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Supercars

Thrifty Bathurst 500 2024

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 23 – 25 Feb was the Thrifty Bathurst 500.

It was Round 1 of the V8-Supercars 2024 season.

The event consisted of 2 practice sessions, a qualifying session (1 for each of the 2 races) to determine the entries to the top 10 shootout for grid position and finally 2 races of 40 laps / 250km each.

Last season ended with Erebus taking the teams trophy and Erebus driver Brodie Kostecki taking the drivers’ trophy. Will Brown who was Brodie Kostecki’s teammate took 4th place.

It seems this year the drivers from Erebus have abandoned ship. Will Brown is now driving for Red Bull Ampol Racing alongside Broc Feeney after the exit of legend, Shane Van Gisbergen.

Will Brown has joined Red Bull Ampol Racing

On the 30 January 2024 Brodie Kostecki had a massive falling out with Erebus Motorsports’ boss Barry Ryan and left the team. It must have been serious because now the champion has been left without a seat in this years’ competition. Barry Ryan, team owner Betty Klimenko and Brodie Kostecki have all been very tight lipped about what happened to cause the rift.

This first event of the year started on the Friday with 2 practice sessions. The weather was cloudy with consistent rain. Not a surprise at Bathurst which is known for its extreme weather patterns.        

Results from the pre-race sessions are as follows:

  • Broc Feeney was fastest in Practice 1
  • Will Brown was fastest in Practice 2
  • Broc Feeney was fastest in Qualifying for both Race 1 & 2
  • Will Brown was fastest in Race 1 Top Ten Shootout
  • Broc Feeney was the fastest in Race 2 Top Ten Shootout

On the grid for Race 1 Will Brown started in pole position with teammate Broc Feeney alongside him.

Will Brown got the jump on his teammate off the starting line and led into turn 1 for the first of 40 laps. Chaz Mostert got a ripper of a start from 3rd on the grid and was close behind the two leaders.

Rookie, Ryan Wood went off the track at turn 1 with a helping hand from Tim Slade. The safety car was deployed and the car was towed off the track. I am sure it was not how Ryan Wood envisioned his first race as a rookie.

Race Control looked at the incident and decided to take no penalising action against Wood or Slade.

The restart was on lap 3. Will Brown still had the race lead followed by Broc Feeney, Chaz Mostert and Cameron Hill.

The first 2 cars to pit were Anton de Pasquale and Matt Payne on lap 6. They re-joined one spot from the back of the pack, 22nd and 23rd.

Broc Feeney was tailing leader Will Brown by only 0.934 seconds. On lap 11 he then did the fastest time recorded in this race (208.332 seconds).

Will Brown was the first of the two Red Bull cars to pit to ensure there would be no double stacking at the garage with teammate Broc Feeney. This handed Broc Feeney the lead.

In the middle of the race Nick Percat had the lead. Once he pitted Broc Feeney took back lead control with Will Brown behind him.

Aaron Love hit the wall coming out of The Cutting and damaged the right rear corner of car 3. It was quite a significant hit and he had to limp back to the pits. There was no need to deploy the safety car and later he did manage to return to the race.

Towards the end of the race Broc Feeney and Will Brown were the effective leaders with the 2 cars of Nick Percat and Cameron Waters ahead of them but still yet to pit. Once they pitted the 2 Red Bull cars assumed 1st and 2nd place on the track.

With 9 laps remaining Broc Feeney was still in the lead by 0.871seconds over Will Brown.

On lap 33 Chaz Mostert clocked the fastest lap of the race at 208.113 seconds. This adds 5 point to Mostert’s scoreboard tally.

The competition began to get wild.

On lap 34 the front left wheel came off Cameron Waters Monster Energy Ford Mustang and it went rolling down the track to turn 2. The race went under FCY (Full Course Yellow) to remove the wheel.

With 5 laps to go James Golding went off at The Chase. When he came back on he was alongside his teammate, Tim Slade.

With 2 laps to go Aaron Love hit the wall at The Cutting again! This time the Safety Car had to be deployed to remove the car from the track. He and Ryan Wood were the only two DNFs in the race.

As a result of the deployed Safety Car the race finished under Safety Car conditions. The finish was therefor quite unexciting compared to the action leading up to it.

