On the weekend of August 16 – 18 2024 was the Ned Whiskey Tasmania Supersprint, round 8 of the 2024 Supercars Championship. it was held.
Symmons Plains International Raceway in Launceston Tasmania was first opened in March 1960. After the closure of the Longford Road Circuit, it quickly established its own reputation as Tasmania’s home of touring car championship motor racing.
The Symmons Plains International Raceway is 2.4kms with 7 turns. This track has been dominated by Triple Eight Race Engineering in recent years. Triple Eight has won at least one race in every Tasmanian round since its first success in the Apple Isle in 2007 with 27 wins out of 40 starts. The only exception being 2013 when Brad Jones Racing took both races.
Mark Winterbottom reached a milestone in this year’s event. In the second race, he started his 600th ATCC race. Winterbottom’s career spans all the way back to the 2005 Darwin Triple Crown. Congratulations!
As the weekend kicked off the results in the pre-race sessions were as follows:
David Reynolds was fastest in Practice 1
Ritchie Stanaway was fastest Practice 2
Cameron Hill was fastest in Practice 3
Broc Feeney was fastest in Qualifying
In Race 17 Broc Feeney started on pole position with Cameron Waters alongside him.
At the start of the race Broc Feeney got the jump and led into turn 1 for the first of 55 laps.
At turn 6 Matt Payne got turned around by Will Davison which put both drivers at the back of the pack in 23rd and 24th place.
This year’s championship leader Will Brown started 16th on the grid. He moved up 1 place to 15th.
As they completed the opening laps, last year’s season champion, Brodie Kostecki dropped down 1 spot to 4th when Nick Percat took over 3rd place.
Pretty soon Brodie Kostecki lost another spot to Chaz Mostert.
On lap 8 Broc Feeney still had the lead. Cameron Waters was .6 seconds behind in 2nd place. Nick Percat was 1.6 seconds further back in 3rd.
Will Brown was eager to make up for his bad grid positioning (of 16) and now in 12th place. He seemed keen to get up the front where the action was.
The first car to pit in this race was Ryan Wood on lap 20. He came back out in 22nd position.
Cameron Waters in 2nd place was the first of the front runners to pit on lap 27. Broc Feeney stayed out to make the most of his race lead.
Feeney was now followed by Nick Percat in 2nd and Chaz Mostert in 3rd.
Percat and Mostert then chose to pit on the same lap. The returned to the race in 10th and 12th respectively with Cameron Waters between them in 11th place.
Broc Feeney was ordered to pit next time around.
There were 9 cars yet to stop before the pole sitter Broc Feeney would assume the lead. However, Nick Percat’s pit stop time was so quick he came back out in front of Broc Feeney.
Chaz Mostert returned from his pit stop in 3rd place and on lap 34 did the fastest lap time of the race, 51.732 seconds.
Towards the end of the race Chaz Mostert had to regain 3rd place from Cameron Waters.
Chaz knew he was in contention for a podium finish but still put the pressure on to try get second place or a win. That is the mindset of a champion.
It wasn’t until the final few laps that Mostert took an opportunity to pass Broc Feeney. Chaz Mostert was now in 2nd place and chasing Nick Percat for the number 1 spot.
Mostert ran out of time and in the end Nick Percat crossed the finish line 0.614 seconds ahead of him. Broc Feeney followed in at 3rd 1.783 seconds later.
It really was an exciting and tense finish.
Results for Race 17:
1st Nick Percat – Matt Stone Racing 2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United 3rd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
In Race 18 Thomas Randle started on pole position. On the front row alongside him was Cameron Waters.
Thomas Randle got the jump off the start line and led into turns 1 and 2 for the first of 55 laps. He was followed by Cameron Waters, Will Brown and David Reynolds in 2nd, 3rd and 4th place. At turn 4 Thomas Randle ran wide and Cameron Waters took the lead of the race.
Cameron Hill was in the front pack but at turn 6 also ran wide and went off the track.
