It is still the ‘off season’ for Supercars so there are no races to review.
COVID – 19 is re-emerging as a health risk in the Sydney community bringing most things to a boring standstill.
As I once said in a previous V8-Log on my YouTube channel ‘COVID, COVID, COVID…. I’m Bored!!’
So to keep myself occupied and maybe info-tain my readers, I am doing a post covering the 2006 Bathurst 1000.
The 2006 Bathurst 1000 was run on October 8. It was a sombre moment as they moved into position to start the race. They left the front row of the grid vacant as a mark of respect to the ‘King of the Mountain’, Peter Brock or as most Aussies would know him, “Brocky” . Brocky was a living legend of the track and died tragically in the Targa West ’06 Rally one month prior on September 8. This was the man who had been out on the track since the late 60’s, was 9 times winner of the Bathurst 1000 (amongst many other titles that are too great in number to mention here) and pretty much the face of Holden for 40 years.
That’s not to say there were no great drivers out on the track that day. Mark Skaife and Garth Tander started on pole position. Alongside was Jason Bright and Mark ‘Frosty’ Winterbottom.
As the race got underway Mark Skaife had a slipping clutch off the start line. When he got close to the end of Mountain Straight he left the track, hitting the wall and damaging front and back of the car. They were already out of the race on lap 1.
The drivers did 3 laps under safety car while car 2 (Skaife’s) got removed from mountain straight area.
On the restart Jason Bright was the race leader and the dominant car. During those opening laps the Jason Bright and Mark Winterbottom car was flying, it was just sofast.
Craig Lowndes was battling with Jason Richards for 2nd place. Greg Murphy was battling with his former teammate, Steven Richards in the Jack Daniels Racing, car 7.
Heading into the 06 Bathurst 1000 Craig Lowndes was the championship leader over Rick Kelly by 27 points.
Rick Kelly was battling with Steven Johnson for position 8 and 9.
Dean Canto was following Russell Ingall but couldn’t get by him.
Jason bright was leading until he got a flat spot on the front right tyre, then Craig Lowndes took the race lead and just took off.
On lap 22 he had a handy 4.1 second lead lead over Jason Richards in car 3 for Tasman Motorsport.
Skaife’s Holden Racing Team (HRT) teammate, Jim Richards had no luck either. On lap 25 he hit the wall coming out of ‘The Dipper’.
On the 2nd restart, Steven Johnson was running 2nd but lost control on lap 28 and also hit the wall.
When the safety car came out for the 3rd time Craig Lowndes pitted to hand over to Jamie Whincup. The handover put them back in 22nd position.
The the pits were very busy with cars coming in but so badly damaged not going back out.
When the race restarted Cameron McConville was leading followed by Todd Kelly.
Around the middle of the 161 lap race, the main drivers were back behind the wheel.
On lap 90 Craig Lowndes did the fastest lap of the race.
When the co drivers got back in the cars Todd Kelly was leading.
The cars back in the pack seemed to have no hope of catching the race leaders; Todd Kelly, Jamie Whincup and James Courtney.
Towards the end of the race it was green until Jason Richards went off the track causing the 10th and final safety car deployment.
Soon after Paul Radisich rolled the Team Kiwi Holden Commordore, car 021.
Rick Kelly was chasing Crag Lowndes in the last laps but he just couldn’t find the opportunity to overtake. Craig Lowndes driving was flawless and kept his lead to the finish line.
Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup were the fist to receive the newly titled trophy, ‘The Peter Brock Trophy’.
Results for Bathurst 2006
1st Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup – Team Betta Electrical
2nd Rick Kelly and Todd Kelly – Toll HSV Dealer Team
3rd James Courtney and Glen Seton – Stone Brothers Racing
Rick Kelly started racing in the Australian Formula Ford Championship in 2000 followed by the Australian Drivers Championship in 2001.
Now hang on! Let me do my calculation: (Professional driver:2000. Born:1983) that would make him 17!!! Really? Ok so we got this kid behind the wheel. People are taking him seriously. He must be good.
In 2001 he made his debut in the Shell Championship Series at the VIP Petfoods Queensland 500 with co-driver Nathan Pretty with the Kmart Racing Team. Rick was behind the wheel on the grid, rearing to go. Unfortunately, due to mechanical problems the car had to be pushed off the track before they even started. It didn’t hold Rick back.
In 2002 he moved to the Holden Racing Team driving car 02. He performed admirably; at one stage leading the Bathurst 1000 and had the circumstances been slightly different he could have won his first Bathurst at the age of 19!!!! Not a problem for a Kelly. It was only one year later, driving for the K-Mart Racing Team in 2003 that he took the Bathurst 1000 trophy.
