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Supercars

Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 2024

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of October 25 – 27 was the round 11 of the 2024 Supercars Championship, Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 held in Surfers Paradise in Queensland.

The Surfers Paradise street circuit was opened on the 15th March 1991 for the 1991 Gold Coast Indycar Grand Prix. The track layout stretching along the local beaches and other main streets was a tricky 4.47km circuit with 20 turns. In 2010 its length was shortened to 2.96 km with 15 turns.

In 1994 the V8 Supercars started racing at the Gold Coast as a support category to the Indy 300. So, this year marks the 30th Supercars anniversary.

It wasn’t until 2002 that it became an official championship round in the Supercars competition.

Coming into this year’s Gold Coast 500 as the second last event of the year, there were 4 drivers in contention for the championship; Will Brown, Broc Feeney, Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters.

Things were set to be a super competitive event.

In the pre – race sessions the results were:

  • Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 1
  • Thomas Randle was Fastest in Practice 2
  • Richie Stanaway was fastest in Qualifying
  • Cameron Waters was fastest in the Top Ten Shootout

In Race 21 Cameron Waters started on Pole Position with Richie Stanaway alongside him. Season leader, Will Brown started 11th on the grid due to crashing in Qualifying at turn 11.

The first lap was a little messy. Cameron Waters got the jump off the start line and led into turn 1 for the first of 85 laps and 250kms. The cars back in the pack were crowded with no room so were forced off track at the first chicane. Broc Feeney was one of them with all wheels out of bounds. The manovuer was called into question by fellow driver Thomas Randle. Officials let it go without penalty.

Chaz Mostert moved up to 3rd place. James Golding was battling with Broc Feeney for 4th and 5th. Ryan Wood made contact with Jack le Brocq at turn 11 and ended up in the barrier wall. Wood was able to push on, but Jack le Brocq suffered damage and went straight into the garage to have repairs undertaken.

Richie Stanaway was still in 2nd place behind Cameron Waters on lap 7 but things were going to go badly over the next handful of laps.

First Chaz Mostert overtook Stanaway at turn 11. On the next lap James Golding also passed him at turn 11. Not long after Broc Feeney did the same. This was followed up by Thomas Randle. Richie Stanaway was now moved back from 2nd to 6th place.

Jaxson Evans was the first to pit on lap 20 returning in 23rd place.

The fierce competition between the top 5 drivers continued.

Broc Feeney and Thomas Randle pitted on lap 26 probably in efforts to move out the intensity up front.

James Golding pitted on lap 27. The team couldn’t get the left rear wheel off cleanly costing him time and any chance of a decent result. He was now out of the top 5.

Around the middle of the race Chaz Mostert did the fastest lap, 111.389 seconds.

Cameron Waters was still in the lead but now had Thomas Randle behind him followed by Broc Feeney.

From that point on Cameron Waters kept edging ahead. By the time they were coming closer to the finish he had a 10+ second lead.

Waters made no errors and proved to be uncatchable. He crossed the finish line 9.8 seconds ahead of his teammate Thomas Randle followed by Broc Feeney.

It was an incredible finish.

Race 21Results:

1st Cameron Waters – Monster Castrol Racing

2nd Thomas Randle – Castrol Racing

3rd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing

In Race 22 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position. Alongside him was Will Brown.

Brodie Kostecki got the jump off the start line and led into turns 1 and 2 over Will Brown for the first of 85 laps.

At turn 11 Anton de Pasquale spun. The car behind could not avoid crashing into him. It had a dominos effect and a total of 8 cars became part of the pile up. Most cars were severely damaged. The safety car was deployed to clear the track of what now looked like a wrecking yard.

All except Anton de Pasquale were able to get repairs and return to the action later. They would of course be at least a lap behind.

The restart was on lap 7. Brodie Kostecki was still leading followed by Will Brown and Chaz Mostert.

On lap 11 James Golding was the first to make a pit stop by choice. His crew, Nulon Racing Team dropped the car on the ground without the right rear wheel on. They had to jack the car up and refit the fourth wheel. The lost time resulted in returning to the race in 20th place.

Officials immediately started an investigation as to why Nulon Racing tried to send a car out with only three wheels. It wasn’t long before they issued a drive through penalty for the error.

Thomas Randle pulled off his impersonation of a pinball machine. He bounced off the tyre barriers from one side of the track to the other through turns 1 and 2. How he got out of it without any damage was just a miracle!

On lap 17 James Courtney’s car looked a mess after the damage sustained in the lap 1 pile up. It didn’t seem to stop him recording the fastest circuit time in the race so far.

Soon after Broc Feeney’s car had smoke coming from the right front corner. It was so noticeable there were concerns but as quickly as it started, it quickly disappeared.

Brodie Kostecki pitted from his leading position on lap 30. There were still 5 cars yet to pit including Will Davison who now had the lead. Before Will Davison was able to take his mandatory pit stop he received a bad sportsmanship flag for exceeding track limits going through the back chicanes; turns 8, 9 and 10.