Last year’s season champ Brodie Kostecki had started 8th on the grid. He moved up through the front runners but when he got to David Reynolds in 4th place he struggled to take over.
On lap 8 Kostecki made another attempt but failed and tapped Reynolds car who then spun off the track. It was a dangerous spot to be stranded and the safety car went out.
The majority of the field took advantage of the “yellow flag” to take their mandatory pit stops.
Brodie Kostecki was not out of trouble yet. When Mark Winterbottom was coming in for his stop, Brodie collided with him damaging his own car. For a moment it looked as if he was going to be out of the race. They did manage to make repairs and he resumed a few laps later.
The race officials investigated the incident and once the race resumed issued Brodie Kostecki a drive thru penalty.
The restart was on lap 12. Cameron Waters was still in control followed by Will Brown and Thomas Randle. Broc Feeney moved up to 6th and Chaz Mostert to 7th place.
When Brodie Kostecki executed his drive through penalty he exceeded the pit lane speed (40kmph) and was given another pit lane penalty. He then received a 3rd drive through penalty for another pit lane infringement. It just wasn’t his day.
On lap 20 Aaron Love and Jaxon Evans made contact with each other. Aaron Love was able to continue but Jaxon Evans was stranded and another safety car was deployed.
The restart was on lap 25. On the next lap Matt Payne received a drive thru penalty for disobeying the red light on the pit lane exit.
Through the middle stages of the race the top 10 positions stayed much the same. Cameron Waters was out front followed by Will Brown and Thomas Randle.
Finally, around lap 37 Broc Feeney created some action. He took over Jack le Brocq to take 5th place. Soon after he passed Bryce Fullwood for 4th place.
With 10 laps to go Thomas Randle ran high and wide allowing Broc Feeney to go up to 3rd place. He was now right behind his teammate Will Brown and probably making Brown and Cameron Waters concerned about keeping him at bay.
With 8 laps left Cameron Waters had a healthy lead of 3.096 seconds over Will Brown. Broc Feeney was close behind Brown and putting in a challenge for second place.
Thomas Randle gave Broc Feeney a bump at the hairpin turn 4. Both cars spun but stayed on the track. By the time they got their cars facing the right direction and got up to speed, they down the order outside the top 10. Thomas Randle was issued a 15 second time penalty for his actions whish pushed him further back.
Cameron Waters kept edging away from the pack. With clear track there was nothing that could stop him.
By the time he got to the finish line Cameron Waters had 6.3 seconds over Will Brown. Bryce Fullwood followed in 3rd place 1.4 seconds later.
The Randle / Feeney incident was an unexpected turn of events in the last laps. It made for some tense moments at the finish. Unfortunately for them, Feeney came in 15th and Randle 18th. It’s a shame that Randle who was leading earlier on, was on his way to his first professional win ended up so far back. For Feeney who looked like he would have at least a podium finish didn’t earn enough points to stay in 2nd place on the season championship ladder.
On the weekend of 26th and 27th of March 2022 was the Ned Whiskey Tasmania Supersprint.
This year marks the 49th time this event has been at Symmons Plains Raceway. This year’s event comprised of 3 races of 44 laps each. It’s a short track of 2.4 km with 7 turns. For these Supercars a lap is just under 50 seconds.
Chaz Mostert came to this event as the current championship leader for the first time in his Supercars career.
Garry Jacobson reached a milestone starting his 100th Supercars championship race on Saturday.
The weekend also provided the opportunity for the defending series champion, Shane Van Gisbergen to move passed the total race win tally of two former Supercars champions, Garth Tander and Scott McLaughlin.
Mark Winterbottom was poised to take over the mantle as the most experienced Supercars driver at Symmons Plains Raceway by the end of the weekend. It was also Mark Winterbottom’s 46th start at this track. He has finished every race at Symmons Plains Raceway. OMG! What an amazing achievement!
For this year’s newcomer to Supercars Brocq Feeney, it will be his first time at this track.
