Tag Archives: Red Bull Racing Australia

Sydney Motorsport Park Eastern Creek – Post Race 2016

Grid walk

Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world.

On the weekend of the 26th – 28th August 2016 was the Red Rooster Sydney Supersprint.

This weekend started for Dad and I on the Wednesday when Dad picked up an accessible car from Freedom Motors. Then we booked in to the Atura Hotel in Blacktown NSW, where we stayed the weekend.

On the Friday we arrived early to watch all the practice races and meet up with the drivers and their crews to get our photos taken. Eddy Mostert, who has become a friend of ours started stirring me up early about the Ford and Holden competition, then Tim Edwards joined in and this continued all weekend. Lucky they have thick skins… Hahaha…

On the Saturday Dad and I had the fortune of meeting Craig Lowndes new wife Lara and she told me that Craig had spoken fondly of us. Dad and I were impressed that he remembered us, as so many people love and follow Craig. Before the race started Lara gave us the final 2 Grid Walk passes (Thank you Lara), this gave us an opportunity to get more photos with the cars before the race started.

Lara Lowndes

In race 18 Chaz Mostert started on pole position alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen of the 31 lap race.

On lap 1 Chaz Mostert got the jump and led through turns 1, 2 and 3 but then he ran wide approaching turn 4 which resulted in him going nearly off the track and on to the grass. Which meant that Shane Van Gisbergen took the race lead. Jamie Whincup had passed Scott Pye at the same corner and then after he had passed him, he then passed Chaz Mostert to move in to 2nd spot. Also Chaz Mostert was under pressure from Scott Pye.

In the middle of the race Jamie Whincup made his pit stop and he re-joined behind his teammate Craig Lowndes then Scott McLaughlin got passed by Jamie Whincup at turn 6.

Towards the end of the race the 2 Red Bull cars battling for the race lead and the race win, coming up in fifth place was Craig Lowndes.

Results for race 18.

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

In race 19 we are looking for Jamie Whincup to finally get his 100th chamionshop win.

Chaz Mostert started on pole position alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen for the 51 lap race. On lap 1 Craig Lowndes went from 4th to 1st by turn 1, Mark Winterbottom locked up his front right tyre. Scott McLaughlin nearly ran right off the track on the exit of turn 1.

In the middle of the race Jamie Whincup nearly hit the back of Craig Lowndes entering the pit lane.

Towards the end of the race Jamie got a bad sportsmanship flag for all 4 wheels over the yellow line on the exit of turn 5, but managed to hold on to take the race win and become the 2nd driver to join the 100 club. Congratulations Jamie.

Results for race 19

1st – Jamie Whincup – Red bull racing Australia.
2nd – Craig Lowndes – Team Vortex.
3rd – Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.

The next event is the Wilson Security Sandown 500 in 3 weeks’ time September 16th – 18th September 2016.

I had my photo taken with Glenn Seton, Tim Edwards, Neil Crompton, John Bowe, Karl Reindler, Lee Holdsworth, Grant Denyer, Cameron Mcconville, David Reynolds, Fabain Coulthard, Cameron Van Den Dungen, Chad Neylon, Kyle Bullock, Garth Tander, Lara Lowndes, Mark Dutton, Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup.

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

Coates Hire Ipswich 400 Post race 2016

HI to all you v8 Supercars fans around the world.

On the weekend. 22nd – 24th July 2016 was the Ipswich Supersprint.

 

In race 16 Chris Pither started on pole position alongside him was Chaz Mostert for the 38 lap race. Chris Pither and Chaz Mostert both ran wide out of turn 2 which allowed Jamie Whincup to take the race lead.

On lap 2 Cameron Waters was in the garage getting his engine dramas sorted out.

On lap 3 the Triple 8 was pulling away and looking good to get a great result early on.

On lap 4 Michael Caruso got two bumps which put him onto the grass.

On lap 5 Michael Caruso backed off the throttle to re dress and let Fabain Coulthard back through.

On lap 6 the three Triple 8 cars were just on the charge leading the race.

