HI to all you v8 Supercars Fans around the world on the weekend of the 2nd to the 4th of February 2018 was Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 hour. This is a preseason race before the V8 Supercars championship gets underway The Coverage started at 530AM but the race didn’t start until 545AM on 7mate channel 188. The Commentators were Richard Crail Johnny Palmer and john Hindhaugh the pit reporters were Chad Neylon Shae Adam and Alex Hart from channel 7. At Mount Panorama Bathurst New South Wales.
Chaz Mostert started on pole position in the BMW car 43 alongside him was Kelvin Van Der Linde in the Audi Car 37
As soon as the cars took off on the Formation lap that’s when the 12-hour started.
On the opening lap there was a safety car to clear an incident that happened just before the Liqui Moly Bridge on lap 1 Chaz Mostert was leading the opening stages while it was still Dark which is when the Cars and Drivers are Faster while it is cooler but once it starts to warm up through the day that’s when some cars struggle to keep up
When the restart took place, Chaz Mostert was flying and no one else could catch him. Craig Lowndes Shane Van Gisbergen and Come Ledorgar started in 8th on the grid.
Interesting to note Steven Richards was sent to back of the grid as a result of a Technical infringement which meant they didn’t take their place in the Pirelli top 10 shootout as a result they had to start from position number 49 on the grid, and that is the 75 Mercedes of Jamie Whincup Kenny Habul Tristan Vauiter and Robert Marciello that’s why they started 15th.
When the cars stop near the Garage the engine Has to be Switched off while the work is going on. GT Racing has Different rules to V8 Supercars. The crews must push and pull the Bathurst 12-hour cars in and out of the Garages, and the Crews must have all the pit Gear over the red line before the cars can leave the pits.
In the practice sessions Max Twigg in car 8 and Kent Baygent in car 15 had contact Approaching the chase at high speed forcing car number 15 to withdraw from the race. In Qualifying car number 94 of the marc cars Australia hit the BP Ultimate approaching the top of the mountain.
I couldn’t believe how quick Chaz Mostert was in the Early stages. Everyone when the started knew not to take unnecessary Risks otherwise they would have been out of the race really early on. Which wouldn’t have a good sight. Shane Van Gisbergen started the Mclrean 650 S because he knows how to drive a Mclrean Shortly after Craig Lowndes got into the 58 Mclrean he had to bring in to the Garage to Workout why the car was over heating so much.
There were a lot of drive thru Penilaty’s a lot tyre Punches a lot of Damage and also a lot of Safety Cars.
With 2 and a half hours left on the race clock Chaz Mostert in the 43 BMW M6 GT3 was involved in a big crash Involving the Bentley of Steven Kane also along with the Class B Porsche Craft Bamboo Porsche driver was Kevin Estre forcing Kean Booker forcing Chaz Mostert’s rapid BMW out of the 2018 Bathurst 12 hour.
Paul Morris had to Pull over on to the near a fire Marshalls post due to there being a fire under the bonnet of car 54. The crash at the top of mountain early in the race was on lap 44 and because its hard for me to see the lap counter it’s hard to Tell.
But I was surprised to how many Safety cars’ DNF’S Crashes and Accidents there were the cars that stayed out were rewarded with either a podium finish or a race win at the end of the day.
Chaz Mostert co drivers in the 43 BMW Were
Augusto Farfus Marco Wittman.
Will Davison was driving the 39 Audi. Getting some race lap before he steps into his ride for 2018.
Which is going A Ford instead of a holden. For lucas Dumbrell Motorsport.
Results for the 2018 Liqui moly Bathurst 12 hour
1st Robin Frijns – WRT Audi Car 37
2nd Kenny Habul Jamie Whincup Tristan Vautier and Robert Marciello.
Car 75 3rd J Bleekemolen and T Pappas. Car 540.
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.
On the weekend of the 16th to the 18th of June 2017 was the CrownBet Darwin Triple Crown.
This year Darwin celebrated its 20th year anniversary for V8 Supercars races.
For the 42 laps of race 11, Rick Kelly started on pole position with Scott McLaughlin alongside him.
Rick Kelly got a good start and held Scott McLaughlin’s pass attempts off.
Craig Lowndes started in position 18 due to not getting a clear lap in Qualifying. Roland Dane (888 owner) didn’t attend the weekend’s racing probably based on Craig Lowndes poor starting position.
Craig Lowndes immediately wanted to get out of the pack traffic to get some cool air but he had to hang out there for an extra lap and give pit priority to Will Davison whom he shares pit boom with.
On lap 2 Fabian Coulthard gained second position when Scott McLaughlin ran off the race track.
On lap 4 Garth Tander and Scott Pye put on a show as they battled for positions 5 and 6.
·On lap 5 Rick Kelly was holding onto the race lead quite Comfortably. Which he was happy with.
·On lap 6 Shane Van Gisbergen was staying out on the track and doing good lap times.
On lap 7 Shane Van Gisbergen had moved from his starting position 5 into 3rd. His race engineer, Grant McPherson made the call to stay out on track while the going was good. Jamie Whincup wasn’t far behind him, so I guess the strategy was for the 888 team to hold onto those good positions.
·On lap 8 Rick Kelly was enjoying not being back in the pack, and not hot brake temps and engine temps.
·On lap 9 Simona De Slivestro had to get used to hot and warm Temperature’s in a v8 Supercar.
·On lap 10 Maculey Jones was 1 of 4 wildcards to have a run in the main game. In prep for the Endurance races.
Rick Kelly had been comfortably holding the lead from the start but on lap 11 he overshot the first turn. Fabian Coulthard had been unable to catch the leader until now and used the opportunity to take the lead.
Soon after Shane Van Gisbergen had the lead but it didn’t last long. As he came down the main straight he wasn’t able to slow down and just kept going straight. His lead was over and once again Fabian Coulthard had the number 1 spot.
On lap 15 James Courtney made contact with Jack Le Brocq, which didn’t make him very happy because he went right to the very back of the pack.
It wasn’t the end of Rick Kelly’s unfortunate luck. Later, on lap 16 the throttle got stuck and he had a massive off hitting the tyre barriers. It was the end of the race for Rick Kelly and he received a DNF.
As it approached the middle of the race Fabian Coulthard maintained his lead but things had changed behind him, Scott McLaughlin and Nick Percat were now in 2nd and 3rd. The drivers further back in the pack couldn’t catch them.
With so many changes in the top ten positions up until now, it felt as though anything could happen and nothing could be taken for granted.
Amazingly these three drivers held position right to the end of the race and those behind them battled it out between themselves without hope of catching them.
Shane Van Gisbergen made contact with Garth Tander in lap 38. Garth Tander got to the finish the race but Shane Van Gisbergen lost his steering controls. It was just 4 laps to the finish but he had no option and left the track with a DNF.