So, as you can see it was promising to be a great event.
In the pre-race sessions:
Will Davison was fastest in Practice 1
Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Practice 2
Cameron Waters was fastest in Qualifying.
In race 3 Cameron Waters started on pole position with Will Davison alongside him. The 19 year old rookie, Brocq Feeney earned himself 3rd and Shane Van Gisbergen started 5th.
At the start of the race Cameron Waters got the jump and led into turns 1 and 2 while the cars behind battled for positions.
Will Davison tried to go around the outside of Cameron Waters on the opening lap, but he couldn’t find the right space to make the move. Brodie Kostecki took advantage and moved up to 2nd behind race leader Cameron Waters, pushing Will Davison into 3rd place.
Shane Van Gisbergen was on the charge passing cars left right and centre. Anton de Pasquale was amazed by the driving from Shane Van Gisbergen.
Walkinshaw Andretti united pitted Nick Percat in car 2 early because of damage.
Thomas Randle went out in the weeds on lap 1 and so did Macauley Jones on lap 2.
For the opening few laps Cameron Waters was enjoying the clear air.
The cars back in the pack pitted early on to get clear track.
The first driver to pit was Jake Kostecki in car 56, because he was getting held up by other cars.
Cameron Waters stayed out because he had track position.
Will Davison pitted first so his teammate Anton de Pasquale didn’t have to double stack if the safety car was deployed.
At the end of the first quarter of the race Jack Le Brocq went off the track at turn 2. As he hit the sand trap, he broke the right front suspension. The car was still driveable, but he still headed straight for the pits.
The cars further back in the pack were battling for positions.
Chaz Mostert got up the inside of James Courtney to move up to 10th position.
Shane Van Gisbergen got up the inside of Will Davison who had worked his way back into 2nd place. Moments later Shane Van Gisbergen then took the race lead off Cameron Waters. The Dick Johnson Racing Team reacted, it was now the best time to get Will Davison to bring in car 17 for his compulsory pitstop.
The cars now following Shane Van Gisbergen were battling for 2nd 3rd and 4th.
By the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was still in the lead and looking in shape for his 2nd win of 2022.
Mark Winterbottom turned David Reynolds around at turn 4 and copped a drive through penalty. Chaz Mostert was tailing the two drivers and had nowhere to go. He had a head-on with Reynold’s spun car. Chaz Mostert suffered a lot of damage to the right front and was forced to head into the pits. Reynolds got off lightly and continued driving.
Shane Van Gisbergen held his lead through the second half of the race.
As the defending champion he appeared confident and drove flawlessly. As he came across the line he had just under a 3 second lead over Will Davison and a further spread of almost 3.5 seconds over Cameron Waters.
Chaz Mostert finished 23rd and Broc Feeney held up well finishing 5th.
Results for Race 3
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing.
2nd Will Davison – Shell V-Power Racing Team.
3rd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing Team.
In race 4 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position with his teammate Brocq Feeney alongside him.
Brocq Feeney got the jump of the start and led into turns 1 and 2, then pulled away from the pack with his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen playing rear gunner.
In between turns 6 and 7 there was contact between Jack Le Brocq and Andre Heimgartner. It was a brutal run in before the first lap was complete the red flagged was out so they could clean up the mess.
The race resumed with a rolling start and Brocq Feeney got the jump again with his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen right behind him.
While Brocq Feeney was in control of the race, he had full backup from Shane Van Gisbergen.
Further back Mark Winterbottom was moving up through the field really quickly.
Also back in the pack Garry Jacobson was putting in a fierce challenge to Chris Pither.
The other cars came in early because they were getting held up.
Scott Pye was behind his teammate Mark Winterbottom acting as rear gunner.
In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen took the lead off his younger teammate. Brocq Feeney knew he couldn’t pass Shane Van Gisbergen so worked hard at keeping in 2nd place.
