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Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Watpac Townsville 400 2017

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

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

Its interesting to note:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for race 13

1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson racing Team Penske.

2nd Jamie Whincup – Red bull Holden Racing Team.

3rd Mark Winterbottom – Prodrive racing Australia.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Results for race 14

1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing team.

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

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

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

 

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Skycity Darwin Triple Crown 2017

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 16th to the 18th of June 2017 was the CrownBet Darwin Triple Crown.

This year Darwin celebrated its 20th year anniversary for V8 Supercars races.

For the 42 laps of race 11, Rick Kelly started on pole position with Scott McLaughlin alongside him.

Rick Kelly got a good start and held Scott McLaughlin’s pass attempts off.

Craig Lowndes started in position 18 due to not getting a clear lap in Qualifying. Roland Dane (888 owner) didn’t attend the weekend’s racing probably based on Craig Lowndes poor starting position.  

Craig Lowndes immediately wanted to get out of the pack traffic to get some cool air but he had to hang out there for an extra lap and give pit priority to Will Davison whom he shares pit boom with.

On lap 2 Fabian Coulthard gained second position when Scott McLaughlin ran off the race track.

On lap 4 Garth Tander and Scott Pye put on a show as they battled for positions 5 and 6.

·        On lap 5 Rick Kelly was holding onto the race lead quite Comfortably. Which he was happy with. 

·        On lap 6 Shane Van Gisbergen was staying out on the track and doing good lap times.

On lap 7 Shane Van Gisbergen had moved from his starting position 5 into 3rd. His race engineer, Grant McPherson made the call to stay out on track while the going was good. Jamie Whincup wasn’t far behind him, so I guess the strategy was for the 888 team to hold onto those good positions.

·        On lap 8 Rick Kelly was enjoying not being back in the pack, and not hot brake temps and engine temps.

·        On lap 9 Simona De Slivestro had to get used to hot and warm Temperature’s in a v8 Supercar.

·        On lap 10 Maculey Jones was 1 of 4 wildcards to have a run in the main game. In prep for the Endurance races.

Rick Kelly had been comfortably holding the lead from the start but on lap 11 he overshot the first turn. Fabian Coulthard had been unable to catch the leader until now and used the opportunity to take the lead.

Soon after Shane Van Gisbergen had the lead but it didn’t last long. As he came down the main straight he wasn’t able to slow down and just kept going straight. His lead was over and once again Fabian Coulthard had the number 1 spot.

On lap 15 James Courtney made contact with Jack Le Brocq, which didn’t make him very happy because he went right to the very back of the pack.

It wasn’t the end of Rick Kelly’s unfortunate luck. Later, on lap 16 the throttle got stuck and he had a massive off hitting the tyre barriers. It was the end of the race for Rick Kelly and he received a DNF.

As it approached the middle of the race Fabian Coulthard maintained his lead but things had changed behind him, Scott McLaughlin and Nick Percat were now in 2nd and 3rd. The drivers further back in the pack couldn’t catch them.

With so many changes in the top ten positions up until now, it felt as though anything could happen and nothing could be taken for granted.

Amazingly these three drivers held position right to the end of the race and those behind them battled it out between themselves without hope of catching them.

Shane Van Gisbergen made contact with Garth Tander in lap 38. Garth Tander got to the finish the race but Shane Van Gisbergen lost his steering controls. It was just 4 laps to the finish but he had no option and left the track with a DNF.

In preparation for the Endurance races there were also a few wildcards on track. They seemed to benefit from the earlier mayhem:

·        Macauley Jones starting in position 26 moved up 2 positions finishing 24th.
·        Jack Le Brocq starting 24th finished 19th.
·        Tim Blanchard moved up 2 positions and finished 12th.
·        Cameron McConville made the best show, starting 28th gained 11 places and finished 17th.
In the following order Fabian Coulthard, Scott McLaughlin and Nick Percat crossed the finish line. Close behind was Jamie Whincup, Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters. Craig Lowndes was the closest car behind them about 4.5 seconds later. A surprising finish considering.