Brodie Kostecki had resumed lead and control by the middle of race. He was followed by Will Brown, Chaz Mostert, and Broc Feeney. They were packed tightly together.

Within the last dozen laps Broc Feeney passed Chaz Mostert to sit behind teammate, Will Brown. Cameron Waters also managed to get by Chaz Mostert to take 4th position. Cameron Waters side-swiped the tyre bundles at turn 1 and 2 losing aerodynamic fittings. It didn’t help the downforce of the car as he made a bid for a podium finish.

With 11 laps to go Brodie Kostecki was looking strong and in a dominant position. I couldn’t believe that he led from start to finish.

Just like at the Bathurst 1000, Brodie Kostecki showed his championship winning form of last year. He drove faultless and increased his lead. Where they were packed close together earlier, he was now creating a noticeable gap.

Kostecki held strong to cross the finish line 3.731 seconds ahead of the series leader Will Brown. Broc Feeney followed close behind in 3rd place 0.443 seconds later.

Race 22 Results:

1st Brodie Kostecki – Erebus Motorsport
2nd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing
3rd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing

With the results of Race 22 and only one event remaining both Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters are out of championship contention.

The only driver able to challenge the season leader Will Brown is his teammate, Broc Feeney. There is only 108 points between the two. Once again, the final event will be a championship showdown: Will Brown Vs Broc Feeney.

The last and final event on the 2024 Supercars calendar is the Valo Adelaide 500, November 14 – 17 2024.

I hope you will all join me to find out who will be “The 2024 Supercars Champion”. Till then keep revving!

Supercars

Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 2022

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 28 – 30 October 2022 was the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500.

This year marks the 19th time that the Supercars Championship has raced for points on the Surfers Paradise Gold Coast circuit. The first paying round was in 2002.Prior to 2002 there were non-championship events held as part of the annual Gold Coast Indy.  In 1994, 1996 and 2001 they were run as single driver events in 2 races. In 2010 the event was run in a 2 race by 300km format with co-drivers. Since then, the format had been changed to become a single driver 2 race event of 250km each.

The weekend marked a milestone for Triple Eight Race Engineering with their 600th Supercars race. Their debut was back in 2003 at the Sandown 500. They are the 5th team in ATCC-Supercars history to surpass that milestone.

The weekend was also Mark Winterbottom’s 50th round start with Team 18. He made his first start for the team at the 2019 Adelaide 500. Winterbottom currently has a finishing record on the Gold Coast of 35 finishes from 35 starts.

This event was kicked off on the Friday. The results in the pre-race sessions had no big surprises with results as follows:

  • Will Davison was fastest in Practice 1
  • Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 2
  • Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in the Qualifying
  • David Reynolds was fastest in the Top Ten Shootout

In Race 31 David Reynolds started on pole position. Alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.

At the start of the race David Reynolds got the jump and led into turns 1 and 2. Shane Van Gisbergen was immediately on the attack, but he wasn’t far enough up to command track position and had to tuck in behind.

The cars behind the two leaders were Cameron Waters, Chaz Mostert and Anton de Pasquale. These front running drivers quickly began to pull away from the rest of the pack.

Further back Mark Winterbottom had gained 4 spots to move up to 9th position on the opening lap.

The gap between David Reynolds and Shane Van Gisbergen was 0.225 seconds. Shane Van Gisbergen was right on David Reynold’s bumper. At the final turn of the first lap Shane Van Gisbergen had a moment and lost ground, so for now Reynolds was able to retain the lead.

The first 2 cars to pit in this race were Will Davison and James Courtney on lap 9. When they came back out they were in 24th and 25th. Will Davison’s pit was not as smooth as it should have been. The right front rattle gun got jammed and those few seconds delay meant James Courtney was able to jump him on exit.

By lap 16 David Reynolds had reported his steering wheel was loose. Not something you want when travelling about 250kph. It slowed him down and Shane Van Gisbergen was able to take the lead at turn 4. Once in the lead, David Reynolds was no longer able to keep up with him.

Further back in the pack Lee Holdsworth was putting pressure on Broc Feeney in a battle for 10th and 11th position.

David Reynolds pitted on lap 25. The team looked at the steering wheel problem but weren’t able to immediately repair it. Jake Kostecki also followed him in.

On the next lap Shane Van Gisbergen pitted and so did Todd Hazelwood.

After hitting the wall earlier, Bryce Fullwood’s passenger door kept coming open. He was issued a mechanical black flag and was forced to pit immediately.

Will Brown was in the garage due to ripping the under body out of car 9 when he went through the beach chicane.

On lap 31 Andre Heimgartner was in pit lane with smoke coming out of the back of car.  It was not good news and car 8 never made it back out to the track.

Mark Winterbottom got a bad sportsmanship flag for exceeding track limits.

In the middle of the race David Reynolds was still complaining about the loose steering wheel in car 26. He came in for his second pit stop. The team were ready to do a full steering wheel change. As it turned out they just had to tighten the steering wheel bolt. Oops!