When Rick Kelly rejoined Kmart Racing Team in 2003 he was co-driver to (already legend) Greg Murphy for the Enduro’s. It’s agiven that being co-driver to a legend like Murphy is a great honour but it also states clearly what they thought of Kelly.
In 2004 Rick Kelly stayed with Kmart racing and started on pole position for the 2004 Sandown 500.
In 2005 Rick Kelly drove for the HSV Dealer Team driving in car number 15. Again he started on pole position for the Sandown 500.
In 2006 and 2007 Rick Kelly drove for the Toll HSV Dealer Team.
He won the 2006 Supercars Championship and got to run the 2007series with the coveted 01 number on his car.
In 2009 the Kelly boys (brother Todd) started their own team, Kelly Racing which they both own to this day.
Rick Kelly is a 2 times Bathurst 1000 winner and a Supercars Champion.
I met Rick Kelly a in 2017 at Homebush. He was a great guy to meet. I also met him at some other race events and he was consistently nice.
So, from me (and Im sure a great many others) congrats on your outstanding 19 year Supercars career. Good luck for the future.
Whoever will replace Rick on the track for Kelly Racing in 2021 will be in good hands and should be honoured.
Results for Rick kelly’s career:
1st 2001 Sandown race 2.
1st 2003 Bathurst 1000.
1st 2004 Bathurst 1000.
1st 2004 round 2 Eastern Creek.
2nd 2006 Clipsal 500 Race 1 & 3rd in Race 2.
1st 2007 Clipsal 500 Race 2. (His brother Todd won the first race).
1st 2011 Hamilton Race 5.
Rick Kelly co-drivers over the years:
Nathan Pretty 2001 and 2002
Greg Murphy 2002, 2003 and 2004
Garth Tander 2005
Todd Kelly (Bother) 2006
Garth Tander 2007
Paul Radisch 2008 (who crashed car 15) so Rick drove with Paul Dumbrell in car 16.
The reason why I am writing this article is because Todd Kelly has now retired from fulltime V8 Supercars racing after a 20+ year career. He has had outstanding success and given a great deal to the sport so I wanted to say thanks by summarising his career.
Todd Kelly was born on the 9th of October 1979.
He started racing in the Australian Formula Ford Championship way back in 1996 to 1998 before joining The Shell Championship Series (aka the V8 Supercars Championship) in 1999.
He stayed with the Holden Young Lions in 1999 before moving to the Holden Racing for Enduro races in 2000 which were at the Queensland 500 and FAI 1000 at Mount Panorama Bathurst New South Wales.
Then in 2001 he joined the Kmart Racing Team and he stayed through 2002.
From 2003 to 2007 was with the Holden Racing Team to be teammates with Mark Skaife.
He spent the following year, 2008 with Jack Daniel’s Racing – Perkins Engineering before Tod and his brother, Rick Kelly started their own race team in 2009 called Kelly Brothers Racing.
Todd and Rick share a passion for racing so starting their own team made sense. However no one could ever say there was no sibling rivalry. When it came to racing, brother or not they were very competitive.
Unfortunately Todd Kelly’s competitive nature means he was going to be in the thick of it resulting in some bad incidents:
·Barbagallo 2009 in race 24 he crashed on lap 40 of 84 ·Sydney Olympic Park 2011 in race 28 he crashed on lap 47 of 74 ·Albert park 2005 in race 2 he crashed on lap 1
Some of his career highs (and a few lows) include:
On the weekend of the 5th to the 7th of May 2017 was the Perth Super Sprint at Barbagallo Raceway.
In the 2nd run of qualifying Shane Van Gisbergen nearly hit the wall at a top speed of 255km/h. It could have been catastrophic and put everyone on edge.
Mark Dutton, the team manager later stated he would like see qualifying be done via a ‘go point’. He felt such a close call was an obvious example of how dangerous it is for drivers qualifying (hot lap) to be dealing with drivers warming up on track (I must say that I do agree with him).
Regardless of this hair raising moment the racing this weekend was excellent. Scott McLaughlin held race 7 in the palm of his hand and then (spoiler alert) took out race 8 as well, an almost unimaginable feat.
So here is the run-down on how it happened.
In race 7 Fabian Coulthard was on pole position and alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.
On lap 1 of 50 Scott McLaughlin got the jump on his team mate, Fabian Coulthard in a fantastic launch. It was a pretty clean start no one ended off the race track.
It was those two cars that dominated. Except for a few moments the other cars didn’t see the two for the rest of the race.
Fabian Coulthard tried passing to take the lead and pit priority but Scott McLaughlin held on to the number one position.
