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Supercars

Beteasy Darwin Triple Crown

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 15th and 16th of August 2020 was the Beteasy Darwin Triple  Crown.

In Race 13 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position. Alongside him was Jamie Whincup.

Jamie Whincup led into turn 1. While the cars behind were setting their race pace.

Jamie Whincup kept the lead for the first few laps. An error saw him run wide at turn 5 and Mark Winterbottom stole the lead.

Later Rick Kelly made contact with Jack Le Brocq and both left the track. When Rick Kelly rejoined he made contact with the Matt Stone Racing car driven by Jake Kostecki. Jake Kostecki ended up bogged in the sand and lost his rear wing requiring the safety car to be deployed. Jake Kostecki was now out of the race having only completed 3 laps. Rick Kelly received a 15 second penalty.

On the restart, Scott McLaughlin tried to pass before the control line. This error earned him a 15 second penalty.

Later Jamie Whincup also earned himself a 15 second time penalty when leaving the pits. Mark Dutton, car controller (& team manager) admitted to making a mistake in terms of letting Jamie Whincup go too early.

These penalties changed the dynamics of the race.

At the end of the race the big surprise was Anton de Pasquale came across the line first and scored his first Supercars win. When the race time penalties were applied, Jamie Whincup was dropped from second place to 17th and Scott McLaughlin dropped to 20th.

Results for Race 13

1st Anton de Pasquale –Erebus Motorsport
2nd James Courtney – Tickford Racing
3rd Scott Pye – Team 18

In race 14 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position and alongside was Fabian Coulthard.

Fabian Coulthard got the jump on his teammate and led into turn 1. During the opening laps Scott McLaughlin was trying to to pass his teammate but he just couldn’t get it done.

Meanwhile, the drivers back in the pack were trying to keep out of trouble.

After Shane Van Gisbergen completed his stop he re joined in front Anton de Pasquale.

Chaz mostert was trying to pass Anton de Pasquale but things were too tight..

Scott McLaughlin became the effective race leader with cars still to pit.

In the middle of the race Scott McLaughlin had maintained his race lead and was being followed closely by Jamie Whincup .

Unlike the previous race, there were no 15 second time penalties issued.

The leaders were spread apart but they held strong to their position to the end of the race. Scott McLaughlin was over one second ahead of Jamie Whincup who was trailed by Fabian Couthard nearly five seconds later. Shane Van Gisbergen was more than five seconds behind that.

Result for Race 14

1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
3rd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team

In Race 15 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position and alongside him was Jamie Whincup.

At the start of race 15 Scott McLaughlin got the jump and led into turn 1 while every body else was setting their race pace.

While the race leaders stayed longer, the cars further back came in to get out of the traffic.

Jamie Whincup was the effective race leader because their was still cars to stop.

After Scott McLaughlin had a tyre change the cold tyres gave Jamie Whincup the advantage and the lead.

Todd Hazelwood was trying not to get a badly damaged car because in race 13 Brad Jones Racing received some heavy duty damage.

Their was contact between Jack Smith and Jake Kostecki.

Fabian Coulthard had to avid making the same mistake backed off to not hit Jamie Whincup as he tried to take the lead.

In the middle of the race no one else could catch the three leading drivers; Jamie Whincup, Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen.

Where the previous race had a podium finish with Shell V Power Racing in 1st and 3rd position with Redbull Holden in the middle, this race Red Bull Holden Racing got their own back and held the 1st and 3rd positions with Scott McLaughlin in between.

With this win for Jamie Whincup he has now rounded off his career wins to 120. What a great achievment.

Results for Race 15

1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team

The next race will be in just one week on August 22 and 23, the Corestaff Darwin Supersprint. Just can’t wait!

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Truck Assist Sydney supersprint 2020

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around the world!

On  the weekend of July 18th and 19th, 2020 was the Truck Assist Sydney Supersprint.

Before I get into the race article, the hot news in Supercars is that Channel 10 has confirmed it will not be renewing its broadcasting contract after this season. It looks to be going to Channel 7 next year. You can find out more in this article https://www.speedcafe.com/2020/07/24/network-10-confirms-supercars-exit/?fbclid=IwAR3uG9J-FXhX8NK8gFL3X05ELRfv9wuQSE0siN6PSBB1NKIlDUOD5vpSKq4

As COVID-19 causes havoc through Australia (especially Victoria) teams have had to temporarily relocate and operate out of Queensland. This is in an effort to stay in a COVID low risk state so they can join races avoiding border closures in other states (i.e. Victoria).

Now back to the race.

As the teams entered the weekend, Shell V-Power Racing Team led the team’s ladder by 22 points and Scott McLaughlin led the driver’s ladder, 107 points over Jamie Whincup.

There were three races, each being 125kms over 32 laps. The only change to the race setup was tyre changes had to be done with one gun.

Scott McLaughlin was aiming for his own milestone with the opportunity to equal legend Peter Brock’s race win tally.

With all this in mind, Supercars were primed for a great weekend of racing.

In the Pre-race sessions results were as follows:

  • Macauley Jones was fastest in the Rookie Only Practice.
  • Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 1.
  • Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Practice 2.
  • Scott McLaughlin took out the Armor All Qualifying for Race 10. This eaned him his 9th Pole Position at Sydney Motorsport Park.

In race 10 Scott McLaughlin was on Pole Position with Shane Van Gisbergen alongside him.