Results for race 11

1st Fabian Coulthard – Dick Johnson racing team Penske.
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson racing team Penske.
3rd Nick Percat – Brad Jones Racing.

4th Jamie Whincup – red bull Holden racing team.
 

In race 12 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position, alongside him was Jamie Whincup.

At the start of the 70 lap race Jamie Whincup got the jump on Scott McLaughlin and led during the opening stages. I was thinking that Jamie Whincup would get his first race win for 2017 in Darwin but wasn’t to be. Then Scott McLaughlan was trying to get past Jamie Whincup as quickly as possible so his engine didn’t overheat.

On the 2nd lap Mark Winterbottom was battling away with Cameron Waters and Chaz Mostert for the positions behind the two leaders.

Craig Lowndes was desperately trying to get out from behind his teammates and get some fresh air.

Shane Van Gisbergen didn’t quite get the result he wanted but did manage to get a position on the podium. Mark Dutton wasn’t pleased with the result either, having high expectations for Shane Van Gisbergen to win the race like last year.

Will Davison had come in early because how far down the in the race he was. Which he knew there was a long way to go but he was still happy with the pace of the Tekno car number 19.

Shae Davies had his first race at Darwin. He stuck close behind Rick and Todd Kelly.

Just 12 laps to go, James Moffat had a tyre blowout. It was bad timing and cost him dearly, crossing the finish line 25th from a start position of 3.

Jamie Whincup had control of the lead in the early stages of the race but in the end it was Scott McLaughlin’s day. He took the chequered flag ahead of Jamie Whincup by over 2 seconds.

This puts Scott McLaughlin second in the championship to his teammate Fabian Coulthard.

 Results for race 12

1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red bull Holden racing team.
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red bull Holden Racing Team.
The next event is the Watpac Townsville 400.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Woodstock Winton Supersprint 2017 Melbourne Victoria

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world.

On the weekend of the 19th to the 21st of May 2017 was the Winton SuperSprint.

Some interesting background notes on this race:
·        Craig Lowndes started 19th due to not getting a clear run in Qualifying.
·        There were 3 wild cards (solo debuts) at Winton which were Macauley Jones, Shae Davies and James Golding. I have no doubt that this would change the dynamics out on track.
·        Fabian Coulthard has a different colour number on his Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske car is because he is the current championship leader. This seems to be the ‘new thing’ since Shane Van Gisbergen turned down the traditional championship leader Number One sticker and kept his usual number. Was it superstition or other reasoning?  I am not sure.
·        Simona De Silvestro seemed to enjoy her first race at Winton, and did pretty well in this race finishing 2 spots up from her starting position on the grid.
·        During Friday’s practice there were a lot of drivers and cars that went off the wet track and onto the grass. It made the drivers weary of conditions but fortunately the weather cleared for the weekend.
·        LOL… During Friday’s 2nd practice session, presenter and commentator Neil Crompton got Mark Skaife’s name wrong during an interview and called him Mike Skaife.

In the 120km race 9, Scott McLaughlin started on pole position. Alongside him was Chaz Mostert.

On lap 1 of 40 Scott McLaughlin beat Chaz Mostert off the start line and led into turns 1 and 2. Between turns 6 and 7 James Moffatt spun James Courtney and put him right to the back of the pack. As a result, he had to start making his way back up through the pack.

Mark Winterbottom ran well during the opening stages of the race.

Craig Lowndes’ race engineer, John McGregor (aka “Irish”) called him into the pits. As mentioned Craig Lowndes had a poor starting position of 19, so this was a strategy to get him out of the traffic and get a clear track and make headway later on.   

On lap 4 cars further back in the pack were crowded up so started pitting to get clear air. Scott McLaughlin was still leading the race so stayed out longer while the going was good.

On lap 5 Scott Pye and James Courtney were contending for positions 8 and 9 and desperate to stay in the top 10.

On lap 7 David Reynolds was close in behind his Erebus Motorsport teammate Dale Wood.

On lap 10 Craig Lowndes was making his presence felt and was in battle with Will Davison trying to gain another position.

