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Craig Lowndes – looking back on a fantastic motor racing career

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HI to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

Earlier this year Craig Lowndes announced his retirement from full time driving in V8 Supercars. Although he will participate in the Enduros next year, he will be sorely missed as a brilliant and exciting driver to watch and an all-round ‘hell of a nice guy’.

The 2018 V8 Supercars season has now ended and Craig Lowndes has run his last race as a full time driver so I thought I might take the opportunity to put together a brief retrospective on his fantastic career.

Craig Lowndes was born on the 21st of June 1974 in Melbourne, Australia.

At the tender age of 9 with his father’s encouragement, Craig Lowndes started racing go karts at a track in the town of Whittlesea.

He moved into race cars in 1991 driving a Van Diemen in the Motorcraft Formula Ford Championship. Think about it. That would make him roughly 17 years old. Quite an achievement don’t you think?

In 1993 Craig Lowndes won the Australian Formula Ford Championship which was a good way to start his motor racing career. It caught everyone’s attention and all eyes were on him to see what he could do next.

The following year, 1994 he accepted the offer to be co-driver to Brad Jones who was already a legend. It must have been quite an honour to be ‘the chosen’ but also it said quite a lot about the faith they had in him.

In 1995 he earned the pole position at Sandown and Bathurst. Unfortunately, both ended with a DNF but he soon returned to his usual form.

In 1996 he made his fulltime Australian Touring Car Championship debut and won the championship.

By 1997 his rapid rise through the ranks put him in a position to go overseas and try his hand as a Formula 1 driver. Things didn’t appear to go to plan so he ended up coming back to Australia for the Endurance races which were the Tickford 500 at Sandown and the Primus 1000 at Bathurst.

In 1998 he accepted an offer from the Holden Racing Team to be teammate to Mark Skaife (moving from Ford).  He replaced the massive gap left in the team by Peter Brock, who retired at the end of the 1997 season. They were big shoes to fill but Craig Lowndes (CL) proved his worth by winning The Shell Championship Series for a second time (the first being 1996).

Then the following year (1999) just to prove a point, he won the Shell Championship Series for the third time.

So let me just recap that because it is quite astounding:

·       1991 at 17 years old he starts his career in professional race cars

·       1993 in his 3rd season he wins the Australian Formula Ford Championship

·       1994 becomes co-driver to Brad Jones.

·       1996 becomes a fulltime driver and wins the Australian Touring Car Championship

·       1998 replaces the retired Peter Brock in the Holden Racing Team

o   Teamed up with another race legend, Mark Skaife

o   Wins the Shell Championship Series (for a second time).

·       1999 wins the championship again. That is his 3rd season as a full time driver and 3rd season win.

If not before, he now had really made a name for himself.

He was going for his 4th championship in 2000 but that went to his teammate Mark Skaife.

In 2001 he joined Gibson Motorsport but it didn’t seem to be a good fit.

The following year he moved to 00 Motorsport. This was also a short term relationship and for 2003 and 2004 joined Ford Performance Racing.

2003 he won round 2 at Phillip Island after the race got red flagged due pouring rain.

With his teammate Glenn Seton came runner up for the Bathurst 1000, 2nd to Greg Murphy and Rick Kelly in 2003 and 2004.

For the 2005 he moved under the wing of Triple 8 Race Engineering. He finally seemed to have found his perfect match and it started a 14 year relationship with Triple 8.

In that first year with Triple 8 he won the Betta Electrical Sandown 500 and finished runner up to ‘The Enforcer’, Russell Ingall for the season Championship.

With co-driver Yvan Muller he should have won the supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 in 2005. If it wasn’t for Craig Lowndes hitting the wall and collecting a wheel from the Larry Perkins’ Castrol Commodore I reckon they would’ve won Bathurst in 2005.

In 2006 Craig Lowndes won the Clipsal 500 Race 1

While in race 2 he had a DNF (Did Not Finish) due to an accident with Cameron McConville, James Courtney and Jason Richards.

He also won Oran Park Race 3 and the coveted the 2006 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

From 2007 to 2012 Team Vodafone was the new sponsor for Craig Lowndes and also Jamie Whincup. They were a great match as team mates and soon became a force to be reckoned with.