At first Scott McLaughlin got the jump off the start line but then got passed into turn 2 by Shane Van Gisbrgen.

Cameron Waters then went down the inside of Scott McLaughlin at turn 3.

During the early laps Shane Van Gisbrgen was pulling away, while the drivers behind him came in to Pit to get out of the traffic.

When Scott McLaughlin came in to the pits they changed car 17 over to soft tyres. I assume this would help his grip in the turns (where he could overtake) and gain track position. Shane Van Gisbergen was still leading the race at that stage.

Shane Van Gisbergen did 20 laps on the soft tyre before pitting to go on the hard tyre. However, staying out longer was not his best strategy because now Scott McLaughlin had the number 1 track position.

It now looked very good for Scott McLaughlin to extend his series lead and be psyched for the rest of the weekend.

As it came to the closing laps Scott McLaughlin secured his lead and noone could catch him. His nearest competitor, Lee Holdsworth was just over 1.3 seconds behind. Anton de Pasquale in 3rd was well over 4 seconds behind that. Shane Van Gisbergen had slipped into 4th position just ahead of his teammate Jamie Whincup.  Im sure that it was not the result the Red Bull Team was expecting.

Results for Race 10

1st Scott McLaughlin –Shell V Power Racing Team

2nd Lee Holdsworth – Tickford Racing

3rd Anton de Pasquale – Penrite Racing

Once again Scott McLaughlin took out the Qualifying for Race 11 earning him Pole Position. Once again he had Shane Van Gisbergen alongside him at the start line.

Scott McLaughlin led into turn 1 with the cars behind him desperately trying to keep up with the series leader.

During the opening stages the drivers that had track position stayed out longer but the cars back in the pack pitted for clear track and to stay out of trouble.

A lot of the drivers got warnings from Motorsport Australia Race Control for ‘track limits’ at turn 5.

In the middle of the race Nick Percat was leading and continued to increase his lead. The cars behind simply ran out of laps to pass him.

Nick Percat just kept pulling ahead and finished in first position nearly 9 seconds ahead of Fabian Coulthard and surprisingly 19.6363 seconds ahead of Scott McLaughlin. A great result for Nick Percat and the Brad Jones Racing Team.

Results for Race 11

1st Nick Percat – Brad Jones Racing

2nd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing

3rd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing

 

In Race 12 Andre Heimgartner started on pole position. Alongside him was Jamie Whincup.

As the lights went out and the cars left the start line Andre Heimgartner led for the opening stint.

Meanwhile, Scott McLaughlin who started from 3rd position made contact with another car. He now had smoke coming out of the right rear corner which meant he had to pit to fix it.

After he re-joined he came out near the back of the pack which I thought he was going to get stuck in the pack and not be able to make a break for the lead.

In the middle of the race drivers were fighting for the lead.

The 3 leading cars seemed to be firmly ahead of the pack. Andre Heimgartner who started in pole position slipped 1 place coming behind a very happy Jack Le Broq. Todd Hazelwood followed in third, also very close behind. It was a great finish.

Results for Race 12

1st Jack Le Brocq – Tickford Racing

2nd Andre Heimgartner – Kelly Racing

3rd  Todd Hazelwood – Brad Jones Racing

The next race is the BetEasy Darwin Triple Crown on August 15 and 16.

But who knows what will happen in the strange times. So in the meantime be safe and check out my facebook fanpage and Youtube channel.

 

 

 

 

 

Supercars

Beaurepairs Melbourne 400 Supercars

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HI to all you Supercars fans around the world!

Last weekend (starting on Thursday, March 12 through to March 15) was supposed to be the 2nd round of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship and the opening round of the World Formula 1 Championship.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 was the winner for the weekend in its mission to spoil our fun. COVID-19 is not a new race car to contend with the super fast Mustangs, it’s the Corona Virus causing the entire world a bunch of problems.

Some of the pre-race sessions were run (see further down for the results) but the spread of Corona Virus made itself known.

The McLaren F1 team are now in isolation because 14 of the team members tested positive to Corona virus.

In the end the officials decided on Friday to not let the event go ahead and cancel all the support categories and the Formula 1.

At the moment there is talk that Tasmania and the ITM Super400 could also get cancelled due to this god damn Coronavirus.

So for the sake of keeping check on the form of the teams, here are the results from the pre-race sessions that were run:

  • Practice 1 – Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen finished 1st and 2
  • Practice 2 – Anton de Pasquale was fastest. However, Maculey Jones had a 16G-force impact with the wall at the end of turn 1. Scared the hell out of everyone.
  • Qualifying both Shane Van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup claimed pole position for races 3 and 4.

The next 2 rounds of the Supercars are at Symmons plains and Hampton downs. Let’s hope these next 2 events go ahead. Fingers crossed.

If you have any comments about the event or the affect of Corona Virus we would love to hear from you. Head to my V8 Supercars fan page at https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/ and have your say.

So until the next race – Keep well and healthy and keep it idling.

Supercars

Superloop Adelaide 500 2020 Supercars

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around World!

On the weekend of the 20th to the 23rd of February was the Superloop Adelaide 500. The first official race in the V8 Supercars season. I must say I have been counting down the days to this event.

I am happy to say the race kicked off the season in great nail-biting excitement.