On lap 11 Garth Tander was trying hard to get passed James Moffatt to get fresh air so that engine does overheat

On lap 13 Chaz Mostert could feel something wrong with his engine. Adam De Borre, his race engineer told him to come in to the pits. At first he stayed in the car then Adam De Borre told him to get out. It was all over for the race and Chaz Mostert received a DNF.

Rick Kelly was trying to pass Tim Slade at turns 1 and 2, both trying to stay in the top 10.

On lap 13 Todd Kelly also just made it into the top 10. He was desperate for this after his start position of 11th.

On lap 14 Will Davison was staying cautious after his experience in a12 car pile-up at Tasmania. He ended up in hospital and his car was close to demolished. The Tekno team had to do an all-nighter to get back out on track the next day.

On lap 17 Macauley Jones was safely following James Golding, one of the wildcards on the day to not get caught up in an incident.

At this stage engineers usually start calling cars in to the pits but the going was good and most drivers stayed out on track not wanting to lose any advantage they could gain pitting later on.

On lap 19 Tim Slade managed a successful pass of his teammate, Nick Percat after his pit stop.

On lap 21 Craig Lowndes was moving up through the field due to his pit stop strategy.

On lap 23 there was a battle between Garth Tander, James Moffatt, James Courtney and Nick Percat.

On lap 24 Scott McLaughlin was still leading over his teammate and Championship Leader, Fabian Coulthard.

On lap 25 Shae Davies had a close call with Simona De Silvestro and only just avoided making contact.

On lap 26 Shane Van Gisbergen was trying to keep up with his teammate, Jamie Whincup.  It was exactly Roland Dane wanted to see. The only thing that Roland Dane didn’t want to see was the 2 teammates making contact.

By this stage of the race Craig Lowndes was running in 6th after starting in the 19th spot. It is no easy feat to gain 13 positions in a 40 lap race and then maintain it to the finish. Proof of why he gets paid the big bucks.

On the second last lap James Courtney ended up in the sand and couldn’t get out. He received a DNF which was just plain bad luck for him.

As the race progressed into it final laps it was clear the top 3 drivers were untouchable; Scott McLaughlin (who managed to hold his lead from start to finish), Jamie Whincup and Fabian Coulthard.

David Reynolds was the closest in 4th position crossing the finish line nearly 8 seconds later, but it was a good race for him having gained 10 spots from his 14th position on the starting grid.

Things in the championship are now getting really interesting. With the win going to Scott McLaughlin, Fabain Coulthard only leads the Championship by only 4 points.

Results for race 9:

1st Scott Mclaughlin – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske Shell V Power racing team.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Fabain Coulthard – Dick Johnson Racing team Penske Shell V power racing team.

 

In race 10 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position. Alongside him was Jamie Whincup.

On lap 1 of 67 Jamie Whincup got into turn 1 and 2 first over Scott McLaughlin.

On lap 2 Shane Van Gisbergen and Fabian Coulthard were battling for 2nd and 3rd. Shane Van Gisbergen got the better of him making a pass for clear track. Scott McLaughlin slipping to 4th.

On lap 3 888 race engineer, David Cauchi stategised for Jamie Whincup to stay out on track longer and not pit too early, especially while he maintained pit priority over Shane Van Gisbergen.

On lap 4 Chaz Mostert was trying to find a way passed Cameron Waters. But he couldn’t get the job done.

On lap 5 Chaz Mostert wasn’t making headway out on track so pitted early to avoid the pit lane congestion. This strategy paid off for him later on.

On lap 7 Craig Lowndes was on a charge, moving up from 26th up to 23rd.

On lap 9 Fabian Coulthard dropped to 4th giving Scott McLaughlan an easy pass. He knew it was a long race so was saving his energies for later.

On lap 10 Mark Winterbottom was following his teammates Cameron Waters and Chaz Mostert. This was also OK by him so early on in the race.

On lap 11 Simona de Silvestro was keeping up with her team owners Rick and Todd Kelly. It was a great setup where she could get some first hand knowledge from them on her first visit to Winton Raceway.

On lap 13 Macauley Jones one of the other wild cards on the day was making his dad, Brad Jones proud of him in his solo V8 Supercars Championship debut.