In preparation for the Endurance races there were also a few wildcards on track. They seemed to benefit from the earlier mayhem:
·Macauley Jones starting in position 26 moved up 2 positions finishing 24th. ·Jack Le Brocq starting 24th finished 19th. ·Tim Blanchard moved up 2 positions and finished 12th. ·Cameron McConville made the best show, starting 28th gained 11 places and finished 17th. In the following order Fabian Coulthard, Scott McLaughlin and Nick Percat crossed the finish line. Close behind was Jamie Whincup, Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters. Craig Lowndes was the closest car behind them about 4.5 seconds later. A surprising finish considering.
Results for race 11
1st Fabian Coulthard – Dick Johnson racing team Penske. 2nd Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson racing team Penske. 3rd Nick Percat – Brad Jones Racing.
4th Jamie Whincup – red bull Holden racing team.
In race 12 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position, alongside him was Jamie Whincup.
At the start of the 70 lap race Jamie Whincup got the jump on Scott McLaughlin and led during the opening stages. I was thinking that Jamie Whincup would get his first race win for 2017 in Darwin but wasn’t to be. Then Scott McLaughlan was trying to get past Jamie Whincup as quickly as possible so his engine didn’t overheat.
On the 2nd lap Mark Winterbottom was battling away with Cameron Waters and Chaz Mostert for the positions behind the two leaders.
Craig Lowndes was desperately trying to get out from behind his teammates and get some fresh air.
Shane Van Gisbergen didn’t quite get the result he wanted but did manage to get a position on the podium. Mark Dutton wasn’t pleased with the result either, having high expectations for Shane Van Gisbergen to win the race like last year.
Will Davison had come in early because how far down the in the race he was. Which he knew there was a long way to go but he was still happy with the pace of the Tekno car number 19.
Shae Davies had his first race at Darwin. He stuck close behind Rick and Todd Kelly.
Just 12 laps to go, James Moffat had a tyre blowout. It was bad timing and cost him dearly, crossing the finish line 25th from a start position of 3.
Jamie Whincup had control of the lead in the early stages of the race but in the end it was Scott McLaughlin’s day. He took the chequered flag ahead of Jamie Whincup by over 2 seconds.
This puts Scott McLaughlin second in the championship to his teammate Fabian Coulthard.
Results for race 12
1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske. 2nd Jamie Whincup – Red bull Holden racing team. 3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red bull Holden Racing Team. The next event is the Watpac Townsville 400.
Coates Hire V8 Supercars Challenge Albert Park 2017.
Hi to all you v8 Supercars fans around the world!
On the weekend of the 23rd to the 26th of March 2017 was the Coates Hire V8 Supercars Challenge, a non-championship round run at Albert Park (Vic).
This weekend the teams got the chance to try out the brand new Dunlop Super Soft tyres. It was the first time the V8 Supercars Championship has tried a super soft tyres normally used in F1 racing. These are under issue from Dunlop motorsport manager Kevin Fitzsimons and intended to be used for the entire Supercars 2017 season.
In race 1 Fabian Coulthard started on pole position. Alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.
On lap 1 of 13 Scott McLaughlin got the led into turns 1 and 2. Fabian Coulthard got a bit of wheel spin so didn’t get the traction that he wanted off the starting grid.
For the first lap Jamie Whincup was running 3rd, early behind Fabian Coulthard and Scott McLaughlin.
Scott Pye went wide exiting turn 1. Fabian Coulthard passed his teammate, Scott McLaughlin heading into turn 3. However, as a result Fabian Coulthard ran wide and Jamie Whincup went from 4th to 3rd to 2nd then to 1st position on the opening lap.
Mark Winterbottom was in front of his teammate, Jason Bright.
Meanwhile further back in the pack, Cameron Waters got the better of Rick Kelly after some fierce competition against each other.
At the back end of the Albert Park track the other Kelly (brother), Todd was facing problems of his own. Smoke was coming out the back of his car. James Courtney gained a position passing him easily.
James Courtney soon found himself up behind the leading brother Rick Kelly, attempts to pass him but fails, tries again later and finally does? Tim Blanchard was also having a poor opening lap. First he ran wide in between turns 10 and 11 and Simona De Silvestro passed him. Then towards the end of the lap David Reynolds also passed.
Chaz Mostert also gained a position as he managed to get down the inside of Shane Van Gisbergen between turns 14 and 15. (This put Chaz in a great mood and he broke out into his favourite tune, ‘Day o, day ay ay ay yo. Come Mr Tally mon tally me banana’…)
On lap 2 Lee Holdsworth got past Dale Wood going into turn 1. Nick Percat also tried to make the move on Dale wood but couldn’t manage it.
Jamie Whincup was still in the lead but under pressure from Scott McLaughlin.
On lap 4 Alex Rullo was near the back of the pack understandably, as it was his first race at Albert Park and had to get used to the track.
On lap 4 Shane Van Gisbergen was trying to get as far up the field as possible.
On lap 6 the drivers were putting their best foot forward as it was already the middle of the race and only 7 laps to go. Jason Bright, however, overdid it and locked the loaded left front tyre as he was going into a turn and just sailed straight ahead.
On lap 7 pit reporter, Mark Larkham made comment about the rivalry between the two race leader’s teams, Red Bull Holden Racing Team and Dick Johnson Racing team Penske, stating how enjoyable it was to see these teams vigorously competing against each other today. I can only agree with his comments.
On lap 8 Chaz Mostert was near the front of the pack. Mark Winterbottom wasn’t too far behind.
On lap 9 Scott McLaughlin did not want to make any mistakes while Fabian Coulthard was following him so closely.
On lap 10 Nick Percat was close behind Lee Holdsworth. At his first opportunity he tried to overtake Lee Holdsworth on the inside of a turn. At 260kms/ph Nick Percat’s breaks failed on entry to the turn. He had no chance of taking the corner. His car screaming straight ahead and crossed in front of Lee Holdsworth’s path. Contact was made and they both ended up off track. They were both disappointingly now out of the race with a DNF.
On lap 11 Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard were running 1st and 2nd. Both cars being on the same team it was as if they were saying to everybody else behind them ‘catch us if you can we are the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske’.
On lap 12 Chaz Mostert was trying to catch Fabian Coulthard for 2nd spot but just wasn’t able to. Jamie Whincup was close behind them both, desperately wanting a piece of the action but it was the second last lap and they weren’t going to make it easy.
In the final lap the top 4 cars had such a good lead they couldn’t be caught; Scott McLaughlin, Fabain Coulthard, Chaz Mostert and Jamie Whincup.
Although this is a short race (only 13 laps) it was exciting and really enjoyable to watch.
Result for race 1.
1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson racing Team Penske.
2nd Fabian Coulthard – Dick Johnson racing team Penske.
3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing Team.
4th Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
In race 2 Fabian Coulthard started on pole position with his (Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske) teammate, Scott McLaughlin alongside him.
On lap 1 of 13 Fabian Coulthard took the lead over Scott McLaughlin. Garth Tander tried to make a move on Michael Caruso but it didn’t happen. He then tried it on with Chaz Mostert and did pass him.
Mark Winterbottom and Cameron Waters made contact which wouldn’t have made Tim Edwards a very happy team owner at all.