So let’s get started with the results of the…

Pre-race sessions:

  • David Reynolds was fastest in Practice 1
  • Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Practice 2
  • Chaz Mostert was fastest in Practice 3
  • Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Armour All Qualifying for Race 1

Race 1:

In the line up for Race 1 Jamie Whincup started on pole position. Alongside him was David Reynolds.

Todd Hazelwood had his first round racing for Brad Jones Racing. He started at the back of the pack in position 23.

Brad Jones Racing has 4 cars out on track this year compared with 3 cars last year. I do wonder what kind of challenges this will bring the team. If you have an opinion: like and then share this article then have your say on my facebook fanpage (https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/ )

Kelly Racing had their 1st weekend in a Ford Mustang. After a long relationship with Nissan this is their maiden year as Ford drivers.

Scott McLaughlin started in 7th position just behind Shane Van Gisbergen in 6th.

So all the greats & favourites were crammed at the front of the grid for the first race of the season. Expections on everyone were high.

At the start of the 78-lap race Jamie Whincup got the jump off the line so David Reynolds had to tuck back in behind him.

As they reached turn 7 Nick Percat went straight aheadwide due to broken steering arm. Then at turn 8 There was contact between Nick Percat and Garry Jacobson causing Garry Jacobson into the wall.

I am sure a trip the garage on the opening lap was not in their plans. Credit to the team. The car was repaired and Percat returned to the race and finished 22nd . It may have been 13 laps down but still earned the team points.

James Courtney also hit the wall at turn 8 after trying to get a draft off Andre Heimgartner. Unfortunately for James Courtney it took him out of the opening race so he was 1 of the 2 cars to receive and NC (Not Complete). The other car was

When Matt Stone Racing came in for the first of 2 pitstops they had come in on an angle because the Team Sydney crew were trying to push James Courtney’s car back into the Garage.

Bryce Fullwood came into the pits after hitting the wall at turn 11. The damage had him stop the pitlane and get the rest of way into the garage hoisted on ‘go jacks’ for repairs.

Chaz Mostert was battling with his 2 former teammates from 2019 at Tickford Racing ; Will Davison and Cameron Waters.

The Team SYDNEY car that raced was number 22, driven by Chris Pither and he manged to stay out of trouble. By the end of the race he managed to gain 5 places finishing 19th.

For the Red Bull Team things were also looking good. From the middle of the race it seemed that (unless there were some really big mistakes or problems) Jamie Whincup was holding the lead lead with Shane Van Gisbergen running 3rd, which is a fantastic (and encouraging) way to start the year.

As the race drew to a close I couldn’t believe there were no safety cars used in race 1.

No else could catch the race leaders. Jamie Whincup still holding his lead, followed by Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen.

Results for Race 1

1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team

Race 2:

Pre-Race Results for Race 2 set the scene for another nail-biting event ahead;

  • Jamie Whincup was fastest in Armour All Qualifying
  • Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in the Top 10 Shootout

So again Red Bull had prime position with Shane Van Gisbergen starting on pole position with Scott McLaughlin alongside him.

As they took off for another 78 laps in Race 2, Scott McLaughlin had a perfect start taking Shane Van Gisbergen around the outside for the lead of the race.

James Courtney went to the back of the field due to going down the escape road at turn 4.

Fabian Coulthard was trying to not double stack behind Scott McLaughlin while the safety car was out because the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske crew didn’t want to lose time and track position. However, the crew were not keeping an eye on the Red Bull Holden Racing Team which ended up costing Scott McLaughlin track position.

Rick Kelly was battling with Fabian Coulthard. The power from the brand new Ford Mustangs were crazy and Rick Kelly was happy to use it.

When Shane Van Gisbergen came into the pits the crew didn’t load the right amount of fuel which meant after getting back out on track he had to come back into the pitlane for the right amount of fuel and fresh tyres.

To regain lost time, Shane Van Gisbergen was on the charge. As he was coming back through the field he made contact between turns 6 and 7 resulting in a broken Anti Roll Bar Adjuster. He went from a ‘firm lead’ to a ‘Not Complete’ only 4 laps short of the finish line. He got a lift back to the pitlane with Cameron Waters. Must have been an awkward trip.

Scott Pye and Anton De Pasquale received their NC’s before the opening lap was completed. Chris Pither left the track with an NC at lap 11. Now, Shane Van Gisbergen so close to the end of the race also left the track. The dynamic of the race had changed significantly.

It seemed no-one was going to be able challenge the top 3 drivers and they held position to the finish line; Scott McLaughlin, Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters.

Results for Race 2

1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
3rd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing Team

The next event is the Beaurepaires Melbourne 400 on March 12th to 15th , 2020.

Scott McLaughlin is the current championship leader over Jamie Whincup by 27 points.

Jamie Whincup weekend success gives him a amazing 119 career wins in Supercars.

 

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Coates Hire Newcastle 500 2019 Supercars

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 22nd to the 24th of November 2019 was the Coates Hire Newcastle 500.

The event at Newcastle has been running since 2017 so this is the third time they will be hosting the final event of the season.

The track at Newcastle is a street track and this year they tweaked it to provide better passing opportunities.

Newcastle really knows how to put on an event and had 155,000 people attend over the 3 days.

Before the weekend started Scott McLaughlin was declared ‘Driver Champion Elect’ based on a points lead that could not be caught up to with only this race remaining for the season. With that in mind, it must have been quite a fun weekend for him.

