the pits.
David Reynolds’ car went back into the garage with broken steering.
I was quite surprised that the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske crew let Scott McLaughlin re-join the race. I thought for sure that the DJR Team would have put car 17 in the garage but didn’t.
The rain was getting heavier. After Jamie Whincup had re-joined from his pit stop he was still on slick tyres and the wet weather caused him to hit the wall.
As Jamie Whincup got his car back to the pits race engineer David Cauchi said, ‘Turn it off. No oil pressure!’. It was the second time this weekend that Jamie Whincup missed out on what could have been his first race win for the season.
In the middle of the race the rain started to pour down. This meant the cars and drivers needed to be on ‘Wets’.
Simona de Silvestro got called to come in to the pits but when she went back onto the track she crossed the yellow line to re-join which is not allowed. The drive through penalty she received cost her a few positions at the finish line.
Towards the end of the race Shane Van Gisbergen took the lead after Scott McLaughlin received car damage. He and Fabian Coulthard had comfortable space ahead of the pack and were uncatchable.
But the race was interrupted. Both Nick Percat and Garry Jacobson’s cars caught fire in two separate incidents. Nick Percat’s fire was in the pits causing a huge amount of smoke and flames looked to almost reach the fuel stands (That would have been a massive disaster).
Garry Jacobson’s car caught fire out on track which meant the race finished under safety car.
As they called the end of the race there were 3 DNF’s. They were Jamie Whincup, Mark Winterbottom and Garry Jacobson.
Results for Race 18:
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team 2nd Fabian Coulthard – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske 3rd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing
The next is the Century Batteries Ipswich Supersprint on the 26th to the 28th of July 2019.
On the weekend of the 12th to the 14th of April 2019 was the WD-40 Phillip Island Supersprint.
The Fox Sport coverage themed the race around Fox’s hit drama series Game of Thrones, which is about to air their new season on TV. They included a “winner’s throne”, character dress ups and other stuff. I guess it was a bit of fun BUT it had nothing to do with racing so they can take their cross promotion and stick it up their ( x ).
Commentator, Mark Larkham was not at Phillip Island on the weekend due to personal reasons. Andrew Jones filled in for him. I’m not interested in prying into personal affairs but just want to say if its due to some form of tragedy, ‘Larko, our thoughts are with you’.
Last year Scott McLaughlin won both races at this track. With his winning streak so far this season I am sure was geared up and ready to go.
This weekend Supercars trialled closure of the pit lane while a Safety Car is deployed. This is apparently due to safety concerns over the usual mad rush to the pits when the race is flagged yellow. Just think back to Mostert and Kelly’s T-Bone incident in the pit lane earlier this season to see why they are trying to remedy this safety issue. What this will means is that the teams will have to think more strategically about when to take their pit stops.
This doesn’t change what happens when a race is flagged red. All drivers still have to come in from the track. This happened multiple times this weekend, three of which was because the local geese decided to take a stroll out on the track. The first instance was in Practice 1 between turns 6 And 7. Once the geese flew off the practice session resumed. It was kind of funny but also put a horrific picture in my mind of what would happen if they weren’t spotted in the first place.
The results for the pre-race sessions were as follows:
·Anton De Pasquale was fastest in Practice 1
·Fabian Coulthard was fastest in Practice 2
·Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 3
·Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Qualifying for race 9
·Fabian Coulthard was fastest again in Practice 4
In race 9 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position with Fabian Coulthard alongside him.
At the start of the 120km, 27 lap race Scott McLaughlin got the jump on Fabian Coulthard who had to slot behind him in 2nd place.
He tried to go around the outside of his teammate but that didn’t work out, Scott McLaughlin was just too fast.
During the race James Courtney and Tim Slade both had front right tyres go flat when going down the main straight at 260kms/ph. In both incidents I thought they were going to have a massive accident but thankfully for them and their teams they got away with no damage.
Shane Van Gisbergen’s team gave him an incredible 4.7 second pit stop to change tyres. That really is incredible.