James Moffatt tried to get down the inside of Craig Lowndes but wasn’t successful. David Reynolds and Todd Kelly were battling back in the pack. Tim Slade was looking to make a move on Craig Lowndes as well and he got the job done. Scott Pye was following the two cars in front of him and hoping to take advantage of any mistake in their 1-on-1 battle.
On lap 2 Jamie Whincup went back to 7th from 3rd on the grid. Dale Wood made contact with Simona De Slivestro but both managed to stay on track.
Chaz Mostert was putting pressure on Shane Van Gisbergen and passed him at turn 3. But Shane Van Gisbergen had the racing line going into turn number 4 and he took back his original spot.
On lap 3 Chaz Mostert was under pressure from Jamie Whincup.
Then Chaz Mostert turned Shane Van Gisbergen around in between turns 14 and 15 clipping him at the left rear corner as he attempted a pass. As a result Chaz got a drive thru penalty. Shane Van Gisbergen then got into more trouble. As he went forward to turn his car around and get going in the right direction again, James Moffatt hit him head on. Both drivers had to walk back to pit lane. The damage caused was extensive enough and they were both out of the race.
Roland Dane and Garry Rogers would not have been happy with their 2 cars being damaged so severely.
On lap 3 the Safety Car came out to clean up the damaged Holden Commodores of Shane Van Gisbergen and James Moffatt.
Simona De Slivestro was also out of race 2 due to a stuck throttle.
On the restart the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske cars were leading, that is Scott Mclaughlin and Fabian Coulthard. The Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske were putting in a good challenge to the Triple 8 race engineering team (Jamie Whincup, Shane Van Gisbergen and Craig Lowndes).
Pit reporter, Mark Larkham interviewed Roland Dane, team owner of Triple 8 Race Engineering. In regards to the extensive and costly car repairs needed after the incident with James Moffatt, he told Mark Larkham ‘I will never be as rich as Roger Penske’.
Mark Larkham then interviewed Shane Van Gisbergen who stated his deep disappointment about the incident with James Moffatt.
On lap 5 the cars were still under the safety car. After the restart there was bad news coming for Supercheap Auto Racing’ and Chaz Mostert. He copped a black flag (drive thru penalty) for spinning Shane Van Gisbergen around.
On lap 6 After Chaz Mostert came in to serve his pit lane drive thru penalty. The 2 DJR Shell V power racing team fords had bolted into the distance and couldn’t be caught by the cars behind them.
On lap 7 Todd Kelly was battling with his brother Rick Kelly for 8th and 9th spot. On 8 David Reynolds was following his teammate Dale Wood to get fresh and cool air for the engine due to how long he was behind him for.
On lap 9 Fabian Coulthard had Scott Mclaughlin chasing him down for the race lead. It was exactly what Dick Johnson racing Team Penske wanted.
On lap 10 Scott Pye was following James Courtney for 11th and 12th. On lap 11 Michael Caruso was putting pressure on Scott Mclaughlin for 2nd place but he couldn’t get the move done in time. Which Michael Caruso wasn’t happy with at all.
On lap 12 David Reynolds was following James Moffatt but wasn’t able to pass him cleanly. Meaning without contact and no damage.
In the final lap of the race teammates Fabain Coulthard and Scott Mclaughlin took the race win,
Results for race 2
1st Fabain Coulthard – Shell V Power racing team. Dick Johnson racing team Penske.
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power racing team. Dick Johnson racing team Penske.
3rd Michael Caruso – Nissan Motorsport.
4th Garth Tander – Garry Rogers Motorsport.
In race 3 Fabian Coulthard started on pole position alongside him was Jamie Whincup.
On lap 1 of 13 Jamie Whincup tried to go around the outside of the pole sitter Fabain Coulthard but couldn’t quite pass him. Jason Bright, Garth Tander and Alex Rullo made contact in concertina affect. Taz Douglas was right behind them and just managed to swerve around them. Jason Bright and Garth Tander both spun around. When they re-joined the race they were at the back of the pack. They were all doubled up on turn 3. Gath Tander was on the outside of Rick Kelly. Will Davison was on the outside of Michael Caruso. James Courtney was on the outside of David Reynolds. David Reynolds gave James Courtney enough racing room for them to continue their battle for positions 5 and 6.
Shane Van Gisbergen started race 3 in position 25 on the grid and made it all the way up to 11th on the first lap. Mark Winterbottom passed Craig Lowndes back in the pack. Tim Blanchard, Cameron Waters and Tim Slade were three abreast. Cameron Waters managed to pass both of them in 1 go. Then Tim Slade got up the inside of his teammate, Tim Blanchard.
On lap 2 the field was settling down into a race pace and rhythm. While everyone else was trying to catch the leaders up front, Simona De Silvestro went off the track due to trying to pass her teammate Rick Kelly . Scott Pye went off on to the grass to avoid making contact with Simona. James Courtney went into pit lane to inspect some damage that he may have suffered as a result of contact with another car. Garth Tander had a flat right front tyre (which meant he had to limp back to the pits to get it changed). It seemed that once again for a short race there was going to be lots of excitement.
On lap 3 Fabian Coulthard was pulling away from Jamie Whincup. Mark Larkham had a chat to Ryan Story, Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske team manager and asked why the 2 Dick Johnson Racing team Penske cars were going so well at Albert park.
Craig Lowndes got in front of Cameron Waters. Cameron Waters tried to get the spot back but couldn’t get the job done. At turn 3 Shane Van Gisbergen tried to get up the inside of Rick Kelly but the Champion couldn’t get job done
On lap 4 the drivers up front were doing well and had the cars behind chase them down. Tim Slade got up the inside of Cameron Waters at turn 3. But then Cameron Waters did the switch back and got the spot back after Tim Slade ran very wide. Tim Slade could only re-join safely on lap 5
On lap 6 Chaz Mostert was chasing Cameron Waters for 10th place, the cars were doing well in terms of No Damage, on lap 7 Scott Mclaughlin and Fabain Coulthard the 2 Dick Johnson Racing team Penske Cars couldn’t be caught because they were just too quick. On lap 8 Mark Winterbottom was following his teammates to get in front to be in the top half of the race instead of the bottom half. Which Tim Edwards wanted. So they did. On lap 9 James Courtney was doing a great job making places for the Mobil1 HSV Racing Team. Which he wanted to do on lap 10 the cars up the front of the field were racing towards the Checkered Flag. On lap 11 Jamie Whincup was running 2nd which he the red bull Holden Racing Team and Roland Dane who is the team boss at Triple 8 race engineering were very happy with. In the middle of the race the fords were just too fast for the Holden’s too catch them. On lap 12 No One was able to catch the front runners. Towards the end of the race no one could catch Fabain Coulthard and Jamie Whincup. On the final lap which was lap 13 Dick Johnson was getting Excited because his team was about to score another 1st and 2nd finish.
Results for race 3
1st Fabain Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team. Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson Racing team Penske.
4th Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing team.