When David Reynolds got back out on the track he was in the mix of the main pack and had to try returning to his former lead. In desperation he requested a blue flag from race control because he felt that Will Davison was holding him up. Before officials could respond Reynolds found space to make the pass. He had no time to waste.

David Reynolds needed to close the 4.8 seconds lead that Shane Van Gisbergen had.

Cameron Waters was still in 3rd place. He made a mistake going into turn 2. He clobbered the tyre wall and spun around. His error lost him several places. It was an unfortunate mistake so late in the race.

Fatigue started to show. Nick Percat and Tim Slade received bad sportsmanship flags for exceeding track limits at turn 2.

Once past the critical lap, drivers and teams were able to pit for fuel and tyres to get to the end of the race.

On lap 56 Shane Van Gisbergen pitted for his last stop with a 54.705 second lead over Lee Holdsworth. With such an incredible lead he returned to the track still in first place.

From that point on Shane Van Gisbergen had complete dominance on the track with an 11.362 second lead over David Reynolds. It was then another 13.488 seconds back to Chaz Mostert.

While the drivers battled for position in the top 10 it seemed that it was impossible to close the gap on Gisbergen.

With 10 laps to go Broc Feeney managed to displace Lee Holdsworth for 15th position coming out of turn 4.

Cameron Waters also finally cleared Anton de Pasquale for 5th position.

With 7 laps to go the battle between David Reynolds and Chaz Mostert had allowed Shane Van Gisbergen to open the gap to 15.2 seconds.

Chaz Mostert’s plan to attack David Reynolds for 2nd place was interrupted and instead had to defend from Will Davison in 3rd.

With 2 laps to go Will Davison was less than a car length behind Chaz Mostert.

By the final lap Shane Van Gisbergen had gained another 2 seconds over the rest of the field.

Without fault Shane Van Gisbergen crossed the finish line 17.344 seconds clear of David Reynolds. Chaz Mostert managed to come 3rd with Will Davison pushing hard a mere .3184 seconds behind.

For Shane Van Gisbergen it was a spectacular way to earn his 20th win for the 2022 season. It also gave him enough points on the leader board to be declared champion elect for the 3rd time in his career. He now ties with other legends of the track such as Craig Lowndes.

Congratulations!

Results for Race 31

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing

2nd David Reynolds – Grove Racing

3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

For Race 32 Shane Van Gisbergen had earned pole position. It was his 45th career pole. Alongside him on the grid was Will Davison.

As they took off from the start line, the two front runners were neck in neck. At the first bend of turn 1 Shane Van Gisbergen forced Will Davison over the chicane. Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters who were right behind Davison were also forced to cut across the track perimeter.

Surprisingly Will Davison came out the other side of the closely knit turns 1,2 and 3 in the lead.  Shane Van Gisbergen was told by his team to redress for his error. He slowed up before turn 4 to give Davison the space needed and avoid a penalty.

The field was tightly packed and challenges for position were happening left right and centre.

As the pack commenced lap 2 Will Davison had a 1 second lead.

After his continual efforts Brodie Kostecki finally got by Scott Pye for 5th place. Behind them were David Reynolds had Thomas Randle battling for positions 7 and 8.

It took a while but the cars further back in the pack began to settle into their own pace. They knew there was a long way to go and no need to make desperate moves in the early stages.

On approach to turn 11 of lap 4 James Golding crashed through the tyre barrier. The cars right behind were not prepared and smashed straight into him. Eight cars were involved including Macauley Jones whose car caught on fire. In a show of good sportsmanship, other drivers immediately came to assist. It was mayhem and the first safety car was deployed with the red flag shown shortly after.

Broc Feeney was another driver who suffered significant damage. His car was taken to the garage and it wasn’t certain if he would re-join the race.

The race resumed after the clean-up. Will Davison and Shane Van Gisbergen had a pretty hefty gap over Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters.

Anton de Pasquale had damage on the rear bumper due to the contact on lap 1. The Dick Johnson Racing Team made him come in on lap 9.

Scott Pye and Jake Kostecki were the next to take pit stops on lap 10.

On lap 11 Shane Van Gisbergen took the lead off Will Davison down at turn 11. Chaz Mostert was only 0.257 seconds behind them and was immediately putting Will Davison under further pressure in 2nd place.

Behind Chaz Mostert was Cameron Waters followed by Brodie Kostecki in 5th being pressured by David Reynolds.

Mark Winterbottom had gained 5 positions into 7th place but was now struggling. No matter what he did he couldn’t get past David Reynolds in car 26.

By lap 17 Shane Van Gisbergen had a 2.5 second margin over Will Davison.

Mark Winterbottom was the first of the front runners to pit. No one else followed him in.

By this stage the Red Bull Ampol Racing team declared car 88 would not be returning to the track after its involvement in the lap 4 pile up. Broc Feeney had to watch the rest of the race from the garage.

Todd Hazelwood was another driver who had to watch the rest of the race from garage for the same reason.