When teammate, Jamie Whincup pitted the Car Controller stepped away too early and gave Jamie Whincup the go-ahead. However something went wrong in the communications and the right front wheel man had not been able to finish tightening the nut. Jamie Whincup lost the wheel completely before completing the next lap.
By the middle of the race Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard had secured their lead on the race.
In the last part of the race Shane Van Gisbergen made contact with Cameron Waters who received damage to his right rear wheel. Cameron Waters was now out of the race. Shane Van Gisbergen however was able to continue without much damage.
Cameron Waters and Jamie Whincup were the only driver to not complete the race. Both of them must have been devastated.
Race 9 finished with Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard in 1st and 2nd. Andre Heingartner came in 3rd earning Nissan Motorsport (aka the Kelly brothers) their first podium finish for the season. Congratulations!
Results for race 9
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team. 2nd Fabian Coulthard -Shell V Power Racing Team. 3rd Andre Heimgartner – Nissan Motorsport.
Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Armour All Qualifying for race 10, earning him pole position. Alongside him was his teammate, Fabian Coulthard.
Race 10 was a 200km 45 lap race.
Fabian Coulthard got good launch from the start line but Scott McLaughlin still led into turn 1. Once again it made Shell V Power Racing Team 1st and 2nd.
Most of the drivers pitted on lap 5 to make sure they didn’t caught if the Safety Car was deployed. It seemed best to get the stops done as early as possible just in case, because if the safety car did come out the pit lane would’ve have been closed anyway.
Richie Stanaway took to the pits and his teammate, James Golding had to double stack. I don’t quite understand why the team made the decision to call them in at the same time.
Rick Kelly was holding up a bunch of cars and blocking them from getting by. It appeared to be poor sportsmanship. Commentator, Mark Skaife said he was being the modern day John Bowe (a former who also hogged the track regardless of other drivers). I thought that was a good comment.
In the middle of race Tim Slade was on the charge because he had new set of ‘green’ tyres. Most other drivers had long ago fitted their last set of tyres.
Towards the end of race, nobody could catch Fabian Coulthard and Scott McLaughlin. Once again the two Shell V Power Racing Team cars won the race, this time with Fabian Coulthard coming in 1st.
So both Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard got to sit on the Iron Throne.
This also puts Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard 1st and 2nd on the championship ladder.
Results for Race 10
1st Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team. 2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team. 3rd Anton De Pasquale – Penrite Racing Erebus Motorsport.
The next event is the Pirtek Perth Supernight on the 2nd to the 4th of May, 2019.
Please feel free to comment on the event or my review via my Facebook Fanpage.
From Thursday 28th of February to the 3rd of March, 2019 was the Superloop Adelaide 500.
As the official first race of the 2019 V8 Supercars Championship Season it is an exciting start to the year with two races of 250Km each.
Before I get into the rest of my review I must say that I really missed the familiar faces of Garth Tander and Craig Lowndes out on track. Both retired from full time driving at the end of last season and I am sure I am not the only one who will miss their presence.
The big talk on the scene over the last few months is the introduction of the Ford Mustangs into the V8 Supercars Championship. It seems everyone out there loves the Mustang. So its new cars all round for DJRTP drivers and Tickford with Chaz Mostert’s Supercheap Auto and Lee Holdsworth’s Bottle-O cars. I am sure that they will be under heavy scrutiny by everyone to see if the Mustangs have what it takes to race in Australia.
In last year’s Superloop 500 it was Shane Van Gisbergen who made this his event for a second time by a double win of both races. That’s right! He won the 2 season opening races in both 2017 and 2018. This year was no exception to spectacular driving and amazing results.
The Red Bull Holden Racing Team won the 2018 Teams Championship so it earned them the privilege to lead the field out of the pit lane this year (always an advantage).
There were some interesting happenings in the pre-race sessions:
Anton De Pasquale was the fastest in Practice 1 and Scott McLaughlin stopped outside turn 11 due to a loss of oil pressure.
Scott McLaughlin wasn’t phased and proved himself and his car as fastest in Practice 2.
Fabian Coulthard was fastest in Practice 3.
Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Qualifying for Race 1 and then followed that up as fastest in Practice 4.
Macauley Jones didn’t join Race 1 due to a massive accident caused by brake failure at the end of Practice 4.
Fabian Coulthard followed up his great run in Practice 3 and was fastest in the Race 1 Top Ten Shootout.
So in Race 1, Fabian Coulthard started on pole position and alongside him was Jamie Whincup.
Surprisingly both Fabian Coulthard and Jamie Whincup stalled off the starting grid which allowed Scott McLaughlin to take the race lead early on.
Off the line the cars were 4 wide which I thought was going to end up in a massive shunt.
After the opening lap Fabian Coulthard got pinged by race control for jumping the start. This mistake earned him a 10 second stop and hold penalty dropping him from 2nd to 20th.
Pretty soon Cameron Waters was complaining about the heat because his cool suit failed. I’m sure it didn’t help him cool down when officials forced him to come in to the pits.
Lee Holdsworth and Scott Pye ended up in tyre bundle together at turn 7. Surprisingly they managed to get out of the mess themselves without needing assistance from the safety car so the race continued.
In the middle of the race Fabian Coulthard was still fighting back from his 10 second Stop and Hold Penalty.
Also, the Red Bull Holden Racing Team had a problem with their regulator which holds the pressure for the rattle guns hose. It was going nuts and hissing loudly because it wasn’t done up tight enough.
Towards the end of the race no one could catch Scott McLaughlin who dominated Race 1.
As Scott McLaughlin crossed the finish line he appeared to be singing. When Greg Murphy asked him what he was singing he said ‘Horses from Daryl Braithwaite’. LOL!
Results for Race 1
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Ford Mustang 2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team 3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
Scott McLaughlin once again proved he is one of the fastest out on track claiming the Qualifying and Top ten Shootout rounds to earn him Pole Position. It was a nice way for Scott McLaughlin to start the 200th race of his career.
In race 2 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position and alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.
Shane Van Gisbergen was the only Red Bull Holden Racing Team car to make the Top Ten Shootout. His teammate Jamie Whincup qualified 12th.
At the start of the 78 lap race Shane Van Gisbergen tried to go around the outside of Scott McLaughlin but that didn’t work. When Scott McLaughlin ran wide at turn 4 Shane Van Gisbergen tried to criss cross, over and under but that didn’t work either. McLaughlin was not prepared to give up the race lead that easily so Shane Van Gisbergen had to pull back in behind him.
Simona De Silvestro made a mistake in all the traffic at turn 4 and went straight up the escape road.
Rick Kelly nearly made contact with Nick Percat on track.
Jack Le Brocq caused the first deployment of the Vodafone Safety Car due to him being stranded at turn 11 unable to get restarted. With the race now under ‘yellow’ most teams took the opportunity to head to their pits to meet race requirements.
Then the day of the ‘Pit Lane Mess’ started. As the pit lane became very busy I knew there was going to be chaos. Chaz Mostert had just been in the pits a lap before but still went back like all the others. I don’t know how this happened but his car controller gave him the go-ahead. As he came out of the pits Rick Kelly was travelling along the pit lane and ‘T-boned’ him. Kelly seemed angry and didn’t take his foot off the accelerator. They were blocking the pit lane. The other cars had to drive through the DJRTP and Red Bull garages to get around. All high risks activities. Chaz Mostert copped a drive through penalty and later apologised publicly but there were differing opinions on this.
Nick Percat and David Reynolds stayed out on track to avoid the congestion and it worked to their advantage. Both of them ended up with track position coming in at 5th and 9th respectively.
Towards the end of the race officials had to ‘call time’. They weren’t going to complete the total number of laps and cut the race short.
Once again no one could catch Scott McLaughlin who managed to start his title defence of the Supercars Championship with a perfect score 300 points. A double win puts him up there with some of the great drivers of all time.
Mark Winterbottom was my hero of the day. He started 24th due to not recording a time in Qualifying. Throughout the race he managed to gain 18 places to finish 6th. What an amazing effort.