In the middle of the race Mark Winterbottom had the speed but didn’t have enough pace to stay with the front runners. Shane Van Gisbergen at one stage was 6 seconds behind and hunted down the race leaders, passed Jamie Whincup and took the race win from his teammate.

Shane Van Gisbergen has now won his first race at Queensland raceway. Roland Dane, Mark Dutton Grant McPherson and David Cauchi were watching and hoping the 3 drivers did NOT make contact.

 

Results for race 16

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

Shane Van Gisbergen Ipswich 2016

In race 17 Jamie Whincup started on pole position (and scored his 69th V8 Supercars pole position in his V8 career), alongside him was his teammate Craig Lowndes for the 200 Klm, 65 lap race.

On lap 1 Craig Lowndes got the revs correct at just the right moment. Scott Pye turned around James Courtney and then Chris Pither hit the back of the Holden Racing Team car as well.

On lap 2 Rick Kelly and Tim Slade were the first to to make their pit stops. To not get held up in traffic.  And get some clear air for the Engine.

On lap 3 the leaders stayed out to keep track position early on.

On lap 4 the cars further back pushed their way up through the field. Which was handy for the car in front not behind.

On lap 5 Craig Lowndes was still out in front with full control of the race.

On lap 6 Shane Van Gisbergen was struggling in the opening stages of the race.

On lap 7 Jamie Whincup was right behind his teammate.

In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen had to double stack, because the red bull racing Australia team thought there was going to be, but there wasn’t the double stack cost Shane a lot of time. When he re-joined the track he much further back than expected.

Towards the end of the race Mark Winterbottom was being held up by Jamie Whincup.

In the end no one could catch Craig Lowndes.

 

Results for race 17.

1st – Craig Lowndes – Team Vortex
2nd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia
3rd – Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing

Craig Lownds Ipswich 2016

Will this year be Craig Lownde’s year to win the Championship.?

The next event is the Red Rooster Sydney Supersprint. On the 26th – 28th August 2016.

 

Darwin Post Race Report 2016

Craig in Darwin

Hi to all you v8 Supercars fans around the world.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for race 12.

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

Darwin Pre Race Report 2016

Darwin 2015 1

Hi to V8 Supercar fans around the world.

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

Race 13

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

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

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

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

The restart was on lap 6.

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

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

 

Results for race 13.

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

Race 14

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for race 14

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

Race 15

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for 15

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

 

Woodstock Winton Pre Race Report 2016

Winton Pre race pic 1

Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for race 10

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for race 11

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for race 12

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

 

Perth Pre Race Report 2016

Perth pre race 2016

Hi to all you v8 supercars fans around the world.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for race 7

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

Race 8

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

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

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

On lap 4 Jamie Whincup held off Fabain,Coulthard.

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

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

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

Results for race 8.

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

Race 9

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for race 9.

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

Phillip Island Post Race Report 2016

Renee Gracie

Hi to all you v8 Supercars fans around the world.

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

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

Practice 1

Practice 2

Practice 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Race 1

Results for 6

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for race 7.

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

 

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

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

 

 

Tasmania Pre Race report 2016

Hi to all you v8 supercars fans.

This weekend is the Tyrepower Tasmainia Supersprint.

Event 2 of the 2016 V8 Supercars championship.

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

On the 27th – 29th of March 2015 was the Tasmania Super sprint. In race 4 Craig Lowndes started on pole position, alongside him was Mark Winterbottom.

On lap 1 Craig led them through turn 1 and 2 for the first of 25 laps. Will Davison got spun around by James Courtney at turn 4 and the hairpin. Betty Klimenko, team boss was not happy about it.

On lap 2, Scott Pye was on the inside for turns 1 and 2. Scott jumped to the left immediately, to cover Scott Mclaughlin parked in the Volvo s60 Garage to fix the problems.

On lap 3, Tim Slade, was holding his position from Fabain Coulthard.

In the middle of the race Craig was still leading the race Scott was back in the pack.

Towards the end of race 4 no one could catch the Red Bull Racing Australia Holden Commodore VF Car 888.

