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Supercars

Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 2020 Supercars

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 15th to the 18th of October, 2020 was the Grand Finale of the V8 Supercars season, the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

In the previous event Repco Supersprint The Bend, Scott McLaughlin was named ‘Champion Elect’ having enough championship points to be unreachable with only one event remaining for the season.

However, it was the Red Bull Holden Racing Team leading  Teams Championship ladder but were still within reach by the Shell V-Power Racing Team. So for Jamie Whincup, Shane Van Gisbergen and their co-drivers, Craig Lowndes and Garth Tander this event was make-or-break for the Teams Championship.

Regardless, for all teams the Bathurst 1000 is an incredibly gruelling race and is Australia’s biggest motor race of the year.

With that in mind the pre-race sessions were full of intense competition with some great performances. The results were:

  • Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 1.
  • James Moffat was fastest in Practice 2.
  • Cameron Waters was fastest again in Practice 3.
  • Will Davison was fastest in Practice 4.
  • Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 5.
  • Lee Holdsworth was fastest in the Armour All Qualifying.
  • Warren Luff was fastest in Practice 6.
  • Cameron Waters and Will Davison were fastest in Practice 7.
  • Cameron Waters was fastest again in the Armour all Top 10 Shootout earning pole position
  • Andre Heimgartner was fastest in the Warm U

So in Race 31, The Big Race and grand finale of the season Cameron Waters and Will Davison started on pole position with the formidable Champion Elect Scott McLaughlin alongside them.

Most of the co-drivers started the race except for Scott McLaughlin, Rick Kelly and Macauley Jones.

I was surprised the The Shell V-Power Racing Team started the race with Scott McLaughlin in the driver’s seat of car 17 but it may have been a last minute strategy when they earned P2 alongside pole position.

Craig Lowndes started the race in car 888 and was battling with Michael Caruso for position 7.

As they kicked off the 161 lap race Will Davison got the jump at first but then Scott McLaughlin soon overtook and led up mountain straight for the first time.

Unlike previous years there were no major incidents in the first lap, but it wasn’t long before the pressure started to show.

During lap 2 Macauley Jones had a problem with his drivers side door, the Brad Jones Racing team couldn’t get the door to stay closed on car 3. As he rounded corners the door was flying open! Of all the issues to have in this race! Race control issued a mechanical black flag requiring he return to the pits immediately. For whatever reason Macauley Jones went another lap before coming in which earned him a Drive Thru Penalty.

The Brad Jones Racing Team had to put a new drivers door on car 3 because the one they had on the car wouldn’t close.

Rick Kelly had a clutch problem with car 15 but put up with it during the opening stages.When Car 15 finaly came in for repairsthey put Dale Wood in the driver’s seat.

When the safety car was deployed Car 15 was able to be waved passed to get his lap back under the new safety car rules.

When Jamie Whincup took the wheel of car 888 from Craig Lowndes he was battling with Bodie Kostecki and Chaz Mostert in front and behind in cars 99 and 25. On lap 33 Jamie Whincup was racing through ‘The Cutting’, a particularly dangerous part of the track and lost control smashing into the concrete barrier.

The impact was huge and car 888 was now out of the race! Not only that but with a DNF Red Bull Holden Racing Team could not earn enough points to stay at the top of the Team’s Championship ladder. Rubbing further salt into the wound was the fact that Team’s Championship would now go to driver champion elect Scott McLaughlin’s team, Shell V-Power Racing Team.

On restart the race leader was Will Davison in car 6, and that’s when it started to rain.

At lap 50 Todd Hazelwood and Jordan Boys in car 14 were the next to leave the track.

Not long after on lap 62 Garry Jacobson and David Russell also left the track to keep the guys in car 50 some company for the duration of the race.

The next 65 laps didn’t see any major incidents and let the race continue.

In the middle of the race Garth Tander, co-driver to Shane Van Gisbergen in car 97 took the lead. Garth Tander’s years of experience were on show with supreme driving skills and flying like he had some Red Bull wings.

This is the Bathurst 1000 and Garth Tander, a three time winner was not going to give up a chance to make it his fourth.

Car 97 was still leading when he handed over the wheel to Shane Van Gisbergen, yet to win his first Bathurst 1000.

As they drivers all completed their mandatory 7 pit stops Shane Van Gisbergen was still holding the lead.  For all his efforts he could not shake Cameron Waters right behind him.

Every moment was tense as the race drew to a close. Any slip up and Cameron Waters would take advantage and Shane Van Gisbergen could kiss his 1st Bathurst win good-bye.

At lap 147 of 161 Bryce Fullwood and Kurt Kostecki in car 2 were stranded on the track with power steering dramas and the safety car was deployed. Shane Van Gisbergen must have been pleased to get a chance to breath from Cameron Waters incessant chase.

When the race resumed it was only 2 laps later at lap 149 that the safety car was deployed again as the two Jacks (Smith and Perkins) in car 4 left the track. I bet Shane Van Gisbergen was beginning to feel he would lose his form with these interruptions.

Soon enough they were back to full throttle. There were just a few laps remaining and Shane Van Gisbergen was no only holding his lead but squeezed a few seconds ahead of his pesky shadow Cameron Waters. At lap 155 the other Kostecki (Jake) and Zane Goddard were the cause of the safety car being deployed yet again.

You could feel the tension as the cars squeezed up in formation behind the safety car ready to finish those last few laps.

They resumed for the final time. Shane Van Gisbergen driving like a bat out of hell and Cameron Waters right on his tail. At every opportunity  he would pull out from behind the leader and show himself – ready to pounce at any opportunity.

Shane Van Gisbergen kept his cool and didn’t choke at the threat from Waters. In an incredibly tense  few laps  Shane Van Gisbergen managed to cross that finish line first to get his first Bathurst 1000.

 

Results for race 31

1st Shane Van Gisbergen and Garth Tander – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.

2nd Cameron Waters and Will Davison – Tickford Racing.

3rd Chaz Mostert and Warren Luff – Walkinshaw Andretti United.

The Supercars will be back at Bathurst in Feburary 2021.

 

 

 

Pre Race Report, V8 Supercars

Clipsal 500 2017 Pre Race Report

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

The Clipsal 500 will be run on the 2nd – 5th of March 2017.

Let’s take a look back at what happened in Adelaide 2016 during race 1.

Scott Pye in car 2 started on pole position and alongside him was Jamie Whincup in car 88. On lap 1 of 39, Jamie Whincup took the race lead from the first chicane. Scott Pye had bogged off the start line and didn’t get the required launch to take the lead so slotted in behind Jamie Whincup. James Courtney tried to get down the inside of Mark Winterbottom to take the fourth position at the final corner, turn 14, but Mark Winterbottom wasn’t going to give in that easily.