In race 4 Jamie Whincup started on pole position alongside him was Fabain Coulthard on lap 1 of 13 Fabain Coulthard got the jump Jamie Whincup got Wheel spin off the line. Tim Slade lost a couple of spots at the start of the race. Shane Van Gisbergen tried to get up the inside of Chaz Mostert in between turn 15 and 16. But Chaz wouldn’t let him pass.
On lap 2 Garth Tander and Cameron Waters both had Damage to their race cars heading into turn 1. Scott McLaughlin passed Cameron Waters on exit of turn 1. Craig Lowndes tried to go around the outside of Cameron Waters and Craig managed to get him.
On lap 3 Tim Slade was putting a lot of pressure on the 2016 V8 Supercars Champion Shane Van Gisbergen. Cameron Waters had Extreme heat problem with the engine on the monster energy racing ford car 6.
On lap 4 Tim Slade tried to pass Shane Van Gisbergen at turn 3 but wasn’t able to be done. He was rattling the rear bumper of car 97 just letting him know that he was there. Michael Caruso was putting the pressure on James Courtney.
On lap 5 Shane Van Gisbergen was holding up a bunch of cars behind him.
On lap 6 the cars and drivers were starting to think about the end of the race, in the middle of the race Fabain Coulthard had a flat tyre due to an Aggressive Set up. On car 12.
On lap 7 Chaz Mostert was up in 2nd place while the cars were battling back in the pack. Which wasn’t ideal. But when the drivers don’t qualify up the front the car can get caught up in the mess.
On lap 8 Mark Winterbottom wanted to finish in a strong spot so that prodrive racing Australia. Didn’t have to do an all-nighter. Towards the end of race Jamie Whincup also had a Flat Tyre on the left rear due to a broken Anti Roll bar. Alex Rullo and Simona De Slivestro were battling for position 18 and 19. In the end no one could catch Chaz Mostert.
On lap 9 David Reynolds was following Dale Wood his teammate for position 12 and 13. Which they were not happy with. But they were just outside the of the top ten.
On lap 10 Chaz Mostert was the leading the race. Which Chaz Mostert wanted.
On lap 11 the cars and drivers behind him but couldn’t which made their teams Frustrated about.
On lap 12 Shane Van Gisbergen and Tim Slade and Todd Kelly all tried to get up to the rear bumper of Chaz Mostert’s Supercheap Auto Racing Car. Car number 55.
Results for race 4.
1st Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing Team.
2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Tim Slade – Brad Jones Racing.
4th Todd Kelly – Nissan Motorsport.
The hosts were Jessica Yates and Russell Ingall. The Commentators were Richard Crail and Jack Perkins. And the pit lane reporter was Mark Larkham. The next event is the Tyre power Tasmania Super sprint from the 7th to the 9th of April 2017.
On the weekend of the 23rd – 25th October 2015 was the Castrol Gold Coast 600.
It appeared that Russell Ingall really didn’t want to retire, first he stepped in to cover for James Courtney in a Holden, then he covered for Chaz Mostert who drives a Ford. Very versatile Russell…
Also we welcomed back to James Courtney after a 2 month recovery time from his incident at Eastern Creek.
In race 26 all the co-drivers started in the cars of the 102 lap race.
Jonathon Webb started on pole position alongside him was Alex Premat. On lap 1 Jonathon Webb got the jump and led the field down to the turns 1, 2 and 3. chicanes. Alex Premat was able to stay in behind through the chicanes, Steven Richards had to get out of the way so he didn’t end up making contact with anyone else. Steve Owen did not get a very good start, Taz Douglas had to straight line the first 3 turns. Russell Ingall tried to pass Jack Perkins at the back chicane. Towards the end of the opening lap there was contact between Alex Davison and Russell Ingall.
On lap 2 Alex Premat was putting the pressure on Jonathon Webb, driving for the race lead. David Russell was trying to catch the race leaders. Towards the end of lap 2 Paul Dumbrell was under pressure from Dean Canto.
On lap 3 Dean Canto was in the middle of the 2 Red Bull cars. Jack Perkins was trying to pass Andrew Jones but Andrew had to tuck back in behind the Holden Racing Team Car.
The main drivers could get back in to their cars after the co drivers had completed their minimum co-drivers laps which was 34.
In-between laps 4 and 5 Paul Dumbrell had damage on car 1 as a result of him turning in on Dean Canto. He completed 2 laps before Mark Dutton called him into the pits for repair as a result of that spin by the defending Pirtek Enduro cup Champs. At that moment. Steve Richards had to stop and then further down the track at turn 4 Taz Douglas turned in on Paul Dumbrell, as a result he pitted and went 13 laps down.
Riana Crehan made a mistake in saying it was Jamie Whincup and Dean Canto. In fact it was actually Paul Dumbrell and Dean Canto. When Steve Owen came into do a driver change with Mark Winterbottom, Chris O’Toole let him go out of the pit bay.
During the first pit stop, Mark Winterbottom did an unsafe pit release and ran into Garth Tander, this caused Mark Winterbottom to bounce into the path of the Red Bull Racing Australia mechanics. Mark Winterbottom was penalized by going out of pit lane and coming back in for repairs before he had to do a drive thru penalty.
Towards the end of the race Shane van Gisbergen was still up the front of the pack and in the end he just managed to drive away with the rest of the race.
Results for race 26
1st – Shane Van Gisbergen and Jonathon Webb – Tekno Autosports.
2nd – David Reynolds and Dean Canto – Rod Nash Racing.
3rd – Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards – Red Bull Racing Australia.
In race 27 like in the previous race was 102 laps and the co-drivers were the first in the drivers’ seat.
Alex Premat started on pole position alongside him was Steven Richards. On lap 1, Steven got the jump off the start line and led the pack through turns 1, 2 and 3. The cars that were near the back of the pack when straight ahead at the first Chicane. There were cars battling for positon up the front of Alex Premat and which allowed Steven Richards to get a 1 point 1 second lead.
At the start of lap 2 Steve Richards had gap of 1 point 5 Second lead, Jonathon Webb had the inside line approaching the turns 1, 2 and 3. Paul Dumbrell tried to pass him on the outside but that wasn’t successful. Paul Dumbrell went straight ahead at the first chicane. But in the end Paul Dumbrell knew he had to redress the situation otherwise he would have been given a drive thru penalty. Paul Dumbrell lost a spot in the process to with Steve Owen driving. Steve Owen had to fall back in behind Paul Dumbrell. Towards the end of lap 2 Jack Le Brocq had an issue with the rear of car 4.
On lap 3 Steve Richards was dominating the opening stages of the 2nd race. Alex Premat shaved half a second off the lead that Steve Richards had enjoyed. The gap had gone from 1 point 5 seconds to just under a second. During the opening laps fox sports showed a replay of the race start. Luke Youlden hit the right hand side wall on the exit of turn 11. All the co drivers were trying not to get caught up in any accidents or incidents to bring their cars back for the main drivers in one piece.
Around lap 34 most of the main drivers take over in the race to the checkered flag. The Critical lap to get to the finish on fuel was lap 61.
But the safety car came out onto the track way too early to make to the finish line. So everybody had to make 1 extra stop for petrol, had everybody reached lap 61 they would have been okay till the end.
