On the weekend of the 5th – 7th July 2024 was round 6 of the 2024 Supercars championship, the NTI Townsville 500.
The event was held in Townsville, North Queensland.
Supercars have been racing in Townsville for 16, years since the street circuit was first opened in 2009. The circuit is 2.8km long with 13 turns.
In that very first event of 2009, Lee Holdsworth and Garth Tander shared the pole positions and Jamie Whincup and Jamess Courtney shared the race wins.
Townsville displayed its typical weather pattern on the Saturday of this year’s event, bloody hot with an afternoon storm but on the Sunday it managed to stay dry.
In the pre-race sessions
Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 1
Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 2
Will Davison was fastest in Qualifying
Cameron Waters was fastest in the Top Ten Shootout
In Race 13 Cameron Waters started on pole position with Chaz Mostert alongside him.
Cameron Waters got the jump off the start line and led into turn 1 for the first of 88 laps, a total of 250kms.
Thomas Randle got up the inside of Will Davison at turn 3 for 3rd place but back in the pack there was chaos. As the rest of the cars got to turn 3 Nick Percat, Brodie Kostecki and Anton de Pasquale made contact heavily. As they bounced around the track there was a big risk of other cars hitting them from behind. As Jaxon Evans came through, he joined the chaos and was also turned around. Will Brown who started 13th on the grid was in the danger zone of being caught up but somehow, he managed to stay out of trouble.
The first 3 cars in the incident, Percat, Kostecki and Pasquale had to all head into the pits due to damage. Race officials investigated the incident but found no-one to at fault, so no penalties were issued.
By lap 2 the positions had changed significantly. James Courtney had gained 6 places moving up to 11th. Will Brown gained 1 place up to 12th and David Reynolds was up 8 spots in 13th place.
The leading 5 cars were reasonably close to each other. Chaz Mostert was right behind his former teammate Cameron Waters by only 0.682 seconds.
The first car to pit by choice was Aaron Love on lap 19. He came back on the circuit in 21st place.
A few laps later Chaz Mostert was the first of the leaders to pit. There were 9 cars still yet to take their stops. Once they did, they would be out of the way and Chaz Mostert would be able to resume his face-to-face battle for the lead with Cameron Waters.
When Cameron Waters pitted on lap 28 he had a 7.7 second lead over Will Davison in 2nd place.
By the middle of the race Chaz Mostert was given the space by Cameron Waters to pass and now had the number 1 spot with 1.8 seconds lead.
Chaz Mostert kept the lead and with 15 laps to go was followed by Thomas Randle and then Cameron Waters.
Further back in the pack Will Brown had gained an amazing 7 spots into 6th place and now behind Jack Le Brocq in 5th.
With 11 laps remaining the rain started to bucket down and drivers were struggling to keep the cars on the track. As suddenly as it had started, the rain passed. Although the track was still wet, I am sure the drivers were thankful.
Cameron Waters wasted no time. Soon enough he passed his teammate Thomas Randle to be in 2nd place.
Thomas Randle lost his momentum and dropped back a few places. Will Brown made contact with him on the approach to turn 3 but somehow both cars stayed away from the wall.
Cameron Waters was now challenging Chaz Mostert. Waters wouldn’t let up. Chaz Mostert must have felt he wasn’t able to defend the number 1 spot without high risk. Instead of possibly endangering his car and losing a podium finish he seemed to let Cameron Waters pass easily.
Cameron Waters edged ahead in the last laps and finally crossed the line with a 1.8 second lead over Chaz Mostert. Then there was another 4.6 seconds back to Will Brown who managed to move up into 3rd place for the finish. It was a spectacular result.
Results for Race 13
1st Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing 2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United 3rd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing
On the Sunday of the 3 day event Jack le Brocq started on pole position for Race 14. Alongside him was Cameron Waters.
As they took off Cameron Waters once again led into turn 1 for the first of 88 laps.
The polesitter, Jack le Brocq did not get an ideal start and dropped back to 4th.
Thomas Randle was now in 2nd place and James Courtney was in 3rd.
This year’s championship leader Will Brown missed the Top 10 Shootouts in both races of the event. He qualified 17th on the grid. To add to his woes, David Reynolds hit him from behind in lap 1 sending him into the concrete barrier wall and seriously damaged his car. Will Brown now had to head straight to the pits and returned to the race in 24th, last place. It scrapped all his hopes of protecting his championship lead.
Will Brown’s teammate Broc Feeney (who happens to be 2nd on the championship ladder) was having problems of his own. On this first lap he had dropped from 6th place on the grid back to 13th.
Chaz Mostert who had started 8th on the grid managed to get by Matt Payne for 6th place. He wasted no time and went on the charge. Soon he was in 4th place just behind the leaders. By the end of the 1st lap he was in 3rd.
Within the next few laps Chaz Mostert passed Thomas Randle for second place.
The first car to pit aside from Will Brown at the race start, was Matt Payne on lap 20. He was in 3rd place but unable to challenge the 2 cars ahead. The team strategised to come in now and be better able to make ground with fresh tyres.
By the middle of the race Jack le Brocq who had a terrible start from his pole position was now out the front and leading. Cameron Waters and Chaz Mostert were right behind him.
Matt Payne’s pitting strategy paid off. In the second half of the race he managed to squeeze passed and take the lead. With 7 laps to go he had a 9.2 second lead over Cameron Waters in 2nd place with Chaz Mostert not far behind.
Waters and Mostert chased Matt Payne for all their experience was worth. The cars began to spread out. However, Matt Payne was just too fast and crossed the finish line 6.057 seconds ahead of Cameron Waters.