Broc Feeney came across the line first, followed by Will Brown and then Chaz Mostert.

Results for Race 1:

1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing
3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

In Race 2 Broc Feeney started on pole position, alongside him was Chaz Mostert.

As they took off Chaz Mostert got the jump and led into turn 1.

Meanwhile back in the pack Cameron Hill and Macauley Jones became entangled and spun both cars. They were able to continue but were now at the back of the pack.

Broc Feeney tried to get up the inside James Golding at The Chase. He made contact with Golding and was issued a 5 second time penalty for the driving infringement.

Will Brown had gone up to second place. He was only 0.385 seconds off Chaz Mostert in the lead. Pole sitter Broc Feeney had dropped back to 3rd place.

Matt Payne was the first driver to take his car into the pits on lap 6.

Ryan Wood also went into the garage to rectify a damaged right front steering sustained on the opening lap.

Aaron Love hit the wall approaching the Reid Park section of the track.

Up the front the top 3 cars were reasonably close to each other.

Broc Feeney was asking whether he can pass Will Brown in attempt to make up for the 5 second time penalty he received earlier. He was given the go ahead but just couldn’t find the space on track to execute the pass.

He then decided to take the first of his 2 mandatory pitstops and also get his 5 second penalty out of the way.

In the middle of the race Chaz Mostert was still the leader by 5.2 seconds over Will Brown, who was then followed by Broc Feeney. Thomas Randle and David Reynolds were battling for 4th and 5th place.

Towards the end of the race only Todd Hazelwood and Andre Heimgartner were still yet to take their second pit stop. Once they did, Will Brown who had overtaken Chaz Mostert would assume the race lead.

In the final 5 laps the top 3 positions were unchanged and stayed that way to the finish.

Will Brown crossed the line with a 1.6 second lead on Chaz Mostert. Then it was 1.4 seconds back to Broc Feeney.

It was a good race and a lot of fun watching it.

Results for Race 2:

1st Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing

2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

3rd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing

After the first of event of the season Will Brown is the series leader by 9 points over Broc Feeney.

The Red Bull Ampol Racing team are in the lead of the teams championship by 201 points over Grove Racing.

The next event in the Supercars series is as a support category at the Rolex Australian F1 Grand Prix at Albert Park on March 21 to 24 2024.

I hope you will all join me.

Supercars

Valo Adelaide 500 2023

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 23 – 26 November 2023 was the Valo Adelaide 500.

The Adelaide street circuit was first opened in 1985 and hosted the F1 Australian Grand Prix until 1995. The street circuit came back into use in 1999 when Supercars moved their events from the Mallala Motorsport Park.

Jason Bright took the very first pole position at this venue. Craig Lowndes started the leg 1 from 3rd on the grid and won the opening race. The next day he was sent to the back of the field and still came through to win leg 2. It was the stuff that legends are made of.

This year’s Adelaide 500 was the 12th and final round of the 2023 Supercars Championship.

As one of the longer events on the calendar made up of 2 races of 250km each, it was always going to be a tough event. To add to the tension it was also the decider for the Driver’s Championship.

The defending champion Shane Van Gisbergen was trailing Brodie Kostecki in the number 1 spot by 131 points. A win in both races would total 300 points so the championship was still up for grabs. Shane Van Gisbergen is heading to the U.S. at the end of the season to try his hand at NASCAR so it could very well also be his final farewell to Supercars.

The points gap from 3rd place onwards was too great to contend for 1st or 2nd place. However, the points were close enough between 3rd, 4th and 5th for there to be a change on the final scoreboard for Will Brown, Broc Feeney and Chaz Mostert.

The Final Event and the Final Decider! A setting for nail biting stuff!

The event started on Thursday with a wet Practice 1.

The pre-race sessions results are as follows:

  • Chaz Mostert was fastest in Practice 1
  • Thomas Randle was Fastest in Practice 2
  • Brodie Kostecki was fastest in Qualifying
  • Brodie Kostecki was also fastest in the top 10 Shootout.

For Race 27 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position which was his 9th pole for the year. David Reynolds was alongside him on the front row of the starting grid.