On lap 3 Chaz Mostert who started in position 5 was now in position 3 following the two Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske cars at the lead.
During the opening stages Craig Lowndes was doing well.
Alex Rullo was also doing well for his first race on his home turf.
Garth Tander was also on home turf showing his best form to impress his local crowd.
Simona de Silvestro was following her two team owners, the Kelly brothers out on track, getting some good pointers and experience.
James Courtney was outside the top 10 and just couldn’t understand why he wasn’t up near the leaders.
On lap 10 Fabian Coulthard’s race engineer, Phil Keed told him, if you get held up by Scott McLaughlin come in so that you re-join in clear air but that’s only if you’re getting held up.
On laps 16 & 17 the telecast crossed over to Mark Dutton (Red Bull Team Manager) and then Mark Skaife (Foxsports Commentator) and you could just see by their expressions how much they were enjoying the race.
By lap 24 the drivers had completed their 1st round of pit stops.
On lap 25 Scott McLaughlin was still holding the lead and looking strong.
It must have felt pretty good for him as he continually gained more lead on the chasing cars.
The Red Bull team seemed surprised and unsure of what to do about the two DJR cars up ahead that were getting further and further away. First, Shane Van Gisbergen gave chase but with little result. He then swapped his 3rd position with Jamie Whincup in 4th. I’m not sure but, it looked as though the strategy was for one to give chase and the other to hold off cars from behind. That way they would be sure to get Red Bull a spot on the podium.
It did pay off in the end with Jamie Whincup coming in at 3rd. However, Scott McLaughlan and Fabian Coulthard were just too good on the day; coming in at 1st and 2nd place respectively and Jamie Whincup over 7 seconds behind at 3rd. It was a spectacular finish for the DJR Team.
Results for Race 7
1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
2nd Fabian Coulthard – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
In race 8 Scott McLaughlin started in pole position with Chaz Mostert alongside him.
On lap 1 of the 83 lap race, Scott McLaughlin got the jump on Chaz Mostert. Chaz Mostert tried to go around the outside but it didn’t work so before the turns he quickly tucked in behind Scott McLaughlin.
On lap 2 Craig Lowndes was displaying his talents and coming through the field well.
In lap 7 Scott Pye saw the opportunity to put some pressure on James Courtney and tried passing him but he couldn’t get it done cleanly.
On lap 9 Todd Kelly was in front of Rick Kelly both pushing hard in their usual sibling rivalry.
By this stage Chaz Mostert dropped back in the pack from his 2nd position at the start. It didn’t seem to be going his way and Mark Winterbottom made it look easy to get a clean pass of Chaz Mostert to take 7th position.
On lap 14 Craig Lowndes came in for his next stop before he got trapped out on the track. His drive after that stop was cool.
On lap 15 Fabian Coulthard tried to pass Scott McLaughlin but it was the same as race 7, Scott McLaughlin was having his day and held tight to his position.
On lap 17 Todd Kelly came in because he was getting held up by the cars in front of him which wasn’t ideal in terms of track position and strategy.
On lap 18 Cameron Waters was handling the pressure from David Reynolds reasonable well.
In the middle of the race Jamie Whincup pitted to try to get track position. This did work for a while but soon after Scott McLaughlin took the lead of the again.
Chaz Mostert seemed to be going crazy as he tried to make his way up through the pack. It was like the stressed guy having to go into the office on a Sunday, appearing frustrated at not being able to make his way past the ‘Sunday Drivers’ fast enough. His pit stop strategies paid off ( his first at lap 21) and he was soon on his way to the podium pack (singing ‘Day-o, Day – ay – ay –ay –O!).
The leaders began moving further and further from the rest of the pack. It soon became obvious no one was going to catch them.
Scott McLaughlin held tight to his leading spot and came across the line first (a second race win for the weekend. It really was his day.
He was then followed by Chaz Mostert across the line and once again for this weekend, Jamie Whincup in third.
Results for Race 8
1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson racing Team Penske.
2nd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing Team.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
The next event after Perth Western Australia was the Winton Supersprint on the 19th to the 21st of May 2017.
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 21st – 23rd August 2015, was the Sydney Motorsport Park Supersprint – Eastern Creek.
Last year Dad and I were at Eastern Creek for the Sydney Motorsports event, we were there when James Courtney had the unfortunate incident with the Navy helicopter. Thank goodness James has recovered enough to return to V8 Supercars. Look forward to seeing how he does in this race.