2008 Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup made a 3-peat, winning the Bathurst 1000 for a third time in a row. 2006, 2007 and 2008.

2009 both Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes won 6 from 6 races to start the 2009 V8 Supercars Championship.  The year for Triple 8 was looking great.

Over the next 9 seasons he continued in the same form with far too many accomplishments to list.

In 2013 Red Bull took over as the naming rights sponsor.

Caltex Vortex came in as the sponsor for Craig in 2016 and 2017. Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen stayed sponsored by Red Bull.

In his final year, 2018 Craig Lowndes was again under new sponsorship Autobarn Lowndes Racing.

With the completion of the 2018 season it ends Craig Lowndes’ 22 year career as a fulltime driver in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship and his 14 year relationship with Triple Eight Race Engineering.

His stats clearly define him as one of the all-time greats.

Craig Lowndes – stats of a legend:

Races:   667

Crashes (obviously survived):     1996 Phillip Island, Race 2

1999 Calder Park, Race 2

2001 Clipsal 500 Adelaide,  Race 2

2003 Barbagallo Raceway, Race 2

2005 Clipsal 500, Race 2

2006 Phillip Island, Race 3

2008 Clipsal 500, Race 2

2011 Abu Dhabi, Race 2 (I don’t see a pattern here. Do you?)

Race wins:          107. The first in the history of racing to reach 100 race wins.

Pole positions:   42

Bathurst 1000 Wins:      7

The Bathurst tally includes a trifecta having won 3 years running 2006,2007 & 2008.

Winner of the opening race 3 years in a row 1999, 2000 and 2001.

He has been team mates with some of the most well-known drivers in the history of the sport including;

·       Peter brock 1994 – 1996

·       Brad Jones 1994

·       Greg Murphy 1995 – 1997

·       Mark Skaife 1998 – 2000

·       Neil Crompton 2001 – 2002

·       Glenn Seton 2003 – 2004

·       Steven Ellery 2005

·       Jamie Whincup 2006 -2018

 

Co-drivers include many of the above plus:

·       Cameron McConville 1999

·       Glenn Seton 2003, 2004

·       Yvan Muller 2005

·       Warren Luff 2012, 2013

·       Steven Richards 2014, 2018

He has worked with some of the best race engineers in the industry including:

·       Matthew Crawford 1996 – 2000

·       Oscar Fearonoto 2001 2002

·       Campbell little 2005 – 2007

·       Jeromy Moore 2008 – 2014 Jeromy Moore’s nickname is JJ. In 2015 Jeromy Moore moved to Germany to work with the Porsche LMP1 Team for 2015, 2016 and 2017.

·       Grant Mcpherson – Nickname is Shippy 2015

·       Ludo Lacroix 2016

·       John McGregor – Irish 2017 – 2018

At his last race for the 2018 season he did his lap of honour to a cheering crowd. What amazed me was the response from not just his team, but all the other drivers. Some on hands and knees bowing in his presence, asking to have their driving suits signed and more. No-one has ever had a bad thing to say about Craig Lowndes (except that he beat them in a race). It really says a lot about the character of the man.

Congratulations Craig Lowndes! You truly are one of the greats in the sport. I am looking forward to the Enduros next year but am sure that I speak for everyone when I say ‘Gonna miss you’ from full time racing.

Good luck with everything you do in the future.

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

Please feel free to let me know what your favourite Craig Lowndes moments are.

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

V8 Supercars 2017 Coates Hire Newcastle 500

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 24th to the 26th of November 2017 was the Coates Hire Newcastle 500.

This was the final race for the season. It was very exciting because the season champion was still to be determined and this race weekend was going to be the decider. The main championship contenders were Scott McLaughlin and Jamie Whincup. They were only separated by 30 points in favour of Jamie Whincup. I didn’t get the feeling either would hold back and there would be some incredible racing.

It was also the first race event at Newcastle, a seaside city about 2 hrs north of Sydney. This was a street circuit that no one had driven at before so it made the practice sessions all critical in order to determine their car setup for the race.

Due to the circuit being local streets, some parts are quite narrow and there are plenty of ups and downs for the drivers to navigate. This would mean a reduced opportunity for passing and possibly slower speeds.