The Team Championship point spread was a little bit closer with a gap of just 116 and the Red Bull team were in a position take the lead away from the Scott McLaughlin’s Shell V Power Racing Team which made things a little more exciting.

The weekend got off to a great start. In summary the pre-race sessions took place with the following results:

  • Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 1
  • Jamie Whincup was fastest in Practice 2
  • Jamie Whincup was fastest in Armour All Qualifying
  • Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in the Armour All Top Ten Shootout.

In race 31 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position. Alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.

At the start of the 95-lap race Shane Van Gisbergen got the jump off the line.

Scott McLaughlin was held up high and wide at the first turn which allowed Jamie Whincup to go up to 2nd spot. I was surprised that Scott McLaughlin let Jamie Whincup pass him on the opening lap.

Shane Van Gisbergen continued to hold his lead all the way except for pit stops.

Fabian Coulthard came in to pits first to not double stack with the champion elect Scott McLaughlin.

David Reynolds was battling with Anton De Pasquale for pit priority.

In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup were still running 1st and 2nd .

It was only in the last laps that Jamie Whincup came off track at turn 1. He wasnt able to get into the reverse gear and lost time slipping from 2nd to 8th place by the race finish. It was this mistake that cost the Red Bull Team the season championship. The team championship spread was now just 77 points.

I think, to the surprise of everyone there were no safety cars on Saturday.

Results for Race 31

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
3rd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team

In preparation for the final race of the season:

  • Cameron Waters was fastest in Armour All Qualifying
  • Jamie Whincup was Fastest in the top ten shootout

In race 32 Jamie Whincup started on pole position. Alongside him was Cameron Waters.

At the start of the final race of the season Lee Holdsworth received damaged to his Ford Mustang requiring an immediate return to the pits after contact with another car.

As the rest of the pack prepped for the pits, the race leaders stayed out to avoid the dreaded double stacking.

Soon after James Courtney and Anton de Pasquale made contact in between turns 2 and 3 which required the first safety car of the weekend to be deployed to remove Anton de Pasquale’s car.

On the restart Shane Van Gisbergen was on the charge along with Will Davison after those drivers got pinged before the race and set further back on the start grid.

Regardless of efforts no could catch Jamie Whincup who dominated the race all bar pit stops. Jamie Whincup crossed the line first.

That now gives Jamie Whincup 118 career wins and 83 career poles.

Rick Kelly and Andre Heimgartner and Garry Jacobson had their final race with the Nissan Altama’s before they switch to the Ford Mustang, which will make 8 Mustangs on the Supercars grid for next year.

Results for Race 32

1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team
3rd Tim Slade – Brad Jones Racing

Please feel free to comment on how the Newcastle event went.

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

Post Race Report, Supercars

Penrite Oil Sandown 500 2019 Supercars

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 8th to the 10th of November 2019 was the Penrite Oil Sandown 500.

Results for the pre – race sessions were as follows:

  • Garth Tander was fastest in practice 1 for co-drivers
  • David Reynolds was fastest in Practice 2
  • Craig Lowndes was fastest in Practice 3
  • Scott Pye & Warren Luff were fastest in the warm up for the Sandown 500.
  • Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 4 & Armour All Qualifying for Race 28
  • Craig Lowndes won Race 28
  • Jamie Whincup won Race 29

Before the race on Sunday the Supercars community at Sandown paid tribute to the life of Mike Raymond, who passed away a few days earlier at the age of 76. Mike Raymond was most well known as a commentator in the late 80s, early 90s. He gave so much to the sport, our condolences to his family and all that knew him. If anyone has a good memory to share about Mike Raymond please post it on my Supercars Facebook Fan Page. I am sure others would love to hear it. https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/

At the start of the 500 kilometre 161 lap race Craig Lowndes started on pole position, alongside him was Bryce Fullwood from the Dunlop Super 2 Series.

All the co-drivers bar Scott Pye started behind the wheel for the race on Sunday. I guess this is part of the strategy as the co-drivers have to do a minimum of 54 laps and can only do a maximum 107 laps.

Jack Smith was behind the wheel co-driving with Todd Hazelwood in his debut at the Enduro’s.

Both Alex Premat (co-driver for Scott McLaughlin) and Garth Tander (co-driver for Shane Van Gisbergen) started in positions 24th and 25th. These two cars are normally at the front of the grid. Garth Tander’s positioning was caused by Shane Van Gisbergen unable to complete the ‘main driver’ race on Saturday due to to a spin off track from a poorly timed takeover with Anton de Pasquale.

Alex Premat was sentenced to the back of the grid due to officials finding Scott McLaughlin’s engine was over-specced dating back to Bathurst. Quite a drama. If you have a point of view on this please feel free to put it up for discussion on my Supercars Facebook Fan Page.

Without surprise the experienced Craig Lowndes got the jump on Bryce Fullwood off the start line. Further back in the grid 3 cars stalled on the green light causing a fair bit of havoc.

Alex Davison was in one of the cars that stalled and was extremely lucky not to be collected by the cars just behind him.

At the end of the opening lap Tony Dalberto got turned around by Richard Muscat and found himself at the very back of the pack.

Luke Youlden in car # 9 received damage and was missing the rear wing. When he got back to the pits he knew that the day was over. With only 30 laps completed it must have been a big blow for him and his main driver, David Reynolds.