James Courtney who was also involved in the lap 4 melee, was getting back in his car to re-join the race. The front of car was all fixed but the back was looking like a scene out of Mad Max.

Due the delays, race control announced a time certain finish of 16:38 + 1 lap and the CPS (compulsory pit stops) requirements would remain unchanged.

On lap 22 Jake Kostecki had to step aside for the race leader Shane Van Gisbergen who had worked up a 4.2 second lead over Will Davison.

On lap 26 Will Davison had to try a new tactic for attack on the leader and came in for his first pit stop to try get advantage that way. Brodie Kostecki also pitted.

On lap 29 Shane Van Gisbergen came in with a 10.520 second lead over 2nd place Cameron Waters.

When Shane Van Gisbergen returned to the track, he was in 6th place with drivers in front yet to pit.

Cameron Waters who was left with the lead pitted on lap 30. This handed over the lead to David Reynolds.

At this stage there were 3 cars yet to take their first pit stops.

In the middle of the race Mark Winterbottom gave Brodie Kostecki a hit coming out of turn 4. He decided to redress to avoid a penalty from race control.

On lap 42 Jake Kostecki was ready to re-join the race after being in the garage for major repair works after a lost argument with a barrier wall.

Chaz Mostert who inherited the lead when David Reynolds pitted, was called in for his first pit stop.  Shane Van Gisbergen was now back at the front of the pack.

By lap 57 all the drivers had done their 2nd stops so it was an even playing field to the end. Shane Van Gisbergen had a 4.3 second lead over Chaz Mostert. It was another 2.018 seconds back to Will Davison in 3rd.

By lap 64 Shane Van Gisbergen had increased his lead over Chaz Mostert to 5.7 seconds, while Chaz Mostert increased his lead over Will Davison to 3.5 seconds.

On lap 71 Thomas Randle broke down and parked on the left hand side near pit entry. The safety car was deployed under the yellow flag. The cars had to remain in formation behind the safety car. This meant any leading gaps were lost for the front runners.

On the restart Shane Van Gisbergen just pulled away. He really wanted to recreate his lead over the pack.

With 2 laps to go, Will Brown put Scott Pye in the wall at turn 13. It caused Scott Pye to drop 8 places to 13th and increased his worries of having a time penalty that would be added to his race time. Will Brown also received no advantage from the move. He received a 15 second time penalty to be added at the end.

Shane Van Gisbergen showed what he could do. Within those few remaining laps after the safety car he managed to cross the finish line 2.1 seconds over Chaz Mostert. It was then another 1.3 seconds back to Will Davison followed by David Reynolds.

To top off the race weekend for Shane Van Gisbergen’s 2 out of 2 wins and being announced as champion elect, the Red Bull Ampol Racing Team were declared winners of the Teams Championship for the year. Congratulations. Well done!

Results for Race 32

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing

2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

3rd Will Davison – Dick Johnson Racing Team

The next event is the final one for the 2022 Supercars season, the Valo Adelaide 500 on the 1st – 4th December 2022.

Post Race Report, Supercars

Vodafone Gold Coast 600 2019 Supercars

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around the world!

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

Pre-race sessions:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for Race 26

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It was looking good again for the Triple Eight Team.

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

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

Results for Race 27

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

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

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

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

 

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Watpac Townsville 400 2017

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend to the 7th to the 9th of July 2017 was the Watpac Townsville 400. Races 13 and 14 were both 200 Kilometres and 70 laps.

Its interesting to note:

  • Craig Lowndes had a worrying start to the weekend. In both practice sessions on Friday he lost control and spun his car.
  • Later in qualifying Jamie Whincup baulked Craig Lowndes costing him a solid top ten starting spot. Craig Lowndes was now placed 19th in the start.
  • Tim Edwards who is the Managing Director at Prodrive Racing Australia was not present for the weekend because he was with his boys watching them play Soccer. Rod Nash was delegated to the role over the weekend.
  • It was Simona De Silvestro first V8 Supercars event in North Queensland. Mark Skaife commented during this race he believed she was improving with every race that she does. I believe without a doubt as she returns next season to the different tracks for a second time she will be a force to be reckoned with.
  • For this season there have been only 2 Aussie drivers to win a race, Jamie Whincup and Chaz Mostert. It has been predominantly NZ drivers so it will be interesting to see if this becomes a matter of contention.

In race 13 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position, alongside him was Jamie Whincup.

On lap 1 of 70 Jamie Whincup got the jump on Scott McLaughlin off the start line after starting from 2nd spot which was on the clean side of the race track (meaning it has got more grip).

Towards the end of Lap 1 Jamie Whincup let Scott McLaughlin take over the race lead. Commentator Mark Skaife thought that letting Scott McLaughlin pass him was too soft.

On lap 2 Jamie Whincup tried to stay close as possible but Scott McLaughlin just pulled away.