Mostert had slipped a little but came in 3rd place 7.6 seconds later.
It was an unexpected finish especially after this year’s dominance of Will Brown and Broc Feeney up until now.
Results for Race 14
1st Matt Payne – Grove Racing 2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing 3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
Regardless of a bad weekend for the Red Bull Ampol Racing team, Will Brown still leads the championship but only by 78 points over Broc Feeney.
The next event is the Panasonic Sydney Supernight July 19 – 21.
I hope you will join me. Until then keep those engines revving!
On the weekend of the June 14 to 16 2024 was the Betr Darwin Triple Crown.
It was round 5 of the Supercars Championship and held at Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin, Northern Territory.
Hidden Valley Raceway was first opened in 1986 and is part of a larger motorsport complex. It has a 1 km drag strip alongside the racetrack itself. Originally it was first used as a dirt track, motorcross track and go kart circuit.
Since 1998 it has held an annual round of the Supercars championship.
Mark Skaife won the first ever Supercars race at the venue.
The second race went down in history. Both Holden Racing Team cars were on P1 and P2 on the starting grid but were non-starters and sitting in the garage with the same engine issue. So in a highly unusual situation the race started with the front row of the grid vacant! I don’t recall this ever happening before or since.
This year’s event saw both Will Davison and James Courtney celebrate their 250th round in Supercars.
The weekend started with typical NT winter day, 32 degrees, hot and sunny.
In the pre-race sessions:
Will Brown was fastest in Practice 1
James Golding was fastest in Qualifying
Will Brown was fastest in Practice 2
James Golding was fastest in the Top Ten Shootout
As they cars undertook their formation lap for Race 11 Brodie Kostecki who was going to start 11th on the grid had to drive back to the pit lane with engine issues that the team couldn’t resolve. So the defending champ was out of the race even before it started.
James Golding started on pole position, a first in his Supercars career. Alongside him was Broc Feeney.
James Golding got the jump on Feeney off the start line and led into turn 1 for the first of 48 laps.
Between turns 2 and 3 Broc Feeney had a slide and it looked like he was going to turn himself around but somehow, he managed to regain control stay in position.
The gap between the two leaders was 0.186 seconds.
At turn 6 of lap 4 Broc Feeney took the race lead off James Golding. Mark Winterbottom also went through in one swift motion. As a result the polesitter went from 1st to 3rd in a heartbeat.
Will Brown moved up a spot to 5th place and Chaz Mostert who started 22nd on the grid had gained 6 places and now in 16th position.
Soon after Cooper Murray went off the track at turn 1 after getting a helping hand from Jaxson Evans. Evans received a 15 second time penalty for his helping hand.
A lap later Anton de Pasquale also ran off the track at turn 1 and dropped out of the top 10 down to 11th place.
The first car to pit was Ryan Wood on lap 16. A few laps later Matt Payne and Macauley Jones also pitted.
Broc Feeney had a 2.6 second lead over Mark Winterbottom.
The pole sitter, James Golding had slipped back to 7th place.
On lap 24 while Mark Winterbottom and Will Brown were in the pits Broc Feeney was left out on track to do the fastest lap of the race, 108.219 seconds. He had a lead of 8.4 seconds over Cameron Waters with 8 cars still to take their pit stop.
With 9 laps to go Broc Feeney still had the lead over Mark Winterbottom. Meanwhile Chaz Mostert who started 22nd on the grid was up to 7th place after passing 16 cars on track.
As they counted down the final laps the top 3 places were unchanged with Broc Feeney still in command with cars spread out.
There was no way they could catch Broc Feeney and he never let them gain on him all the way to the finish line. He took the win 8.6 seconds clear of Mark Winterbottom in second place, then it was 1 second back to Will Brown in third. It was an amazing finish.
Results for Race 11
1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing 2nd Mark Winterbottom – Team 18 3rd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing
In Race 12 Broc Feeney started on pole position with Brodie Kostecki alongside him.
Matt Payne had electrical problems and didn’t manage to make it out on track in time for the formation lap. The Grove Racing team managed to resolve the issue but had to start the final race of the weekend from the pit lane.
As they took off Broc Feeney got jump and led into turn 1 for the first of 48 laps. Brodie Kostecki had a bad start and Will Brown moved past him to take 2nd position.
As they made their way through lap 1 Andre Heimgartner hit the back of Cooper Murray’s car and bounced up and over the top of him. Bits of cars flew everywhere, both had extensive damage but were able to make their way back to the pits for repairs. The safety car was deployed so the debris could be cleared off the track.
The restart was on lap 4 but back in the pack there was chaos. The green ‘restart flag’ was waved at one only spot instead of the multiple locations around the track. The front runners could see it but the cars further back couldn’t. As engineers started communicating to their drivers that the race was green some drivers started to speed up but others were still uninformed and sticking to the safety speed limit of 80kmph. It was a mess and looked like there were going to be collisions in the confusion. Luckily, there were no incidents.
The leaders had a good lead on the rest of the pack. Will Brown was putting a lot of pressure on Broc Feeney, but he didn’t want to relinquish the lead.
Broc Feeney soon extended his lead out to 1.3 seconds. On lap 12 he had clear track and clocked the fastest lap of the race, 107.679 seconds.
The first 2 cars to pit were David Reynolds and Nick Percat on lap 18. They returned to the race in 23rd and 24th place.
At this stage Andre Heimgartner received a pit lane penalty for not maintaining the safety speed of 80kph after the incident during lap 1.