On lap 14 Scott Mclaughlin was happy to be back in the lead after dominating the first race of the weekend. Roland Dane, 888 owner did not want to see their main rivals, Dick Johnson Racing make it 2 for 2.

On Lap 15 James Courtney was driving cautiously not wanting to have another bad race for the 2nd day in a row.

On Lap 17 Fabian Coulthard took advantage of Shane Van Gisbergen going wide at turn 3. He managed to slip through on the inside. It was a very cool move.

On lap 18 Mark Winterbottom also passed Shane Van Gisbergen and was now trying to find a way past Fabian Coulthard. Fabian Coulthard wasn’t going drop the ball and Mark Winterbottom couldn’t get far enough up to make the pass.

On lap 20 David Reynolds was on the charge after he disengaged the pit lane speed limiter. He just got in front of Rick Kelly which was planned by the team before the start of the race.

On lap 21 Craig Lowndes wanted to pit first but because he was behind teammate, Will Davison the pit priority was not his.

On lap 22 Alex Rullo stayed in close behind his more experienced teammate Taz Douglas, gaining valuable pointers.

Chaz Mostert was trying to catch up to the race leaders and capitalise on any mistakes made. Unfortunately for him, Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen weren’t giving him any opportunities.

On lap 25 Alex Rullo was blocking Mark Winterbottom, which is considered poor form so early in the race. In fact, later Mark Winterbottom told host of RPM Matthew White that he wasn’t impressed with the move that the Rookie made whatsoever

On lap 29 Todd Kelly passed his brother Rick Kelly but it was a short lived result. In usual sibling rivalry Rick Kelly took back the lead over his brother.

On lap 31 the 2 Red Bull Holden Racing team cars were holding the top two positions, Jamie Whincup 1st and Shane Van Gisbergen 2nd. 

In the middle of the race Mark Winterbottom gave Alex Rullo a lesson in good driving manners and didn’t block him as he passed.

Towards the end of the race the Vodafone Safety Car was deployed due to Michael Caruso getting stuck in the tyre barrier after making contact with Shae Davies.

On the race restart Jamie Whincup was on target to match Craig Lowndes career wins of 104. It would have been a nice way for the 888 team to finish the weekend but things didn’t go quite to plan. At the final corner he ran wide, Shane Van Gisbergen slipped through on the inside to take the chequered flag. Jamie Whincup will just have to wait till net time.

Results for race 10:

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Fabain Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.

The next event of the v8 Supercars Championship is the Crown bet Darwin Triple Crown on the 16th to the 18th of June 2017.

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Perth Supersprint 2017 Western Australia

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Perth SuperSprint 2017

Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 5th to the 7th of May 2017 was the Perth Super Sprint at Barbagallo Raceway.

In the 2nd run of qualifying Shane Van Gisbergen nearly hit the wall at a top speed of 255km/h. It could have been catastrophic and put everyone on edge.

Mark Dutton, the team manager later stated he would like see qualifying be done via a ‘go point’. He felt such a close call was an obvious example of how dangerous it is for drivers qualifying (hot lap) to be dealing with drivers warming up on track (I must say that I do agree with him).

Regardless of this hair raising moment the racing this weekend was excellent. Scott McLaughlin held race 7 in the palm of his hand and then (spoiler alert) took out race 8 as well, an almost unimaginable feat.

So here is the run-down on how it happened.

In race 7 Fabian Coulthard was on pole position and alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.

On lap 1 of 50 Scott McLaughlin got the jump on his team mate, Fabian Coulthard in a fantastic launch.  It was a pretty clean start no one ended off the race track.

It was those two cars that dominated. Except for a few moments the other cars didn’t see the two for the rest of the race.

Fabian Coulthard tried passing to take the lead and pit priority but Scott McLaughlin held on to the number one position. 

On lap 3 Chaz Mostert who started in position 5 was now in position 3 following the two Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske cars at the lead.

During the opening stages Craig Lowndes was doing well.

Alex Rullo was also doing well for his first race on his home turf.

Garth Tander was also on home turf showing his best form to impress his local crowd.