Jamie Whincup went there a couple weeks in advance in a reconnaissance mission to get a feel for the area.

The weekend finally arrived and Newcastle put on a beautiful show. The weather was beautiful and sunny with the main straight running along the shore of the sparkling beach and great crowds had turned out for the spectacle.

On the Saturday Race 25 was for 95 laps. Due to the tight schedule for other race events it was also time certain so when the time was up the winner would be called regardless of laps.

It was a special occasion for Todd Kelly as this was his 540th V8 Supercars race, which is a long time to be in this sport.

Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was David Reynolds.

Scott McLaughlin got the jump on David Reynolds and got to turn 1 first.

Later in the first lap, Jamie Whincup made contact with Michael Caruso which as a result put Jamie Whincup into the wall and broke his right front steering arm.  This was not ideal considering he went into the Newcastle event 30 points ahead of Scott McLaughlin.

Mark Skaife and Neil Crompton couldn’t believe that Jamie Whincup managed to steer his car back to the pits.

During the opening stages Scott McLaughlin was the race leader until the first round of pit stops.

Up until that first round of pit stops Craig Lowndes was on track for his first podium finish in 2017. The last time he got a podium finish (1st, 2nd or 3rd) was the Sydney SuperSprint 2016.

There was contact between Jason Bright and Alex Davison. Jamie Whincup just missed being involved which would have been disastrous as he was already 13 laps behind the race leader as a result of having a broken steering arm.

Soon after, Simona de Silvestro pulled off some amazing driving passing a bunch of cars at turn 7. My first thoughts were after looking at the racetrack that the drivers wouldn’t be able to pass at turn 7 safely but she somehow managed to do it.

In the middle of the race the two DJR cars held the lead strongly.

As the race went on the schedule time was running out and the race was going to be called short.

The 2 DJR cars driven by Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard were too quick, their pace was really fast and reached the flag in a 1, 2 finish at lap 91 (4 laps short of the set laps).

It was such bad luck for Jamie Whincup. He had been making incredible gains, after being 13 laps behind he finished in 21st position only 2 laps behind the leader. If he just had a bit more time it would have been really interesting.

Results for race 25

1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
2nd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing team.
3rd Tim Slade – Brad Jones Racing Team. 

In Qualifying for race 26 James Courtney caused a red flag meaning his fastest time to that point was deleted and also meant he couldn’t take any further part in the session.

Scott McLaughlin started on pole position once again for the 16th time in 2017.  Alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.

Jamie Whincup started 5th on the grid.

At the start of the 95-lap race, Scott McLaughlin took the race lead, which was good for the DJR Team.

As the first round of pit stops started the Championship leader Scott McLaughlin got a pit lane penalty for exceeding the speed limit of 40kms p/h.  Then Fabian Coulthard pitted and had to try and fix his gearbox issue. After that Fabain Coulthard also received a pit lane penalty for the same infringement. That was a blow for the DJR Team Penske Crew.

Later Scott Mclaughlin turned Simona de Silvrestro around at turn 2. Scott McLaughlin received another penalty of 15 seconds. Things for Scott McLaughlin as one of the main championship contenders were not looking good.  Commentators Mark Skaife and Neil Crompton said it will be the longest 15 seconds of his life.

In the middle of the race the teams started to get organized for the 2nd round of stops to take place and prepare for the run to the finish.

When the Vodafone Safety Car was deployed it was to get Aaren Russell out of the tyre bundle. As a result that helped Scott McLaughlin big time.

At this stage of the race Scott McLaughlin was down the order in 16th position. He needed to finish in 11th to claim the title for 2017.

Scott McLaughlin’s car was bruised and battered and he was trying to do the best he could on the day.

Towards the end of the race with 2 laps to go, Craig Lowndes tried to get up inside of Scott McLaughlin at turn 1 but Scott McLaughlin blocked his pass and they made contact. This resulted in 2 things. First Craig Lowndes dropped from 6th to 10th. Second Scott McLaughlin got a post-race penalty dropping him all the way down to 18th in the results. Even though Scott McLaughlin would have finished 12th and not won the championship it must have been a real kick in the guts to be pushed down to 18th after the race had finished.