In the middle of the race Brodie Kostecki came into the pits from 3rd place and returned to the track in 11th place.
Broc Feeney came in on lap 26 which temporarily handed the lead to his teammate Will Brown. At this stage there were 10 cars yet to pit including Will Brown. Once those cars took their stops, Broc Feeney would assume the lead again.
Broc Feeney and Will Brown kept edging ahead of the pack. When the final car to pit peeled off the track the 2 Red Bull Ampol Racing cars assumed 1st and 2nd place with a gap of 2.4 second between Broc Feeney and Will Brown. Meanwhile Brodie Kostecki in 3rd position was 8.8 seconds behind.
Broc Feeney and Will Brown were not satisfied and with clear track increased their lead over the rest of the pack.
In the end they crossed the finish line 1.2 seconds apart but a phenomenal 17+ seconds ahead of Brodie Kostecki in 3rd place. It was a great finish to the weekend for the Red Bull Ampol Racing team.
Results for Race 12
1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing
3rd Brodie Kostecki – Erebus Motorsport
Congratulations to Red Bull Ampol Racing. Their drivers Broc Feeney taking a win in both races for the event and Will Brown taking a 3rd and 2nd place.
Will Brown still leads the championship, but Broc Feeney’s double win closed the score gap to only 108 points.
The next event is the NTI Townsville 500 on 5th – 7th July 2024.
I hope you can join me. Until then, Live it, Breathe it, Dream it, Drive it!
On the weekend of May 17 – 19 was the Bosch Power Tools Perth Supersprint.
It was round 4 of the 2024 Supercars Championship and held at Carco.com.au Raceway.
The raceway was first opened on the 2 of March 1969 and originally known as Wanneroo Raceway. In 1992 it was renamed to Barbagallo Raceway. Then in 2020 it took back the original name of Wanneroo. Two years later in 2022 it changed to the sponsors name Carco.com.au.
ATCC (Australian Touring Cars Championship)/Supercars Championship have raced at the venue every year since opening except 1978, 2010 and 2020 (The COVID year).
The track is 2.411km with 7 turns. It is lined with sandtraps everywhere and is considered quite a challenge.
Legend Craig Lowndes seems to love this challenge and holds the record of 16 race wins at the venue.
This year’s event will mark Tim Slade’s 200th round start in Supercars. That is quite a number of years out on the track.
The weekend kicked off with fine weather and results in the pre-race sessions were:
Chaz Mostert was fastest in Practice 1
Will Brown was fastest in Practice 2
Chaz Mostert was fastest in Qualifying.
In Race 9 Chaz Mostert started on pole position alongside him was his teammate, Ryan Wood.
At the start of the race Ryan Wood got jump and led into turn 1 for the first of 55 laps.
Brodie Kostecki who started 14th on the grid ran wide at turn 1 and went off the track. He was able to recover and return to the track but it him to the back of the field. Not a great start for defending champ.
As the pack tried to stay in touch with the leaders, on lap 3 Aaron Love made contact with Richie Stanaway at turn 7 and put into the fence. Aaron Love was able to continue but Richie Stanaway had a lot of damage front and back of car 26. He also lost power due to a fuel pump issue and had to drive slowly back to the pits. The repairs took a lot of time but he was able to return to the race.
Ryan Wood still had the lead of about half a second over his more experienced teammate Chaz Mostert.
It took about a dozen laps before Chaz Mostert found the opportunity to take the race lead off Ryan Wood.
The first car to pit in this race was Thomas Randle on lap 22 from 23rd position.
In the middle of the race Ryan Wood went in for his pit stop allowing Cameron Waters to move into 2nd place on the track.
On lap 31 Chaz Mostert pitted leaving 9 cars on track yet to take theirs.
As the laps clicked by the 9 cars peeled off one by one to take their mandatory stops. Once they did Chaz Mostert was back in the lead.
At this stage Chaz Mostert was 3.2 seconds ahead of Ryan Wood. Will Brown in 3rd was close behind.
With 13 laps remaining Will Brown took the risk and got up the inside of Ryan Wood at turn 6. Ryan Wood was pushed to the outside and had two wheels in the dirt coming out of the turn. Not only did it slow him down but it allowed Cameron Waters to follow through into 3rd place.
Chaz Mostert now had a 5.2 second lead.
Will Brown’s performance so far this year has put him at the top of the championship ladder. Even so, Chaz Mostert’s speed and experience kept him from any mistakes and crossed the finish line with a with a huge 4.9 second over Will Brown. Cameron Waters also an experienced driver followed in 3rd place.
It was an exciting finish.
Results for Race 9
1st Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United 2nd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing 3rd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
In Race 10 Cameron Waters started on pole position with Chaz Mostert alongside him.
As they took off Cameron Waters got the jump and led into turn 1 for the first of 55 laps. Chaz Mostert tried to go around the outside of him but wasn’t able to make the move stick.
On the next lap at turn 1 Cameron Waters ran wide at the last turn of the lap (turn 7) which allowed Chaz Mostert to take the race lead at turn 1.
Thomas Randle in 3rd place immediately put his teammate Cameron Waters under pressure for 2nd.
On lap 5 Chaz Mostert did the fastest lap of the race so far, 56.173 seconds.
On the next lap the leader went .2 seconds faster. With track position Mostert is one of the fastest drivers in the field. He now extended his lead out to 1.2 seconds over his ex-teammate Cam Waters.
On lap 7 Nick Percat made contact with Jack le Brocq who came to a stop in the middle of the track. Luckily, he was able to get going again which meant there was no need for a safety car and the race was able to stay green.