Simona de Silvestro was following her two team owners, the Kelly brothers out on track, getting some good pointers and experience.

James Courtney was outside the top 10 and just couldn’t understand why he wasn’t up near the leaders.

On lap 10 Fabian Coulthard’s race engineer, Phil Keed told him, if you get held up by Scott McLaughlin come in so that you re-join in clear air but that’s only if you’re getting held up.

On laps 16 & 17 the telecast crossed over to Mark Dutton (Red Bull Team Manager) and then Mark Skaife (Foxsports Commentator) and you could just see by their expressions how much they were enjoying the race.

By lap 24 the drivers had completed their 1st round of pit stops.

On lap 25 Scott McLaughlin was still holding the lead and looking strong.

It must have felt pretty good for him as he continually gained more lead on the chasing cars.

The Red Bull team seemed surprised and unsure of what to do about the two DJR cars up ahead that were getting further and further away. First, Shane Van Gisbergen gave chase but with little result.  He then swapped his 3rd position with Jamie Whincup in 4th.  I’m not sure but, it looked as though the strategy was for one to give chase and the other to hold off cars from behind. That way they would be sure to get Red Bull a spot on the podium.

It did pay off in the end with Jamie Whincup coming in at 3rd. However, Scott McLaughlan and Fabian Coulthard were just too good on the day; coming in at 1st and 2nd place respectively and Jamie Whincup over 7 seconds behind at 3rd. It was a spectacular finish for the DJR Team.

Results for Race 7

1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
2nd Fabian Coulthard – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.

In race 8 Scott McLaughlin started in pole position with Chaz Mostert alongside him.

On lap 1 of the 83 lap race, Scott McLaughlin got the jump on Chaz Mostert. Chaz Mostert tried to go around the outside but it didn’t work so before the turns he quickly tucked in behind Scott McLaughlin.

On lap 2 Craig Lowndes was displaying his talents and coming through the field well.

In lap 7 Scott Pye saw the opportunity to put some pressure on James Courtney and tried passing him but he couldn’t get it done cleanly.

On lap 9 Todd Kelly was in front of Rick Kelly both pushing hard in their usual sibling rivalry.

By this stage Chaz Mostert dropped back in the pack from his 2nd position at the start. It didn’t seem to be going his way and Mark Winterbottom made it look easy to get a clean pass of Chaz Mostert to take 7th position.

On lap 14 Craig Lowndes came in for his next stop before he got trapped out on the track. His drive after that stop was cool.

On lap 15 Fabian Coulthard tried to pass Scott McLaughlin but it was the same as race 7, Scott McLaughlin was having his day and held tight to his position.

On lap 17 Todd Kelly came in because he was getting held up by the cars in front of him which wasn’t ideal in terms of track position and strategy.

On lap 18 Cameron Waters was handling the pressure from David Reynolds reasonable well.

In the middle of the race Jamie Whincup pitted to try to get track position. This did work for a while but soon after Scott McLaughlin took the lead of the again.

Chaz Mostert seemed to be going crazy as he tried to make his way up through the pack. It was like the stressed guy having to go into the office on a Sunday, appearing frustrated at not being able to make his way past the ‘Sunday Drivers’ fast enough. His pit stop strategies paid off ( his first at lap 21) and he was soon on his way to the podium pack (singing ‘Day-o, Day – ay – ay –ay –O!).

The leaders began moving further and further from the rest of the pack. It soon became obvious no one was going to catch them.

Scott McLaughlin held tight to his leading spot and came across the line first (a second race win for the weekend. It really was his day.

He was then followed by Chaz Mostert across the line and once again for this weekend, Jamie Whincup in third.

Results for Race 8

1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson racing Team Penske.
2nd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing Team.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.

The next event after Perth Western Australia was the Winton Supersprint on the 19th to the 21st of May 2017. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

WD 40 Phillip Island 500 21st to the 23rd of April 2017

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 21st to the 23rd of April 2017 was the WD-40 Phillip Island 500.

It was a fantastic weekend for many reasons, the main being that my Dad & I were actually there.