Cam Waters and Tim Slade were pushing hard against each other. Tim Slade lost control sliding sideways onto the grass and getting air under all four tyres. On landing it seemed the car should surely roll but it didn’t! A miracle! He kept sliding and crossed the track further ahead. Amazingly didn’t get collected by any other drivers. That’s 2 miracles in about 2 seconds.
Up the front the drivers were holding their positions. Chaz Mostert was chasing down David Reynolds for third place but there wasn’t much opportunity to move up.
Broc Feeney crossed the line only 2.4 seconds behind Shane Van Gisbergen. They were followed by David Reynolds with Chaz Mostert hot on his tail.
It was a brutal race with four drivers served NC’s (Not Complete); Jack Le Brocq leaving before the end of the first lap, Jake Kostecki on lap 7, Andre Heimgartner on lap 11 and Thomas Randall so close to the end on lap 39.
Shane Van Gisbergen had now earned 2 wins from 2 starts for the weekend. The defending champ was showing what he is truly made of.
Results for Race 4
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing.
2nd Brocq Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing.
3rd David Reynolds– Penrite Racing.
In Race 5 Will Davison started on pole position with Jack le Brocq alongside him.
At the start of race Jack le Brocq took the lead into the first turn with Will Davison dropping in behind at 2nd.
I was amazed that Jack le Brocq was leading during the opening stages after the damage to his car 34 on the first lap of Race 4.
On lap 2 he locked up of the front wheels at turn 4 and slid out onto the grass. He dropped down the order big time.
Will Davison now had the lead with the unenviable issue of having Shane Van Gisbergen right behind him in 2nd place.
While the leaders were pulling away, the drivers back in the pack pitted early because they were getting held up by other cars.
Mark Winterbottom was battling with Jack le Brocq for positions 6 and 7.
By the middle of the race all the pitstops were complete and Shane van Gisbergen took the lead of the race.
Although the leading pack was tight it seemed Shane Van Gisbergen could not be passed. He had total control.
He was followed across the finish line by pole sitter, Will Davison and Anton de Pasquale with a desperate David Reynolds less than half a second behind him.
Shane Van Gisbergen had a great weekend earning 3 wins from the 3 starts. What a way to start the year!
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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!
On the weekend of 26th and 27th of March 2022 was the Ned Whiskey Tasmania Supersprint.
This year marks the 49th time this event has been at Symmons Plains Raceway. This year’s event comprised of 3 races of 44 laps each. It’s a short track of 2.4 km with 7 turns. For these Supercars a lap is just under 50 seconds.
Chaz Mostert came to this event as the current championship leader for the first time in his Supercars career.
Garry Jacobson reached a milestone starting his 100th Supercars championship race on Saturday.
The weekend also provided the opportunity for the defending series champion, Shane Van Gisbergen to move passed the total race win tally of two former Supercars champions, Garth Tander and Scott McLaughlin.
Mark Winterbottom was poised to take over the mantle as the most experienced Supercars driver at Symmons Plains Raceway by the end of the weekend. It was also Mark Winterbottom’s 46th start at this track. He has finished every race at Symmons Plains Raceway. OMG! What an amazing achievement!
For this year’s newcomer to Supercars Brocq Feeney, it will be his first time at this track.
So, as you can see it was promising to be a great event.
In the pre-race sessions:
Will Davison was fastest in Practice 1
Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Practice 2
Cameron Waters was fastest in Qualifying.
In race 3 Cameron Waters started on pole position with Will Davison alongside him. The 19 year old rookie, Brocq Feeney earned himself 3rd and Shane Van Gisbergen started 5th.
At the start of the race Cameron Waters got the jump and led into turns 1 and 2 while the cars behind battled for positions.
Will Davison tried to go around the outside of Cameron Waters on the opening lap, but he couldn’t find the right space to make the move. Brodie Kostecki took advantage and moved up to 2nd behind race leader Cameron Waters, pushing Will Davison into 3rd place.