Later Nick Percat was issued a 15 second time penalty for his part in the incident.
Soon after Broc Feeney got up the inside of Ryan Wood at turn 7 which moved him up to 7th place. He was desperate to catch up to his teammate Will Brown a few spots ahead.
The first car to pit was Mark Winterbottom on lap 16 from 22nd position.
On lap 21 Brodie Kostecki went into the Erebus garage with an overheating engine. The problem was too for the team to repair quickly and Brodie Kostecki was unable to finish the race. He was the only NC (Not Complete).
In the middle of the race Chaz Mostert was looking very strong and ready to make this 2 wins from 2 races on the weekend.
As Chaz Mostert headed into the pits Cameron Waters now had the lead.
Soon after Chaz Mostert returned to the track it was revealed he was being investigated for an unsafe pit release and making contact with Thomas Randle in the pit lane. It wasn’t a big incident, but he was still issued a 5 second time penalty. He had already taken his mandatory pit stop to the 5 seconds would be applied to his race finish time.
Towards the end of the race Chaz Mostert had resumed the lead.
Will Brown gave Thomas Randle a bump and took 3rd place from him. Thomas Randle dropped from 3rd to 5th place.
With 4 laps remaining Thomas Randle was put under further pressure from Anton de Pasquale trying to take another place from him. Randle held strong against the challenge.
Chaz Mostert was out in front. His speed made him uncatchable. The top 3 drivers were well spread out. Mostert crossed the line just over 2.5 seconds ahead of Cameron Waters.
Unfortunately for Chaz Mostert who dominated the track this weekend, the 5 second time penalty applied post finish meant Cameron Waters was awarded the win.
Chaz Mostert officially came in 2nd place.
The gap between Cam Waters and Will Brown in 3rd was over 11 seconds.
It was great watching but must have been devastating for Mostert. Regardless, congratulations to all the drivers especially the podium finishers.
Results for Race 10
1st Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing 2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti united 3rd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing
After all the points were tallied Will Brown still leads the championship by 136 points over Broc Feeney.
The next event is the Betr Darwin Triple Crown on 17 – 19 June 2024.
On the weekend of the 23 – 26 November 2023 was the Valo Adelaide 500.
The Adelaide street circuit was first opened in 1985 and hosted the F1 Australian Grand Prix until 1995. The street circuit came back into use in 1999 when Supercars moved their events from the Mallala Motorsport Park.
Jason Bright took the very first pole position at this venue. Craig Lowndes started the leg 1 from 3rd on the grid and won the opening race. The next day he was sent to the back of the field and still came through to win leg 2. It was the stuff that legends are made of.
This year’s Adelaide 500 was the 12th and final round of the 2023 Supercars Championship.
As one of the longer events on the calendar made up of 2 races of 250km each, it was always going to be a tough event. To add to the tension it was also the decider for the Driver’s Championship.
The defending champion Shane Van Gisbergen was trailing Brodie Kostecki in the number 1 spot by 131 points. A win in both races would total 300 points so the championship was still up for grabs. Shane Van Gisbergen is heading to the U.S. at the end of the season to try his hand at NASCAR so it could very well also be his final farewell to Supercars.
The points gap from 3rd place onwards was too great to contend for 1st or 2nd place. However, the points were close enough between 3rd, 4th and 5th for there to be a change on the final scoreboard for Will Brown, Broc Feeney and Chaz Mostert.
The Final Event and the Final Decider! A setting for nail biting stuff!
The event started on Thursday with a wet Practice 1.
The pre-race sessions results are as follows:
Chaz Mostert was fastest in Practice 1
Thomas Randle was Fastest in Practice 2
Brodie Kostecki was fastest in Qualifying
Brodie Kostecki was also fastest in the top 10 Shootout.
For Race 27 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position which was his 9th pole for the year. David Reynolds was alongside him on the front row of the starting grid.
At the start of the race Brodie Kostecki got the jump and led into turns 1 and 2 for first of 78 laps.
As the pack rounded turn 4 Will Brown tried passing Anton de Pasquale. Shane Van Gisbergen also tried following Will Brown to jump up in position. However, Anton de Pasquale made contact with Will Brown and then from behind Shane Van Gisbergen made contact with Will Brown. Brown’s car came to stop almost immediately. Shane Van Gisbergen was able to get back to the pits but it was soon evident that he wouldn’t be returning to the track. Not only was it all over for this race but also his ability to contend for the championship title. Such bad luck.
The safety car was deployed. It was only the opening lap and things were very messed up for Will Brown and Shane Van Gisbergen.
Later, after reviewing the incident the officials took no further action and no penalty was issued to any of the three cars involved.
Matt Payne and Cameron Hill were in the pits because of damage they received after the start.
The restart was on lap 6 and Brodie Kostecki was still in control of the race, followed by David Reynolds and Thomas Randle in 3rd place.
Broc Feeney passed James Courtney for 8th place.
On lap 15 David Reynolds took the lead off Brodie Kostecki with some incredible manoeuvring through turns 8 and 9.
The first car to pit in this race was Anton de Pasquale on lap 16.
Broc Feeney was next to pit on lap 19. When he re-joined the race he was in 20th place with clear track ahead.
Up front it started getting busy. Thomas Randle moved up to 2nd place dropping Brodie Kostecki back to 3rd place.
Cameron Waters in 4th place was 3 + seconds behind. The front of the pack were beginning to spread out.
Soon after, Thomas Randle pitted from second place handing over the spot to Cameron Waters.
Thomas Randle came out of the pits and was like a rocket. Within a few laps he managed to move up through the pack and regain 2nd place.