At the start of the race Brodie Kostecki got the jump and led into turns 1 and 2 for first of 78 laps.

As the pack rounded turn 4 Will Brown tried passing Anton de Pasquale. Shane Van Gisbergen also tried following Will Brown to jump up in position. However, Anton de Pasquale made contact with Will Brown and then from behind Shane Van Gisbergen made contact with Will Brown. Brown’s car came to stop almost immediately. Shane Van Gisbergen was able to get back to the pits but it was soon evident that he wouldn’t be returning to the track. Not only was it all over for this race but also his ability to contend for the championship title. Such bad luck.

The safety car was deployed. It was only the opening lap and things were very messed up for Will Brown and Shane Van Gisbergen.

Later, after reviewing the incident the officials took no further action and no penalty was issued to any of the three cars involved.

Matt Payne and Cameron Hill were in the pits because of damage they received after the start.

The restart was on lap 6 and Brodie Kostecki was still in control of the race, followed by David Reynolds and Thomas Randle in 3rd place.

Broc Feeney passed James Courtney for 8th place.

On lap 15 David Reynolds took the lead off Brodie Kostecki with some incredible manoeuvring through turns 8 and 9.

The first car to pit in this race was Anton de Pasquale on lap 16.

Broc Feeney was next to pit on lap 19. When he re-joined the race he was in 20th place with clear track ahead.

Up front it started getting busy. Thomas Randle moved up to 2nd place dropping Brodie Kostecki back to 3rd place.

Cameron Waters in 4th place was 3 + seconds behind. The front of the pack were beginning to spread out.

Soon after, Thomas Randle pitted from second place handing over the spot to Cameron Waters.

Thomas Randle came out of the pits and was like a rocket. Within a few laps he managed to move up through the pack and regain 2nd place.

Cameron Waters wasn’t happy to give back the second spot to Thomas Randle and found the opportunity to pass him. Once again, the order of the top 3 cars changed.

In the middle of the race Cameron Waters was still holding second place right on the rear bumper of David Reynolds in the lead. He found his opportunity and with precision driving made the pass to get the number one spot.

Further back in the pack, Todd Hazelwood received a 5 second time penalty for contact with another car.

David Reynolds never gave up the fight to regain 1st place. With 17 laps to go he did the fastest lap of the race, 119.957 seconds. Unfortunately, it didn’t give him what he wanted. He was also under pressure from Thomas Randle in 3rd place. The front 3 cars were once again tight and left no room for error.

Cameron Waters stayed strong and held the lead using his experience to fend off the two drivers right on his tail.

Soon Cameron Water and David Reynolds edged away from Thomas Randle still holding 3rd place.

They were both on fire screaming ahead of the pack.

They crossed the finish line 0.67 seconds apart and way ahead of the others. Thomas Randle came in 14.353 seconds later to earn 3rd place. It was an incredible finish for an intense race.

Results for Race 27

1st Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing.

2nd David Reynolds – Grove Racing.

3rd Thomas Randle – Castrol Racing & Tradie Racing.

In Race 28 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position for the 10th time this season. This is an incredible feat and he was given the Armor All Pole Award for year along with $10,000. Next to him on the front row of the grid was Matt Payne.

As they took off Matt Payne got the jump and led into turns 1 and 2 for the first of 78 laps. As much as Brodie Kostecki tried he was not able to pass Matt Payne.

Further back Shane Van Gisbergen was trying to pass Anton de Pasquale but also wasn’t able to execute a pass. It wasn’t until a few laps later that he got into his stride.

On lap 2 Broc Feeney was able to get up the inside of Cameron Waters for 4th place.

David Reynolds made his move on lap 3 to pass Todd Hazelwood for 9th place.

Shane Van Gisbergen was now moving through the pack and had now passed Anton de Pasquale, Will Davison and Will Brown for 11th place.

On lap 6 Nick Percat made contact with Jack le Brocq who went off the track and into the tyre-wall at the final turn. Surprisingly, he managed to get himself out and the safety car did not have to be deployed.

After investigation the incident the officials took no further action against either driver.

By lap 10 Matt Payne had a 1.2 second lead over Brodie Kostecki.