Chris Pither and David Wall were out of race 27 due to hitting the wall out of the back chicane.
Results for race 27
1st – James Courtney and Jack Perkins – Holden Racing Team. Car 22.
2nd – Rick Kelly and David Russell – Jack Daniels Racing. Car 15.
3rd – Garth Tander and Warren Luff – Holden Racing Team. Car 2.
On the weekend of the 6th – 9th of October 2016 was the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. This is the one race that both Dad and I stay glued to the TV to watch the race, he goes for Craig Lowndes and I go for Jamie Whincup. We become armchair critics through the whole race… Hehe…
At the beginning of the race we had the main drivers in except for these co-drivers, Tony Dalberto, Renee Gracie and Aaron Russell.
Jamie Whincup started on pole position alongside him was Scott McLaughlin for the 161lap race.
On lap 1, Jamie Whincup got the jump and led everybody up Mountain Straight. Scott tried to him catch him at turn 2, Bloodstone bend but wasn’t able to get the move done. Going across the top of the mountain everyone had to stay single file until the cars got onto Conrod straight.
On lap 2, everyone had started to settle down into a race pace. But there were no safety cars for the first couple of hours.
On lap 3, with Jamie Whincup still out in front saying catch me if you can.
On lap 4, Shane Van Gisbergen tried to pass Garth Tander but wasn’t able to get it done unless the other driver left a lot of room.
On lap 5, the crowd did a standing 0oation for the late great Peter Brock. Lee Holdsworth’s car sounded sick.
On lap 6, the Red Bull team was happy to see Jamie Whincup pulling away early on.
On lap 7, the pack settled down Jamie Whincup started his 400th race, Rick Kelly went up the inside of Cameron Waters at turn 1.
On lap 8, Shane Van Gisbergen was in front of the three time Bathurst winner Garth Tander. Russell Ingall made his 25th start at Bathurst on the weekend.
On lap 9, Craig Lowndes was moving up from 21st to 13th.
On lap 10, Rick Kelly was behind Chris Pither but he made contact with his car at turn 1.
On lap 11, the reason why most of the co drivers were ready just in case there was going to be an early Safety car.
On lap 12 Chris Pither had dropped all the way down to 25th as a result of contact with Rick Kelly.
On lap 13 Craig Lowndes was up to 12th spot after getting passed Tony Dalberto, after that he set his sights onto Will Davison.
On lap 14, the first car to make a pit stop was James Moffatt handing over to the rookie James Golding. The Nissan motorsport crew had to use the pit board due to radio failure.
On lap, Rick Kelly and Dale Wood pitted for a drive change tyre change and fuel. Rick had a 10 second stop and hold penalty at his next stop.
On lap 16, Craig Lowndes was chasing his teammate down for pit priority.
On lap 17, Dean Canto was chasing Jack Perkins.
On lap 18, Steven Richards came in to get fresh air and to not get caught up in traffic.
On lap 20, both Scott Pye and Matt Campbell nearly hit the wall coming out of the cutting and approaching the top of the mountain with the car was stuck in gear. Brad Jones Racing had an oil fire on the right front calliper. I was laughing at Mark Skaife and Neil Crompton when they said its pot of Penguins. Neil’s response ‘was handy if you’re at Phillip Island not so at Mount Panorama’.
On lap 21, then everybody started to file through one car at a time, because teams that have two or three cars have got to have different strategies from those that have only one.
On lap 22, the leaders stayed out on the track, meanwhile the cars further back pitted to not get caught up in traffic.
On lap 24, the leading cars were breaking laps records, Jamie Whincup holds the lap records at Bathurst now.
On lap 25, the next cars to stop were Jack Perkins along with Dean Canto respectively.
On lap 26, Rick Kelly was going off his brain about not having a good race which ultimately cost him any chance of a solid result.
On lap 27, Paul Dumbrell was sitting in the pits watching Jamie Whincup do his stuff in the car.
On lap 28, I couldn’t believe there was no safety car early. Drivers must have been behaving themselves.
on lap 29, the co-drivers were in the cars for their stint.
On lap 30, Paul Dumbrell still had the race lead by over 30 seconds.
On lap 31, Ash Walsh came into to hand car 14 back to Tim Slade in the process the Freightliner Racing doing the brake pad change, there was a fire due to the pistons popping out of the calliper which had put them 2 laps behind.
On lap 33, the leaders were still controlling the race out front Tim Slade was running 2nd behind car Jamie Whincup.
On lap 34, the Team Vortex crew had to put car 888 the defending winners of the great race, into the garage to repair the broken gear linkage.
On lap 35 in the middle of the race the Bathurst 1000 was still under green flag.
The first safety car wasn’t until lap 92, for the crash involving Andrew Jones.
On the restart the two Red Bull cars were in control of the race.
Towards the end of the race there was a safety car to rescue Frosty because he was stuck in the sand trap down at the chase.
With 10 laps to go Jamie Whincup was behind Scott McLaughlin going down the Conrod Straight then he was told to stay behind Scott McLaughlin for the redress due to an small tap previously. This end up causing an incident between Scott McLaughlin and Garth Tander. I’m sure you have heard all about it.
In the end, Will Davison and Jonathon Webb took the Bathurst 1000 victory which is Will’s second win and Jonathon Webb’s first Bathurst win.
Results for the 2016 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.
1st – Will Davison & Jonathon Webb – Tekno Autosports.
2nd – Shane Van Gisbergen & Alex Premat – Red Bull Racing Australia.
3rd – Nick Percat & Cameron Mcconville – Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport.
The Next event is the Castrol Gold Coast 600 on the 21st – 23rd of October 2016.
On the weekend of the 8th – 11th of October 2015 was the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 event 10.
For those of you who missed it, here is what happened.
During the qualifying laps on Friday, Chaz Mostert had a spectacular crash and broke his leg and his wrist, took out 7 Marshalls while he was at it. He now needs a new car…
On the Saturday, Damien Flack of the Aussie Racing Cars Series had a magnificent crash in which he turned his vehicle from a car to a Go Kart in 5 seconds flat rolling the car 6 times. The vehicle also caught fire and Damien had to be dragged out of it. He was very lucky to be alive. He was taken to Orange Base Hospital with 12 broken ribs, a punctured lung and a shattered collarbone. Damien always the optimist, said he would be back in 6 weeks. I don’t like his chances…
All the main drivers started accept for 3, which was Paul Dumbrell, Dean Canto and Tony D’Alberto. They had to complete a minimum of 54 laps, before the main driver could get back in to the car for the rest of the race.
Dean Canto started on pole position alongside him was Scott McLaughlin. The favourites started Jamie Whincup in 8th Craig Lowndes in 15th Mark Winterbottom in 14th and Garth Tander in 22nd, the Harvey Norman Supergirls in car 200 started from the pits, so as not to get caught in any accidents on the very first lap.
On lap 1 of 161 Jason Bright stalled off the start line and dropped down just a few spots, early on Dean Canto led the pack up mountain straight for the time.