Results for race 4

1st – Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max Crew – PRA. Racing.
3rd – James Courtney – HRT.

Race 5

In race 5 Craig Lowndes started on pole position alongside him was teammate Jamie Whincup.

On lap 1 JDUB followed his teammate into turns 1 and 2. Garth Tander made a spot on young Andre Heimgardner.

On lap 2 Jamie had a great 2nd sector of race 2 Jason Bright and and Dale Wood are affectively teammates but the paint Scheme’s are different.

On lap 3 Fabain Coulthard was running in 12th spot, but he was moving through the pack.

On lap 4 Andre Heimgardner in the Superblack Racing Ford Falcon FGX and as a result the yellow flag and the Safety car was deployed Dale copped a hard hit and got a flat tyre as a result. The restart was on lap number 8, in the middle of the race Will lost the rear window for 2 races in a row, towards the end of the race no one Could Catch Craig or Jamie.

Results for Race 5

1st – Craig Lowndes – Red Bull racing Australia.
2nd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
3rd – David Reynolds – Rod Nash Racing.

Race 6

In race 6 Craig Lowndes started on pole postion alongside him was David Reynolds.

On lap 1 when Craig tagged David he spun around as a result he got a pit lane penalty.

On lap 2 the 888 car was still out in front leading the race. David Wall in had a drama in the Volvo, Will had smoke coming out of the back of Erebus Merc E63 AMG. Both Scott Mclaughlin and Tim Slade went down the inside of Andre Heimgardner at turn 7.

On lap 3 Will went into the Garage and got out of the car (this means his day is over).

On lap 4 Dale Wood got up to 13th after starting towards the back of the pack.

On lap 5 Craig Lowndes came through the pitlane for a pit Lane penalty, for a driving infringement.

On lap 6 Craig realized that he wasn’t far enough up to make the move.

On lap 7 the Triple 8 car started move through the field.

On lap 8 Chaz Mostert was chasing the HRT car, of Garth Tander on.

Lap 9 the Erebus Motorsport team were trying to replace Will’s steering rack on the E63. James Courtney was chasing 1 of the Nissan Altimas of James Moffat.

On lap 10 the Superblack Racing Falcon was chasing the Volvo car number 33.

On lap 11 Scott made 1st of 2 compulsory pit stops. Mark Winterbottom made a move down at the hairpin turn 4 on Micheal Caruso, his teammate Chaz Mostert was trying to pass Garth Tander.

In the middle of the race the Red Bull car was charging through the field, after the final round of pit stops, the order of the race was back to normal.

Towards the end of the race no one could catch Jamie for the top step of the podium.

The next event is the Perth Super Sprint. On the 1st – 3rd of May 2015. Red Bull racing Australia dominated in 2014, and 2015.

Results of Race 6

1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing
2nd – Chaz Mostert – Pepsi Max
3rd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Techno

Jamie Tasmania 2016

Albert Non-Championship 2016

Hi to all you v8 Supercars fans around the world.

For those of you who missed the non-championship event at Albert Park in Victoria, here is what happened.
In race 1, Jamie Whincup started on pole position alongside him was Mark Winterbottom. On lap 1 of 12 Frosty got a nudge from the Shane Van Gisbergen before he moved up into 2nd behind Jamie Whincup his teammate. Then Fabain Coulthard spun the champ at turn 11. Then he went to the very back of the pack.

On lap 2 Todd Kelly had an engine failure and had to pull over to the right hand side of the racetrack to the Formula 1 pit exit. Onto the grass. Chaz Mostert and Fabain Coulthard were battling for 3rd there was a safety car on that lap to remove Todd’s car. Jason Bright also pulled over between turn 3 and 4. As a result of the opening lap spin. Brad Jones would not be happy to see that. The restart was on lap 5 in the middle of the race Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen were still running up the front of the field as 1 & 2. Then Jamie Whincup locks a left front on car 88. Which allowed Shane to take the race lead. Towards the end of the race no one could catch Shane Van Gisbergen.