Shane Van Gisbergen was on the charge passing cars left right and centre. Anton de Pasquale was amazed by the driving from Shane Van Gisbergen.
Walkinshaw Andretti united pitted Nick Percat in car 2 early because of damage.
Thomas Randle went out in the weeds on lap 1 and so did Macauley Jones on lap 2.
For the opening few laps Cameron Waters was enjoying the clear air.
The cars back in the pack pitted early on to get clear track.
The first driver to pit was Jake Kostecki in car 56, because he was getting held up by other cars.
Cameron Waters stayed out because he had track position.
Will Davison pitted first so his teammate Anton de Pasquale didn’t have to double stack if the safety car was deployed.
At the end of the first quarter of the race Jack Le Brocq went off the track at turn 2. As he hit the sand trap, he broke the right front suspension. The car was still driveable, but he still headed straight for the pits.
The cars further back in the pack were battling for positions.
Chaz Mostert got up the inside of James Courtney to move up to 10th position.
Shane Van Gisbergen got up the inside of Will Davison who had worked his way back into 2nd place. Moments later Shane Van Gisbergen then took the race lead off Cameron Waters. The Dick Johnson Racing Team reacted, it was now the best time to get Will Davison to bring in car 17 for his compulsory pitstop.
The cars now following Shane Van Gisbergen were battling for 2nd 3rd and 4th.
By the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was still in the lead and looking in shape for his 2nd win of 2022.
Mark Winterbottom turned David Reynolds around at turn 4 and copped a drive through penalty. Chaz Mostert was tailing the two drivers and had nowhere to go. He had a head-on with Reynold’s spun car. Chaz Mostert suffered a lot of damage to the right front and was forced to head into the pits. Reynolds got off lightly and continued driving.
Shane Van Gisbergen held his lead through the second half of the race.
As the defending champion he appeared confident and drove flawlessly. As he came across the line he had just under a 3 second lead over Will Davison and a further spread of almost 3.5 seconds over Cameron Waters.
Chaz Mostert finished 23rd and Broc Feeney held up well finishing 5th.
Results for Race 3
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing.
2nd Will Davison – Shell V-Power Racing Team.
3rd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing Team.
In race 4 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position with his teammate Brocq Feeney alongside him.
Brocq Feeney got the jump of the start and led into turns 1 and 2, then pulled away from the pack with his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen playing rear gunner.
In between turns 6 and 7 there was contact between Jack Le Brocq and Andre Heimgartner. It was a brutal run in before the first lap was complete the red flagged was out so they could clean up the mess.
The race resumed with a rolling start and Brocq Feeney got the jump again with his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen right behind him.
While Brocq Feeney was in control of the race, he had full backup from Shane Van Gisbergen.
Further back Mark Winterbottom was moving up through the field really quickly.
Also back in the pack Garry Jacobson was putting in a fierce challenge to Chris Pither.
The other cars came in early because they were getting held up.
Scott Pye was behind his teammate Mark Winterbottom acting as rear gunner.
In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen took the lead off his younger teammate. Brocq Feeney knew he couldn’t pass Shane Van Gisbergen so worked hard at keeping in 2nd place.
Cam Waters and Tim Slade were pushing hard against each other. Tim Slade lost control sliding sideways onto the grass and getting air under all four tyres. On landing it seemed the car should surely roll but it didn’t! A miracle! He kept sliding and crossed the track further ahead. Amazingly didn’t get collected by any other drivers. That’s 2 miracles in about 2 seconds.
Up the front the drivers were holding their positions. Chaz Mostert was chasing down David Reynolds for third place but there wasn’t much opportunity to move up.
Broc Feeney crossed the line only 2.4 seconds behind Shane Van Gisbergen. They were followed by David Reynolds with Chaz Mostert hot on his tail.
It was a brutal race with four drivers served NC’s (Not Complete); Jack Le Brocq leaving before the end of the first lap, Jake Kostecki on lap 7, Andre Heimgartner on lap 11 and Thomas Randall so close to the end on lap 39.