On lap 2, Mark Winterbottom tried to get up the inside of Scott McLaughlin but he wasn’t able to get the job done. Garth Tander got down the inside of his former teammate Todd Kelly. Todd Kelly wasn’t going to have a bar of this and took his spot back from Garth Tander on approach to the turn 1 chicane.

On lap 3, Craig Lowndes found himself up against Will Davison for pit priority. Meanwhile, the cars back in the pack were battling it out to get better positioning.

On lap 4, Tim Blanchard and Andre Heimgartner were trying to take placing from one another. Neither driver were willing to give in, making for some very exciting racing. Rick Kelly had a go trying to take position from Shane Van Gisbergen. Craig Lowndes was trying to get passed Will Davison for some fresh air to cool his engine but he just wasn’t close enough.

On lap 5, Fabian Coulthard got down the inside of Michael Caruso in car 23 at turn 9. Craig Lowndes and Chaz Mostert did their pit stops to avoid getting caught up in traffic. Craig Lowndes also wanted to avoid a double stack in the pits with Will Davison.

This was an early pit stop so once back on the track Craig Lowndes and Chaz Mostert did a very long run on their 2nd set of tyres.

By lap 5, Jamie Whincup had a good enough lead so didn’t have to push too hard. James Courtney tried to get passed the season champion, Mark Winterbottom at turn 14 but wasn’t able to. Then Fabian Coulthard tried to get up the inside of Mark Winterbottom but was also staved off. Jason Bright wanting to move up the order put the pressure on Chris Pither.

In the middle of the race the cars back in the pack were pitting to not get caught up in traffic.

After hitting a wall Tim Slade couldn’t find the reverse gear to get back into the race. He only needed to be facing the right way to continue but officials forced him onto the tow truck. Tim Slade looked dark about the decision that meant that he was out of the race.

Towards the end of the race no one could catch the top 3 drivers.

 

Results for race 1

1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull racing Australia.
2nd – James Courtney – Holden Racing Team.
3rd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia.

 

In race 2 Chaz Mostert started on pole position alongside him was Jamie Whincup on lap 1 of 39 Chaz Mostert took the race lead early on through the centre chicane. Jamie Whincup tried to follow him through but James Courtney had to get out of the throttle to ensure that there was no contact.

On lap 2 Jamie Whincup tried to do the crisscross at turn 4, but he couldn’t pull it off.

During the opening laps everybody was settling down to a race pace. Then the pit stops started. When the pack came into the pits a few teams had to double stack. For this reason teams like to have 2 or in the case of Triple 8 Engineering, 3 cars on different strategies.

Craig Lowndes had to try and stay in front of Will Davison so that he didn’t have to double stack behind Will Davison.

On lap 3 the cars back in the pack where trying to keep up with the race leaders.

On lap 4 the leaders stayed out longer. The cars down the bottom of the field came in.

In the middle of the race James Courtney got track position over Jamie Whincup, as a result of a faster pitstop from the Holden Racing Team.

On lap 5 all the crews where watching from the garage until they needed to go out into the pits.

Results for race 2

1st – James Courtney – Holden Racing Team
2nd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia
3rd – Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing

In race 3 Fabain Coulthard started on pole position, alongside him was Chaz Mostert. The race started under safety car due to the wet weather. Before the race started Mark Winterbottom nearly put car number 1 in the fence during the sighting lap. His race engineer told him to come in to the pits for wet weather tyres.

The cars did 5 laps under safety car. Greg Murphy working as pit reporter, was wondering why all the team managers were talking to the officials. The team managers were huddled around the officials questioning the pit stops taking place before the race start.

When the race went to green, the track was still wet and the drivers had to be really careful. Early on Shane Van Gisbergen even had his wiper on just so he could see out the windscreen.

At turn 9 James Courtney hit Jamie Whincup from behind and spun him around. When Jamie Whincup was trying to get back on the track to re-join the race, he nearly hit another couple of cars causing some hairs to stand on end.

Later in the race Shane Van Gisbergen hit James Courtney from behind and caused him to spin around. This gave Craig Lowndes the opportunity he was waiting for and took the lead.

The weather got worse and there was thunder and lightning. The officials were forced to put up the red flag for more than an hour due to deteriorating weather conditions. When they returned to the race they had ‘time certain’ finish.

Nick Percat ended up scoring the race win due to other cars being penalised on fuelling rules.

Results for race 3

1st – Nick Percat – Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport.
2nd – Michael Caruso. Nissan Motorsport.
3rd – Garth Tander – Holden Racing Team.

It was an exciting race and it’s that time of the year again. The first race of the season! Who will win the 2017 Clipsal 500 this weekend? Will there be any wet weather? The defending Clipsal champ is Nick Percat. It will also be Craig Lowndes 21st year in V8 Supercars. Can he win his 4th Championship in 2017? Mark Winterbottom has never won the Clipsal 500. Will he do it this year or will someone else step up?

Best of luck to everybody for the 2017 season. Race 1 will be 250 Klms over 78 laps. Will Jamie Whincup win the opening race again?

 

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Coates Hire Sydney 500 V8 Supercars 2016

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 2nd to the 4th of December 2016 was the Coates Hire Sydney 500.

In race 28 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position. Alongside him was Jamie Whincup.

On lap 1 of 74 Jamie Whincup got the jump on his teammate at the first turn in an exciting start. Chris Pither spun between turns 2 and 3. James Moffatt got down the inside of Fabian Coulthard at turn 9.

Jason Bright passed his teammate, Tim Slade in the complex of turns on lap 2. Then Todd Kelly passed Scott Pye at turns 2, 3 and 4. Chris Pither was forced to park his car 111 back in the garage to deal with the damage he had after the spin earlier. Craig Lowndes made a great start and got into 2nd spot straight away. But for the championship leader, Shane Van Gisbergen the starting laps weren’t so great. His car copped a whack from one of the Prodrive cars. Chaz Mostert hit the back of Mark Winterbottom which in turn sent car 97 straight on.

On lap 3 Shane Van Gisbergen was still up with the leading group of cars. Lap 4 saw the Red Bull and Holden Racing team cars battling against each other.  Meanwhile, the Prodrive Racing Australia team were madly trying repair car 111 and get it back out on the track. On lap 6 Cameron Waters came in to the pits first, to not double stack with Mark Winterbottom. On lap 7 Garth Tander looked pacey on the back of Shane Van Gisbergens car. Towards the end of lap 7 David Reynolds got passed Scott Pye. Reviewing the replay showed that the rear diffuser had been torn off Time Slade’s car 14 during the pass by David Reynolds.