I am wheelchair bound with Cerebral Palsy and a long list of other issues, so getting to the races is not as simple as purchasing a ticket and booking a room. All sorts of things need to be considered and organised (it becomes damn expensive having to cater for a wheelchair!). In addition, I need someone to accompany me for support needs. So who better than my own dad to come with me? There is no one better to go to a sporting event with than your own father. He will never know how much I appreciate him not just for taking me, but also for spending the time with me and having a blast.

As you can see this was a special weekend for me and I’m really happy to share this experience, personal photos and videos with my readers.

Dad picked up the wheelchair accessible KIA rental from Freedom Motors Australia in St Marys (suburb of greater Sydney area) on the Tuesday. A big “Hello” to their fabulous sales manager, Carolyn Hurst. Thank you for such great, friendly service.

We left on the Wednesday to head down to Victoria ahead of the weekends racing. By mid-afternoon we crossed the border from New South Wales into Victoria and checked into The Comfort Inn Benalla (north east Victoria). There was a mix up with our bookings (due to on-line booking agency) but the operators Di and Brian Hogg, were so friendly and considerate they made sure we got a suitable room without any hassle. It is appreciated that they went out of their way but made it seem effortless and welcoming.

On Thursday morning we headed down to Phillip Island. We stayed at the Coachman Motel Phillip Island operated by a beautiful friendly couple Bill and Monica that also made us feel welcome. If you like a nice garden this is the place to stay. We rested up and got prepared for going out to the track the next day.

When we got to the track on Friday it was raining, so we had to go undercover until it stopped. We then went into “The Paddock” to see which drivers we could catch to get photos with. There was a Triple 8 autograph session but we didn’t know at what time, so we just stayed around the V8 pit paddock and tried to catch up with as many drivers as we could from both the V8 Supercars Championship series and the Dunlop Super 2 series.

I got photos with many of my favourites; Jamie Whincup, Craig Lowndes, Mark Dutton, Roland Dane, Jess Surrey Dane, Tim Schenken, Garry Rogers, Nick Percat, Brad Jones, Chaz Mostert, Cameron McConville, Paul Dumbrell, Dale Wood, David Reynolds,  Betty Klimenko, Simona De Silvestro and Doctor Carl Le (the official Supersprint medical delegate).

You can see these photos on my fan page: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1321664561282386.1073741847.554033848045465&type=1&l=f15b1bc9fd

Dad and I also got grid passes from the Red Bull Holden Racing team.  It was great and we got more photos out on the grid. Then dad and I returned to the pits to watch the race at the back of the Team Vortex garage.

Interesting to note, on Friday at the end of Practice 1 Craig Lowndes had a tyre blowout spearing him into the wall. His car had so much damage he wasn’t able to go out on track for Practice 2. Team Vortex did an all-nighter repairing the car for Saturdays qualifying and race.

Race 5 was 57 laps covering some 250Kms.

The Phillip Island track is known to be a fast track. What I did notice is the number of drive-through penalties received by drivers mostly caused by higher speeds coming around the track and crossing the safety line at the pit entry. Drivers receive a penalty if they cross over the pit line on the track which is to be kept clear for safe entry.

Early on in the race the drivers that got drive-through penalties were Scott McLaughlin Chaz Mostert, Will Davison, Shane Van Gisbergen, Fabian Coulthard, Mark Winterbottom, Tim Slade, Tim Blanchard, Nick Percat, Scott Pye, James Courtney and Simona de Silvestro. There wasn’t consistency in upkeeping the rule so there were a lot of drivers that didn’t get pinged for crossing the pit entry line.

Also there were a high number of tyre blowouts. Thirteen (13) in total. This is unusually high and caused teams concerns about the new regulation Dunlop supersoft tyres being used this season.

Scott McLaughlin started on pole position. Alongside him was Fabian Coulthard.

On lap 1 Scott McLaughlin got the jump on his teammate Fabian Coulthard. Mark Winterbottom was up to 2nd spot by turn 1. Then Fabian Coulthard got that spot back on the exit of turn 4. Shane Van Gisbergen was keeping up with the leaders. He wanted his presence felt even though it was early on in the race. Fabian Coulthard pushed hard to get his 2nd spot back off Mark Winterbottom down at MG corner.