Jamie Whincup won the race and the season championship for 2017. A great result for the Red Bull Holden Racing Team.

Results for race 26

1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd Shane Van Gisbergen -Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport.

 

Well done to all the drivers and teams in 2017.

Looking forward to seeing you in 2018.

The next event will be the Adelaide 500 on the 1st to the 4th of March 2018.

 

 

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

ITM Auckland Supersprint 2017

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 3rd to the 5th of November 2017 was the ITM Auckland SuperSprint.

This is held at the Pukekohe Park Raceway just south of Auckland in New Zealand.

The V8 Supercars have been racing here since 2013. The track has changed a little from last year with more turns added for the drivers to navigate so I’m sure that the teams would use a different setup for this race weekend.

Other factors that will affect team strategies are:

–          With only one race to go for the season after this one, the drivers who are in the championship fight will probably hold back from any risks as they do not want to damage their cars.

–          The cars had to be flown over to NZ for the race and their trucks stay in Australia, meaning they have limited spares on hand for repairs.

–          There are only 3 safety cars being used for the race.

I think the Red Bull team will be extra careful to ensure they don’t have a repeat of last year when Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen came together in the race.

Race 23 on Saturday and Race 24 on Sunday are both 70 laps and 200Kms each.

In the preliminaries to the race, the Qualifying session was abandoned part way through due to the wet weather. As a result, the grid was set from the Friday Practice times.

Things got better and conditions had improved by the time Race 23 started. Rain had stopped and the track had dried out somewhat.

Cameron Waters started on pole position alongside him was Jamie Whincup.

Jamie Whincup beat Cameron Waters to turn 1 and held lead for the first couple of laps. It wasn’t long before Scott McLaughlin got into 2nd place and was pressuring Jamie Whincup’s number 1 position.

Scott McLaughlin took a risk as he tried to go around the outside of Jamie Whincup but didn’t succeed. Jamie Whincup was defensive and didn’t leave him enough room which earned him a bad sportsmanship flag.

On lap 56 David Reynolds and Fabian Coulthard made contact sending David Reynolds into a tyre barrier and Fabian Coulthard had a massive roll over. He was the only DNF for the race.  The car was a mess and the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske didn’t finish the repair until 4:30a.m. Fabian Coulthard was adamant to race on Sunday.

Shane Van Gisbergen was now the race leader followed by Mark Winterbottom and Scott McLaughlin.

Chaz Mostert was trying to re dress so that he wouldn’t get pinged after making contact with David Reynolds exiting turn 8.

In the last laps Shane Van Gisbergen held his lead confidently. No one seemed to be able to catch him.

It was a tight finish. Shane Van Gisbergen reached the chequered flag first having moved up 5 places from his starting position. Mark Winterbottom had taken advantage of his grid starting position 3 and came in 2nd just over 0.8 seconds later. Closely followed by Scott McLaughlin, Jamie Whincup and Jason Bright, with finishing times 01:24:00.2363, 01:24:00.6912 and 01:24:01.3644.

Results for race 23

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd Mark Winterbottom – Prodrive Racing Australia.
3rd Scott Mclaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
4th Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.

In race 24 Jamie Whincup started on pole position alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.

During Qualifying for race 24 Craig Lowndes nearly caused a red flag due to running wide in between turns 3 and 4. He recovered well and managed to be placed 12th on the starting grid.

I couldn’t believe that DJR managed to repair Fabian Coulthard’s car after he rolled it the day before, especially due to the limited spares that all the teams have at an ‘away’ race. Fabian Coulthard is a determined man and scored himself the 8th position on the starting grid. It was great to see.

At the start of the 70 lap race Jamie Whincup got the led into the first corner. Scott Mclaughlin had to pull in behind him and stay put because there isn’t room to pass between turns 2 and 3.

Garth Tander was running well early on. He started 11th on the grid but soon moved inside the top 5.

Shane Van Gisbergen was another driver doing well early on and had drama free pit stops.

After the first round of stops and the drivers re-joined the race, Jamie Whincup took his lead back.

Simona de Silvestro was following Rick and Todd Kelly because it was her first race at Pukekohe raceway in New Zealand.