On lap 8 and 9 Shane Van Gisbergen ‘Wild Child’ put the pressure on Mark Winterbottom trying to force him into error. It didn’t go exactly to plan and Shane Van Gisbergen earned himself a drive through penalty for spinning Mark Winterbottom. The penalty caused Shane Van Gisbergen to drop to position 22. Grant McPherson (Red Bull’s engineer) encouraged his team mate ‘we can recover from this’. Mark Winterbottom came into pits to try and repair the damage on his car 1. Shane Van Gisbergen couldn’t redress because Mark Winterbottom had pitted.

Meanwhile Jamie Whincup was still up front dominating the race. On lap 12 Shane Van Gisbergen came through the pits for PLP(Pit Lane Penalty) and David Reynolds was exiting the pits to re-join the race. On lap 14 Shane Van Gisbergen was trying to come back after the PLP. On Lap 15, Craig Lowndes needed to pass Scott McLaughlin in an effort to secure 3rd on the championship ladder. He put the pressure on Scott McLaughlin to try and force him into error. They battled it out and Craig Lowndes got his way.

On lap 16 the cars back in the pack pitted and re-joined the race with no traffic around them. In the middle of the race the cars took their last pits to get ready for the run to the finish. However, in the end no one could catch the clear leader, Jamie Whincup in car number 88.

Results for race 28

1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Garth Tander – Holden Racing Team.
3rd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia.

In race 29 Garth Tander started on pole position. Alongside him was Champion Elect, Shane Van Gisbergen.  Jamie Whincup started 10th position because of a mistake in the top ten shootout when he completely missed a turn.

On lap 1 of 74 Garth Tander got the jump on Shane Van Gisbergen at turn 1 and led the opening laps. Jason Bright hit the wall on the exit of turn 2, which put him towards the back of the pack. David Reynolds kept close behind Shane Van Gisbergen and made his presence felt. Lap 2, Tim Blanchard copped damage to the front of his car 21. On lap 3 Garth Tander maintained race lead. Jamie Whincup put the moves on Michael Caruso to take 8th place.

Cars back in the pack came into pits early on lap 4 to avoid double stacking with their 2nd team cars out on track. Jamie Whincup waited till the next lap to pit, avoiding a double stack with Shane Van Gisbergen.

On lap 6 Jason Bright lost his chance to finish his career well with Brad Jones Racing, his car came to a stop after his wall incident in lap 1.

On lap 7 Shane Van Gisbergen had a hard time with the outgoing Holden Racing Team driver and it took a while to get by him.

On lap 8 Todd and Rick Kelly were driving cautiously not wanting to risk car damage in the middle of the busy pack. The Nissan Motorsport team made it clear they did not want to park either car 7 and/or 15 off track in this race. Fortunately they stayed out of trouble.

On lap 10 the cars back in the field pitted early for track position and clear track.

On lap 11 Shane Van Gisbergen showed the right stuff and took the lead from Garth Tander, wanting to be remembered in the last ever race at the Homebush track.

On lap 16 everybody had completed their first round of pit stops and then re-joined on lap 17.

In the middle of the race the 2nd round of pit stops had started, with the cars up front choosing to stay and the cars near the back of the pack come in.

Towards the end of the race Rick Kelly showed his frustration at losing valuable time in the pits, having a battery problem checked on his car 15.

In the last laps no one could catch the front 4 cars with Shane Van Gisbergen crossing the line first.

A great finish for an historic last ever Motor race at Homebush.

Also noted as it was the last race of the season:

  • Roland Dane (one of the owning partners of the Triple 8 Team) was looking very happy with his team’s performance for the year.
  • Craig Lowndes has had a great run in his first year with Team Vortex.
  • Cameron Waters also had a good run for a rookie in his first year of driving full time.
  • James Courtney had first win.
  • Mark Winterbottom wanted to keep the number 1 season spot on the Bottle-O car but he hasn’t been constant enough.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year. See you in 2017.

Results for race 29

1st – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Garth Tander – Holden Racing Team.
3rd – David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport V8.

https://youtu.be/MCxyaVEfmbY

Pre Race Report, V8 Supercars

Homebush 2016 Pre Race Report

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

The final event of the 2016 V8 Supercars Championship is coming up this weekend at the Sydney Olympic Park Street Circuit in Homebush.

Let’s take a look back at what happened in 2015 Coates Hire Sydney 500 at Homebush.

In race 34 Mark Winterbottom started in pole position with Shane Van Gisbergen alongside him. It’s also noted:

  • Craig Lowndes had to start right at the back of the pack due to not completing his shootout lap after crashing.
  • Jack Perkins was driving car 222 for Nick Percat while he recovered from the injury sustained at the Gold Coast.

On lap 1 of 34 lap race, Mark Winterbottom immediately took the lead and stayed there with Shane Van Gisbergen glued behind up to lap 3. On lap 3 Mark Winterbottom was playing the championship game, letting drivers pass him because he was leading the championship ladder at the time. His race result was not critical to him.

On lap 4 Craig Lowndes was making his way through the pack to try and stay in contact with Mark Winterbottom. It took until lap 6 for Shane Van Gisbergen to take the race lead and start pulling ahead from the pack. On the next lap James Courtney was following Garth Tander until he found a spot on the track where he could pass safely.

On lap 7 Jamie Whincup was trying to stay up front of the pack so that when the cars that haven’t pitted did, he would be the race leader. On lap 8 the cars back in the pack pitted. On lap 9 Mark Winterbottom had pitted too, to avoid traffic of cars returning to the race from the pits.

On lap 11 teams were putting fresh new tyres on for the run to the finish. From there, Jamie Whincup took position 1 and through to the finish line was never headed. Now the cars with track position stayed out longer.

From the middle of the race the leaders up front just cruised to the chequered flag with Jamie Whincup crossing first.

Who Will Win this weekend’s Coates Hire Sydney 500?

 

Results for 34

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

Race 35 is a 37-lap race, Jamie Whincup started in pole position with David Reynolds alongside him.

On lap 1, Jamie Whincup got the jump on David Reynolds pulling ahead straight away and looked to be never headed. Early on lap 2 David Reynold tried to take the lead, but Jamie Whincup had the line going into turn 1 and couldn’t be passed. On the next lap Mark Winterbottom was doing his best to stay in touch with the cars ahead of him.

On lap 4 Garth Tander wanted to get by his teammate James Courtney, so that the engine, brake and water temperature didn’t rise. On lap 5 the teams with 2 cars out on the track brought in one of the two cars to pit, a strategy used so the second cars would not have to double stack.

On lap 6 Craig Lowndes was moving up through the pack a lot faster than in his first race of the day. On lap 7 Steve Owen (driving for Chaz Mostert after his injuries sustained at Bathurst) was trying to stay out trouble in car 6.

On lap 8 Jack Perkins came for his pit stop in car 222 then headed back out into clear track. On lap 9 Jamie Whincup was starting to put the race out of reach for everyone else. Behind him was Rick Kelly putting in good effort for his 2nd last race with the Jack Daniel Racing.