Scott McLaughlin had a poor start, meaning he didn’t get off the line very well heading across the mountain the cars felt a bit Lazy, due to the tyres were not up to temperature and pressure. Towards the end of the first lap Craig Lowndes had made up 4 spots from 15th to 11th.
On lap 2 Scott McLaughlin was putting massive pressure on Dean Canto, while at the same time Dean Canto was doing a great job at holding off the cars that were behind him who were trying to make some progress from their starting spots.
The Xbox ford falcon was trying to make a move at turn 2 on James Moffatt, at Blundstone Bend with Scott Pye behind the wheel he went up to 9th as a result of that move, McLaughlin had to stay in front of Lee Holdsworth while trying to pass Dean Canto, but he had to tuck back in behind through the chase then he managed to pass the Bottle O ford Falcon FX at the last corner.
Towards the end of the lap Shane Van Gisbergen picked up a spot at Forest Elbow which put him into 3rd place.
On lap 3 Scott McLaughlin tried to grab the race lead but had to pull back in behind until he got to the final turn.
On lap 4 there was a new race leader with Scott McLaughlin behind the wheel. Paul Dumbrell was trying to stay with Craig Lowndes.
On lap 5 Fabain Coulthard got car 47 at turn 2 which was been driven by Tony D’Alberto. Also on the same lap Will Davison passed Tony D’Alberto at the chase.
On lap 6 Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes were starting to put pressure on Scott Pye. Fabain Coulthard was getting closer to Lee Holdsworth.
On lap 7 Lee Holdsworth got up the inside of Dean Canto, Paul Dumbrell was trying his best to get back in to the top 10. Craig Lowndes and Paul Dumbrell were running 10th and 11th.
On lap 8 Will Davison passed Dean Canto, Tony D’Alberto was following the 2 cars ahead of him. Steve Owen down in 20th. Steve Owen had no shift lights and no data on the steering wheel. Craig Lowndes passed Greg Murphy who was chatting with Mark Winterbottom.
On lap 9 the pack that was trying to get fresh air. So that the brake and oil temperatures didn’t rise too quick.
On lap 10, Paul Dunbrell covered by going all the way to the pit wall. Then Andre Heimgartner had to try and the over and under trick.
On lap 11, Paul Dumbrell was trying to keep the position that he had just gained the first driver to pit was car 23 with Dean Fiore at the wheel changing over to Michael Caruso.
On lap 12 Andre Heimgartner and Renee Gracie were the 2 and Simona de Slivestro were the Debutions.
On lap 13, Fabian Coulthard was injecting a lot of hot air into the front air dam. Paul Dumbrell had managed to pass Scott Pye before pitting. On the exit of the pit Scott stalled his car.
The first safety car was on lap 16 due the Harvey Norman Supergirls hitting the wall at Forest Elbow. The restart was on lap number 18, David Reynolds was trying to pass Lee Holdsworth.
Garth Tander was back in the race after last year’s incident. In the middle of the race the skies were starting to become black as the as the ace of spades.
Oh let’s watch the video…
Craig is now a 6 time Bathurst winner. Steve Richards is now a 4 time Bathurst winner. Craig Lowndes is back up into 2nd place in the Championship with 399 points behind the championship leader, Mark Winterbottom.
There were only 4 Safety cars in the Bathurst 1000, this year. Jamie was told by the team not to pass the Safety car, he thought he saw a green light so he went passed, as a result he got a Drive thru penalty for that which dropped him all the way down to 18th, and it could have been a Red Bull 1 and 2. Roland Dane was not a happy chappie. Greg Murphy had not seen Jamie that Guttered – Disappointed in a very long time.
The commentators on the weekend at Bathurst were Greg Rust, Neil Crompton and Chad Neylon. The pit reporters were Riana Crehan, Greg Murphy along with the Dude Paul Morris.
Results for race 25
1st – Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Mark Winterbottom and Steve Owen – Pepsi Max Crew.
3rd – Garth Tander and Warren Luff – Holden Racing Team.
Main and co drivers for the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000
Car 1 – Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell – Red Bull Racing Australia
Car 888 – Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards – Red Bull Racing Australia
Car 5 – Mark Winterbottom and Steve Owen – Pepsi Max Crew
Car 55 – David Reynolds and Dean Canto – Rod Nash Racing
Car 9 – Will Davison and Alex Davison – Erebus Motorsport V8
Car 4 – Ash Walsh and Jack Le Brocq – Erebus Motorsport V8
Car 111 – Andre Heimgartner and Ant Pederson – Superblack Racing Team.
Car 99 – James Moffatt and Taz Douglas – Nissan Motorsport
Car 23 – Michael Caruso and Dean Fiore. – Nissan Motorsport
Car 22 – Jack Perkins and Russell Ingall – Holden Racing Team
Car 200 – Renee Gracie and Simona De Slivestro. – Harvey Norman Supergirls
Car 34 – David Wall and Chris Pither – Volvo Polestar Racing
Car 62 – Aaren Russell and Drew Russell – Novocastrians
Car 8 – Jason Bright and Andrew Jones – Team BOC
Car 97 – Shane Van Gisbergen and Jonathon Webb – Tekno Autosports
Car 17 – Scott Pye and Marcos Ambrose – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske
Car 18 – Lee Holdsworth and Sebastian Bourdais – Walkinshaw Racing
Car 222 – Nick Percat and Oliver Gavin – Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport
Car 3 – Tim Blanchard and Karl Reindler – Team Cool Drive
Car 21 – Dale Wood and MacAuley Jones – Brad Jones Racing Team
Car 47 – Tim Slade and Tony D’Alberto – Supercheap Auto
Car 14 – Fabian Couthard and Luke Yaulden – Freightliner Racing
Car 7 – Todd Kelly and Alex Bunkin – Jack Daniels Racing
Car 15 – Rick Kelly and David Russell – Jack Daniels Racing
Car 2 – Garth Tander and Warren Luff – Holden Racing Team
Car 33 – Scott McLaughlin and Alex Premat – Volvo Polestar Racing
The Peter Brock Trophy Winners have been.
Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup 2006.
Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup 2007.
Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup 2008.
Garth Tander and Will Davison 2009.
Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife 2010.
Garth Tander and Nick Percat 2011.
Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell 2012.
Mark Winterbottom and Steven Richards 2013.
Chaz Mostert and Paul Morris 2014.
Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards 2015.
On the weekend of the 16th – 18th of September 2016 was the start of the Endurance season.
Wilson Security Sandown 500.
This is one of my favourite races and Dad and I have been attending for the past 5 years. Dad picked up our car from Freedom Motors on the Wednesday and we left early on the Thursday morning heading for Melbourne (or as my mum says Mexico – you know south of the border). Arriving at the Ibis Hotel at around 4pm and settling in before going to have dinner…
In Melbourne on the Friday at the racetrack I got photos taken with Josh Kean, Lee Holdsworth, Karl Reindler, Jamie Whincup, Craig Lowndes, Steven Richards, Shane Van Gisbergen and Alex Premat the only 1 I didn’t get a photo with on that day was Paul Dumbrell because he was getting ready for a Dunlop Series Qualifying. I caught up and got a photo with one of the Legends of Australian Motorsport Larry Perkins. Aaron Noonan I got a photo with Paul Dumbrell on the Sunday also got a photo taken with Craig Baird who is the Co-Driver for David Reynolds. Also got a photo with Chris Jewell who is Renee Gracie’s Manager.