When the 2nd round of pit stops started, Tim Slade making entry to the pits had his pit lane speed limiter on and Shane Van Gisbergen came into the pit lane entry behind him way too fast, and I mean way too fast! He rear-ended Tim Slade who must have gotten the shock of his life. It was a bizarre mistake on Shane Van Gisbergen’s part and he ended up with a bent up bonnet resembling a tent that blocked his view and required him to be guided into his bay.  The result was devastating; By the end of the race he had dropped from 7th place on the starting grid to 24th. Such a poor result now put an end to him being a possible contender for the championship.

In the middle of the race the weather was getting worse with clouds starting to come over the race track. It was really dark so fast. I laughed at Neil Crompton comment to fellow commentator Mark Scaife, “It’s gotten so dark, it is like night”.

Towards the end of the race no one else could catch the top 3 drivers which were Jamie Whincup, Scott McLaughlin and Cameron Waters.

Jamie Whincup said he wasn’t feeling very well before the race but he managed to start from pole and basically lead the whole way all bar pit stops.

 

Results for race 24

1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Team.
2nd Scott Mclaughlin –  Shell V Power Racing Team.
3rd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing Team.
4th Craig Lowndes – Team Vortex.

Jamie Whincup now leads the championship by 30 points heading into the Coates Hire Newcastle 500 which will take place between the 24th and the 26th of November 2017.

With this win Jamie Whincup now has 75 career pole positions and 107 career race wins.

The big question at the moment is, “who will win the 2017 V8 Supercars Championship?”.

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 2017

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 5th to the 8th October 2017 was the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

The Bathurst 1000 is the biggest and most well known race in Australia. Held in Bathurst NSW at the Mount Panorama Circuit, it is a 161 lap race totalling 1000kms and is known amongst fans as ‘The Great Race’. Mount Panorama is an unusual track. The word ‘Mount’ gives it all away. There are lots of ups and downs as it winds its way over the hill. There is approximately 174m between the highest and lowest part of the circuit. It is unusual and makes for a gruelling but spectacular race.

There are so many things that happened over the weekend I couldn’t possibly report on them all so I’m going to limit it to my observations and race highlights.

Greg Murphy who is a pit reporter got to drive Triple 8 Sandman V6 Turbo around Bathurst circuit as a demo for the fans.

A special ‘congratulations’ to Craig Lowndes who made his 24th Bathurst start on Sunday. His co-driver, Steven Richards started his 200th career race at Bathurst. I must say monumental occasions for both of them.

The rookies to have their first Bathurst races were Garry Jacobson, Alex Rullo and Todd Hazelwood.

The Bathurst race rules require teams to complete a minimum of 7 pit stops though out the day. All teams seemed to manage this.

The weather this Sunday was not looking good. Commentator Neil Crompton thought the rain would hit at midday but it hit a lot earlier than that, soaking the track even before the race begun. A setting for a messy Bathurst.

In race 20, Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was David Reynolds.

It was interesting to note all of the main drivers started the race. Usually it’s the less experienced co-drivers that take the wheel at the start. The heavy rain may have had something to do with this.

At the start of the 161 lap race Scott McLaughlin got to turn 1 first. Mark Winterbottom tried to move past David Reynolds for the 2nd spot but had to pull back realising he didn’t have enough space for the manoeuvre.

On lap 2 Scott McLaughlin went down the escape road coming into turn 23 too fast. Now Chaz Mostert had the race lead.

Shane Van Gisbergen and Craig Lowndes driving close together both left the track on the same corner turn 1, which wasn’t good for either of them.

Later in the race when Shane Van Gisbergen’s co-driver, Matt Campbell jumped in the number 97 Red Bull Holden Commodore he got spun around by Michael Caruso.  By the time he turned his car around and re-joined the race he ended up right at the back of the pack. This didn’t impress the Triple 8 team one bit.

When co-driver Alex Premat took over from Scott McLaughlin that’s when an engine issue started. Alex Premat brought the car in for the team to check it out. It was running off song. They couldn’t work out the problem and Alex Premat was told to push on. He went back out on track but stopped due to no oil pressure at turn 4 known as ‘the cutting’. Any corner is a high-risk spot to break down and the Vodafone Safety Car was deployed. The race was now under yellow.  Car 17 had to be towed back to pits and to the team’s distress was out for the rest of the race. DNF at lap 74! Not even half way through the race.