From the middle of the race onwards Jamie Whincup was just cruising to his second win for the weekend. In the last laps he appeared comfortable and confident no one could catch him.

Results for race 35

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

In race 36 James Courtney started on pole position, alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.

At the start of the 74-lap race, James Courtney got the jump at the first turn and held lead for the first couple of laps. During lap 3 he got turned around by Shane Van Gisbergen. As a result, James Courtney had smoke coming out of the left hand.

On lap 4 Mark Winterbottom was being very cautious because he knew a bad race result of DNF would mean Craig Lowndes could close his gap on the championship ladder.

On lap 5 Shane Van Gisbergen was the new leader of the race. James Courtney was complaining that his car was not very well balanced after the hit. On lap 6 Jamie Whincup could see the smoke coming from car 22 and had to slow up to avoid further mishaps. On lap 7 Shane Van Gisbergen was just cruising out in front of the pack, while the cars further back in the pack were battling it out with each other. On lap 8 the pit stops started. The first cars that pitted were the cars back in the field to get track position.

On lap 9 Garth Tander had no car damage which meant he could push on and keep moving up towards the front of the race. For the next couple of laps after lap 10, Steve Owen kept car 6 straight. However, towards the middle of the race his car stalled on the exit of turn 1. He wasn’t able to get the engine started again and had to be towed off the track.

Towards the end of the race Shane Van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup were battling for first place. In the end went to Shane Van Gisbergen in car 97.

 

Results for race 36

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

This weekend’s races are 74 laps, each and 250 kilometres.

Good luck to everybody for this weekend.

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Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

New Zealand 2016 – Post Race Report

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for race 24

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Results for race 25

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

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

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

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

New Zealand 2016 Post Race Report Race 26 Image

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

 

Results for race 26

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

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

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

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

New Zealand 2016 Post Race Report Img 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Well done to everybody in New Zealand.

Results for race 27

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

Pre Race Report, V8 Supercars

New Zealand Pre-Race 2016

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Hi to you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

This weekend is the ITM Auckland Super Sprint 4th – 6th November 2016.

To get us primed for the event let’s look back at what happened in 2015 in race 28.

Jamie Whincup started on pole position, alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen for the 21 lap race.

On lap 1, Jamie Whincup got the right amount of revs to not stall the car off the start line and took command straight away.

On lap 2, had Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen in the lead. The other cars trailing behind could not catch them and just stayed in their race rhythm.

On lap 3, Shane Van Gisbergen was trying to catch Jamie Whincup in the lead but it couldn’t be done.

On lap 4, Craig Lowndes was trying to move up through the pack to finish the race in a strong spot.

On lap 5, the cars in the back of the pack were fighting hard against each other to gain a top 10 position.

On lap 6, Mark Winterbottom knew how critical this race was for him last year and really put the pressure on.

On lap 7, Jamie Whincup was still in position 1.

On lap 8, the cars further back could not catch the leaders, Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen.

On lap 9, Shane Van Gisbergen was still in 2nd chasing down Jamie Whincup but he just wasn’t able to catch him.

On lap 10, Will Davison was further back in the field.

On lap 11, Steve Owen was driving car number 6 for Chaz Mostert, who was recovering from his Bathurst accident. He was pushing hard to gain a race spot.

In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen made a mistake down at the hair pin which allowed Jamie Whincup to pull away a little bit more.

The end of the race saw no one able to catch up with the leader, Jamie Whincup.

Who will win this weekend’s ITM Auckland Super sprint?

Shane Van Gisbergen will start his 300th race on the weekend. Will he make it even more special & wrap up his first title at his home ground or will he have to wait until Homebush?

His teammate Jamie Whincup is just 148 points off his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen.

Can Craig Lowndes get his first race win at Pukekohe this week? Craig Lowndes has won over 100 races in his V8 career but has not got a title in New Zealand yet.

The winners 12 months ago for Race 28 were Jamie Whincup & David Reynolds. Race 29 saw Jamie Whincup win again.

Results for race 28

1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Tekno Autosports.
3rd – David Reynolds – Rod Nash racing.

In race 29 (2015) David Reynolds started on pole position, alongside him was Craig Lowndes for the 21-lap race.

On lap 1, Craig Lowndes got the jump on the rest of the field and immediately pulled away from the pack. Everybody else had to chase him down.

On lap 2, Craig Lowndes was far ahead and on target to win his first race in New Zealand.

Early in lap 3, David Reynolds was following Craig Lowndes.

On lap 4, Garth Tander was closing in on the leaders but couldn’t quite catch them.

On lap 5, Craig Lowndes was still in front of David Reynolds in the Bottle-0.

On lap 6, James Courtney was trying to not hit his teammate Garth Tander up the rear end.

On lap 7, Jamie Whincup was in 3rd at the start.

In the middle of the race Craig Lowndes hit the wall as a result of popping his left rear tyre.

The final result saw David Reynolds take the win. Well done to David Reynolds.

Results for race 29

1st – David Reynolds – Rod Nash Racing.
2nd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
3rd – Scott McLaughlin – Volvo Polstar Racing.

NZ Pre race 2016 David Reynold

Race 30

In race 30 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position, alongside him was Jamie Whincup for the 69-lap race.

The Red Bull team didn’t get any sleep having to repair Craig Lowndes’ car overnight.

On lap 1, Jamie Whincup got the jump on Scott McLaughlin and led the field through turn 1. Scott McLaughlin was putting the defending champ under pressure.

Mark Winterbottom (aka Frosty) was spun by Garth Tander and Cameron Waters.

On lap 2, Mark Winterbottom now found himself at the back as a result of the spin in lap 1. This didn’t help his championship lead at the time. The pressure was on for him but he recovered well and he moved back up the field throughout the race.

On lap 3, Scott Pye was running behind Craig Lowndes and at one point he was trying to pass him but couldn’t.

On lap 4, Jason Bright was trying to come through the field from his qualifying position of 12th. This was due to unexpected qualifying round results.

On lap 5, Scott Pye was now further back in the pack but managed to stay out of trouble so that his DJR Team Penske team didn’t have to repair his car overnight or do an all-nighter like the Red Bull team did.

On lap 6, Jamie Whincup was dominating the opening laps.  Craig Lowndes was moving up the field quickly to catch up with his teammate. Garth Tander was running in the top 5 until he got called in by his team to pit.

On lap 7, Craig Lowndes stayed out on the track a little bit longer to avoid double stacking with Jamie Whincup.

On lap 8, Craig Lowndes got Fabian Coulthard very aggressively but the move paid off which was critical.

On lap 9, Scott Pye was trying to overtake Jamie Whincup but he wasn’t able to pass him at the time.

On lap 10, the pit stop strategies had started which meant that when the drivers got called in, they came in straight away.