I was actually surprised that Dale Wood and Luke Youlden managed to limp their cars back to the pits. They looked in very poor shape.

Later in the race there was contact between Michael Caruso and Jake Kostecki. This was a really messy situation. It was when Jake Kostecki was merging from the pit lane into the fast lane. It appeared he was unaware that Caruso was coming down the fast lane. Usually the car controller gives the driver warning to yield over the comms when merging back onto the track.

Kostecki was able to continue the race but Michael Caruso’s front left wheel was now at a strange looking angle. With this damage he had to complete a full lap at a slower in order to come back around to the pits.

It merge was deemed as unsafe and the Kostecki Brothers Racing team were issued a drive through penalty.

In the middle of the race the Red Bull Holden Racing Team were running 1st & 2nd. If they could maintain their lead to the end of the race it would also place them at the top of the Team’s Championship ladder. The pressure was on!

But as luck would have it, with only 10 laps to go and in the lead, Shane Van Gisbergen’s car lost a bolt and smoke was coming out of the right rear. He was forced to call into the pits which dropped him from 1st to 17th. Shane Van Gisbergen & co-driver Garth Tander must have been gutted. They had started from the back of the grid in position 24 and worked their way into the lead. That is pretty amazing but it wold have also been Shane Van Gisbergen’s first win at Sandown (and a second win at Sandown for Garth Tander)

It was lucky for the Red Bull Team that Jamie Whincup was just behind Shane Van Gisbergen and able to take the lead for the team. Once he was told that his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen had to pit he knew he had to hold the lead to the end.

This was not difficult for Jamie Whincup and he came across the line first.

It brings Jamie Whincup’s career win total to 117 and Craig Lowndes win total to 110.

However, Shane Van Gisbergen slipping back to 17th meant they only closed the Team Championship points trail from 132 to 116. I’m sure it will be their inspiration to ‘go hard’ in the coming last race of the season, The Newcastle 500.

Results for Race 30

1st Jamie Whincup & Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd Chaz Mostert & James Moffatt – Supercheap Auto Racing Team.
3rd Lee Holdsworth & Thomas Randle – Bottle O Racing Team.
Congratulations to Jack Smith who will be making his full time Virgin Australia Supercars Championship debut in 2020. Read about it in the link: https://www.speedcafe.com/2019/11/13/bjr-confirms-smith-in-expanded-four-car-2020-line-up/

Please feel free to comment on how Sandown went via my Facebook Fanpage.

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

 

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Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 2019 Supercars

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around the World!

checkout my pre vlog below. Its also available on my youtube channel.

On the weekend of the 10th to the 13th of October, 2019 was the 59th running of the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. This is locally known as “The Great Race” and is the most widely viewed motorsport race in Australia and internationally renowned. There is always a hyped up vibe when this endurance   is on and it’s always exciting.

In the Pre-race sessions leading up to big event there we a few surprising results.

In Practice 1 Jamie Whincup was fastest. The session was temporarily stopped (red flagged) when Macauley Jones hit the wall at the cutting. After being towed off the track he was obliged to sit out the rest of the session. That is the penalty for causing a Red Flag in the practice sessions.

Practice 2 was a co-driver session. James Moffatt was fastest. Yet again the red flag was on display, this time for Luke Youlden who hit wall the between Reid Park and McPhillamy Park.

Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 3.

Practice 4 was another co-driver session and Will Brown was fastest.

Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 5 and then in the Armour All Qualifying.

Will Davison was fastest in Practice 6

Chaz Mostert was fastest in Practice 7

In the warm up session on the morning of the race, Fabian Coulthard & Tony Dalberto were fastest.

By 11:30am the race was ready to begin. The cars were all lined up on the starting grid and the tension was building. All of a sudden there was an emergency call out from one of the cars. Brodie Kostecki of Kostecki Brothers Racing was in trouble. The cockpit was filling with carbon monoxide fumes and his helmet’s circulation fan had come loose. He was immediately rushed to medical centre and checked out by the official Supercars doctor, Dr Carl Le. The car was then towed off the grid. They were given dispensation by officials and were able to rejoin the race later.

After this delay the race could finally begin.

Scott McLaughlin was sitting in Pole Position with Chaz Mostert alongside him. This was the second time Scott McLaughlin had earned pole position for the Bathurst 1000. The first time was in 2017.

I was quite surprised that most of the main drivers started and only a couple of co-drivers started the race.

As they took off for the 161 lap 1,000 km race, Scott McLaughlin got the jump into turn 1 and led up mountain straight.

Craig Lowndes did the opening stint for car 888 as part of their strategy. He tried to get up the inside of Will Davison at turn 1 but the pass wasn’t able to be done cleanly and he pulled back. This was OK because he, like all the other drivers knew there was a long way to go.

On that first lap as they got to ‘The Cutting’ Tim Slade was on the outside of Scott Pye. The Cutting is an impossible turn to pass on and Time Slade left the track and hit the wall. The Vodafone Safety Car was deployed to remove the car from the track. It was bad luck for the Brad Jones Racing team. One of their two cars was already out of the race on lap 1. It must have been a massive disappointment for co-driver Ash Walsh to not get a chance to drive in the most coveted event of the year.

After this incident there was no safety car deployed for the next 100 laps.

As the race continued the cars that started further back in the pack came in early to get their first of 7 pit stops out of the way. The leading cars stayed out to make use of the clear track and gain position.