Race 21
In race 21 Chaz Mostert started on pole position alongside him was Mark Winterbottom, and on lap 1, Chaz Mostert got the jump for the first of 16 Laps. Chaz Mostert tried to make a pass on his teammate Mark Winterbottom, but he had drop back in behind Tim Slade and he passed Will Davison. Towards the end of the opening lap Garth Tander passed Ash Walsh.
On lap 2 the 2 Pepsi Max Crew Fords were leading the race, David Reynolds was trying to pass Jamie Whincup to make it a Ford 1, 2 and 3 but could not be done. Craig Lowndes did his best to try and pass David Reynolds, in the middle of the race and no one could catch Chaz Mostert. In the end it was Ford finished 1 and 2.
Before the race I was able to get photos with Jamie Whincup, Craig Lowndes, Mark Dutton, Jamies engineer Roland Dane, head of Red Bull Racing, James Warburton, CEO of V8 Supercars Fabain Coulthard and Brad Jones. I was also invited to get photos of Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup’s 2 Red Bull cars, we got a grid walk before race 1 and I also got photos with Dean Canto, Grant McPherson Craig’s Race Engineer, Barry Hay from Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport. Garry Rogers from Wilson Security racing GRM, Chad Neylon commentator for V8 radio station.
Results for race 21
1st – Chaz Mostert – Pepsi Max Crew.
2nd – Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max Crew.
3rd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
Race 22
In race 22 Chaz Mostert started from pole position alongside him was Jamie Whincup. Jamie Whincup led into turn 1 for the first time, Fabain Coulthard was 2nd at turn 1. Scott Pye and James Moffat Fabain was right behind Whincup towards the end of the first lap Rick Kelly and Jason Bright both ran wide on the exit of turn 8.
On lap 2 David Reynolds was chasing down Shane Van Gisbergen. Inbetween turns 2 and 3, Todd Kelly had to go into the garage to fix the Nissan Altama car 7.
In the middle of the race Jamie had a broken exhaust pipe, in the end Jamie Whincup was able to hold on to the race lead. Jamie
Whincup has now moved his career tally onto 92 wins, 8 behind his teammate Craig Lowndes.
Results for race 22
1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Fabain Coulthard – Brad Jones racing.
3rd – Chaz Mostert – Pepsi Max Crew.
Race 23
Race 23 is the big race of the weekend and Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was David Reynolds on lap 1 of 52 David made a great start, bur Scotty managed to hold the spot. Rick Kelly and Andre Heimgartner made contact on the exit of turn 1, towards the end of the opening lap Todd Kelly got spun by Garth Tander. Todd Kelly had to drive back to the pits with a left rear tyre that wasnt pointing in the right direction and he was pretty cranky about it.
On lap 2, the safety car came Ash Walsh and Jack Perkins made their first stop under yellow, with a number of other cars. A lot of the drivers were slowing up in the pits before the 40 Kilometres per hour sign so that they would not have to double stack for too long. The restart was in between laps 4 and 5. Lee Holdsworth was behind Jamie Whicup at the restart, but he tried to go around him on the outside. In the middle of the race it started to rain and the 2 Red Bull cars had to double stack in the pits, to change from slick tyres to wet tyres.
Towards the end of the race it was a time certain finish due to the Safety cars by just 2 laps.
The commentators Greg Rust, Neil Crompton and Chad Neylon, the pit reporters were Greg Murphy along with Riana Crehan.
This weekend 20th – 22nd May, is the Woodstock Winton Supersprint.
Let’s take a look at what happened at Winton in 2015.
On the weekend of the 15th – 17th May 2015 was the Winton Supersprint.
In race 10 Chaz Mostert started on pole position alongside him was Michael Caruso.
On lap 1 Michael Caruso made a brilliant start due to him starting right up the pointy end of the starting grid, in second spot the Nissan Altama was coloured in red because Nissan Narvra were the main sponsor for the Winton Supersprint, weekend. David Reynolds had a tough start, the two Pepsi Max Crew Ford Falcons led into turns 1 and 2. A couple of cars were trying to run side by side on the opening lap. Craig Lowndes was putting the pressure on Jason Bright. While the front Runners were just pulling away. Chaz Mostert had a 1.2 second lead after the opening lap.
On lap 2 Mark Winterbottom had gone from 4th to 2nd. Shane Van Gisbergen had passed Jamie Whincup to put him up into 8th and Jamie Whincup back 1 spot to 9th Craig Lowndes was still following the Team BOC car. The Margin after 2 laps was 1.55 seconds.
On lap 3 Mark Winterbottom had the grip and then he took off. Todd Kelly was hunting down David Reynolds. Dick Johnson once described the Winton track as like running an F1/11 around your clothes line. Scott McLaughlin went backwards after contact with Dale Wood, Scott McLaughlin’s s60 spun around approaching the halfway mark, (Dutto said they had no car pace. No one could catch the 2 Pepsi Max Crew Prodrive Racing Australia. Cars 5 and 6.)