On lap 2 there were a couple of drivers that came into the pits early to avoid the double stacking. For some drivers this paid off.

In the early stages of lap 3 Chaz Mostert was holding 3rd position.

Taz Douglas’ car ran over something on the track and got a puncture causing him to make a spectacular exit off the track, leaving rubber and debris everywhere along the main straight.

On lap 5 Michael Caruso moved up within the top 10 positions.

On lap 7 Scott McLaughlin was still the race leader and he would have got pit priority if the safety car came out onto the track, but it didn’t until later on in the race.

On lap 8 Cameron Waters stayed out on the track to avoid a double stack with Mark Winterbottom. Even though they are not on the same team they share the same pit bay.

On lap 9 Jason Bright was getting held up on the track by his teammates, Mark Winterbottom and Chaz Mostert, so he decided to pit and get a clear race track to re-join on.

On lap 10 Garth Tander was running up front with the leaders so he stayed out on track longer while the going was good. His teammate, James Moffatt was back in the pack so he chose to take the opportunity to pit.

On lap 11 internal footage of Shane Van Gisbergen’s car showed him changing down with just a flick of the wrist. It was done with such proficiency as if it was nothing. It was a very cool thing to see.

On lap 13 Scott McLaughlin was still leading the race until he pitted for tyres and fuel then when he went to re-join the track he saw the red light on due to the Vodafone safety car going passed the pit exit. Scott McLaughlin got a pit lane penalty was because he wasn’t far enough over before he turned in to his pit bay.

On lap 14 Cameron Waters nearly got a punctured tyre due to the fast nature of the Phillip Island circuit. But he eased off and just got away with it.

On lap 15 when the Vodafone safety car came out nearly everyone up the front decided to stay out longer to keep their track position. This seems the right thing to do if there were more than 2 cars up at the pointy end of the field otherwise known as sharp end.

On lap 16 Rick Kelly pitted before the other 3 cars in his team. This was a good strategy call to avoid the ugly double stacking that the teams and drivers hate doing.

On lap 19 Jason Bright was pushing hard to get up into the top 5.

On lap 20 David Reynolds was on the charge trying to stay up with the leaders.

On lap 21 Shane Van Gisbergen was running well trying to get in front of Jamie Whincup but he wasn’t able to.

On lap 22 Fabian Coulthard was pushing hard after having to serve a pit lane penalty for not stopping when the red light was on at the pit lane exit. He admitted to his mistake but that didn’t make him any happier.

On lap 23 Simona De Silvestro was putting pressure on Todd Kelly to pass him at turn 4. Mark Winterbottom was putting pressure on Cameron Waters to get pit priority.

On lap 26 James Courtney was trying to pass Scott Pye to get inside the top 10 to get pit priority for the 2nd round of pit stops.

On lap 27 the drivers were adjusting their anti-roll bars. I assume this was to reduce the chance of tyre blowouts as there had been so many by this stage.

On lap 29 all the drivers were getting their cars ready for the race to the checkered flag.

From that point on it seemed that one could catch the front 3 cars (Craig Lowndes, Fabian Coulthardt, Jamie Whincup) and there seemed that the number of tyre blowouts also changed driver tactics so the chance of a great catch up didn’t look to be on the cards.

In the last 5 laps Craig Lowndes was leading the race. Even though he crossed the finish line first, the 15 second pit lane penalty he received meant he ultimately finished 12th. It must have been a hard pill to swallow considering if he kept the race win it would be his first race win for 2017 with team Vortex and his career tally would have gone up to 106 wins.

Nevertheless, Fabian Coulthard took race win followed by Jamie Whincup, then Garth Tander.

Results for race 5.

1st Fabain Coulthard  –  Shell V Power Racing Team.  Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Garth Tander – Garry Rogers Motorsport.

In race 6 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was Fabian Coulthard

On lap 1 of 57 Fabian Coulthard got the jump on Scott McLaughlin. The cars further back in the pack were trying to find clear space.

On lap 2 most of the cars came in to the pit lane, all bar the race leaders.