Results for Race 2
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing team 2nd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing 3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
In my opinion personally I would like to see Supercars get rid of timed race because it would make more enjoyable for the fans not only watching on but live at the track as well.
On the weekend 1st to the 3rd of the February, 2019 was the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour which is a pre-season race before the Supercars Championship starts.
This is an international endurance race for GT and production cars, not V8 Supercars but there were so many drivers from the Supercars Championship in the race I include it in my reviews.
The title ‘Bathurst 12 Hour’ is true to its name. It is a time based race of 12 hours and disregards the number of laps performed.
In order to do the 12 hours in one hit the race started at 5:45am when it was still dark.
Englishman, Jake Dennis driving the Aston Martin was originally supposed to start in pole position but had been docked 2 grid spots for speeding in the pit lane. Then due a technical infringement by the team the Aston Martin started in 12th spot.
Car #999, the Mercedes Benz driven by Maximilian Buhk started in pole position; alongside him was the Mercedes Benz #77 driven by Luca Stolz.
V8 Supercars star, Shane Van Gisbergen started 19th on the grid after not making the top ten shootout on Saturday afternoon.
When the Mercedes Benz safety car took off for the warm up lap the 12-hour clock started for the race. After the first lap the race gets underway with a rolling start (not a standing start).
During the opening laps everybody was trying to keep their cars nice and straight as they knew it was a long race.
The two AMG Mercedes, cars #999 and #77 maintained their 1st and 2nd places.
In this early stage Shane Van Gisbergen made up 4 positions going from 19th to 15th. An excellent start but there was a long way to go.
It wasn’t long after that the carnage started.
On lap 6 while still early and quite dark car #71 ended up going down the escape road, an error not often seen.
Car #27, the Ferrari driven by Nick Percat got spun around at Forest Elbow after getting involved with the lapped car, MARC Focus V8 driven by Dutchman, Mathijs Bakker. Later, Percat laid claim that this was an incident that couldn’t be helped and a result of multi-class racing. Bakker was not so diplomatic and did not hold back to vehemently blame Percat. The repair time cost percat at least 25 laps.
The 888 Vodafone Mercedes had a drama with the brakes. After Shane Van Gisbergen had to pit to try and have it repaired the team could not find the issue. Shane Van Gisbergen had to return to the track he was not happy. Little did he know how this was going to affect all the drivers.
Martin Tomczyk was battling with Craig Lowndes and nearly took his BMW into the wall on the right-hand side.
James Winslow received a lot of damage to the rear of his car and had parts flapping around which meant he had to pit to get them removed, otherwise risk receiving a mechanical black flag.
Garth Tander in car #22 had an accident by running into the back of #19 driven by Danish Kristina Neilson. He had to limp his Audi back to the pits and was soon declared out of the race.
When the accidents started, I thought these are going be expensive repair jobs.
On the race broadcast Chad Neylon, pit reporter for fox/10 used a giant touch screen to explain how he believed the strategies would unfold. It was a great insight.
Mark Dutton, racing engineer and current manager of Triple 8 was the Car Controller for the day, which was cool to see.
Shane Van Gisbergen ran wide at turn 1 due to sitting on the left-hand side of the car and lost the positions he had previously made.
When the sun started to rise the race was still under green. The cars that started further back in the pack now tried to make their move to get inside the top ten.
Braking problems continued to bother the three drivers of the 888 Vodafone Mercedes. The crew were unable to repair the issue and drivers were required to use both feet to apply the brakes. I am sure this did not help their driving form. At the end of the race Shane Van Gisbergen literally rolled out of the car onto the ground in exhaustion.
The funniest part of the weekend was when Chad Neylon gave David Reynolds a lift in the AMG Mercedes Benz Safety Car to the race track. Neylon’s driving caused Reynolds to spill his coffee. Chad Neylon said ‘Lesson learnt, don’t drive to the track in the AMG Safety Car’. Reynolds response was “you’re a bad driver”. LOL
Jamie Whincup was given a Drive Through Penalty for passing the AMG Safety Car. Somehow Roland Dane (triple 8 Owner) flexed his muscles of influence because he got the stewards and officials to negate the penalty.