On lap 11, the car to pit was Craig Lowndes’ Red Bull car.

On lap 12, Mark Winterbottom did not want to double stack with Steve Owen so he stayed out on the track for 1 more lap.

In the middle of the race the Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes were just too strong for the cars behind them to catch up.

Towards the end of the race no one else could catch the top 3 cars.

Result for race 30

1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Racing Australia.
3rd – Scott Pye – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.

NZ Pre race 2016 1

Pre Race Report, V8 Supercars

Gold Coast 600 – Pre Race Report

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world.

On the weekend of the 23rd – 25th October 2015 was the Castrol Gold Coast 600.

It appeared that Russell Ingall really didn’t want to retire, first he stepped in to cover for James Courtney in a Holden, then he covered for Chaz Mostert who drives a Ford. Very versatile Russell…
Also we welcomed back to James Courtney after a 2 month recovery time from his incident at Eastern Creek.

In race 26 all the co-drivers started in the cars of the 102 lap race.

Jonathon Webb started on pole position alongside him was Alex Premat. On lap 1 Jonathon Webb got the jump and led the field down to the turns 1, 2 and 3. chicanes. Alex Premat was able to stay in behind through the chicanes, Steven Richards had to get out of the way so he didn’t end up making contact with anyone else. Steve Owen did not get a very good start, Taz Douglas had to straight line the first 3 turns. Russell Ingall tried to pass Jack Perkins at the back chicane. Towards the end of the opening lap there was contact between Alex Davison and Russell Ingall.

On lap 2 Alex Premat was putting the pressure on Jonathon Webb, driving for the race lead. David Russell was trying to catch the race leaders. Towards the end of lap 2 Paul Dumbrell was under pressure from Dean Canto.
On lap 3 Dean Canto was in the middle of the 2 Red Bull cars. Jack Perkins was trying to pass Andrew Jones but Andrew had to tuck back in behind the Holden Racing Team Car.

The main drivers could get back in to their cars after the co drivers had completed their minimum co-drivers laps which was 34.

In-between laps 4 and 5 Paul Dumbrell had damage on car 1 as a result of him turning in on Dean Canto. He completed 2 laps before Mark Dutton called him into the pits for repair as a result of that spin by the defending Pirtek Enduro cup Champs. At that moment. Steve Richards had to stop and then further down the track at turn 4 Taz Douglas turned in on Paul Dumbrell, as a result he pitted and went 13 laps down.
Riana Crehan made a mistake in saying it was Jamie Whincup and Dean Canto. In fact it was actually Paul Dumbrell and Dean Canto. When Steve Owen came into do a driver change with Mark Winterbottom, Chris O’Toole let him go out of the pit bay.

During the first pit stop, Mark Winterbottom did an unsafe pit release and ran into Garth Tander, this caused Mark Winterbottom to bounce into the path of the Red Bull Racing Australia mechanics. Mark Winterbottom was penalized by going out of pit lane and coming back in for repairs before he had to do a drive thru penalty.

Towards the end of the race Shane van Gisbergen was still up the front of the pack and in the end he just managed to drive away with the rest of the race.

Results for race 26

1st – Shane Van Gisbergen and Jonathon Webb – Tekno Autosports.
2nd – David Reynolds and Dean Canto – Rod Nash Racing.
3rd – Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards – Red Bull Racing Australia.

In race 27 like in the previous race was 102 laps and the co-drivers were the first in the drivers’ seat.

Alex Premat started on pole position alongside him was Steven Richards. On lap 1, Steven got the jump off the start line and led the pack through turns 1, 2 and 3. The cars that were near the back of the pack when straight ahead at the first Chicane. There were cars battling for positon up the front of Alex Premat and which allowed Steven Richards to get a 1 point 1 second lead.

At the start of lap 2 Steve Richards had gap of 1 point 5 Second lead, Jonathon Webb had the inside line approaching the turns 1, 2 and 3. Paul Dumbrell tried to pass him on the outside but that wasn’t successful. Paul Dumbrell went straight ahead at the first chicane. But in the end Paul Dumbrell knew he had to redress the situation otherwise he would have been given a drive thru penalty. Paul Dumbrell lost a spot in the process to with Steve Owen driving. Steve Owen had to fall back in behind Paul Dumbrell. Towards the end of lap 2 Jack Le Brocq had an issue with the rear of car 4.

On lap 3 Steve Richards was dominating the opening stages of the 2nd race. Alex Premat shaved half a second off the lead that Steve Richards had enjoyed. The gap had gone from 1 point 5 seconds to just under a second. During the opening laps fox sports showed a replay of the race start. Luke Youlden hit the right hand side wall on the exit of turn 11. All the co drivers were trying not to get caught up in any accidents or incidents to bring their cars back for the main drivers in one piece.

Around lap 34 most of the main drivers take over in the race to the checkered flag. The Critical lap to get to the finish on fuel was lap 61.

But the safety car came out onto the track way too early to make to the finish line. So everybody had to make 1 extra stop for petrol, had everybody reached lap 61 they would have been okay till the end.

Chris Pither and David Wall were out of race 27 due to hitting the wall out of the back chicane.

Results for race 27

1st – James Courtney and Jack Perkins – Holden Racing Team. Car 22.
2nd – Rick Kelly and David Russell – Jack Daniels Racing. Car 15.
3rd – Garth Tander and Warren Luff – Holden Racing Team. Car 2.

Post Race Report

Bathurst 1000 2016 – Post Race Report

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans

On the weekend of the 6th – 9th of October 2016 was the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. This is the one race that both Dad and I stay glued to the TV to watch the race, he goes for Craig Lowndes and I go for Jamie Whincup. We become armchair critics through the whole race… Hehe…

At the beginning of the race we had the main drivers in except for these co-drivers, Tony Dalberto, Renee Gracie and Aaron Russell.

Jamie Whincup started on pole position alongside him was Scott McLaughlin for the 161lap race.

On lap 1, Jamie Whincup got the jump and led everybody up Mountain Straight. Scott tried to him catch him at turn 2, Bloodstone bend but wasn’t able to get the move done. Going across the top of the mountain everyone had to stay single file until the cars got onto Conrod straight.

On lap 2, everyone had started to settle down into a race pace. But there were no safety cars for the first couple of hours.

On lap 3, with Jamie Whincup still out in front saying catch me if you can.

On lap 4, Shane Van Gisbergen tried to pass Garth Tander but wasn’t able to get it done unless the other driver left a lot of room.

On lap 5, the crowd did a standing 0oation for the late great Peter Brock. Lee Holdsworth’s car sounded sick.

On lap 6, the Red Bull team was happy to see Jamie Whincup pulling away early on.

On lap 7, the pack settled down Jamie Whincup started his 400th race, Rick Kelly went up the inside of Cameron Waters at turn 1.