Fabian Coulthard had starting in the top ten. He held high hopes to maintain his position as championship leader to the end of the season. On lap 3 he was hit from behind and spun around. As a result he ended up at the back of the pack and probably felt his championship hopes fade. However, I am sure he knew it was still early in the race and had plenty of opportunity to do something about it.

His worries weren’t over yet. On lap 6 he had a close call. Fabian Coulthard’s rear wing clipped the driver’s side door of Lee Houldsworth’s car. The damage didn’t look too bad but the door on Lee Houldsworth’s car wouldn’t stay shut. Fabian Coulthard got off without damage but Lee Houldsworth had to make it the pits and have his door taped shut.

On lap 7 Scott McLaughlin was still the race leader but chose to pit now. I can only assume it was part of the strategy to give him as much opportunity to retake the lead later in the race.

On lap 11 Chaz Mostert was battling with Mark Winterbottom to get fresh air but it wasn’t going to be easy trying to take a position while in the top ten.

By lap 12 Fabian Coulthard was trying to fight back from the spin on the opening couple of laps.

On lap 13 Shane Van Gisbergen was battling with Jamie Whincup for 3rd and 4th and also pit priority.

On lap 14 Jason Bright caught up with his teammates but had to wait till after the hairpin turn to make a pass safely.

On lap 19 Simona De Silvestro was following Rick and Todd Kelly for experience at the new track.

By lap 23 Macauley Jones was getting  noticed carving his way through the field after starting near the back.

On lap 24 some drivers hit the pits to get out from the battle going on near the back of the pack.

On lap 26 Jason Bright caught up to his teammates mark Winterbottom and Cameron Waters. He couldn’t manage to pass them so decided to pit again.

On lap 29 Jamie Whincup was putting pressure on Scott McLaughlin hoping he would make an error but Scott McLaughlin was faultless and wasn’t going to give the lead away easily.

In the middle of the race no one could catch the top 3 drivers which were Scott McLaughlin, Jamie Whincup and Mark Winterbottom.

On lap 34 Todd Kelly ran into engine problems and could go on. He received a DNF.

Towards the end of the race Shane Van Gisbergen had a sick car not running on all eight cylinders. Regardless, he managed to complete the race coming in at 7th position.

Scott McLaughlin finished with nearly a 4 second lead over Jamie Whincup.  Mark Winterbottom came in third over 15 seconds after the winner. Quite a spread at the finish line.

Results for race 13

1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson racing Team Penske.

2nd Jamie Whincup – Red bull Holden Racing Team.

3rd Mark Winterbottom – Prodrive racing Australia.

In race 14 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.

Craig Lowndes started in 21st on the grid due to not making the top 10 shootout.  To add to the pressure he also had to get passed Will Davison to get pit priority.

On the start of the 70 lap race Shane Van Gisbergen tried to go around the outside of the pole sitter but couldn’t get the job done.

On lap 2 Scott McLaughlin was still the race leader but he was under pressure from Shane Van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup which was good to see such a challenge.

On lap 3 John Mcgregor who is Craig Lowndes race engineer told him to pit because even though it wasn’t ideal timing he could see he was getting held in traffic.

On lap 5 Jamie Whincup was still chasing Scott McLaughlin for the race lead.

On lap 7 Fabian Coulthard was trying to regain the Championship lead but it wasn’t his day. He must have been  gutted over losing his championship lead.

On lap 9 Jamie Whincup running second to Scott McLaughlin him in their first round of pit stops.

On lap 10 Simona De Silvrestro was battling with Michael Caruso for positions 12 and 13. Both knew they were just outside the top 10 so these were critical spots.

On lap 11 Alex Rullo was doing a great job for his first V8 Supercars race at Townsville.

On lap 13 Jason Bright pitted to re-enter the race track with no cars in front or behind him.

On lap 15 Craig Lowndes was doing a fantastic job moving up through the field.  He was picking cars off with every lap which I thought was very impressive.

On lap 16, Grant McPherson, race engineer for Shane Van Gisbergen called a change in strategy; Shane Van Gisbergen was behind Jamie Whincup so was called into pits early. The strategy was so that Jamie Whincup would not have to double stack behind him.

On lap 18 Scott Pye was forced into pits at an un-ideal time because he was getting held up by James Courtney.

By lap 22 Craig Lowndes had worked his way up to 11th position, which in my opinion was a mighty drive.

On lap 25 a lot of cars started pitting for the 2nd round of pit stops to prepare for the race to the chequered flag.

On lap 27 Jamie Whincup ended up getting the undercut which made him the effective race leader at that point of the race.   He was not only on his way to his first race win for 2017 but also being on the same number of race wins as Craig Lowndes, in fact        equalling the same of Career wins.

On lap 28 the top 3 at that stage were Jamie Whincup, Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen.

In the middle of the race no one else could catch the top drivers which were Jamie Whincup, Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen. Holden, Ford, Holden.

They kept the pattern and finished the race in that order.

The win by Jamie Whincup  puts him only 6 points behind Scott McLaughlin.

 

Results for race 14

1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing team.

2nd Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson racing Team Penske Shell V Power Racing Team.