Cameron Waters wasn’t happy to give back the second spot to Thomas Randle and found the opportunity to pass him. Once again, the order of the top 3 cars changed.
In the middle of the race Cameron Waters was still holding second place right on the rear bumper of David Reynolds in the lead. He found his opportunity and with precision driving made the pass to get the number one spot.
Further back in the pack, Todd Hazelwood received a 5 second time penalty for contact with another car.
David Reynolds never gave up the fight to regain 1st place. With 17 laps to go he did the fastest lap of the race, 119.957 seconds. Unfortunately, it didn’t give him what he wanted. He was also under pressure from Thomas Randle in 3rd place. The front 3 cars were once again tight and left no room for error.
Cameron Waters stayed strong and held the lead using his experience to fend off the two drivers right on his tail.
Soon Cameron Water and David Reynolds edged away from Thomas Randle still holding 3rd place.
They were both on fire screaming ahead of the pack.
They crossed the finish line 0.67 seconds apart and way ahead of the others. Thomas Randle came in 14.353 seconds later to earn 3rd place. It was an incredible finish for an intense race.
Results for Race 27
1st Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing.
2nd David Reynolds – Grove Racing.
3rd Thomas Randle – Castrol Racing & Tradie Racing.
In Race 28 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position for the 10th time this season. This is an incredible feat and he was given the Armor All Pole Award for year along with $10,000. Next to him on the front row of the grid was Matt Payne.
As they took off Matt Payne got the jump and led into turns 1 and 2 for the first of 78 laps. As much as Brodie Kostecki tried he was not able to pass Matt Payne.
Further back Shane Van Gisbergen was trying to pass Anton de Pasquale but also wasn’t able to execute a pass. It wasn’t until a few laps later that he got into his stride.
On lap 2 Broc Feeney was able to get up the inside of Cameron Waters for 4th place.
David Reynolds made his move on lap 3 to pass Todd Hazelwood for 9th place.
Shane Van Gisbergen was now moving through the pack and had now passed Anton de Pasquale, Will Davison and Will Brown for 11th place.
On lap 6 Nick Percat made contact with Jack le Brocq who went off the track and into the tyre-wall at the final turn. Surprisingly, he managed to get himself out and the safety car did not have to be deployed.
After investigation the incident the officials took no further action against either driver.
By lap 10 Matt Payne had a 1.2 second lead over Brodie Kostecki.
Broc Feeney was putting pressure on Chaz Mostert for 3rd place. He managed to get by at turn 6.
Shane Van Gisbergen showed how eager he was to make up for the NC (Not Complete) he received in the first race at this event. He did the fastest lap of the race, 120.735 seconds.
On lap 11 Chaz Mostert was desperately trying to get 3rd place back from Broc Feeney. In his attempt Chaz Mostert made contact with him and did manage to pass. It was a messy attack and Chaz Mostert was later issued a 5 second time penalty.
Shane Van Gisbergen was the first of the Red Bull cars to take a pit-stop.
In the pit area Macauley Jones was spun around by Tim Slade who was coming out of his garage.
In the middle of the race Matt Payne was still in control with a 4.8 second lead over Broc Feeney flowed by David Reynolds in 3rd.
As the race continued Matt Payne kept edging ahead. Towards the end of the race, he had a 7.5 second lead over Broc Feeney and was on target to claim his maiden win with Penrite Racing.
Noone seemed able to make ground on the rookie Matt Payne. In fact he managed to edge further ahead of the competitors.
He crossed the line with a 8.548 second lead over Broc Feeney. David Reynolds come in 3rd a few seconds later.
It was a spectacular and solid win for Matt Payne. Congratulations!
Results for Race 28:
1st Matt Payne – Grove Racing.
2nd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing.
3rd David Reynolds – Grove Racing.
A massive congratulations to Erebus Motorsport and Brodie Kostecki. Well done!
This was the final race for the 2023 season. The next event will be the Bathurst Superfest on the 16th to the 25th of February 2024.
It’s with a sense of sadness that we say farewell to Shane Van Gisbergen. Well done on everything you have achieved in Supercars and best of luck for your new adventures in Nascar. Go get em!
On the weekend of the 7th to the 10th of April 2022 was the Beaurepairs Melbourne 400.
This year marks the 25th time that the Supercars have competed at Albert Park. This is including an appearance at the 2020 event which was abandoned due to Covid 19. The event was cancelled at the 11th hour.
Albert Park is one of the longer circuits in Australia at 5.3km with 14 corners. This event was made up of 4 races, 20 laps each.
The first race of the event marked James Courtney’s 500th start. Wow! Congratulations, what an incredible achievement.
The Formula 1 cars were the main attraction for the weekend so, as support category the Supercars used the secondary pit lane.
Before the racing got underway, F1 drivers Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez had a spin in Thomas Randle and Broc Feeney’s Supercars around the track. I’m sure it was quite an experience for them.
In the pre-race sessions:
Anton de Pasquale was fastest in Practice 1.
Rookie, Broc Feeney crashed at turn 5 causing a red flag.
Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Practice 2.
Garry Jacobson hit the wall at turn 5 in Practice 2. The impact was so much that another red flag was used so they could move wall back into place.
David Reynolds was fastest in Qualifying for Race 6.
Will Davison was fastest in Qualifying for Race 7.
Anton de Pasquale was fastest in Qualifying for Race 8.
Will Davison was fastest in Qualifying for Race 9.
In Race 6 David Reynolds started on pole position for the 18th time in his Supercars career. Alongside him was Anton de Pasquale.