On lap 8, Shane Van Gisbergen was in front of the three time Bathurst winner Garth Tander. Russell Ingall made his 25th start at Bathurst on the weekend.

On lap 9, Craig Lowndes was moving up   from 21st to 13th.

On lap 10, Rick Kelly was behind Chris Pither but he made contact with his car at turn 1.

On lap 11, the reason why most of the co drivers were ready just in case there was going to be an early Safety car.

On lap 12 Chris Pither had dropped all the way down to 25th as a result of contact with Rick Kelly.

On lap 13 Craig Lowndes was up to 12th spot after getting passed Tony Dalberto, after that he set his sights onto Will Davison.

On lap 14, the first car to make a pit stop was James Moffatt handing over to the rookie James Golding. The Nissan motorsport crew had to use the pit board due to radio failure.

On lap, Rick Kelly and Dale Wood pitted for a drive change tyre change and fuel. Rick had a 10 second stop and hold penalty at his next stop.

On lap 16, Craig Lowndes was chasing his teammate down for pit priority.

On lap 17, Dean Canto was chasing Jack Perkins.

On lap 18, Steven Richards came in to get fresh air and to not get caught up in traffic.

On lap 20, both Scott Pye and Matt Campbell nearly hit the wall coming out of the cutting and approaching the top of the mountain with the car was stuck in gear. Brad Jones Racing had an oil fire on the right front calliper. I was laughing at Mark Skaife and Neil Crompton when they said its pot of Penguins. Neil’s response ‘was handy if you’re at Phillip Island not so at Mount Panorama’.

On lap 21, then everybody started to file through one car at a time, because teams that have two or three cars have got to have different strategies from those that have only one.

On lap 22, the leaders stayed out on the track, meanwhile the cars further back pitted to not get caught up in traffic.

On lap 24, the leading cars were breaking laps records, Jamie Whincup holds the lap records at Bathurst now.

On lap 25, the next cars to stop were Jack Perkins along with Dean Canto respectively.

On lap 26, Rick Kelly was going off his brain about not having a good race which ultimately cost him any chance of a solid result.

On lap 27, Paul Dumbrell was sitting in the pits watching Jamie Whincup do his stuff in the car.

On lap 28, I couldn’t believe there was no safety car early. Drivers must have been behaving themselves.

on lap 29, the co-drivers were in the cars for their stint.

On lap 30, Paul Dumbrell still had the race lead by over 30 seconds.

On lap 31, Ash Walsh came into to hand car 14 back to Tim Slade in the process the Freightliner Racing doing the brake pad change, there was a fire due to the pistons popping out of the calliper which had put them 2 laps behind.

On lap 33, the leaders were still controlling the race out front Tim Slade was running 2nd behind car Jamie Whincup.

On lap 34, the Team Vortex crew had to put car 888 the defending winners of the great race, into the garage to repair the broken gear linkage.

On lap 35 in the middle of the race the Bathurst 1000 was still under green flag.

The first safety car wasn’t until lap 92, for the crash involving Andrew Jones.

On the restart the two Red Bull cars were in control of the race.

Towards the end of the race there was a safety car to rescue Frosty because he was stuck in the sand trap down at the chase.

With 10 laps to go Jamie Whincup was behind Scott McLaughlin going down the Conrod Straight then he was told to stay behind Scott McLaughlin for the redress due to an small tap previously. This end up causing an incident between Scott McLaughlin and Garth Tander. I’m sure you have heard all about it.

In the end, Will Davison and Jonathon Webb took the Bathurst 1000 victory which is Will’s second win and Jonathon Webb’s first Bathurst win.

Results for the 2016 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

1st – Will Davison & Jonathon Webb – Tekno Autosports.
2nd – Shane Van Gisbergen & Alex Premat – Red Bull Racing Australia.
3rd – Nick Percat & Cameron Mcconville – Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport.

The Next event is the Castrol Gold Coast 600 on the 21st – 23rd of October 2016.

Now for some fun…

Pre Race Report

Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 – Pre Race Report 2016

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Hi to all you V8 Supercar fans around the world.

On the weekend of the 8th – 11th of October 2015 was the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 event 10.

For those of you who missed it, here is what happened.

During the qualifying laps on Friday, Chaz Mostert had a spectacular crash and broke his leg and his wrist, took out 7 Marshalls while he was at it. He now needs a new car…

http://www.v8supercars.com.au//news/championship/mostert-out-of-surgery

On the Saturday, Damien Flack of the Aussie Racing Cars Series had a magnificent crash in which he turned his vehicle from a car to a Go Kart in 5 seconds flat rolling the car 6 times. The vehicle also caught fire and Damien had to be dragged out of it. He was very lucky to be alive. He was taken to Orange Base Hospital with 12 broken ribs, a punctured lung and a shattered collarbone. Damien always the optimist, said he would be back in 6 weeks. I don’t like his chances…

All the main drivers started accept for 3, which was Paul Dumbrell, Dean Canto and Tony D’Alberto. They had to complete a minimum of 54 laps, before the main driver could get back in to the car for the rest of the race.

Dean Canto started on pole position alongside him was Scott McLaughlin. The favourites started Jamie Whincup in 8th Craig Lowndes in 15th Mark Winterbottom in 14th and Garth Tander in 22nd, the Harvey Norman Supergirls in car 200 started from the pits, so as not to get caught in any accidents on the very first lap.
On lap 1 of 161 Jason Bright stalled off the start line and dropped down just a few spots, early on Dean Canto led the pack up mountain straight for the time.

Scott McLaughlin had a poor start, meaning he didn’t get off the line very well heading across the mountain the cars felt a bit Lazy, due to the tyres were not up to temperature and pressure. Towards the end of the first lap Craig Lowndes had made up 4 spots from 15th to 11th.

On lap 2 Scott McLaughlin was putting massive pressure on Dean Canto, while at the same time Dean Canto was doing a great job at holding off the cars that were behind him who were trying to make some progress from their starting spots.

The Xbox ford falcon was trying to make a move at turn 2 on James Moffatt, at Blundstone Bend with Scott Pye behind the wheel he went up to 9th as a result of that move, McLaughlin had to stay in front of Lee Holdsworth while trying to pass Dean Canto, but he had to tuck back in behind through the chase then he managed to pass the Bottle O ford Falcon FX at the last corner.
Towards the end of the lap Shane Van Gisbergen picked up a spot at Forest Elbow which put him into 3rd place.

On lap 3 Scott McLaughlin tried to grab the race lead but had to pull back in behind until he got to the final turn.

On lap 4 there was a new race leader with Scott McLaughlin behind the wheel. Paul Dumbrell was trying to stay with Craig Lowndes.

On lap 5 Fabain Coulthard got car 47 at turn 2 which was been driven by Tony D’Alberto. Also on the same lap Will Davison passed Tony D’Alberto at the chase.