Broc Feeney was putting pressure on Chaz Mostert for 3rd place. He managed to get by at turn 6.

Shane Van Gisbergen showed how eager he was to make up for the NC (Not Complete) he received in the first race at this event. He did the fastest lap of the race, 120.735 seconds.

On lap 11 Chaz Mostert was desperately trying to get 3rd place back from Broc Feeney. In his attempt Chaz Mostert made contact with him and did manage to pass. It was a messy attack and Chaz Mostert was later issued a 5 second time penalty.

Shane Van Gisbergen was the first of the Red Bull cars to take a pit-stop.

In the pit area Macauley Jones was spun around by Tim Slade who was coming out of his garage.

In the middle of the race Matt Payne was still in control with a 4.8 second lead over Broc Feeney flowed by David Reynolds in 3rd.

As the race continued Matt Payne kept edging ahead. Towards the end of the race, he had a 7.5 second lead over Broc Feeney and was on target to claim his maiden win with Penrite Racing.

Noone seemed able to make ground on the rookie Matt Payne. In fact he managed to edge further ahead of the competitors.

He crossed the line with a 8.548 second lead over Broc Feeney. David Reynolds come in 3rd a few seconds later.

It was a spectacular and solid win for Matt Payne. Congratulations!

Results for Race 28:

1st Matt Payne – Grove Racing.

2nd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing.

3rd David Reynolds – Grove Racing.

A massive congratulations to Erebus Motorsport and Brodie Kostecki. Well done!

This was the final race for the 2023 season. The next event will be the Bathurst Superfest on the 16th to the 25th of February 2024.

It’s with a sense of sadness that we say farewell to Shane Van Gisbergen. Well done on everything you have achieved in Supercars and best of luck for your new adventures in Nascar. Go get em!

Supercars

Merlin Triple Crown 2021

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of June 18 to 20, 2021 was the Merlin Darwin Triple Crown at Hidden Valley Raceway.

It was an exciting weekend that I had been looking forward to. Not just because Hidden Valley is a fast track but also the last event at Winton was cancelled due to COVID lockdowns. So it’s been a while since the last race.

Neil Crompton was not in Darwin last weekend because he was recovering from prostate cancer surgery. Crompo, we are all praying for you and wish you a speedy recovery.

In other news, Chaz Mostert has signed a new multi year deal with Walkinshaw Andretti United until the end of 2023. This puts an end to the speculations that he may be replacing Jamie Whincup in 2022 at the Red Bull Ampol Racing Team alongside Shane Van Gisbergen.

Also last weekend it was confirmed that Thomas Randle will make his full-time debut in 2022 with Tickford Racing under a 4th Rec – Racing Entitlements Contract.

The weekend’s event was underway as scheduled. In the pre-race sessions it was a mix of results:

  • Nick Percat was fastest in Practice 1
  • Jamie Whincup was fastest in Practice 2
  • Anton de Pasquale was fastest in Qualifying for race 12.

In race 12 Anton De Pasquale started on pole position with Mark Winterbottom alongside him.

As the race got underway things immediately went wrong and by turn 1 there was a 6 car pileup.

Mark Winterbottom lost power and went wide to avoid being a hinderance. Shane Van Gisbergen managed to sweep down the inside of Anton de Pasquale to take the lead. Anton de Pasquale turned in tight clipping Shane Van Gisbergen’s back wheel. It slowed Pasquale, changing his driving line and Scott Pye ended up in his behind spinning him round. As this brought them to a halt in the middle of the turn, others came to join the ‘pile up party’; Including Todd Hazelwod, Jack Smith, Fabian Couthard, Garry Jacobson. It was utter mayhem and the safety car had to be deployed to clean up the mess. Garry Jackobson was the only one able to continue the race. The others were out with NC (Not Complete).

When the race went back to green Shane Van Gisbergen was leading the race.

Jamie Whincup came in early to find some clear air and not get caught up in traffic. The leaders stayed out until lap 5.

Will Davison was the remaining Dick Johnson Racing car after the retirement of car 11 driven by Anton de Pasquale. De Pasquale’s car looked such a mess I was thinking that they wouldn’t be able to repair car overnight, but somehow they did.