Championship leader, Shane Van Gisbergen started in 23rd position at the back of the pack. This was because during Qualifying he got a curb infringement. His lap was disallowed. He came back in to put another set of tyres on. Meanwhile the session was red flagged and he didn’t get back on track to record a lap time.
David Reynolds had a perfect start off the grid and led into the first corner.
Shane Van Gisbergen immediately started charging through the field. Before the first lap was complete, he had gone from 23rd to 19th.
Coming onto the main straight to commence lap 2 the cars were 3 wide but Shane Van Gisbergen was still able to move up three places to 16th by the time they hit turn 1.
The cars up ahead were warned by their engineers that Shane Van Gisbergen was on THE CHARGE!
David Reynolds still had the lead and was holding off Chaz Mostert and Anton de Pasquale.
Garry Jacobson got up the inside of Will Brown and his next car to pass was Will’s teammate Brodie Kostecki.
By lap 3 David Reynolds’ soft tyres began to wear down and his car started sliding. He lost the lead to Chaz Mostert.
Nick Percat also passed David Reynolds dropping him from 2nd to 3rd. It put Walkinshaw Andretti United 1 and 2 on the track.
Lee Holdsworth was in the middle of the field. The team called him into the pits on lap 6 so they didn’t risk his teammate David Reynolds double stacking behind him.
Jack le Brocq (#34) also came in on lap 6 to have the power steering arm looked at.
On lap7 David Reynolds pitted due to blistering tyres. As he peeled off into the pits he was dropping down the order. Race leader, Chaz Mostert also followed him in.
Meanwhile the 2 times Supercars champion Shane Van Gisbergen had gained 17 positions and was now placed 6th. I was amazed! This is no easy feat in a mere 7 laps of a 20 lap race.
When Chaz Mostert and David Reynolds rejoined the race, they were in positions 9th and 10th. At this point the leaders were Nick Percat and Macauley Jones.
On lap 8 at the exit of turn 3 Andre Heimgartner ran straight off the track taking James Courtney with him. Andre Heimgartner was warned with a bad sportsmanship flag for exceeding track limits.
Shane Van Gisbergen had made it all the way up to 4th position before coming in on lap 9 for his one and only pitstop. When he rejoined he was behind Nick Percat and in position 17 with only 4 cars yet to make their stops.
A few laps later all the pitstops were completed and Chaz Mostert was back in the lead followed by David Reynolds and Will Davison. Shane Van Gisbergen made his way up to 5th place.
With clean air Chaz Mostert kept edging further ahead. He was incredibly fast and drove faultlessly. It was soon apparent that he was uncatchable. All he had to do was just hang in there.
With four laps remaining Shane Van Gisbergen passed Nick Percat and Will Davison almost at the same time to put him in 3rd place. It was just incredible. He yelled over the radio comms ‘This is f-ing awesome!’. That really cracked me up.
To play it safe Chaz pulled back on the aggressive driving knowing he had a good lead. In the last few hundred meters he zig zagged to the finish line out of pure joy (That’s why I call him Cheeky Chaz). His next rival was David Reynolds 7.6839 second later followed by Shane Van Gisbergen who had started in 23rd place and finished 3rd. Now that is incredible racing!
Result for Race 6
1st Chaz Mostert – Mobil 1 Optus Racing.
2nd David Reynolds – Penrite Racing.
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing.
In Race 7 Will Davison started on pole position. Alongside him was David Reynolds. Shane Van Gisbergen started 3rd.
At the start of the race Will Davison got the jump off the line and led into turn 1.
David Reynolds had a bad start and Shane Van Gisbergen immediately took the opportunity and moved into 2nd place.
Broc Feeney hit the wall on the exit of turn 1 after help from Brodie Kostecki.
At this stage Will Davison was looking strong. I was thinking that he may win might win his first race for Dick Johnson Racing and his first race win since Bathurst in 2016.
A few laps later the cars back in the pack pitted early for clear track.
On lap 5 Andre Heimgartner got turned around by Will Brown. Heimgarter’s car was wedged in the wall. The safety car was deployed to tow it back to the pits. He wasn’t able to rejoin the race and received an NC (Not complete).
Shane Van Gisbergen now had the lead.
When Anton de Pasquale came into the pits he was in 3rd place. He couldn’t get car 11 re-fired and was sitting there for what seemed an eternity. As a result, he came back onto the track in 20th position.
By the middle of the race all pitstops were completed. Shane Van Gisbergen was back in the lead.
Broc Feeney (#88) was called into the pits with a front left tyre losing pressure. The Red Bull Ampol Racing team only changed the one tyre and he was back out on the track.
Also, on lap 10 Cameron Waters tagged Will Davison at turn 3 spinning him off into the gravel trap. For the second time, the safety car was deployed. Waters was issued a drive through penalty for his actions.
At this stage Shane Van Gisbergen was looking good for another win. David Reynolds was in 2nd, James Courtney in 3rd and Chaz Mostert 4th.
Cameron Waters served his drive through penalty with 7 laps to go. It dropped him all the way down to 22nd position.
On lap 14 Tim Slade got down the inside of Garry Jacobson for position number 8. He then passed Todd Hazelwood for 7th position.
Garry Jacobson got up the inside of Nick Percat in battle for 9th and 10th place.
With 5 laps to go Shane Van Gisbergen had a 1.6 second lead over David Reynolds, with James Courtney 1.1 seconds behind that. Chaz Mostert was in 4th position.
The races were ‘time certain’. Due to the 2 safety car deployments the race was looking to go overtime. On lap 18 the officials called time + 1 lap (cutting out the 20th lap).