On lap 6 Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes were starting to put pressure on Scott Pye. Fabain Coulthard was getting closer to Lee Holdsworth.

On lap 7 Lee Holdsworth got up the inside of Dean Canto, Paul Dumbrell was trying his best to get back in to the top 10. Craig Lowndes and Paul Dumbrell were running 10th and 11th.

On lap 8 Will Davison passed Dean Canto, Tony D’Alberto was following the 2 cars ahead of him. Steve Owen down in 20th. Steve Owen had no shift lights and no data on the steering wheel. Craig Lowndes passed Greg Murphy who was chatting with Mark Winterbottom.

On lap 9 the pack that was trying to get fresh air. So that the brake and oil temperatures didn’t rise too quick.

On lap 10, Paul Dunbrell covered by going all the way to the pit wall. Then Andre Heimgartner had to try and the over and under trick.

On lap 11, Paul Dumbrell was trying to keep the position that he had just gained the first driver to pit was car 23 with Dean Fiore at the wheel changing over to Michael Caruso.

On lap 12 Andre Heimgartner and Renee Gracie were the 2 and Simona de Slivestro were the Debutions.

On lap 13, Fabian Coulthard was injecting a lot of hot air into the front air dam. Paul Dumbrell had managed to pass Scott Pye before pitting. On the exit of the pit Scott stalled his car.
The first safety car was on lap 16 due the Harvey Norman Supergirls hitting the wall at Forest Elbow. The restart was on lap number 18, David Reynolds was trying to pass Lee Holdsworth.

Garth Tander was back in the race after last year’s incident. In the middle of the race the skies were starting to become black as the as the ace of spades.
Oh let’s watch the video…

Craig is now a 6 time Bathurst winner. Steve Richards is now a 4 time Bathurst winner. Craig Lowndes is back up into 2nd place in the Championship with 399 points behind the championship leader, Mark Winterbottom.

There were only 4 Safety cars in the Bathurst 1000, this year. Jamie was told by the team not to pass the Safety car, he thought he saw a green light so he went passed, as a result he got a Drive thru penalty for that which dropped him all the way down to 18th, and it could have been a Red Bull 1 and 2. Roland Dane was not a happy chappie. Greg Murphy had not seen Jamie that Guttered – Disappointed in a very long time.

The commentators on the weekend at Bathurst were Greg Rust, Neil Crompton and Chad Neylon. The pit reporters were Riana Crehan, Greg Murphy along with the Dude Paul Morris.

Results for race 25
1st – Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Mark Winterbottom and Steve Owen – Pepsi Max Crew.
3rd – Garth Tander and Warren Luff – Holden Racing Team.

Main and co drivers for the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000
Car 1 – Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell – Red Bull Racing Australia
Car 888 – Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards – Red Bull Racing Australia
Car 5 – Mark Winterbottom and Steve Owen – Pepsi Max Crew
Car 55 – David Reynolds and Dean Canto – Rod Nash Racing
Car 9 – Will Davison and Alex Davison – Erebus Motorsport V8
Car 4 – Ash Walsh and Jack Le Brocq – Erebus Motorsport V8
Car 111 – Andre Heimgartner and Ant Pederson – Superblack Racing Team.
Car 99 – James Moffatt and Taz Douglas – Nissan Motorsport
Car 23 – Michael Caruso and Dean Fiore. – Nissan Motorsport
Car 22 – Jack Perkins and Russell Ingall – Holden Racing Team
Car 200 – Renee Gracie and Simona De Slivestro. – Harvey Norman Supergirls
Car 34 – David Wall and Chris Pither – Volvo Polestar Racing
Car 62 – Aaren Russell and Drew Russell – Novocastrians
Car 8 – Jason Bright and Andrew Jones – Team BOC
Car 97 – Shane Van Gisbergen and Jonathon Webb – Tekno Autosports
Car 17 – Scott Pye and Marcos Ambrose – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske
Car 18 – Lee Holdsworth and Sebastian Bourdais – Walkinshaw Racing
Car 222 – Nick Percat and Oliver Gavin – Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport
Car 3 – Tim Blanchard and Karl Reindler – Team Cool Drive
Car 21 – Dale Wood and MacAuley Jones – Brad Jones Racing Team
Car 47 – Tim Slade and Tony D’Alberto – Supercheap Auto
Car 14 – Fabian Couthard and Luke Yaulden – Freightliner Racing
Car 7 – Todd Kelly and Alex Bunkin – Jack Daniels Racing
Car 15 – Rick Kelly and David Russell – Jack Daniels Racing
Car 2 – Garth Tander and Warren Luff – Holden Racing Team
Car 33 – Scott McLaughlin and Alex Premat – Volvo Polestar Racing

The Peter Brock Trophy Winners have been.

Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup 2006.
Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup 2007.
Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup 2008.
Garth Tander and Will Davison 2009.
Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife 2010.
Garth Tander and Nick Percat 2011.
Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell 2012.
Mark Winterbottom and Steven Richards 2013.
Chaz Mostert and Paul Morris 2014.
Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards 2015.

Who will win this years trophy?

 

 

Post Race Report

Wilson Security Sandown 500 – Post Race Report

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world.

On the weekend of the 16th – 18th of September 2016 was the start of the Endurance season.

Wilson Security Sandown 500.

This is one of my favourite races and Dad and I have been attending for the past 5 years. Dad picked up our car from Freedom Motors on the Wednesday and we left early on the Thursday morning heading for Melbourne (or as my mum says Mexico – you know south of the border). Arriving at the Ibis Hotel at around 4pm and settling in before going to have dinner…

In Melbourne on the Friday at the racetrack I got photos taken with Josh Kean, Lee Holdsworth, Karl Reindler, Jamie Whincup, Craig Lowndes, Steven Richards, Shane Van Gisbergen and Alex Premat the only 1 I didn’t get a photo with on that day was Paul Dumbrell because he was getting ready for a Dunlop Series Qualifying. I caught up and got a photo with one of the Legends of Australian Motorsport Larry Perkins. Aaron Noonan I got a photo with Paul Dumbrell on the Sunday also got a photo taken with Craig Baird who is the Co-Driver for David Reynolds. Also got a photo with Chris Jewell who is Renee Gracie’s Manager.

Aaron is the V8 Sleuth.  https://www.facebook.com/v8sleuth/?fref=ts http://
www.v8sleuth.com.au/

 

Let’s go retro – that was the theme for this year’s event.

I saw the Red Bull Racing Australia team go Retro with their white Suits. I saw Mark Larkham and Matt White walk passed us because they were busy so I didn’t get a chance to get a photo with them this year. I was shaking my head at the crowd because they were getting in the way of the Triple 8 boys. Going from the truck back to the Garage.