It was a complete disaster for Scott McLaughlin as the 2017 Championship leader. There is only one other event to go for the year and he will now have to make up 30 points to close the gap on the new leader, Jamie Whincup.

Then 2 laps later, the Preston Hire Racing team of Lee Holdsworth and Karl Reindler left the track also due to engine problems. Another DNF!

Paul Dumbrell was running 3rd going down Conrod Straight and couldn’t see out of the front window because of the heavy rain. Due to some controversy earlier in the year the Triple 8 team made an official request to the V8 Supercars Technical Manager, David Stuart to be allowed to use a squeegee while driving. David Stuart weighed up the risk between visibility and ‘squeegeeing whilst driving’ and permitted its use for this occasion.  

‘Squeegeeing Whilst Driving’ (SWD) a new technical phrase. You heard it here first at Williams Perfect Ride.

With permission now granted, both Paul Dumbrell and Matt Campbell also joined the SWD ranks.

A funny part was, while it was raining the crews had to carry the drivers on their backs out onto the pit lane so that the driver’s shoes didn’t get wet. No driver wants slippery feet going at those speeds.

I couldn’t believe how many cars went off the track throughout the race down at turn 23. It was just crazy.

It was funny to see one of fans up at the top of the hill in McPhillamy Park offering pit reporter Greg Rust a beer before he had to get back down to the pit lane.

As Lee Holdsworth was coming in, David Wall in nearly made contact with him in car 18.

In the middle of the race the Vodafone Safety car came out due to a Kangaroo being close to the track.  In total there were 6 Safety cars.

On lap 141 James Moffat hit the wall at the top of the hill. Once again the Safety Car came out and car 34 was towed from the track. Co-driver Richard Muscat watching intently from the garage must have known what this meant for the race.

Towards the end of the race, at lap 152 Simona De Silvestro had DNF due to a wet track making her lose it at the last turn and hit the pit lane wall. It was so bad the car had to be towed off track. Except for possibly a bruised ego she came out of it fine. It was so close to the end of the race I am sure she and her co-driver David Russell felt terrible. They had done so well throughout the race.

Soon after, at lap 159 with Mark Winterbottom at the wheel, he and co-driver Dean Canto left the track with a DNF. Another casualty of the wet weather, dropping 19 spots from their start at position 3.

The gruelling race took another victim a lap later (160). Nick Percat and Macauley Jones had their car #8 taken from the track and also received a DNF.

As the race drew to a close no one else could catch the top 3 podium spots. The Erubus team with drivers David Reynolds and Luke Youlden finished an amazing 4 seconds ahead of the next team, Scott Pye and Warren Luff. They were followed less than a second later by Fabain Coulthard  and Tony D’Alberto.

The reason why Craig Lowndes surprisingly finished 11th was because he had an issue with his car for the 2nd year in a row.

Also surprisingly, Jamie Whincup finished 20th completing only 124 laps when time was called. This was because his car dropped a cylinder. The team decided to get back out there was better than a DNF. Such bad luck for both of them.

Results for race 20

1st David Reynolds and Luke Youlden – Erebus Motorsport.
2nd Scott Pye and Warren Luff – Mobil 1 HSV Racing.
3rd Fabain Coulthard and Tony D’Alberto – Shell V Power Racing
Team.
4th Dale Wood and Chris Pither – Erebus Motorsport.
5th Shane Van Gisbergen and Matt Campbell – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.

 

The next event is the Vodafone Gold Coast 600 on the 20th to the 22nd of October 2017.

Interesting to note, Fabian Coulthard has now taken back the championship over Jamie Whincup by 91 points and Scott McLaughlin has now dropped from 1st to 3rd, 97 points away.

This was David and Luke Youden’s first Bathurst win together.

Erebus Team owner Betty Klimenko couldn’t talk because she had happy tears coming out of her eyes.

Congratulations Betty and Erebus Motorsport.

 

 

 

 

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Wilson Security Sandown 500 2017

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 Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 15th to the 17th of September 2017 was the Wilson Security Sandown 500.

