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.