 

The V8 TV Crew talk about going Retro Glenn (Minty) Mintern, Cameron Van Den Dungen, and Becky Lamb all went Retro. I also saw Russell Ingall, Mark Skaife, Allan Moffatt and John Harvey they all went Retro. Teams going Retro Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske used the Shell Helix Livery from back in 2003 the 2nd DJR car also went Retro with the Mighty Mite Livery with the number 66 on that Ford Falcon. Chaz went to Steve Ellery’s Livery from back in 2002.  And Matt Naulty who is a Commentator went Retro as well.

Because this was an endurance race I thought I would include what happened during the practice events. This one is for the Co-drivers.

In race for the grid 1 Steve Owen started on pole position alongside him was Paul Dumbrell for the 20 laps.

On lap 1 Paul Dumbrell got the jump and led the through turns 1, 2, 3 and 4 for the first of 20 laps. Dean Canto spun Tony Dalberto around and Steven Richards went off the track to avoid hitting him. Craig Baird went off the track and onto the grass at turn 4 by himself.

On lap 2 the co-drivers were settling down into a race pace.  The cars up front were pulling away, while the cars up the back were pushing their way through the pack.

On lap 3 Paul Dumbrell was controlling the race with ease. Tim Schenken had announced that Dean Canto was going to get a drive thru penalty for a driving infringement on lap 4 he was leading with handy margin over the cars behind. Matt Campbell was at the back of that pack of cars.

On lap 5 the replay showed that Tony D’Alberto was spun by Dean Canto and Steve Richards only just missed him.

On lap 6 Paul Dumbrell had a 1.3 second lead.

In the middle of the race Warren Luff was putting pressure on Luke Youlden for 3rd spot.

Towards the end of the race Chris Van der Drift went off the track down at turn 9 Dandenong Road.  In the end no one could catch Paul.

Results for race for the grid 1.

1st – Paul Dumbrell – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Steve Owen – Supercheap Auto Racing.
3rd – Warren Luff – Holden Racing Team.

This one is for the main drivers

In race for the grid 2 Jamie Whincup started on pole position alongside him was Chaz Mostert for this 20 lap race.

On lap 1 Jamie Whincup got the jump off the line and to the first turn, Cameron Waters was bogged in the mud down at turn 2. There was a safety car on the opening lap to remove Cam Waters car from the mud. Chaz Mostert had contact with James Moffatt.

On lap 2 everyone slowed down to get in behind the Safety car.

On lap 3 the cars were still behind the safety car the restart was on lap 5, Garth was right in Jamie’s wheel tracks.

On lap 6 Will Davison was following his former teammate Garth Tander, Scott McLaughlin got down the inside of him down at turn 1. At the start of lap 6 Fabain Coulthard was pressuring Will Davison into making a mistake.

On lap 7 Garth Tander was right up in behind Jamie Whincup.

On lap 8 Shane Van Gisbergen got a bit too much exit oversteer.

On lap 9 Will Davison just opened the steering ever so slightly just to make sure there was no contact.

In the middle of the race the drivers were settling down for the run to the finish.

In the end no could catch Jamie Whincup.

Results for race for the grid 2.

1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Garth Tander – Holden Racing Team.
3rd – Scott McLaughlin – Volvo Polstar Racing Garry Rogers Motorsport.

The Main Event

The Wilson Security Sandown 500

This event starts with the Co-Drivers in place.

Paul Dumbrell started on pole position alongside him was Warren Luff for the 161 lap race.

On lap 1 Warren got the jump and Paul Dumbrell dropped through the pack. James Golding had a right front tyre go down at the end of the back straight as a result the race had to be red flagged.

The race was restarted on lap 7, there was water on the track between turns 1 and 2. Jack Perkins had a run at Alex Premat, Warren Luff just pulled away, straight away.

On lap 8 David Wall was chasing Warren Luff for the race lead. Steven Richards was under pressure from Aaron Russell. Warren Luff still had the lead of the race over David Wall.

On lap 9 Ash Walsh was being put under pressure by Paul Dumbrell the battle was on for 3rd and 4th.

On lap 10 Steve Owen was chasing down the drivers ahead of him.  He tried to get passed during the opening laps but wasn’t to be.

On lap 11 David Wall was under pressure from Ash Walsh, but wasn’t able to get close enough to make the pass. Cameron Mcconville was putting the pressure on the back of Aaron Russell. Russell Ingall was behind Cameron Waters.

On lap 12 the co-drivers were keeping the cars straight with no damage to hand them back over to the main drivers.

On lap 13 Alex Premat had pressure on him from Jack Perkins.  Paul Dumbrell was making sure that the Freightliner Holden didn’t get too far up the road – meaning get too far away.

On lap 14 Paul Dumbrell got passed Ash Walsh turn 1. The Red Bull Racing Australia Team Manager, Mark Dutton felt like he was getting held up. (That was reported by Greg Rust.) Dean Canto did the new fastest lap of the race in 15th place. The next Target for Paul Dumbrell, to move further forward was David Wall in the Volvo s60.

On lap 15 Steven Richards spun due to the wet and slippery curbs at turn 3. When he got going again the wheels just spun because there was no grip on the wet grass. Ludo came on the radio and said to him nice and smooth. Then richo’s said sorry about that.

On lap 16 the Enforcer (Russell Ingall) backed the Nissan Altama car 15 out of the tyres at turn 4.

On lap 17 Russell Ingall had smoke coming from the left hand side of that car as a result of contact with the tyres.

On lap 18 Rick Kelly was chatting with Greg Murphy and telling if him if Russell Ingall pitted they would go a lap down and it would be very hard to get that lap back.

On lap 19 Matt Campbell was getting crossed up. Dean Fiore and Luke Youlden were battling for positions 8 and 9.

On lap 20 Dean Canto had to follow Luke Youlden after being in front for the first couple of laps.

In the middle of the race Jamie Whincup had to serve a pit lane penalty due to Paul Dumbrell not taking his seat belt off the right way. Then Tim Slade got pinged as well for moving before his belt was clipped in properly.

Towards the end of the race Garth Tander’s left hand side mud guard just nearly came off and the Officials did not give car 2 a Mechanical black flag to come in get fixed.

Due to the weather and being so cold dad and I made an executive decision to return to our hotel and watched the race from the warmth of our room. Dad and I had already been pretty sick with the dreaded lurgy.

Results for the Wilson Security Sandown 500.

1st – Garth Tander and Warren Luff – Holden Racing Team.
2nd – Shane Van Gisbergen and Alex Premat – Red Bull Racing Australia.
3rd – Will Davison and Jonathon Webb. – Tekno Auto Sports.

The next event will be the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, 6th – 9th of October 2016 the Bathurst Channel will start on Foxtel 506            Monday the 3rd of October 2016.