I was surprised how quick Scott McLaughlin and Chaz Mostert was in the opening stages of the race.

In the middle of the race Alex Premat was leading the race in his co-drivers stint. He had a massive lockup on the front right wheel at ‘The Chase’ which caused him go off the track. This allowed Chaz Mostert and Jamie Whincup to move from 2nd and 3rd to 1st and 2nd positions. Although he lost position I couldn’t believe that Alex Premat managed to keep his #17 Mustang straight and not spin.

For the closing stage of the race it’s normal strategy to get main drivers back in the car. For Lowndes and Tander, who were for the first time in their careers acting as co-drivers, it must have been nerve wracking to watch from the sidelines and not be behind the wheel.

When the main drivers jumped back in they needed to conserve fuel to get to the end of the race. Once again the spotlight was on Brodie Kostecki. He hit the wall going up the hill out of The Cutting and the race went to ‘Yellow’ as the Safety Car was deployed and the car was recovered and returned to the pits.

Oil Soak had to be spread on the track to absorb the oil lost from Kostecki’s car. It meant other drivers couldn’t use the racing line coming out of The Cutting at the risk of taking a slide.

At this point of the race, Jamie Whincup was the leading car cruising behind the safety car and saving fuel.

Soon after the race went back to green, at lap 135 the car of Indy drivers Alexander Rossi and James Hinchcliffe left the track and got stuck in the sand. Once again the safety car was deployed and the car was towed out but still able to re-join the race track.

It was during this incident that the biggest controversy in history of the Bathurst 1000 occurred. Jamie Whincup in the lead and Scott McLaughlin in 2nd place were told to press on. 888 instructed Jamie Whincup to head into the pits to take the opportunity to top up on fuel. Fabian Coulthard in third place was instructed to slow down. This held the rest of the cars on the track as they were unable to pass while the race was still under yellow. It was deemed by officials as a purposeful tactic to let his teammate, Scott McLaughlin continue in the lead without any contenders. The unsporting manoeuvre earned Fabian Coulthard a drive through penalty. In the following week this incident blew up into a massive controversy of how the team and Scott McLaughlin as the race winner should be penalised. Many, including Erebus Team Manager, Barry Ryan, have called for Scott McLaughlin to be stripped of his title.

Just one lap short of the race finish, at lap 160 the Safety Car was again deployed. This time it was Andre Heimgartner of Nissan Motorsport. The officials didn’t want to delay the race or have it finish safety car, yellow so they tucked his car in behind barriers till the end of the race.

This gave the leaders a 1 lap dash to the finish line. There just wasn’t opportunity in that last lap for anyone to take the lead of Scott McLaughlin.

The last time the pole sitter won the Bathurst 1000 was Garth Tander and Will Davison back in 2009.

Results for race 25

1st Scott McLaughlin & Alex Premat – Shell V Power Racing Team.
2nd Shane Van Gisbergen & Garth Tander – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd James Courtney & Jack Perkins – Walkinshaw Andretti United (started 18th gaining 15 places to finished 3rd).
4th Jamie Whincup & Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.

The next event is the Vodafone Gold Coast 600 25th to the 27th of October 2019.

Feel free to give me your opinion on how the Bathurst event went via my facebook Fanpage.

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

 

 

 

https://www.velocitynews.co.nz/news/confirmed-mclaughlin-keeps-bathurst-1000-win-coulthard-and-djrtp-penalized?fbclid=IwAR1ycPBzMsGabevwrSlNZIRDhVdiMwTnJozSqCi-8Qqsx8Q8iidhjZHZKu0

 

https://www.speedcafe.com/2019/10/18/grm-confirms-supercars-exit/

Supercars

Century Batteries Ipswich Supersprint 2019 Supercars

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HI to all you Supercars fans around the World!

On the weekend of the 26th to the 28th of July 2019 was the Century Batteries Ipswich Supersprint.

This Queensland raceway is home territory to the legend Craig Lowndes where he has had 12 race wins through his career. Considering that this is the 23rd Supercars event at this venue, Craig Lowndes’ stats go prove why he is a legend.

This is not to say it is a ‘friendly’ track to everyone. In 2005 Jason Richards had a massive rollover after Paul Morris made contact with him. At the same event Cameron McLean also rolled in the same section of the track. In 2010 Mark Winterbottom had a huge crash that I am sure still sticks in his mind.

Heading into the weekend Scott McLaughlin leads the championship by 292 points over his teammate, Fabian Coulthard. If there is going to be any challenges for the championship, this weekend is the time to make a move.

As it turned out Scott McLaughlin ruled in the pre-race sessions; Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 1, 2 & 3 and then again for the Armour All Qualifying.

In race 19 he started on pole position, alongside him was Jamie Whincup.

At the start of the 39-lap race Scott McLaughlin didn’t want to have any contact with Jamie Whincup so he let him go at turn 2.

By the end of the opening lap Scott McLaughlin went from 1st to 4th

There was contact between Will Davison and Scott McLaughlin which was not good. I thought that Scott McLaughlin would have had damage but somehow he didn’t.

Scott McLaughlin’s troubles were not over. Later he had a 9.2 second pit stop due to a jammed left front wheel nut. It surely affected his result at the finish line slipping from pole position to 4th.

Lee Holdsworth had a massive slide but saved it, which was super impressive.