On lap 3 Will Davison hit the wall coming out of turn 2. The car was damaged but he managed to get it back to the garage. When he emerged from the garage later, he did not look happy at all.

On lap 4 Chaz Mostert was running in 4th which the Supercheap Auto racing team would have been happy with.

Rick Kelly pitted before the rest of the Nissan team.

On lap 5 Jamie Whincup was running in the top 5. Cameron Waters wanted to get passed his teammate Mark Winterbottom to get to the pit box first.

On lap 6 Simona De Silvestro just outside the top 10 was keeping the Nissan Motorsport team happy.

Lap 7 was when the tyre blowouts started happening again. Overall there weren’t as many as in race 5 the previous day. It must have helped that most teams reduced tyre pressure on cars, even though it does affect handling.

On lap 8 Fabian Coulthard came in to the pits before Scott McLaughlin.

On lap 10 Garth Tander made his first pit stop which helped get him out of the traffic and get fresh air for the engine so it didnt get too hot. On the next lap, James Moffatt was in the same situation.

On lap 12 Tim Slade tried to pass his teammate Nick Percat but wasn’t  able to get far enough up to make the move stick.

On lap 13 James Courtney came in to pits so that Scott Pye didn’t have to wait later on.

On lap 16 Scott Pye followed James Courtney into the pits and double stacked when the safety car came out. Im sure there was strategy from the team on this choice.

On lap 17 Jamie Whincup was up near the front which he and the team were happy with.

On lap 18 Mark Winterbottom was back on the track after his first pit.

On lap 19 Cameron Waters wanted to be strong during the race which he was.

On lap 20 Chaz Mostert was near the race leaders. His parents, Anne and Eddy Mostert looked proud as the watched the race from the side lines.

On lap 25 the safety car returned to the track to clear up spent rubber. Not moments later, on the next lap Nick Percat had a tyre blowout on the front right hand side of the car. He had to limp straight into the pits.

On lap 27 Todd Kelly and Rick Kelly were battling for positions 11 and 12 in their usual display of sibling rivalry.

The triple 8 Team’s luck had run out. Where in the previous day’s race they didn’t have a single tyre blowout, in this race all 3 cars had blowouts.

I’m sure that the Teams’ big question is ,why? Kevin Fitzsimmons is the Motorsport Manager for Dunlop. He had a lot of to do to find out what would have caused the tyres to blow.

It was lap 41 when Chaz Mostert took the lead. From that point on no one could catch him. Mark Winterbottom tried but Chaz Mostert was in great form and crossed the finish line so forcefully it was as though he had a higher purpose.

Andrew Roberts was down at Phillip Island which was good because Dad and I hadn’t seen him in a while.

My personal experience at Phillip Island for the weekend of racing was memorable. I had a ball with dad.

Results for race 6.

1st Chaz Mostert – Prodrive Racing Australia. Supercheap Auto Racing.
2nd Mark Winterbottom – Bottle O Racing Team Prodrive Racing Australia.
3rd David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport.

The next event is the Perth Supersprint on the 5th to the 7th of May 2017.

http://www.freedommotorsaustralia.com.au/

http://www.comfortinnbenalla.com.au/

http://www.coachmanmotel.com.au/

Pre Race Report, V8 Supercars

Clipsal 500 2017 Pre Race Report

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Results for race 1

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for race 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for race 3

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

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

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

 

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Coates Hire Sydney 500 V8 Supercars 2016

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars Fans around the world!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for race 28

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for race 29

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

https://youtu.be/MCxyaVEfmbY

Pre Race Report, V8 Supercars

New Zealand Pre-Race 2016

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Hi to you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for race 28

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for race 29

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

NZ Pre race 2016 David Reynold

Race 30

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Result for race 30

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

NZ Pre race 2016 1

Post Race Report

Bathurst 1000 2016 – Post Race Report

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On lap 17, Dean Canto was chasing Jack Perkins.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for the 2016 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

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

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

Now for some fun…

Pre Race Report

Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 – Pre Race Report 2016

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Hi to all you V8 Supercar fans around the world.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Peter Brock Trophy Winners have been.

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

Who will win this years trophy?