On the last lap Shane Van Gisbergen did his best lap time of the race and increased his lead to 2 seconds.
Mostert was desperate to get on the podium. It was the last lap and he was pushing hard on James Courtney. As they reached the last corner before the home straight they locked horns and James Courtney spun around. Mostert kept going but Lee Holdsworth had taken him over so Mostert was back in 4th where he started.
There was no time for Mostert to make up the lost time.
Shane Van Gisbergen crossed the line 2+ seconds ahead of David Reynolds. They followed by a lucky Lee Holdsworth and then Chaz Mostert in fourth place. It was a dramatic last-minute finish.
James Courtney was so unfortunate and finished in 22nd place.
Results for Race 7
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing.
2nd David Reynolds – Grove Racing.
3rd Lee Holdsworth – Grove Racing.
In Race 8 Anton de Pasquale started on pole position alongside him was his teammate, Will Davison.
Shane Van Gisbergen and David Reynolds were 3rd and 4th on the grid.
At the start of the race Anton de Pasquale led into turn 1 for the first of 20 laps. Will Davison was right behind him. David Reynolds hanging onto 3rd position followed by Shane Van Gisbergen.
Scott Pye went off the track at turn 1 on lap 1
The cars further back in the pack were going off the track left, right and centre. At turn 2 Percat, Hazelwood, Brodie Kostecki, Holdsworth, Jones, Heimgartner and Randle all came off the track but managed to recover.
Scott Pye left the track skiing across the sand trap but he also managed to recover.
It was amazing that the entire field got through turns 1 and 2.
However, on lap 2 Scott Pye came into the pits with a puncture on the front right.
The race leader soon settled into his race pace with a ¾ second lead. There was active battling for positions 2, 3 and 4.
Between turns 9 and 10 on lap 2 Bryce Fulwood went very wide but surprisingly managed a quick return to the track.
By lap 3 Cameron Waters was in the pits changing tyres and dropped all the way down to 22nd position.
The top 4 places were unchanged; Anton de Pasquale, Will Davison, David Reynolds and Shane Van Gisbergen.
On lap 4 Anton de Pasquale locked up leaving the track at turn 1. It knocked him back from 1st to 3rd. Will Davison was the new race leader, with David Reynolds in 2nd place. For Anton de Pasquale who is second on the championship ladder it was a serious blunder.
When Tim Slade and Chaz Mostert came in for their stops he gave the back of Tim Slade’s car a wallop. It was a surprise but not serious and didn’t escalate.
On lap 5 Will Davison was the next to pit, handing over the lead to David Reynolds. Anton de Pasquale was still 2nd, Shane Van Gisbergen was 3rd and his teammate, Broc Feeney was in 4th (only + 2.601 seconds behind). Soon Anton de Pasquale pitted but the top 14 cars were still yet to pit.
By lap 6 Shane Van Gisbergen had taken the race lead off David Reynolds which then gave Shane Van Gisbergen clear track.
Broc Feeney had dropped to 8th place. Then Mark Winterbottom got down the inside of him to take another spot from him.
By the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was back in the lead after pitting.
Shane Van Gisbergen never looked back. He held his lead and increased the gap to 5.6473 seconds by the time he crossed the finish line. Next was Will Davison, David Reynolds and Anton de Pasquale all spread a few seconds apart.
This win for Shane Van Gisbergen also means he has outdone Russell Ingall’s record of 8 race wins at Albert Park. Ingall set this record back in 2003 (19years ago). Im sure it’s quite an honour for Gisbergen.
Results for Race 8
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing.
2nd Will Davison – Shell V-Power Racing Team.
3rd David Reynolds – Penrite Racing.
In race 9 Will Davison started on pole position. Alongside him was teammate Anton de Pasquale. Chaz Mostert started 3rd. The hero of the weekend, Shane Van Gisbergen 6th on the grid.
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At the start of the race Will Davison got the jump on his teammate going into turn 1. I was amazed, it was such a perfect start.
However, Jack Smith didn’t have the same launch. He stalled car 4 on the start line and was unable to get it started. The safety car was deployed for it to be removed from the track. Jack Smith Received an NC (Not Complete) without even starting the race!
Shane Van Gisbergen tried to go around the outside of Cameron Waters at turn 3 but it didn’t work.
The cars back in the pack were battling for positions early on. There was quite a lot of movement. About 12 cars shuffled positions with some moving as much as 10 places.
Some others moved up but then moved back, like Tim Slade who got down the inside of Brodie Kostecki at turn 4. Brodie Kostecki then got him back at turn 5.
While the race leaders were staying out because they had track position the others soon started pitting.
I was surprised that leader Will Davison pitted on lap 5. Mostert was in 2nd place and now had the lead. It was only brief. Shane Van Gisbergen took him over moment later.
David Reynolds was keeping out of trouble early on but he was in position 10. He then hit the wall on lap 6 and had to pit. The car couldn’t be repaired and he had to retire from the race.
In the middle of the race all driver pitstops were in the process of being completed. It was now even racing to the finish.
On lap 11 Thomas Randle also suffered the same fate as Reynolds and Smith. He was the 3rd driver forced to retire from the race.
Towards the end of the race Chaz Mostert had the lead again. He had Shane Van Gisbergen putting pressure on him and it looked to be a strong challenge. There were only a few laps remaining.
Shane Van Gisbergen was pushing hard. On lap 18 (2 lap to go) Shane Van Gisbergen’s car gave in under the strain. The front tyre blew out and he was forced into the pits. He must have been extremely disappointed as he is fast enough even to challenge the super-fast Chaz Mostert. It would have meant 3 out 4 wins for the weekend.