In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen’s was on target for another race win in 2021 but it was a day of mishaps. When he came in for the pit stop the team couldn’t get the wheel nut undone, so instead of the stop being a 3 or 4 seconds it ended up being a 30 seconds. They delay  cost him the race lead and win. After looking so strong he finished in 13th position.

The race lead was now in the hands of Cheeky Chaz Mostert. His experience and great driving made it impossible for anyone else to catch him before he crossed the finish line first.

Results for Race 12

1st Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing

3rd Nick Percat – Brad Jones Racing

In race 13 Will Davison started on pole position. Alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen. The last time Will Davison started on pole position was 2014 at Homebush Sydney Olympic park.

David Reynolds qualified 21st for race 13 which he wasn’t happy with because he wanted to be further up but it didn’t work out.

At the start of the race Shane Van Gisbergen got the jump and led into turn 1. The cars further back in the pack came in early to get track position.

Nick Percat who qualified to start in 10 position wanted to repeat his podium finish achieved on Saturday. His driving throughout the race was more aggressive than usual but his experience means he knows what he is doing and poses less risk than most. Unfortunately for him it was a tough race and only managed to gain one place by the finish.

The Red Bull cars which qualified well, Shane Van Gisbergen started 2nd and Jamie Whincup started 6th on the grid, stayed out longer because they had track position. It paid off for both of them.

In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was back at the front. Soon after his teammate, Jamie Whincup had moved up from 6th to 3rd. Will Davison was holding onto 2nd position and was proving a tough nut to crack for Jamie Whincup to make the result 1st and 2nd for Triple 888 Racing..

The three drivers kept their position and proved impossible for anyone else to catch them. They also  finished the race in that order; Shane Van Gisbergen, Will Davison and Jamie Whincup.

Results for Race 13

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team

2nd Will Davison – Dick Johnson Racing

3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team

4th Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

In race 14, the third and final race for the weekend it was again Will Davison whi started on pole position. Alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.

Shane van Gisbergen went around the outside at turn 1 and in the process kept the lead which I wasn’t surprised with at all.

The cars further back in the pack came in to get track position and stay out of the hot air from the cars in front of them.

As the pit stops started taking place the leaders stayed to keep their positions.

Jamie Whincup was happy about having a good performance in Darwin with a 2nd and 3rd finish in the previous races..

In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was the leader of and looking like winning the race comfortably.

The series season leader Shane Van Gisbergen showed why he was the series champ to date and drove faultlessly to the finish line with more than a two second lead over Will Davison and Jamie Whincup in thrid. Shane Van Gisbergen now leads the championship by 221 points.

Results for Race 14

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team

2nd Will Davison – Dick Johnson Racing

3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team

Social media reacts to Mostert WAU contract extension – Supercars

Randle confirmed for 2022 full-time Supercars seat – Speedcafe

The next event is the NTI Townsville 500 on the 9th to the 11th of July 2021.

Bathurst 12 hour

Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour 2019

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend 1st to the 3rd of the February, 2019 was the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour which is a pre-season race before the Supercars Championship starts.

This is an international endurance race for GT and production cars, not V8 Supercars but there were so many drivers from the Supercars Championship in the race I include it in my reviews.

The title ‘Bathurst 12 Hour’ is true to its name. It is a time based race of 12 hours and disregards the number of laps performed.

In order to do the 12 hours in one hit the race started at 5:45am when it was still dark.

Englishman, Jake Dennis driving the Aston Martin was originally supposed to start in pole position but had been docked 2 grid spots for speeding in the pit lane. Then due a technical infringement by the team the Aston Martin started in 12th spot.

Car #999, the Mercedes Benz driven by Maximilian Buhk started in pole position; alongside him was the Mercedes Benz #77 driven by Luca Stolz.

V8 Supercars star, Shane Van Gisbergen started 19th on the grid after not making the top ten shootout on Saturday afternoon.

When the Mercedes Benz safety car took off for the warm up lap the 12-hour clock started for the race. After the first lap the race gets underway with a rolling start (not a standing start).

During the opening laps everybody was trying to keep their cars nice and straight as they knew it was a long race.

The two AMG Mercedes, cars #999 and #77 maintained their 1st and 2nd places.