Mark Skaife said that the Sandown 500 is the precursor to the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. I agree and believe it can make the drivers a little overeager to push hard.

It may be why the extra rule on this weekend was to have the seat belts done up and fastened before leaving the pit lane.

Even pre-race I felt it was going to be an exciting weekend. On the final lap of the Armor All Race for the Grid 1, Jonathon Webb locked the brakes at the end of the back straight.  This resulted in Todd Hazelwood crashing into the tyre wall at a terrifying top speed of 260 kilometres an hour.  This also resulted in Will Davison not racing in Race for the Grid 2 for the main drivers.

Regardless, it didn’t mean that fun was not had. Russell Ingall was in an old Castrol Perkins race suit and wig. Also, Mark Skaife donned a Fox Sports race suit.  Whenever I spotted them I couldn’t stop laughing.

In Race 19, Cameron Waters and Richie Stanaway started on pole position with Richie Stanaway behind the wheel. Alongside them were Scott McLaughlin and Alexandre Premat.

It was interesting to note only 2 main drivers started the race. These were Shane Van Gisbergen and Craig Lowndes in cars 97 and 888 respectively.

Craig Lowndes started 23rd due to a DNF in Race for the Grid 2 with a power steering issue.

Shane Van Gisbergen started in position 21.

At the start of what was supposed to be a 161-lap race, Richie Stanaway got the jump and led into turn 1.

Dean Canto got turned around between turns 3 and 4. Ash Walsh also got spun around at turn 4 on the opening lap.

Then Taz Douglas hit the wall at the end of the back straight due to a flat right front tyre. The red flag came out for the Marshalls and Officials to repair the tyre barrier.  

The result of the hold-up was the race went to a ‘time certain’ finish. When the race got back underway the clock started ticking.

When the green flag went up, Richie Stanaway took off into the distance which the drivers behind didn’t want to see. Close behind him was Alex Premat.

Early on Tony Dalberto was running inside the top 5.

Paul Dumbrell was running 3rd trying to catch the race leaders up front. However, he knew he had to keep the car ‘straight’ for when he handed it back to Jamie Whincup.

When Paul Dumbrell got a puncture, it was coming out of turn 4 and he knew he had to back right off to reduce chance of damage to car 88.

A lot of tyres let go I think due to the end of the turn 1 curb. The race engineers were telling their drivers to stay off the turn 1 curb edge.

Craig Lowndes pitted early to hand over to Steven Richards ensuring he re-joined with a clear race track in front and behind.

It was funny that Todd Kelly ran wide and collected the Dunlop Break Marker. The only way he could get rid of it was to make sure there were no other cars behind him and brake hard.

In the middle of the race Cameron Waters was back in the driver’s seat being chased down by Scott McLaughlin.

Soon all main drivers got back in the driver’s seat for the run to the checkered flag. With the race becoming ‘time certain’ strategies had changed.

Towards the end of the race no one could catch the top 3 cars. All were Fords; Cameron Waters Scott Mclaughlin and Chaz Mostert.

As the others crossed the line it became a little messy.

Ash Walsh and Tim Slade got excluded from the results due to both drivers not completing the minimum 54 laps.

Taz Douglas was out of the race and received a DNF.

Shane Van Gisbergen was docked 2 grid spots due to spinning Fabian Coulthard earlier on.

Aside from this the other noteworthy points were:

This was Matt Campbell’s 2nd Enduro campaign but first with the Red Bull Holden Racing Team. I was quite impressed with his performance.

Craig Lowndes line of the weekend was perfect. It was like James Bond not the Colin Bond like the Livery is.

HA HA! I Was Laughing at Garth Tander because he was trying to be a camera man while the race was under red flag.

Results for the 2017 Wilson Security Sandown 500 race 19.

1st Cameron Waters and Richie Stanaway – Monster Energy Racing team.
2nd Scott Mclaughlin and Alex Premat – Shell V Power racing team.
3rd Chaz Mostert and Steve Owen – Supercheap Auto racing team.

Ford 1 2 and 3.

The next event is the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 on the 5th to the 8th of October 2017.

 

 

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Woodstock Winton Supersprint 2017 Melbourne Victoria

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for race 9:

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for race 10:

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

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