Shane Van Gisbergen had now earned 2 wins from 2 starts for the weekend. The defending champ was showing what he is truly made of.
Results for Race 4
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing.
2nd Brocq Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing.
3rd David Reynolds– Penrite Racing.
In Race 5 Will Davison started on pole position with Jack le Brocq alongside him.
At the start of race Jack le Brocq took the lead into the first turn with Will Davison dropping in behind at 2nd.
I was amazed that Jack le Brocq was leading during the opening stages after the damage to his car 34 on the first lap of Race 4.
On lap 2 he locked up of the front wheels at turn 4 and slid out onto the grass. He dropped down the order big time.
Will Davison now had the lead with the unenviable issue of having Shane Van Gisbergen right behind him in 2nd place.
While the leaders were pulling away, the drivers back in the pack pitted early because they were getting held up by other cars.
Mark Winterbottom was battling with Jack le Brocq for positions 6 and 7.
By the middle of the race all the pitstops were complete and Shane van Gisbergen took the lead of the race.
Although the leading pack was tight it seemed Shane Van Gisbergen could not be passed. He had total control.
He was followed across the finish line by pole sitter, Will Davison and Anton de Pasquale with a desperate David Reynolds less than half a second behind him.
Shane Van Gisbergen had a great weekend earning 3 wins from the 3 starts. What a way to start the year!
Results for race 5
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing.
2nd Anton de Pasquale – Shell V-Power Racing Team.
3rd Will Davison – Shell V-Power Racing Team.
The next event is the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix from the 7th to the 10th of April.
On the weekend of the 5th to the 7th of April, 2019 was the Tyrepower Tasmania Supersprint.
The pre-race sessions for race 7 were almost as fun to watch as the main race.
In the additional co-driver practice session Warren Luff was the fastest.
Jamie Whincup lost his fastest time passing under a yellow flag due to Nick Percat getting stuck in the sandtrap. The result of this was Chaz Mostert clocked the fastest time in Practice 1.
Jamie Whincup got back and was fastest in Practice 2.
Then Nick Percat was fastest in Practice 3.
In Qualifying for Race 7, Jamie Whincup spun around at turn 4 meaning he couldn’t take any further part in the session. Originally he was destined to go into the race at the 25th spot but somehow he ended up starting 15th.
Mark Winterbottom was fastest in Qualifying and gained himself the pole position.
In race 7, alongside Mark Winterbottom on pole was Scott McLaughlin.
At the start of the 50-lap race Scott Mclaughlin got the jump off the line which meant that Mark Winterbottom had to pull back into 2nd place, only Because he didn’t get to turn 1 and 2 1st.
Jamie Whincup had gained 1 spot up to 14th but made contact as he tried to get past Chaz Mostert at turn 6 and received damage to the front end and was forced to pit. As a result that put him 2 laps down.
When he re-joined, he had to stay out of the way because he was 2 laps down which made it impossible to gain any ground.
Fabian Coulthard was following his teammate Scott McLaughlin who had ‘the man flu’. It didn’t seem possible that he would take the number 1 position from Scott McLaughlin. However, it seemed more likely that Scott McLaughlin would need to exit the race due to his poor condition from the flu.
Scott McLaughlin was in the lead and simply not giving up another win for the season just because of the flu. (Proving it is harder to beat the ‘man flu’ than it is to beat everyone in the V8 Supercars).
By the middle of the race no one could catch Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard. They had such a strong lead and maintained it right to the end.
Results for Race 7
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
2nd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
In the Pre-Race sessions for race 8; Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 4 and Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Qualifying for Race 8.
In Race 8 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position and alongside him was Fabian Coulthard.
At the start of the 84-lap, 200 Kilometre race I think most cars were fitted with slicks, which I thought was brave given that it was spitting on the sighting lap.
On the opening lap there was contact between Lee Holdsworth and Andre Heimgartner.