In this early stage Shane Van Gisbergen made up 4 positions going from 19th to 15th. An excellent start but there was a long way to go.

It wasn’t long after that the carnage started.

On lap 6 while still early and quite dark car #71 ended up going down the escape road, an error not often seen.

Car #27, the Ferrari driven by Nick Percat got spun around at Forest Elbow after getting involved with the lapped car, MARC Focus V8 driven by Dutchman, Mathijs Bakker.  Later, Percat laid claim that this was an incident that couldn’t be helped and a result of multi-class racing. Bakker was not so diplomatic and did not hold back to vehemently blame Percat. The repair time cost percat at least 25 laps.

The 888 Vodafone Mercedes had a drama with the brakes. After Shane Van Gisbergen had to pit to try and have it repaired the team could not find the issue. Shane Van Gisbergen had to return to the track he was not happy. Little did he know how this was going to affect all the drivers.

Martin Tomczyk was battling with Craig Lowndes and nearly took his BMW into the wall on the right-hand side.

James Winslow received a lot of damage to the rear of his car and had parts flapping around which meant he had to pit to get them removed, otherwise risk receiving a mechanical black flag.

Garth Tander in car #22 had an accident by running into the back of #19 driven by Danish Kristina Neilson. He had to limp his Audi back to the pits and was soon declared out of the race.

When the accidents started, I thought these are going be expensive repair jobs.

On the race broadcast Chad Neylon, pit reporter for fox/10 used a giant touch screen to explain how he believed the strategies would unfold. It was a great insight.

Mark Dutton, racing engineer and current manager of Triple 8 was the Car Controller for the day, which was cool to see.

Shane Van Gisbergen ran wide at turn 1 due to sitting on the left-hand side of the car and lost the positions he had previously made.

When the sun started to rise the race was still under green. The cars that started further back in the pack now tried to make their move to get inside the top ten.

Braking problems continued to bother the three drivers of the 888 Vodafone Mercedes. The crew were unable to repair the issue and drivers were required to use both feet to apply the brakes. I am sure this did not help their driving form. At the end of the race Shane Van Gisbergen literally rolled out of the car onto the ground in exhaustion.

The funniest part of the weekend was when Chad Neylon gave David Reynolds a lift in the AMG Mercedes Benz Safety Car to the race track. Neylon’s driving caused Reynolds to spill his coffee. Chad Neylon said ‘Lesson learnt, don’t drive to the track in the AMG Safety Car’. Reynolds response was “you’re a bad driver”. LOL

Jamie Whincup was given a Drive Through Penalty for passing the AMG Safety Car. Somehow  Roland Dane (triple 8 Owner) flexed his muscles of influence because he got the stewards and officials to negate the penalty.

The last time Jamie Whincup got a Drive Through Penalty was 2015 in the Bathurst 1000 but never in the Bathurst 12 hours.

Towards the end of the of the race Matt Campbell was leading with 2nd and 3rd chasing him down for the win, while  Shane Van Gisbergen was on an almighty charge to try to get on the Bathurst 12-hour podium but the top three were not giving up their positions.

38 cars started the race. By the end of the 12 hours of true endurance racing 15 cars had received DNFs. It’s a damned tough race.

 

Results for the 2019 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 hours

1st Matt Campbell – Car 912, Porsche 911 GT3-R for Earl Bamber Motorsport
2nd Jake Dennis –  Car 62, Aston Martin Vantage  for R Motorsport
3rd Raffaele Marcello – Car 999, Mercedes AMG for Mercedes AMG Team GruppeM Racing
4th Shane Van Gisbergen – Car 888, Mercedes AMG Team Vodafone.

The next event is the first race of the V8 Supercars Season, The Superloop Adelaide 500 from the 28th of February to the 3rd of March 2019.

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

V8 Supercars 2018 Adeleaide 500

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around world!

Welcome to the V8 Supercars Championship season for 2018.

The new season finds V8 Supercars with a new CEO, Sean Seamer. He takes over from James Warburton who left the position last year.

The Adelaide 500 is the first official race of the season and was run on the weekend of the 1st to the 4th of March 2018.