Scott Pye had contact with another car which resulted in problems in the pits later on when removing the left rear wheel. He dropped 7 positions and finished 21st.

Jamie Whincup had a 4.1 second stop. Excepting pit stops, Jamie Whincup held his lead throughout the race.

Fabian Coulthard didn’t have a great race at all. He started 9th on the grid and finished 10th.

As they crossed the finish line, no one else could catch the top 3 drivers; Jamie Whincup with a 2 + second lead over Will Davison, then Chaz Mostert  following a further 3.87 seconds later.

Although no safety car was deployed during the race, Tim Slade and Macauley Jones were both NC’s.

It was a convincing win for Jamie Whincup whose last race win was the Sandown 500 in 2018. His tally now reaches 114 wins from 484 races. 

Results for Race 19

1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd Will Davison – 23 Red Racing.
3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.

The unusual result for Scott McLaughlin in race 19 didn’t seem to affect him the next morning. He was fastest in practice 4 and Qualifying, earning him pole position for race 20. That is his 13th pole start this year.

In race 20 Scott McLaughlin in pole position had Chaz Mostert alongside him.

At the start of the 200 Km, 65 lap race Chaz Mostert tried to go around the outside of the Championship leader but he wasn’t able to and had to pull back in behind.

Scott McLaughlin led the whole way excepting in his 2 pit stops.

Fabian Coulthard had a shocking weekend because he didn’t qualify in the top ten on Sunday.

After such a positive result in Saturday’s race Will Davison drove with inspiration and seemed to really want to get back to back podiums. However, he just wasn’t able to move up from his starting position of 5.

By the middle of race Shane Van Gisbergen had taken over Jamie Whincup and Chaz Mostert. Now in second place he was putting pressure on Scott McLaughlin for the race lead.

In the last laps Shane Van Gisbergen stayed right on Scott McLaughlin’s tail but he wasn’t given any opportunity to take advantage of.  They crossed the finish line just 0.7 seconds apart and nearly 10 seconds ahead of their closest rival, Chaz Mostert.

Results for Race 20

1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.

Scott McLaughlin got pinged for doing his post race burnouts in the wrong spots.

He also got fined $1000 for taking a poster on to the podium.

https://www.motorsport.com/v8supercars/news/mclaughlin-fine-poster-podium-burnout/4502597/

 

https://autoaction.com.au/2019/07/30/infamous-podium-poster-to-raise-funds-for-charity

The next event is the OTR Supersprint at the Bend in South Australia on the 23rd to the 25th of August 2019.

Please feel free on how the Ipswich event was via my Facebook Fanpage.

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

Supercars

Watpac Townsville 400 2019 Supercars

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the World!

On the weekend of the 5th to the 7th of July, 2019 was the Watpac Townsville 400.

While Scott McLaughlin has dominated the season, his teammate Fabian Coulthard has also had a great season. On this weekend he will be hitting a milestone, his 400th race. He is 2nd in the championship with career stats including 12 race wins, 54 podiums, 9 pole positions and held the lead for 689 laps over all races. It is no wonder that even this early in the year the Shell V Power Racing Team have announced re-signing Fabian Coulthard (and Scott McLaughlin) for next season.

This news ends the speculation about Scott McLaughlin racing for Roger Penske in the US. The following link is an article by ‘FoxSprts’ and gives some insight to some of the big name drivers and their prospects for 2020.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/motorsport/supercars/v8-supercars-news-townsville-400-2019-scott-mclaughlin-fabian-coulthard-djr-team-penske-driver-lineup-2020-chaz-mostert-move/news-story/401d02b36665c3d822ff868c383651f1

As the weekend wound up to the big event, the results in the pre-race sessions were as follows: 

·        Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 1

·        Lee Holdsworth was fastest in Practice 2

·        Fabian Coulthard was fastest Practice 3

·        David Reynolds was fastest in Qualifying for race 17

In race 17 David Reynolds started on pole position. Alongside him was Chaz Mostert.

Rick Kelly ran with a new car number, 100 in honour of one of his big supporters, Castrol to celebrate 100 years in Australia and New Zealand.

At the start of the 70 lap race David Reynolds got the jump on Chaz Mostert and kept his lead for most of the opening laps.

Andre Heimgartner, Cameron Waters and Jamie Whincup nearly came together and almost hit the wall but somehow they missed. The drivers who started back in the pack came in early to try and get track position.

Jamie Whincup also came in early to get out of the traffic and also get track position. It worked out well for him and he found the clear air he was looking for. It was a big help in keeping him up front with a chance of taking his first race win of 2019.

In the middle of the race David Reynolds had bad luck in his pit stop. It was unfortunate that cross threaded wheel nut cost him his chance at victory.

David Reynolds’ bad luck was just the opportunity Scott McLaughlin was looking for and he was soon in the lead.

As the race came to a close he and Jamie Whincup had a good lead on the rest of the pack without a chance of being caught.

Shane Van Gisbergen who wanted to get on the podium also had some bad luck (that went by the name of Chaz Mostert ) and finished 4th with Chaz Mostert in front of him.

Results for Race 17:

1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing

In race 18 on the Sunday, Cameron Waters started on pole position. Alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.

As they started the 70 lap race the rain started. A wet and slippery track usually spells disaster.

David Reynolds and Scott McLaughlin made contact between turns 1 and 2. The damage was significant enough for them to both head back to the pits.