3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red bull Holden racing team.

The next event is the Coates hire Ipswich Supersprint 28th to the 30th of July 2017.

 

Pre Race Report, V8 Supercars

Gold Coast 600 – Pre Race report 2015

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Hi to all you Rev heads around the world.
This weekend 23rd – 25th October is the Gold Coast 600, the third and final race for the 2015 Pirtek Enduro Cup.
Let’s take a look back at what happened in Qualifying at the Gold Coast in 2014.

Jamie Whincup led the field out for qualifying because Red Bull Australia were the last pit, at the end of pit lane this happened because they won the teams Championship the year before. Once everyone got onto the racetrack they went out for a warm up lap then they came back in for adjustments to all the cars, then they all back out to try to get a position in the top 10 to contest the shootout.

Who will win the Pirtek Endurance cup in 2015? The defending champs are Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell. But they are down the order in terms of the points this year for the Enduro Cup.

Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards are in 4th spot at this stage, so they have still got a good chance winning the Endurance cup.

The last time Craig won the Pirtek Cup was back in 2013.

Who will win races 26 and 27? 12 months ago the races at the Gold Coast were races 31 and 32.
The commentators in 2014 at the Gold Coast were Neil Crompton and Mark Skaife pit reporters were Mark Larkham and Riana Crehan.

Greg Murphy drove in all 3 Endurance races 12 months ago, this year he will be in the pit lane, reporting from there with Riana Crehan and Paul Morris.

Can Craig Lowndes and Steve Richards win the Enduro cup? And make it 3 years in a row for Red Bull Racing Australia in car 888. Or will another combination challenge them? 300 Kilometres and 102 laps each on both Saturday and Sunday.

The co drivers have their own practice session as well. Shane Van Gisbergen got pole position for race 1, and pole for race 2 went to Alex Premat.

History of the Gold Coast event back in 2014 James Courtney and Greg Murphy had a Do Not Finish result in the opening race.

Cameron Waters has been promoted to the main driver for car 6 for Pepsi Max Crew, his co-driver will be the Enforcer Russell Ingall. James Courtney is back from his injuries and will be back in car 22, with Jack Perkins. He has been given the all clear to get back in the car by the doctors. Chaz Mostert is out of hospital and starting rehab in Brisbane.

The winners of races 31 and 32 from 2014 were Shane Van Gisbergen and Jonathon Webb, the winners of Race 32 were Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell.

Will there be any ads during the Gold Coast coverage this weekend on Fox Sports channel 506.

Cameron Waters will be driving car 6 for two events and the WD 40 Phillip Island Supersprint.

Matt White and Mark Larkham now work for channel 10. Both Scott Pye and James Courtney will be back in cars 17 and 22 for the Holden Racing Team and Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske respectively. How will they go with their current injuries? How will Marcos Ambrose go this weekend? The last time he raced on the Gold Coast street circuit was back in 2005. Jack Perkins will be back in the 22 car with James Courtney, while Russell will be driving with the Pepsi Max Crew as a replacement for Chaz.

Best of luck to everybody this weekend. Welcome back James Courtney and get well soon Chaz.

How many safety cars will there be at the Gold Coast 600?

The hosts will be Jessica Yates and Mark Skaife for Foxsports, Steven Johnson will be on standby in case Scott Pye has any injures.

Just go to video and click on live timing at –
http://www.v8supercar.com.au/

To check out the Practice Qualifying and race Results just go to http://www.v8dailydump.com.au/

Results for race 31 from 2014.

1st – Shane Van Gisbergen and Jonathon Webb – Tekno Autosports.
2nd – Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell – Red Bull Racing Australia.
3rd – Tim Slade and Tony Dalberto – Supercheap Auto Racing.

Results for race 32 from 2014.
1st- Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd- Scott Mclaughlin and Alex Premat – Volvo Polstar Racing.
3rd – Micheal Caruso and Dean Fiore – Nissan Motorsport.

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Coates Hire Ipswich Qld 400 Post Race 2015

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Hi to all you v8 Supercars fans.

On the weekend of the 31st July – 2nd August 2015, was the Coates Hire Ipswich Super sprint. Event 7.

In race 18 Chaz Mostert started on pole position alongside him was Mark Winterbottom (Frosty), on lap 1 Frosty got the jump on his teammate, into turn 1 for the first of 20 laps. Scott McLaughlin got up into 2nd spot by turn 2. Todd Kelly and Jason Bright made contact on the exit of turn 1, towards the end of the opening lap, Frosty had a good gap.

Shane Van Gisbergen made contact with the back of Chaz Mosterts Ford. At turn 6. On lap 2 Andre Heimgartner was behind both Shane and Chaz, then Chaz got passed Shane down at turn 3.

Craig Lowndes got all crossed up, James Courtney and David Reynolds were behind those cars in front of him. Chaz ran wide on the exit of turn 3. In the process he ran over one of the polystyrene signs which covered up the left hand side of his car. Towards the end of lap 2, Jamie Whincup, Fabain Coulthard were back in the pack.