James Courtney tried to get around the outside of Rick Kelly at turn 4 but wasn’t able to get the run on Rick Kelly.
Before the race started it had started to rain but once the race got underway it started to pour.
But I was Surprised that no one pitted for wets (tyres) because the clouds looked black as the ace of spades.
Garry Jacobson and a lot of other teams and drivers got pinged for not using the handbrake in the pitlane. Whoops!
After the first round of pitstops Fabian Coulthard was able to warm his wet weather slicks over the next lap before Scott McLaughlin rejoined the race. On fresh cold tyres Scott McLaughlin had to let Fabian Coulthard through at turn 4, the hairy hairpin.
Both the Ford Mustang’s of Lee Holdsworth and Cameron Waters were still in or exiting the pits when flames started coming out the left-hand side. There wasn’t any crash or apparent reason and it did seem weird that both seemed to have the same issue (was it sabotage by Red Bull? If any knows please post on my fanpage – a link is at the bottom of this article.)
In the middle of the race while Shane Van Gisbergen was pitting, David Reynolds was close in behind Fabian Coulthard at the lead. When the right opportunity came, David Reynolds made all the right moves and took the lead. Both drivers are veterans so it became exciting to see who would hold out the longest.
This became even more exciting as Shane Van Gisbergen returned to the race from his pit stop. Soon it was Shane Van Gisbergen’s race again. He returned to the lead and continued to dominate to the end.
The funniest moment of the weekend was When Garry Rogers rode a bike out on the Starting Grid fully clad in cycling gear. He looked hilarious in lycra. LOL.
Near the end of the race Anton de Pasquale’s gear leaver came loose in his car. My first thought was come in and get it fixed. Surprisingly he pressed on. Madness, I tell you, MADNESS!!
As the race came to a close nobody could catch Shane Van Gisbergen who crossed the finish line over 5 seconds ahead of Fabian Coulthard in second place, followed by David Reynolds nearly 2 seconds behind in 3rd place. Scott McLaughlin had made up 1 place to finish 4th with his man flu.
So it was Pole and Podium for Shane Van Gisbergen. A very nice result for Red Bull.
The next event is the WD40 Phillip Island Supersprint on the 12th to the 14th of April 2019.
Results for Race 8:
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V-Power Racing Team
3rd David Reynolds – Penrite Racing
On the weekend of the 7th to the 9th of April 2017 was the Tyrepower Tasmaina Supersprint.
Race 3 was meant to be 50 laps, a total of 120 Kilometres. As you will read below, things don’t always go to plan.
Although humorous in some ways but also a possible omen for what was to come, when Russell Ingall took Lee Holdsworth’s car out for a hot lap he hit the wrong button and set off the fire extinguisher. He exclaimed over the comms ‘Oops!!! what did I press?’
The wet weather at the Symmons Plains track seemed manageable enough and the drivers took their places.
Scott McLaughlin started on pole position and alongside him was Chaz Mostert.
On lap 1 Chaz Mostert got the jump on Scott McLaughlin and led the race on the opening lap. Shane Van Gisbergen was following not far behind.
On lap 2 the wet weather appeared to be affecting drivers as they headed down the straight. It looked as though Rick Kelly and Fabian Coulthard made contact. Cam Waters then hit Garth Tander spinning him around. Mayhem ensued and cars just kept piling up into an incredible expensive mess!! The 12 car pileup involved Rick Kelly, Garth Tander, James Moffatt, James Courtney, Scott Pye, Nick Percat, Tim Slade, Tim Blanchard, Simona De Silvestro, Alex Rullo, Taz Douglas and Will Davison. When Will Davison crashed his ice box opened letting the ice out, which was not pleasant but lucky compared to others.
Will Davison ended up in hospital overnight and couldn’t race on Sunday.
The red flag came out and all the remaining drivers were told to go back to the grid and get in to their starting positions.
Meanwhile Scott McLaughlin went into the pit lane due to a break down in radio communication.