The last time Jamie Whincup got a Drive Through Penalty was 2015 in the Bathurst 1000 but never in the Bathurst 12 hours.
Towards the end of the of the race Matt Campbell was leading with 2nd and 3rd chasing him down for the win, while Shane Van Gisbergen was on an almighty charge to try to get on the Bathurst 12-hour podium but the top three were not giving up their positions.
38 cars started the race. By the end of the 12 hours of true endurance racing 15 cars had received DNFs. It’s a damned tough race.
Results for the 2019 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 hours
1st Matt Campbell – Car 912, Porsche 911 GT3-R for Earl Bamber Motorsport
2nd Jake Dennis – Car 62, Aston Martin Vantage for R Motorsport
3rd Raffaele Marcello – Car 999, Mercedes AMG for Mercedes AMG Team GruppeM Racing
4th Shane Van Gisbergen – Car 888, Mercedes AMG Team Vodafone.
The next event is the first race of the V8 Supercars Season, The Superloop Adelaide 500 from the 28th of February to the 3rd of March 2019.
On the weekend of the 2nd to the 4th of November 2018 was the ITM Auckland Supersprint.
The big bomb-shell of the weekend was from Mark Winterbottom announcing that he has chosen not to sign a new contract with his current team Tickford Racing. Having originally signed with them back in 2006, this ends 13 years as a Ford driver under the Tickford banner. What is surprising is that he has not announced who he will be signing with.
In the preliminaries to the races over the weekend:
·Scott McLaughlin was the fastest in Practice 1
·Jamie Whincup was fastest in Practice 2.
·Scott McLaughlin crashed in practice 2 taking him out of that session.
·Also Todd Hazelwood got so bogged in the sand he needed help to get his car out.
·Chaz Mostert was fastest in Practice 3.
·Scott McLaughlin was the fastest in armour all qualifying for race 28.
·Simona De Silvestro caused a red flag in qualifying which meant she started race 28 from position 26.
·David Reynolds was fastest in qualifying for race 29 which gave him the last go out on track to try and claim pole position. He did well but in the end the pole was claimed by the 7 times Supercars Champion, Jamie Whincup.
On Saturday’s race 28 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position. This made it his 13th pole position for this season and 45th in his career. Alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.
Craig Lowndes didn’t start in the top ten, in fact he started 18th.
At the start of the 70-lap race Scott McLaughlin took the lead. Shane Van Gisbergen tried to get up the inside of him between turn 2 and 3. When he realised he couldn’t get by he tucked back in behind car 17.
Later Todd Hazelwood got pinged for passing the Safety Car so copped a PLP – Pit Lane Penalty. Naughty boy Todd Hazelwood! Jamie Whincup knows this shame all too well because he got pinged for the same thing at Bathurst in 2015. It’s a mistake that you don’t repeat too soon.
Shane Van Gisbergen was going really quick during the opening laps and I thought he might take the lead off Scott McLaughlin but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.
The Vodafone Safety Car was deployed due to Fabian Coulthard being in the wall after Richie Stanaway and Lee Holdsworth made contact. Fabian Coulthard was close behind and tried to avoid them but oversteered, first hitting the wall on one side of the track and then careening to the other side of the track hitting the wall again. My first thought when I saw Fabian Coulthard’s car in the wall was there will be no way the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske crew can repair the car in time to get back out on the track, especially with the limited spares all the teams had with the race being ‘off-shore’.
When car 12 returned to the back of the pits the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske crew put the cover over the car. Commentator, Mark Skaife said it wasn’t repairable and was right. Fabian Coulthard was out of the race with an NC (Not Complete).
Jamie Whincup qualified 5th so when the Vodafone Porsche Safety Car was deployed for Fabian Coulthard, Jamie had to double stack behind Shane Van Gisbergen.
There were a lot of cars going off the track between turns 2 and 3. I can only assume this was due to the wet weather.