David Reynolds’ car went back into the garage with broken steering.

I was quite surprised that the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske crew let Scott McLaughlin re-join the race. I thought for sure that the DJR Team would have put car 17 in the garage but didn’t.

The rain was getting heavier. After Jamie Whincup had re-joined from his pit stop he was still on slick tyres and the wet weather caused him to  hit the wall.

As Jamie Whincup got his car back to the pits race engineer David Cauchi said, ‘Turn it off. No oil pressure!’. It was the second time this weekend that Jamie Whincup missed out on what could have been his first race win for the season.

In the middle of the race the rain started to pour down. This meant the cars and drivers needed to be on ‘Wets’. 

Simona de Silvestro got called to come in to the pits but when she went back onto the track she crossed the yellow line to re-join which is not allowed. The drive through penalty she received cost her a few positions at the finish line.

Towards the end of the race Shane Van Gisbergen took the lead after Scott McLaughlin received car damage. He and Fabian Coulthard had comfortable space ahead of the pack and were uncatchable.

But the race was interrupted. Both Nick Percat and Garry Jacobson’s cars caught fire in two separate incidents. Nick Percat’s fire was in the pits causing a huge amount of smoke and flames looked to almost reach the fuel stands (That would have been a massive disaster).

Garry Jacobson’s car caught fire out on track which meant the race finished under safety car.

As they called the end of the race there were 3 DNF’s. They were Jamie Whincup, Mark Winterbottom and Garry Jacobson.

Results for Race 18:

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Fabian Coulthard – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske
3rd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing

The next is the Century Batteries Ipswich Supersprint on the 26th to the 28th of July 2019.

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

Please feel free to comment on how the Townsville race went and if you have any Questions please feel free to let me know via my facebook Fanpage.

 

Supercars

Bet Easy Darwin Triple Crown 2019 Supercars

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HI to all you Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 14th to the 16th of June, 2019 was the BetEasy Darwin Triple Crown.

 

 

In the preliminaries to the race:

·        Chaz Mostert was fastest in Practice 1

·        Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 2

·        Scott McLaughlin followed up with the fastest time in Practice 3

·        And then again in Qualifying for race 15.

So in Race 15 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position and alongside him was David Reynolds.

At the start of the 42-lap race both David Reynolds and Will Davison from the third position on the grid tried to take the race lead. David Reynolds made contact with Scott McLaughlin trying to take the lead from the outside of turn 1 but wasn’t going to risk serious damage and pulled back.

As Scott McLaughlin held his line into the first corner there was a tangle as the rest of the pack came through. It was James Golding, Macauley Jones and Jack Le Brocq creating havoc. All three Holdens were damaged and Macauley Jones was the only one who managed to return to the race.

On lap two Rick Kelly made contact with Tim Slade and had to serve a drive-through penalty.

Then again at Turn 1, on the third lap Simona De Silvestro collided with Todd Hazelwood and hocky pucked his car off the track. In a post-race investigation she was handed a 15 second penalty pushing her good result finishing 16th to 19th.

With the mayhem early in the race drivers back in the pack pitted early to find clear track. Meanwhile Jamie Whincup stayed out on track in the lead trying to make up some valuable time while the track was clear.

Other than Jamie Whincup’s short time up front, Scott McLaughlin was leading the race the whole way.

I was quite surprised that no one could manage to offer Scott McLaughlin any reasonable competition. He once again came across the finish line first.

His closest rivals almost 7 seconds behind in second place were Chaz Mostert followed by David Reynolds just under one second later in third place.

Jack Smith was the wildcard for Brad Jones Racing and started 25th on the grid. At the end of the race he finished 20th making up 5 places.

Results for Race 15

1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
2nd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing
3rd David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport

In race 16, Yet again Scott McLaughlin started on pole position with Fabian Coulthard alongside him.

Scott McLaughlin got the jump off the line but Fabian Coulthard tried to make a stand and stayed on the outside of turn 1. It looked like he would make it and would end up spinning off onto the grass. Somehow he managed to make the turn but it didn’t help his position and tucked in behind the leader.

Rick Kelly was putting pressure on Simona De Silvestro and Andre Heimgartner for position.

Soon after on Turn 5, Andre Heimgartner got spun around and other drivers had to avoid the spinning Nissan Altama. The mistake put him to the back of the pack.

The front runners stayed out to keep track position and the rest of the pack came in for the first round of pit stops.

David Reynolds lost his Window Rubber which wasn’t ideal.

Through the middle of the race Scott McLaughlin maintained his lead of over teammate Fabian Coulthard.

Once again Scott McLaughlin comfortably came in first. David Reynolds was over 13 seconds behind with Fabian Coulthard close on his tail. Cameron Waters held his own position and came in 4th.

Winning the two races over the weekend made Scott McLaughlin the first to earn Darwin’s Triple Crown (on it’s 13th anniversary) since it started back in 2006

So far this year Scott McLaughlin stats show out of 15 races he has been on the podium 14 times, 12 of which were 1st place. That is a phenomenal 80% win rate and 93.3% on the podium.

He has been the dominant driver so far in 2019. can anybody stop him?

 

Results for race 16

1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
2nd David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport Penrite Racing
3rd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team

 

https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/ please feel free to have your opinion on how the Darwin Event went.

 

 

The next event is the Watpac Townsville 400 on the 5th to the 7th of July 2019.