Chaz Mostert now had a clear run to the finish line. It earned his second win at the event.
In 2nd place Will Davison followed 5.2 seconds later, with Anton de Pasquale another 1.66 seconds behind. It was an incredible finish to the weekend.
Results for Race 9
1st Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United.
2nd Will Davison – Shell V-Power Racing Team.
3rd Anton de Pasquale – Shell V-Power Racing Team.
The Bathurst 6 Hour was the next event of interest on the calendar. It is always run on the Easter long weekend. It is not part of the Supercars series but is a production car event. Shane Van Gisbergen was meant to defend the title but was unable to due to COVID. Nick Percat sat in for him.
Let’s hope that SVG is on the mend and in good health for the next Supercars event; The Bunnings Trade Perth Supernight on the 30th of April to the 1st of May.
Its January 2021 and its still the off season for Supercars. I was looking back over some past races and I thought I would review the 2009 Dunlop Townsville 400. It stands out for me because it was the first ever Townsville race. It was 72 laps / 200 Kilometres.
It was race 11 in the season.
Lee Holdsworth started on pole position for the 200km / 72 laps. Alongside him was James Courtney.
Race 11 start during the Dunlop Townsville 400, Event 06 of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series at the Reed Park Street Circuit, Townsville, Queensland, Saturday, July 11, 2009.
James Courtney got the jump and led into turn 1.
Then 3 or 4 cars made contact at turn 2. It was a tense moment.
James Courtney kept the lead for those early laps while Lee Holdsworth battled Garth Tander for 2nd place.
After such a confident start James Courtney in the Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon dropped a cylinder. The lead was taken up by pole sitter, Lee Holdsworth and while Garth Tander pitted Jamie Whincup held 2nd.
James Courtney had to park in the garage and watch the rest of the race from the sideline.
In the middle of the race Jack Perkins was in the pack of leading cars. His presence seemed to have not been welcome. With a slight tap from behind by Jamie Whincup he was spun round and joined the cars at the back of the pack. Incidently, Jamie Whincup wasnt penalised for his action.
As the race drew to a close the leaders seemed to have a solid hold on their positions which no one could catch. They held firm and crossed the finish line; Jamie Whincup, Will Davison and Garth Tander.
On the weekend of August 29 and 30, 2020 was the NTI Townsville Supersprint.
Three races were run, each 39 laps of a Townsville Reed Park street circuit.
In the first race of the weekend, Race 19 Jamie Whincup started scored the pole position. Alongside him was David Reynolds.
Jamie Whincup made the most of it and got the jump into turn 1.
Further back in the pack Anton de Pasquale got turned at turn 2.
Then Shane Van Gibergen had damage due to hitting the cars in front of him. The Red Bull Team had to put him & his car 97 in the garage to repair the damage. Rick Kelly and Kelly Racing teammate, Andre Heimgartner also had damage. This wasn’t ideal because they are not near their home base in Victoria due to the COVID19 border closures.
Scott McLaughlin was shoved from behind and I was surprised that he escaped any significant damage so was able to keep going.
Scott McLaughlin was obviously not satisfied with starting position of 16 and gained 8 spots on the opening lap.
Todd Hazelwood left the track on lap 7 and didn’t return. By lap 23 his teammate Nick Percat also left the track without returning. Both received NC (Not Complete). Brad Jones Racing Team only had Jack Smith left on the track. Regardless of his dramas he did manage to finish the race.
There were a number of other drivers who didn’t make it to the finish line and received NCs. They included Zane Goddard, Andre Heimgartner and Macauley Jones. Five in total.
Jamie Whincup maintained his lead and continued to increase his lead. He managed to cros the finish line to take the win nearly 7 seconds ahead of Cameron Waters in 2nd place and close to 7 seconds after that was Chaz Mostert in 3rd place.
It was a much needed win for the Red Bull Team closing the gap on championship team leaders Shell V-Power Racing Team. It stepped up the competition for the rest of the weekend.
Results for Race 19
1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
Jamie Whincup earned himself another pole start for Race 20. Alongside him was Chaz Mostert.
Once again Jamie Whincup led into turn 1. The cars further back were trying to stay out of trouble and just maintain position.
Fabian Coulthard came in early so he wouldn’t interfere with teammate, Scott McLaighlin’s pit stop.
Shane Van Gisbergen also pitted first for the same reason. His teammate, Jamie Whincup was still leading.
Rick Kelly might have missed an opportunity but after the previous race didn’t want to risk making contact with another car.
By the middle of the race Jamie Whincup seemed to have secured his lead. He held his position right to the end. His experience ensured there were no slip ups or mistakes.
He crossed the finish line just over 3 seconds ahead of Chaz Mostert and his teammate, Shane VanGisbergen come in to collect 3rd place.
Things were really beginning to hot up in the competition.
Results for Race 20
1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
In Race 21 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position with Cameron Waters alongside him.
Scott McLaughlin had a mission and led into turn 1. From that point he didn’t look back! He was adamant that Jamie Whincup would not win 3 of 3 races for the weekend.
After a few average results in the last event, I was surprised Scott McLaughlin in car 17 dominated the race.
Cameron Waters who started from second on the grid also managed to keep his place and came in 2nd place.
Nick Percat slipped one place giving way to Jamie Whincup who gained 1 spot from his start and finished 3rd.
Results for Race 21
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V-Power Racing
2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
The 2nd Townsville event is this weekend on September 5th and 6th, 2020.
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.
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.
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.