Mark Winterbottom was holding up the race leader Scott McLaughlin. Scott McLaughlin asked for Mark Winterbottom to get the blue flag (informs a driver that a faster car is approaching and that the driver should move aside to allow one or more faster cars to pass) which was fair enough. Unfortunately the flag didn’t come out soon enough.
In the end Scott McLaughlin’s race engineer, Ludo Lacroix brought him in to the pits to try give him a clear track when he re-joined the race and not get held up any further. If Scott McLaughlin had stayed out on the race track for one more laps with traffic in front of him he would have lost a massive amount of time and ruin his existing chance of a race win.
In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was battling with Scott McLaughlin for the lead and the Championship. The stakes were high and they both knew it.
Towards the end of the race Scott McLaughlin still had the race lead. Shane Van Gisbergen was in hot pursuit and tried to overtake on turn 8 but Scott McLaughlin blocked him. Shane Van Gisbergen had nowhere to go and made contact. It wasn’t really his fault but Shane Van Gisbergen was given a 5 second penalty.
Finally in the last few lapse Shane Van Gisbergen got his way and took the lead, holding it to the finish line by just .5118 seconds.
Results for race 28
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team. 2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team. 3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing Team.
At the end of race 28, the gap for the Driver Championship between Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen was now just 2 points.
In race 29 Jamie Whincup started on pole position. Alongside him was championship leader Scott McLaughlin.
I was amazed that the Dick Johnson Team Penske crew managed to repair Fabian Coulthard’s car overnight in time for the race, given the amount of limited spare parts all the teams had.
At the start of 70 lap race Scott McLaughlin tried to get up the inside of Jamie Whincup between turns 2 and 3 but wasn’t successful.
Scott McLaughlin wasn’t fazed as he knew there was a long way to go, which was a good call I thought as there was no point taking serious risks at this stage of the game.
Jamie Whincup pitted first so that Shane Van Gisbergen didn’t have to double stack.
Craig Lowndes was trying to get passed David Reynolds’ for third position but unfortunately didn’t manage to do that. It would’ve been a great result to see Craig Lowndes on the Podium in his second last event as a full time driver.
When Shane Van Gisbergen pitted for his 2nd stop the team put the car up on the incompressible jacks to reverse the setup change they did at the his first pit stop.
Anton De Pasquale followed his teammate, David Reynolds as he has done for most of this year as a rookie.
At one stage I thought there was going to be contact between Mark Winterbottom and Scott McLaughlin but luckily there wasn’t. In fact there weren’t any other major accidents with any of teams the whole weekend.
In the middle of the race Jamie Whincup was behind Scott McLaughlin trying to get the lead and give his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen a better chance to close the Championship points gap between him and Scott McLaughlin.
I thought Jamie Whincup was going was to either win or finish 2nd but he is a team player and moved over when asked by his race engineer, David Cauchi to try and help Shane Van Gisbergen earn extra points and win the 2018 Supercars championship.
Unfortunately for Triple 8 Scott McLaughlin was just too fast and came across the line first.
Results for race 29
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team. 2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team. 3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team. 4th Craig Lowndes – Autobarn Lowndes Racing.
The gap between Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen is 14 points.
The next event is the Coates Hire Newcastle 500 on the 23rd to the 25th of November 2018.
This event will be Craig Lowndes final fulltime Supercars drive and it will also Tim Blanchard’s final race.
The funniest part of the weekend was when Mark Skaife made a bet with Russell Ingall. Ingall saying that Jamie Whincup still stood a chance to win the 2018 Championship and Skaife stating it was not likely at all.
If Mark Skaife lost the bet he would’ve had to wear a t shirt printed with ‘I Love the Enforcer’ (the Enforce being Russel Ingall’s nickname).
Now Russell Ingall has to wear a t shirt that Mark Skaife creates with content still to be announced. LOL.
As the season draws to a close, the drivers that don’t have a contract for 2019 at the moment are:
·Mark Winterbottom
·Lee Holdsworth.
·Michael Caruso.
·Richie Stanaway
·Tim Blanchard
Also at this stage Tickford looks like it will only have 2 cars in 2019, Cameron Waters and Chaz Mostert.
It will be interesting to see how things will turn out for next season.