In Qualifying on the Friday both Cameron Waters and Jamie Whincup hit the wall at turn 8 which forced both the Monster Energy Racing Team and the Red Bull Holden Racing Team to do all-nighters on repairs. The Red Bull team didn’t finish Jamie Whincup’s car until 4:15AM.

Regardless of this incident Jamie Whincup was still the fastest in Practice 1 and made the top 10 shootout, starting the first race in 5th position.

In race 1 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position and alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.

At the start of the 78-lap race, Rick Kelly hit the wall coming out of turn 3 causing him to limp back to the pits for repairs.

After Rick Kelly got back to the pits he was interviewed by Greg Murphy about the damage his Nissan Altima received. He told Greg Murphy that it was due to a bent steering arm but it soon became clear that with the resulting damage he wouldn’t be going back out onto the track very soon. It was very unfortunate and cost him a lot of time. He had started from 7th position on the grid but finished 23rd only ahead of the NCs (not completes).

There are 5 full time Rookies in field this year:

  • Jack Le Brocq Holden car 19
  • James Golding Holden car 34
  • Richie Stanaway Ford car 56
  • Anton De Pasquale Holden car 99
  • Andre Heimgartner Nissan car 7

During the opening stages the rookies didn’t know what was to come given that it was their first race in the main game. All up I think they did a great job.

Chaz Mostert raced very well considering he didn’t make the top ten shootout in Qualifying due to a red flag. I am sure he wouldn’t have been happy with that but was making up for it during this race.

Richie Stanaway and James Golding made contact with the wall. Richie Stanaway was in a really awkward position and had to use reverse gear to try and get out of the tyre stack. As one of the rookies he proved his worth and persisted. Unfortunately a car issue caused a DNF only one lap short of completing the race. He must have been really disappointed.

In the middle of the race Craig Lowndes was running strong under his new team, Autobarn Lowndes Racing before he got a shoved up the rear by Garth Tander. He slid sideways but managed to keep on track. It was a tense moment for sure.

Towards the end of race 1 no one else could catch the top 3 drivers which were Shane Van Gisbergen, James Courtney and Scott McLaughlin.

 

 

Shane Van Gisbergen made it look too easy as he confidently held his position 1 right to the end.

Results for race 1

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd James Courtney – Mobil 1 Boost Mobile Racing
3rd Scott Mclaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team

In race 2 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position again and alongside him was his teammate Jamie Whincup.

At the start of the 78 lap 250 kilometre race Jamie Whincup got the jump off the front row on the grid. Shane Van Gisbergen was happy to see his teammate lead the race into the first chicane.

On lap 2 the drivers settled into their race pace and the pack started chasing the two Red Bull leaders trying to close the 2.6 second lead they had.

After the first round of stops the race lead went back to car 1, Jamie Whincup.

As the opening laps were complete it appeared Shane Van Gisbergen didn’t have the pace he normally delivered. When interviewed later he stated there were car setup dramas affecting speed and in good sportsmanship said it was teammate, Jamie Whincup’s race.

Jamie Whincup was flying which was good to see. I thought he had it in the bag and was surely going to win.

Later David Reynolds was in a good spot and racing hard, then nearly hit the wall at turn 8. Luckily he didn’t.

No one else could catch the race leaders at this point of the race.

With 30 laps to go Jamie Whincup was still out front and cruising but then his gearbox failed and he started to slow and had to pull in to the pits. When Jamie got out of car he was gutted when David Cauchi took his head set off. He knew what it meant. The last time Jamie had a DNF was in the 2013 Gold Coast 600. His 136 race finishing streak was broken on Sunday.

Towards the end of the race Shane Van Gisbergen still had the lead. David Reynolds tried to pressure him into an error but it didn’t work.

So once again for the second time on the weekend, Shane Van Gisbergen took 1st place. What an amazing result for him and the Red Bull team.

Results for race 2

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport
3rd Garth Tander – Garry Rogers Motorsport

The next event is the Coates Hire Supercars Melbourne 400.

 

 

There are 5 Rookies in field this year are

Jack Le Brocq Holden Car 19.

James Golding Holden car 34.

Richie Stanaway Ford car 56.

Anton De Pasquale Holden car 99.

Andre Heimgartner Nissan car 7

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.