Results for race 1
1st – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia
2nd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia
3rd – Fabain Coulthard – Dick Johnson Racing team Penske

In race 2, Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position, alongside him was Jamie Whincup, on lap 1 of 12 Garth Tander made a great start he went around Fabain Coulthard. Andre Heimgartner and Tim Blanchard ran wide at turn 1. Lee Holdsworth made contact with Dale Wood around the back of the Albert Park race track.
The battle up the front was for the race lead. Jamie Whincup was right behind his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen on track, in case he made a mistake.

On lap 2 Scott Pye locked a brake on the left front corner. The left front tyre on Scott Pye car would have had a massive flat spot on it or a 50 cent piece.

On lap 3 the race leaders up front were still dicing for the lead of the race. The last 2 laps in a row in that race the fastest car and Driver on the track was Craig Lowndes running in 5th place at the time.

On lap 4 Chaz Mosert was putting pressure onto the back of Jamie Whincup the 6 times V8 Supercars Champion.
On lap 5 the only car out of the front five that was not getting held up was Shane Van Gisbergen.

In the middle of the race the rain shower caught Chaz Mostert out, which meant he had moved from 3rd spot down to 5th place. Towards the end of the race no one could catch the three triple 8 cars.

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

In race 3 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position alongside was Craig Lowndes for the 12 lap race. Garth Tander made another great start but again Shane Van Gisbergen led the field into turn 1. Shane Van Gisbergen had contact with Craig Lowndes (Roland Dane would not have been happy with that at all) but it was a red bull 1 and 2 again at the start of race 3. Shane Van Gisbergen led the opening lap, but then on lap 2 Jamie Whincup took over and then from there was never headed. As a result of the contact Shane Van Gisbergen got a damaged headlight on the right hand side. It was a six way battle for the race lead in race 3 of the V8 Supercars at Albert Park.

On lap 3 the rain started falling but the cars didn’t have to pit for wets.

On lap 4 Chaz Mosert lent on Fabain Coulthard, both the Fords wanted the same position at the final two turns.

On lap 4 the rain was still coming down but the drivers were being extra careful to not run wide or to run off the race track (makes for an exciting race).

On lap 5 Jamie Whincup still had control of the race.

On lap 6 the cars further back in the pack were battling which allowed the front runners to pull away.

In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen and Craig Lowndes were battling for 2nd and 3rd, towards the end of race 3 no one could catch Jamie Whincup.

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

In race 4 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position alongside him was Jamie Whincup for the 12 lap race.
Shane Van Gisbergen got the jump, Chris Pither ran wide at turn 1 and 2. Fabain Coulthard was putting pressure on the 3 triple 8 cars.

On lap 2 the three triple 8 cars plus the DJR Team Penske was in the mix as well.

On lap 3 Jamie Whincup was putting pressure on Craig Lowndes. Garth Tander got into the rear quarter of the Supercheap Auto Ford. Jamie Whincup had a DNF in race 4 due to no drive.

On lap 4 Craig Lowndes was putting pressure on Fabain Coulthard and Fabain was putting pressure on Shane Van Gisbergen.
In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was on target to win the weekend.
(Pity this was not a Championship round as the 888 guys would have been ecstatic.)

Towards the end of Shane Van Gisbergen held on and took the checkered flag.

The commentators were Richard Crail and Jack Perkins. And the pit reporter was Mark Larkham.

Results for race 4.
1st – Shane van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia
2nd – Fabain Coulthard – Team Penske DJR
3rd – Craig Lowndes – Team Vortex

Clipsal 500 South Australia 2016 Post Race Report

Jamie Whincup Adelaide 2016

HI to all you v8 Supercars fans.

On the weekend 3rd – 6th March 2016 was the Clipsal 500.

In race 1 Scott Pye started on pole position alongside him was Jamie Whincup. On lap 1 of 39 Jamie Whincup went straight to the race lead by passing Scott Pye at the centre chicane and from there on in Jamie Whincup was never caught. As the field was settling down into a rhythm with everyone looking for positions on the opening lap.