The officials tried to get race 3 back underway. Garry Rogers advice to call off the race on the basis of it starting to get dark went unheeded. Mark Skaife Suggested that they don’t restart and re run it on Sunday. The problem with that was the Support categories would have to be cancelled to allow race 3 to be re-run on the Sunday. An option deemed unacceptable.
When the cars did get going again they only completed 4 laps before the race was called off.
Most teams would have been burning the mid night oil trying to repair their damaged race cars in time for the race on the next day. Some just couldn’t be repaired in time and as a result four cars did not take part in Sunday’s race; Will Davison, James Courtney, Taz Douglas and Alex Rullo.
Race 3 was declared a ‘no race’ and no points were awarded. However, triple 8 still were listed with 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions at the finish.
Results for race 3
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red bull Holden racing team.
3rd Craig Lowndes – Team Vortex.
In race 4 Jamie Whincup started on pole position and alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.
On lap 1 of 84 Jamie Whincup got the jump off the starting grid. Everyone settled into an even race pace and there was not much of a spread as the cars further back in the pack made ground on the leaders. Scott McLaughlin tried to pass Jamie Whincup at the turn 4 hairpin but didn’t get the acceleration out of the corner needed to take the lead. Chaz Mostert was running 3rd..
On lap 2 Mark Winterbottom was running along well before he had to pit so that Cameron Waters didn’t have to have double stack.
On lap 3 Jason Bright was screaming down the back straight until he spun near the pit entry which damaged the bonnet. The safety car had to be deployed to assist his removal from the pit lane entry.
On Lap 4 the cars further back were coming into pits early to get clear track and avoid having to double stack. Craig Lowndes didn’t have to worry about double stacking with teammate, Will Davison because he wasn’t in Sunday’s race due to the previous day’s multi car pileup.
On lap 5 Chaz Mostert was still running 3rd. Mark Winterbottom was trying to get passed his teammate Cameron Waters so he could take first option on the pits. Meanwhile Jamie Whincup was battling with Scott McLaughlin for the lead.
On lap 7 the safety car left the track and the race continued at full throttle. The wet weather got worse and at this stage the rain was pouring down. The Shell V Power Racing team called in both their cars, driven by Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard to change from slick tyres to wet tyres. Then all the other cars came into pits and changed to wet tyres. The 12 car pileup in the previous days’ race was strong in in everyone’s mind.
On lap 8 Tim Blanchard was trying his best to stay in front of Tim Slade so he wouldn’t have to double stack and gain pit priority. .
On lap 9 Simona De Silvestro was going to pit before Todd Kelly but he was leading so got pit priority.
The race was truly now underway. It was a great effort by the teams that were able to get their cars back on the race track for Sunday’s race.
On lap 13 Alex Rullo’s luck changed. He had been doing well after what happened the previous day, but an engine problem caused him to stop just outside the Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport Garage.
On lap 17 when Chaz Mostert took the race lead. Although he was doing well, he was really under pressure from Cameron Waters running in 2nd.
On lap 20 all the drivers were getting ready for their 2nd round of pit stops. The cars back in the field made their 2nd pit stops first while the front runners stayed out Longer.
On lap 21 the leaders pitted to not get in the way of the drivers that were a lap down.
In the middle of the race Chaz Mostert ran wide and ran off track losing 3 positions. At that point on the event TV coverage switch their view across to Tim Edwards, Chaz’s team owner showing his disappointment shaking his head in disbelief at the mistake Chaz made.
As the race continued it was the final laps were the tension really built up. The Dick Johnson Racing Team Cars were very fast and running first and second. Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes tried their best to catch them but just couldn’t. Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard were just too fast and finished in first and second place.
The next event is the WD 40 Phillip Island Supersprint on the 21st to the 23rd of April 2017.
Results for race 4.
1st Fabain Coulthard – Dick Johnson Racing – Shell V Power racing team.
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson Racing – Shell V Power Racing team.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
4th Craig Lowndes – Team Vortex