On lap 3 Andre Heimgartner ran wide inbetween turns 1 and 2. Tim Slade was behind Jamie, Garth Tander got passed by the Andre Heimgartner, Tim Slade got passed Fabain Coulthard in-between turns 4 and 5. Lee Holdsworth tried to pass Andre Heimgartner around the outside, Rick Kelly passed Lee at turn 5. As well. In the middle of the race Craig Lowndes was chasing Chaz Mosert and Shane Van Gisbergen. Towards the end of the race no one could catch Frosty or Scotty.

Results for race 18.

1st – Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max Crew.
2nd – Scott McLaughlin – Volvo Polstar Racing Garry Rogers Motorsport.
3rd – Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Racing Australia.

In race 19 Craig Lowndes started on pole position alongside him was Mark Winterbottom, on lap 1 of 20, Craig Lowndes got the lead, but then Frosty took over by turn 2, Scott McLaughlin ran wide the exit of turn 2, also on the opening lap, Shane Van Gisbergen was parked on the grass due to him having a broken gear box. The Safety car was deployed to remove Shane’s car from the track. At turn 6, Nick Percat had the door on the right rear open due to contact with David Wall.

The restart was on lap 3, David Reynolds signalled to Craig Lowndes that if he made a mistake he would be there to pounce and overtake him.

On lap 4 Fox sports had a replay of the start which showed that Craig Lowndes ran a bit too hot into the first corner. In the middle of the race Ash Walsh was slowing approaching turn 6. Towards the end of the race Craig Lowndes tried to get passed Frosty but he couldn’t find a way passed him.

Results for race 19.

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

In race 20 Chaz Mostert started on pole Position alongside him was Mark Winterbottom, Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup qualified 3rd and 4th, respectively. On lap 1 of 65 Craig and Jamie looked very fast at turns 1 and 2 but they couldn’t go around the outside at turn 2. On lap 2 Scott McLaughlin got passed the cars that were in front of him. David Wall was back in the pack, due to not having qualified as well as he wanted too.

James Courtney rattled on the back Scott McLaughlin’s car, James had to be careful of a bump and run.

Race control can give the drivers a warning and then a pit lane drive thru penalty. On lap 3 Scott Pye and Todd Kelly were battling for positions down the pit straight. On lap 4, Ash Walsh got up the inside of Andre Heimgartner at turn 3. On lap 5 Craig Lowndes was putting the pressure on Jamie Whincup at the exit of turn 1 and on the run up to turn 2.

Greg Murphy was interviewing Roland Dane about how they were going have a better strategy than everybody else.

Frosty blinked first in terms of pit stops along with Shane Van Gisbergen and Tim Slade. In the middle of the race both the Red Bull team mates had rattle gun issues, so the team had to change guns to get the tyres off the cars. Towards the end of the race Chaz Mostert was leading but Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup were trying to catch them, but they weren’t able to do it.

Every time anyone finish behind Mark Winterbottom, the championship lead will extend, every time we finish in front of Frosty the lead will decrease meaning come down.

Results for race 20

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

The next event is the Sydney Motorsport Park 400 Super sprint Eastern Creek NSW, 21st – 23rd of August 2015.

Pre Race Report, V8 Supercars

Coates Hire Ipswich 400, Queensland Pre race Report

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Hi to you V8 Supercars fans.

Check out the truck brigade coming into the event.

This weekend is the Ipswich 400, races 18, 19 and 20. Let’s take a look back at what happened in 2014, in race 23 Red Bull Racing Australia Craig Lowndes started on pole position in car 888, alongside him was his teammate Jamie Whincup in car 1. On lap 1 of 33 the 2 Red Bull cars got a great start. From the front row of the grid.

Who will win the Ipswich 400 this weekend?

Will Red Bull repeat what they did 12 months ago? Or will Pepsi Max Crew continue their dominance?

Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup are in positions 2nd and 8th on the leader board.

The winners from 2014 Jamie Whincup won races 23 and 24 showing his domination over the weekend, James Courtney won race 25.

The Telecast will be on Fox Sports 5 channel 506. On the Saturday there will be 2 races of 20 lap, Sunday will be the big race with 65 laps. The telecast start at 8am on Friday morning.

Good luck to all the drivers this weekend… Make it an exciting and safe one.

Results from 2014, for race 23

1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Racing Australia.
3rd – Scott Mclaughlin – Volvo Polstar Racing.

Results from 2014 for race 24

1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia
2nd – Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Racing Australia
3rd – Chaz Mostert – Pepsi Max Crew

Results from 2014 for race 25

1st – James Courtney – Holden Racing Team
2nd – Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Racing Australia
3rd – Chaz Mostert – Pepsi Max Crew

To checkout the live timing just go to view and then click on live timing.
http://www.v8supercar.com.au/
http://www.v8dailydump.com.au/

 

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Townsville 2015

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Hi to you V8 Supercar followers around the world.