On lap 2 the cars near the back came in early to put tyres on to avoid double stacking it was Mark Winterbottom’s first weekend running car number 1. When the field came in for their pit stops they either brought their car in the lap before or the lap after.

On lap 3 Scott Pye was running up the pointy end of the pack until his pits stop where his crew dropped the 17 car way too early. They had not done up 1 of wheel nuts on the right rear corner.

On lap 4 Jamie Whincup was still out in front and controlling the race with ease, he stayed out as long as possible until the Red Bull team called him in.

On lap 5 everybody had not only the cars at the back had. To get track position.

On lap 6 the cars that were out front stayed on the track a bit longer.

On lap 7 Craig Lowndes pitted so he didn’t get stuck behind the cars in front of him. It was also his 251st Australian Touring car – V8 Supercars Championship Series start.

Before the race started it was already 64 degrees in the cockpit. In the middle of the race   no one could catch Jamie Whincup.

After Jamie won the opening race it took his career victories tally up to 98 so he is now only 2 finishes off the magic 100 and join Craig Lowndes in the most unique of clubs. Looks like Red Bull Australia are going to be the only ones with drivers in the club…

Race 1

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 insure 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 for the stop a few teams had to Double Stack. That is why teams like to have 2 or in our case 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.

 Race 2

Results for race 2

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

James Courtney Car 22

In race 3 Fabain Coulthard started on pole position alongside him was Chaz Mosert the race started behind the Lexus RCF Safety Car because the track was wet the cars did 6 laps under yellow.

MARK Dutton and the team manager at Nissan Motorsport were complaining that the race had not started on the Sighting lap.

Mark Winterbottom nearly put car 1 in the wall at turn 8. Because he was on Slick Tyres on a wet track.

The restart was on lap 7 Shane Van Gisbergen was 3rd right behind Chaz Mostert.  Early on, he had a massive Tankslapper( means when a car goes into the wall sideways the cars behind have got to be careful not to get caught up with anyone’s Else dramas) James Courtney went down the inside of Cameron Waters in 6. At turn 4 Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen ran wide out of turn 7. Scott McLaughlin went up the inside of Shane Van Gisbergen right into the Spray at turn 8. Then Shane Van Gisbergen made the pass on Scott McLaughlin.

On lap 8 James Moffatt had damage on a steering arm of his car. Garth Tander spun Jamie Whincup around at turn 9. Scott McLaughlin had a problem with damage on the front of the 33 car.

On lap 9 Rick Kelly had grip  and he was using it.

Shane Van Gisbergen took the race lead at turn 4, Fabain Coulthard could not take the race lead back off the wet weather master.

On lap 10 Fabain Coulthard resumed as the leader of the race once Shane Van Gisbergen made a mistake by himself down at turn 9.

There were 2 storm cells the first one wasn’t too bad but the 2nd one was horrendous. Also on that lap Craig Lowndes had the fastest lap of the race and was running 4th.

On lap 11 Fabain Coulthard was under pressure to hold the race lead from Shane Van Gisbergen. Then Shane Van Gisbergen he took the lead back from Fabain Coulthard.

On lap 12 Grant McPherson got on the Radio to inform Shane Van Gisbergen that 11 laps were complete. Chaz Mostert passed Fabain Coulthard to move to position 4.

On lap 13 the drivers were looking for wet racetrack to keep the tyres cool.

On lap 14 Jamie Whincup was battling with the two Lucas Dumbrell cars plus Lee Holdsworth as well.

On lap 15 there was contact between David Reynolds and Jamie Whincup. Back in the pack Rick Kelly Will Davison and Fabain Coulthard were battling for position at turn 9. In the middle of the race Chaz Mostert hit the wall first which put him out of the race. Then James Courtney hit the wall at turn 8 in car 22 which meant he had to go back into the garage, but after the HRT Crew fixed his car he re-joined the race.

Towards the end of the race Nick Percat was leading and managed to hold on to get his first solo win on home soil.

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

The next event is the non-championship event at Albert Park in Victoria.

The next championship event is the Tyrepower Tasmainia Supersprint on the 1st – 3rd of April 2016.

Race 3

 

Results for race 3

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