Let’s go retro – that was the theme for this year’s event.
I saw the Red Bull Racing Australia team go Retro with their white Suits. I saw Mark Larkham and Matt White walk passed us because they were busy so I didn’t get a chance to get a photo with them this year. I was shaking my head at the crowd because they were getting in the way of the Triple 8 boys. Going from the truck back to the Garage.
The V8 TV Crew talk about going Retro Glenn (Minty) Mintern, Cameron Van Den Dungen, and Becky Lamb all went Retro. I also saw Russell Ingall, Mark Skaife, Allan Moffatt and John Harvey they all went Retro. Teams going Retro Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske used the Shell Helix Livery from back in 2003 the 2nd DJR car also went Retro with the Mighty Mite Livery with the number 66 on that Ford Falcon. Chaz went to Steve Ellery’s Livery from back in 2002. And Matt Naulty who is a Commentator went Retro as well.
Because this was an endurance race I thought I would include what happened during the practice events. This one is for the Co-drivers.
In race for the grid 1 Steve Owen started on pole position alongside him was Paul Dumbrell for the 20 laps.
On lap 1 Paul Dumbrell got the jump and led the through turns 1, 2, 3 and 4 for the first of 20 laps. Dean Canto spun Tony Dalberto around and Steven Richards went off the track to avoid hitting him. Craig Baird went off the track and onto the grass at turn 4 by himself.
On lap 2 the co-drivers were settling down into a race pace. The cars up front were pulling away, while the cars up the back were pushing their way through the pack.
On lap 3 Paul Dumbrell was controlling the race with ease. Tim Schenken had announced that Dean Canto was going to get a drive thru penalty for a driving infringement on lap 4 he was leading with handy margin over the cars behind. Matt Campbell was at the back of that pack of cars.
On lap 5 the replay showed that Tony D’Alberto was spun by Dean Canto and Steve Richards only just missed him.
On lap 6 Paul Dumbrell had a 1.3 second lead.
In the middle of the race Warren Luff was putting pressure on Luke Youlden for 3rd spot.
Towards the end of the race Chris Van der Drift went off the track down at turn 9 Dandenong Road. In the end no one could catch Paul.
Results for race for the grid 1.
1st – Paul Dumbrell – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Steve Owen – Supercheap Auto Racing.
3rd – Warren Luff – Holden Racing Team.
This one is for the main drivers
In race for the grid 2 Jamie Whincup started on pole position alongside him was Chaz Mostert for this 20 lap race.
On lap 1 Jamie Whincup got the jump off the line and to the first turn, Cameron Waters was bogged in the mud down at turn 2. There was a safety car on the opening lap to remove Cam Waters car from the mud. Chaz Mostert had contact with James Moffatt.
On lap 2 everyone slowed down to get in behind the Safety car.
On lap 3 the cars were still behind the safety car the restart was on lap 5, Garth was right in Jamie’s wheel tracks.
On lap 6 Will Davison was following his former teammate Garth Tander, Scott McLaughlin got down the inside of him down at turn 1. At the start of lap 6 Fabain Coulthard was pressuring Will Davison into making a mistake.
On lap 7 Garth Tander was right up in behind Jamie Whincup.
On lap 8 Shane Van Gisbergen got a bit too much exit oversteer.
On lap 9 Will Davison just opened the steering ever so slightly just to make sure there was no contact.
In the middle of the race the drivers were settling down for the run to the finish.
In the end no could catch Jamie Whincup.
Results for race for the grid 2.
1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Garth Tander – Holden Racing Team.
3rd – Scott McLaughlin – Volvo Polstar Racing Garry Rogers Motorsport.
The Main Event
The Wilson Security Sandown 500
This event starts with the Co-Drivers in place.
Paul Dumbrell started on pole position alongside him was Warren Luff for the 161 lap race.
On lap 1 Warren got the jump and Paul Dumbrell dropped through the pack. James Golding had a right front tyre go down at the end of the back straight as a result the race had to be red flagged.
The race was restarted on lap 7, there was water on the track between turns 1 and 2. Jack Perkins had a run at Alex Premat, Warren Luff just pulled away, straight away.
On lap 8 David Wall was chasing Warren Luff for the race lead. Steven Richards was under pressure from Aaron Russell. Warren Luff still had the lead of the race over David Wall.
On lap 9 Ash Walsh was being put under pressure by Paul Dumbrell the battle was on for 3rd and 4th.
On lap 10 Steve Owen was chasing down the drivers ahead of him. He tried to get passed during the opening laps but wasn’t to be.
On lap 11 David Wall was under pressure from Ash Walsh, but wasn’t able to get close enough to make the pass. Cameron Mcconville was putting the pressure on the back of Aaron Russell. Russell Ingall was behind Cameron Waters.
On lap 12 the co-drivers were keeping the cars straight with no damage to hand them back over to the main drivers.
On lap 13 Alex Premat had pressure on him from Jack Perkins. Paul Dumbrell was making sure that the Freightliner Holden didn’t get too far up the road – meaning get too far away.
On lap 14 Paul Dumbrell got passed Ash Walsh turn 1. The Red Bull Racing Australia Team Manager, Mark Dutton felt like he was getting held up. (That was reported by Greg Rust.) Dean Canto did the new fastest lap of the race in 15th place. The next Target for Paul Dumbrell, to move further forward was David Wall in the Volvo s60.
On lap 15 Steven Richards spun due to the wet and slippery curbs at turn 3. When he got going again the wheels just spun because there was no grip on the wet grass. Ludo came on the radio and said to him nice and smooth. Then richo’s said sorry about that.
On lap 16 the Enforcer (Russell Ingall) backed the Nissan Altama car 15 out of the tyres at turn 4.
On lap 17 Russell Ingall had smoke coming from the left hand side of that car as a result of contact with the tyres.
On lap 18 Rick Kelly was chatting with Greg Murphy and telling if him if Russell Ingall pitted they would go a lap down and it would be very hard to get that lap back.
On lap 19 Matt Campbell was getting crossed up. Dean Fiore and Luke Youlden were battling for positions 8 and 9.
On lap 20 Dean Canto had to follow Luke Youlden after being in front for the first couple of laps.
In the middle of the race Jamie Whincup had to serve a pit lane penalty due to Paul Dumbrell not taking his seat belt off the right way. Then Tim Slade got pinged as well for moving before his belt was clipped in properly.
Towards the end of the race Garth Tander’s left hand side mud guard just nearly came off and the Officials did not give car 2 a Mechanical black flag to come in get fixed.
Due to the weather and being so cold dad and I made an executive decision to return to our hotel and watched the race from the warmth of our room. Dad and I had already been pretty sick with the dreaded lurgy.