Results for race 10
1st – Chaz Mostert – Prodrive Racing Australia
2nd – Mark Winterbottom – Prodrive Racing Australia
3rd – Michael Caruso – Nissan Motorsport
In race 11 Chaz Mostert started on pole position alongside him was his teammate Mark Winterbottom.
On lap 1 of 20 the 3 Walkinshaw racing cars of cars 2 22 and 18 of Garth Tander James Courtney and also involved was Lee Holdsworth on approach to turns 1, 2 and 3 for the first time Andre Heimgartner went off the racetrack and onto the grass, Michael Caruso was holding off Scott McLaughlin in the Volvo. Rick Kelly ran the fastest lap of the race, after the race 11 start, Shane Van Gisbergen did the over and under manoeuvre on Jamie Whincup.
That was on lap 2 also on that same lap Craig Lowndes tried to get down the inside of Will Davison. Lee Holdsworth had to watch the rest of the race from the pit lane. James Courtney got a drive thru penalty for making contact with Garth Tander. After he served his pit lane penalty he then came back in again, the team put wet tyres on the car then sent him back out again onto the circuit.
In the middle of the race Craig Lowndes was still putting pressure on the Mercedes E63 AMG.
Towards the end of race, no one could catch the 2 race leaders.
Results for race 11
1st – Mark Winterbottom – Prodrive Racing Australia
2nd – Rick Kelly – Jack Daniel’s Racing
3rd – Chaz Mostert – Prodrive Racing Australia
In race 12 Chaz Mostert started on pole position alongside him was Mark Winterbottom.
On lap 1 of 67 Chaz Mostert got the jump off the line and led the field through turns 1 and 2 turns. Micheal Caruso got swamped off the starting grid by Will Davison. Scott Pye tried to go around the outside at turns 1 and 2 Michael Caruso. Craig Lowndes got in position 3 by turn 3. Rick Kelly tried to make space to get down the inside during the opening lap, Scotty McLaughlin found himself in no man’s land, on the outside. but then the Volvo driver had to Yield. Rick Kelly had a lot of oversteer on the exit of turn 5. Craig Lowndes went from 3rd to 2nd in between turns 8 and 9. Will Davison had the inside line for turn 10. Scott McLaughlin was on the dirty side of the Winton racetrack.
On lap 2 Craig Lowndes took the race lead at turn 3. David Wall in the Volvo s60 also come in on the 2nd lap, the 2 Holden Racing team cars were side by side into turn 8. Tim Slade was on the wrong side for turns 8, but on the right side for turn 9 meaning he was able to pass easier at the hairpin. James Courtney was on the outside of the Scott McLaughlin. But James Courtney managed to cover him around the outside. Garth Tander tried to pass Tim Slade at turn 10, but he didn’t. he managed to pass him in between turns 11 and 12. Craig Lowndes started race 12 (race 3 for the weekend) on soft compound tyre.
On lap 3 Fox Sports had a replay of the start. Craig Lowndes cleared the cars that were in front of him. Early on in the 3rd and final race
On lap 4 Garth Tander went down the inside of Will Davison at turn 3. Craig Lowndes had a 1.4 second lead in front of the field. Towards the end of lap 4 both Fabain Coulthard and Scott Pye got down the inside of David Reynolds.
On lap 5, Marcos Ambrose was watching on from the Dick Johnson Racing Team, Penske Garage.
On lap 6 Greg Murphy was chatting to Adrain Burgess at the SP Tools Holden Racing Team about the Strategy, the HRT guys, the Walkinshaw racing guys and Triple 8 guys, all of those teams were going for track position, meaning they were trying to get towards the front to not get caught up in any incidents or accidents. Jamie Whincup started the last race in 22nd on the grid, he was the first driver to make a pit stop, the double stacking issues happen, when a team that runs 2 cars if the second car is behind on the track that means when it comes to pit the other car has to sit in the cue and wait for the car that is in front to exit the pit lane so the 2nd car can enter and get serviced.
In the middle of the race Chaz Mostert put on the back of the tyre Bundle after getting turned around by himself and the front of the car was full of sand.
Towards the end of the race the 2 Red Bull cars were coming through the field because they were behind. The Pepsi Max crew was leading, chasing him was Fabain Coulthard.
Results for race 12
1st – Mark Winterbottom – Prodrive Racing Australia
2nd – Fabain Coulthard – Brad Jones Racing
3rd – Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Racing Australia