Race 16

On the weekend of the 10th – 12th of July 2015 was the Townsville 400. In race 16 Chaz Mostert started on pole position alongside him was Mark Winterbottom. Shane Van Gisbergen started from the back of the pack due to using warm up tyres in qualifying. On lap 1, Frosty got the jump on his Pepsi MAX Crew teammate in Chaz Mostert and led the field through turns 1 and 2 for the first of 70 laps. There was contact between Todd Kelly and Andre Heimgartner, Andre came off the worse for wear. Towards the end of the opening lap Scott McLaughlin was trying to fend off Jamie Whincup. On lap 2 Jamie went from 6th to 4th also on lap 2 Tim Blanchard was the first to pit. In car 3, Scott McLaughlin couldn’t get too adventurous because Scott Pye was right behind him. The Super Black Racing Ford Falcon FGX had damage on the front left hand side on car 111. Towards the end of lap 2 Jamie was flying through the field. On lap 3 the 2 Scott’s were battling down the main straight for track Position. James Courtney had jumped to the other to avoid contact with Scott Pye and Fabain Coulthard. Craig Lowndes had moved from 13th down 1 spot to 14th. David Reynolds was following his teammates in cars 5 and 6. In the middle of the race Jason Bright was putting the pressure on car 888. Towards the end of the race no one could catch Mark Winterbottom and David Reynolds.

Results for race 16

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

Race 17

In race 17 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was Chaz Mostert, on lap 1 Scott led through turns 1 and 2. Shane Van Gisbergen tried to get up the inside of Chaz at turn 2, Garth Tander was putting the pressure on Todd Kelly. On lap 2 Craig Lowndes was still in 23rd on lap 3 Scott Mclaughlin was still leading the race. On lap 4 Fabain got passed Garth Tander. On lap 5 Garth Tander was very quick. On lap 6 David Reynolds took over the race lead. Chaz wanted to follow David through to 2nd spot, but that wasn’t able to be done. On lap 7 Scott McLaughlin had dropped back to 3rd, Mark Winterbottom tried to sneak down the inside in the process he gave the Volvo a slight bump on the rear bumper. On lap 8 the David Reynolds was still out in front, Shane Van Gisbergen was chasing down Chaz Mostert. On lap 9 Nissan Motorsport had a pit board due a radio malfunction for Michael Caruso, in the middle of the race David Reynolds was leading at the halfway mark, towards the end of the race no one could catch Frosty, he was too good.

Mark Dutton will be Jamie’s race engineer for the rest of the year, due to David Cauchi being under too much pressure, as a result of where Jamie was positioned on the ladder.

The next race meeting is the Ipswich 400, on the 31st July to the 2nd August 2015. Craig is back in 2nd 248 points off the championship lead. Jamie Whincup is 391 points behind. Triple 8 are 317 points behind in the team championship leader board.

Results for race 17

1st – Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max Crew
2nd – James Courtney – Holden Racing Team,
3rd – David Reynolds – Bottle ‘O’ Racing Team

Pre Race Report, V8 Supercars

Townsville QLD – Pre-Race Report

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Hi to all you V8 Supercar fans around the world.

This weekend is the Castrol Edge Townsville 400. Let’s take a look back at what happened in Townsville 12 months ago, in race 20 James Courtney started on pole position along was Garth Tander. Garth got a bump from Craig Lowndes, as a result Scott McLaughlin took the race lead. On lap 1 Chaz Mostert was spun around at turn 7 by the Jack Daniel’s Racing Nissan Altama. Craig then got spun around by Will Davison. Who will win the Castrol edge gold coast 400 this weekend?

History of the Townsville event, the first event was back in 2009 the winners back then were Jamie Whincup and James Courtney respectively. The pole position winners in the recent years have been 2009 Lee Holdsworth and James Courtney.

Best of luck everybody for weekend this week is races 16 and 17, 70 laps each. Can Craig get the Championship lead back off Frosty this week? Also can Craig Lowndes get his 101st this week? Can Jamie climb his way back towards top of the ladder?

The telecast will be on channel 10 channel 110 and Foxsports 5 Channel 506, enjoy the telecast this weekend. Watching the telecast on Foxsports you will have every practice session, qualifying and race.

Mark Dutton will be returning to his former position as Jamie’s race engineer, due to David Cauchi stepping aside. That means Roland Dane will be the team manager this weekend. The last time Mark was Jamie’s race engineer was 2013. 200 kilometres for each race on Saturday and Sunday. Marcos Ambrose won’t be driving at all this weekend. Scott Mclaughlin has been having engine dramas will that continue? Have GRM solved the issues.

Results from Townsville 2014. For race 20,

1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Scott Mclaughlin – Volvo Polstar racing.
3rd – Garth Tander – SP Tools holden racing team.

Results for race 21

1st – Garth Tander – SP Tools Holden Racing team.
2nd – James Courtney – SP Tools Holden Racing Team.
3rd – Nick Percat – Heavy Haulage Australia Racing.

https://youtu.be/r74MgOgjhoU