Results for the Wilson Security Sandown 500.
1st – Garth Tander and Warren Luff – Holden Racing Team.
2nd – Shane Van Gisbergen and Alex Premat – Red Bull Racing Australia.
3rd – Will Davison and Jonathon Webb. – Tekno Auto Sports.
The next event will be the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, 6th – 9th of October 2016 the Bathurst Channel will start on Foxtel 506 Monday the 3rd of October 2016.
For those of you that missed the Darwin event here is what happened on the weekend of the 17th -19th June 2016 was the Crown Bet Darwin Triple Crown.
In race 12. Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position alongside was Michael Caruso for the 42 lap race.
On lap 1 Michael Caruso got the jump and led the pack through turn 1. Craig Lowndes got spun around by Rick Kelly that was started by Tim Slade. When Craig Lowndes spun back around to get going again he re-joined at the very back of the field. Rick Kelly was the one who hit him, with help from Tim Slade. James Moffatt ran up the back of David Reynolds.
On lap 2 the pack was starting settle into a pace. Also on that lap the cars were still running around on the racetrack until the race leader had commenced the 5th lap of the race – Meaning the cars could not start peeling off into pit lane until the start of that lap.
On lap 3 the race leader was still Michael Caruso but when the safety car was deployed he decided to stay out on the track.
On lap 4 the cars further back in the pack were trying to keep out of trouble. On the restart Shane Van Gisbergen passed Michael Caruso before the control line which meant that race control gave him a pit lane drive thru penalty, also on the restart Jamie Whincup and Scott Pye came together heading down towards turn 1.
In the middle of the race no one was able to catch Michael Caruso.
Results for race 12.
1st – Michael Caruso – Nissan motorsport
2nd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia
3rd – Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing Team
In race 13 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position alongside him was Todd Kelly for the 70 lap race. The start of the was nuts on lap 1 Scott Pye, Fabain Coulthard, Lee Holdsworth and Chaz Mostert all ended up in the accident on the opening lap. There was a safety car which meant everybody came in for the first of 2 stops the pit lane was a mess, Shane Van Gisbergen gave Will Davison a bump forward so that he could get into the Red Bull pit bay.
On lap 2 the cars that were in the wall got removed and the race went back to green. But Scott Pye, Fabain Coulthard and Lee Holdsworth were not able to continue because of too much damage. But Chaz Mostert was able to keep going.
On the restart Craig Lowndes was leading and made a mistake so that meant that Shane Van Gisbergen took the lead of the race.
In the middle of the race Mark Winterbottom got 2 drive thru penalties, 1st was for hitting Todd Kelly up the back side, and the 2nd one was for speeding in the pit lane. Meanwhile no one could catch Shane Van Gisbergen.
The next Event is the Castrol Edge Townsville 400. On July 8th – 10th 2016.
Let take a look back at what happened on the weekend of 19th – 21st June 2015, in Darwin.
Race 13
In race 13 James Courtney started on pole position alongside him was Chaz Mostert. On lap 1 James Courtney made a good start. But Chaz Mostert got the jump and led the field around turn 1 for the first of 21 laps. Both Jamie Whincup and Fabain Coulthard went off the track at turn 1. Then Craig Lowndes and Tim Blanchard, also Craig Lowndes along with Tim Blanchard, spun at turn 5.
On lap 2 James was having an issue with the Holden Racing Team Commodore. Also on that same lap Rick Kelly got passed Shane Van Gisbergen. Fabain Coulthard had a bent steering arm. Both the Red Bull cars were at the back of the field.
On lap 3 Dale Wood tried to go around the outside of James Moffat from Nissan Motorsport. James got down the inside of David Reynolds.
The Safety car was deployed due to a grass fire. On the exit of the 5th corner, Greg Murphy was chatting Mark Dutton about the incident that sent both Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes to the back.
The restart was on lap 6.
In the middle of the race Andre Heimgartner couldn’t pull up the Super Black Falcon, the criss-cross was on for Jason Bright, Michael Caruso had a bit of speed way action on the exit of turn 1.
Towards the end of race 13 Scott Pye and Shane Van Gisbergen were following James Courtney.
Results for race 13.
1st – Chaz Mostert – Pepsi Max Crew
2nd – Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max Crew
3rd – Rick Kelly – Jack Daniel’s Racing
Race 14
In race 14 Rick Kelly started on position alongside him was Fabain Coulthard of the 21 lap race.
On lap 1 Craig Lowndes led the whole way through race 2. After the front 2 cars came together at turn 1, Craig Lowndes started 5th but was leading the race by the time they got to the first turn. Andre Heimgartner ran wide towards the end of first lap taking out Nick Percat, Will Davison and Jamie Whincup. Fabain Coulthard had contact with the Jack Daniel’s racing Nissan.
On lap 2 Andre Heimgartner had damage to the Super Black Racing Ford Falcon, also on lap 2 a safety car was deployed to clean up the mess left behind by the damaged race cars.
Meanwhile Greg Murphy was interviewing Brad Jones about the start of race 2 and Riana Crehan was interviewing Mark Dutton about opening race tangles.
The restart was on lap 7. In this race it was the 888th race in V8 Supercars. Craig Lowndes was only 15 laps away from claiming his 100th win in this sport. Scott Pye got down the inside of Michael Caruso.
In the middle of the race David Reynolds tried to get down the inside of Michael Caruso at turn 5, Dale Wood and David Wall went off the track at turn 5.
Towards the end of the race Chaz Mostert tried to get up the inside of Tim Slade but in the end Craig Lowndes was the first of the current V8 drivers to reach that incredible milestone of 100 career wins.
Results for race 14
1st – Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Racing Australia
2nd – Tim Slade – Supercheap Auto Racing
3rd – Chaz Mosert – Pepsi Max Crew
Race 15
In race 15 David Reynolds started on pole position alongside him was Fabain Coulthard of the 70 lap race.
On lap 1 Fabain Coulthard got the jump on David Reynolds and led the field into turn 1. Fabain Coulthard was still out in front while the car to make a compulsory pit stop was Jamie Whincup.
On lap 2 then Todd Kelly was first to make a pit stop, so that the 2 Kelly boys didn’t have to double stack behind.
On lap 3 the 2 Red Bull Racing Australia had to split their strategy to stop them from doing the awful double stacking. This is Craig Lownde’s 19th season in V8 Supercars.
On lap 4 Scott McLaughlin ran wide on the exit of turn 1, then he went onto grass out of the first corner. The Red Bull Racing Australia team thought that they could do the whole race on the soft compound tyres, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.
In the middle of the race both the Red Bull cars came back due to flat spots on both tyres on the front left.
Towards the end of the race, David Reynolds was the leader of the race all the way to the end.
The commentators were Greg Rust and Neil Crompton the pit reporters were Greg Murphy and Riana Crehan.
Results for 15
1st – David Reynolds – Bottle ‘O’ Racing
2nd – Chaz Mostert – Pepsi Max Crew
3rd – Fabain Coulthard – Brad Jones Racing
