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Supercars

NTI Townsville 500 2024

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 5th – 7th July 2024 was round 6 of the 2024 Supercars championship, the NTI Townsville 500.

The event was held in Townsville, North Queensland.

Supercars have been racing in Townsville for 16, years since the street circuit was first opened in 2009. The circuit is 2.8km long with 13 turns.

In that very first event of 2009, Lee Holdsworth and Garth Tander shared the pole positions and Jamie Whincup and Jamess Courtney shared the race wins.

Townsville displayed its typical weather pattern on the Saturday of this year’s event, bloody hot with an afternoon storm but on the Sunday it managed to stay dry.

In the pre-race sessions

  • Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 1
  • Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 2
  • Will Davison was fastest in Qualifying
  • Cameron Waters was fastest in the Top Ten Shootout

In Race 13 Cameron Waters started on pole position with Chaz Mostert alongside him.

Cameron Waters got the jump off the start line and led into turn 1 for the first of 88 laps, a total of 250kms.

Thomas Randle got up the inside of Will Davison at turn 3 for 3rd place but back in the pack there was chaos. As the rest of the cars got to turn 3 Nick Percat, Brodie Kostecki and Anton de Pasquale made contact heavily. As they bounced around the track there was a big risk of other cars hitting them from behind. As Jaxon Evans came through, he joined the chaos and was also turned around. Will Brown who started 13th on the grid was in the danger zone of being caught up but somehow, he managed to stay out of trouble.

The first 3 cars in the incident, Percat, Kostecki and Pasquale had to all head into the pits due to damage. Race officials investigated the incident but found no-one to at fault, so no penalties were issued.

By lap 2 the positions had changed significantly. James Courtney had gained 6 places moving up to 11th. Will Brown gained 1 place up to 12th and David Reynolds was up 8 spots in 13th place.

The leading 5 cars were reasonably close to each other. Chaz Mostert was right behind his former teammate Cameron Waters by only 0.682 seconds.

The first car to pit by choice was Aaron Love on lap 19. He came back on the circuit in 21st place.

A few laps later Chaz Mostert was the first of the leaders to pit. There were 9 cars still yet to take their stops. Once they did, they would be out of the way and Chaz Mostert would be able to resume his face-to-face battle for the lead with Cameron Waters.

When Cameron Waters pitted on lap 28 he had a 7.7 second lead over Will Davison in 2nd place.

By the middle of the race Chaz Mostert was given the space by Cameron Waters to pass and now had the number 1 spot with 1.8 seconds lead.

Chaz Mostert kept the lead and with 15 laps to go was followed by Thomas Randle and then Cameron Waters.

Further back in the pack Will Brown had gained an amazing 7 spots into 6th place and now behind Jack Le Brocq in 5th.

With 11 laps remaining the rain started to bucket down and drivers were struggling to keep the cars on the track. As suddenly as it had started, the rain passed. Although the track was still wet, I am sure the drivers were thankful.

Cameron Waters wasted no time. Soon enough he passed his teammate Thomas Randle to be in 2nd place.

Thomas Randle lost his momentum and dropped back a few places. Will Brown made contact with him on the approach to turn 3 but somehow both cars stayed away from the wall.

Cameron Waters was now challenging Chaz Mostert. Waters wouldn’t let up. Chaz Mostert must have felt he wasn’t able to defend the number 1 spot without high risk. Instead of possibly endangering his car and losing a podium finish he seemed to let Cameron Waters pass easily.

Cameron Waters edged ahead in the last laps and finally crossed the line with a 1.8 second lead over Chaz Mostert. Then there was another 4.6 seconds back to Will Brown who managed to move up into 3rd place for the finish. It was a spectacular result.

Results for Race 13

1st Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
3rd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing

On the Sunday of the 3 day event Jack le Brocq started on pole position for Race 14. Alongside him was Cameron Waters.

As they took off Cameron Waters once again led into turn 1 for the first of 88 laps.

The polesitter, Jack le Brocq did not get an ideal start and dropped back to 4th.

Thomas Randle was now in 2nd place and James Courtney was in 3rd.

This year’s championship leader Will Brown missed the Top 10 Shootouts in both races of the event. He qualified 17th on the grid. To add to his woes, David Reynolds hit him from behind in lap 1 sending him into the concrete barrier wall and seriously damaged his car. Will Brown now had to head straight to the pits and returned to the race in 24th, last place. It scrapped all his hopes of protecting his championship lead.

Will Brown’s teammate Broc Feeney (who happens to be 2nd on the championship ladder) was having problems of his own. On this first lap he had dropped from 6th place on the grid back to 13th.

Chaz Mostert who had started 8th on the grid managed to get by Matt Payne for 6th place. He wasted no time and went on the charge. Soon he was in 4th place just behind the leaders. By the end of the 1st lap he was in 3rd.

Within the next few laps Chaz Mostert passed Thomas Randle for second place.

The first car to pit aside from Will Brown at the race start, was Matt Payne on lap 20. He was in 3rd place but unable to challenge the 2 cars ahead. The team strategised to come in now and be better able to make ground with fresh tyres.

By the middle of the race Jack le Brocq who had a terrible start from his pole position was now out the front and leading. Cameron Waters and Chaz Mostert were right behind him.

Matt Payne’s pitting strategy paid off. In the second half of the race he managed to squeeze passed and take the lead. With 7 laps to go he had a 9.2 second lead over Cameron Waters in 2nd place with Chaz Mostert not far behind.

Waters and Mostert chased Matt Payne for all their experience was worth. The cars began to spread out. However, Matt Payne was just too fast and crossed the finish line 6.057 seconds ahead of Cameron Waters.

Mostert had slipped a little but came in 3rd place 7.6 seconds later.

It was an unexpected finish especially after this year’s dominance of Will Brown and Broc Feeney up until now.

Results for Race 14

1st Matt Payne – Grove Racing
2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

Regardless of a bad weekend for the Red Bull Ampol Racing team, Will Brown still leads the championship but only by 78 points over Broc Feeney.

The next event is the Panasonic Sydney Supernight July 19 – 21.

I hope you will join me. Until then keep those engines revving!

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Watpac Townsville 400 2017

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend to the 7th to the 9th of July 2017 was the Watpac Townsville 400. Races 13 and 14 were both 200 Kilometres and 70 laps.

Its interesting to note:

  • Craig Lowndes had a worrying start to the weekend. In both practice sessions on Friday he lost control and spun his car.
  • Later in qualifying Jamie Whincup baulked Craig Lowndes costing him a solid top ten starting spot. Craig Lowndes was now placed 19th in the start.
  • Tim Edwards who is the Managing Director at Prodrive Racing Australia was not present for the weekend because he was with his boys watching them play Soccer. Rod Nash was delegated to the role over the weekend.
  • It was Simona De Silvestro first V8 Supercars event in North Queensland. Mark Skaife commented during this race he believed she was improving with every race that she does. I believe without a doubt as she returns next season to the different tracks for a second time she will be a force to be reckoned with.
  • For this season there have been only 2 Aussie drivers to win a race, Jamie Whincup and Chaz Mostert. It has been predominantly NZ drivers so it will be interesting to see if this becomes a matter of contention.

In race 13 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position, alongside him was Jamie Whincup.

On lap 1 of 70 Jamie Whincup got the jump on Scott McLaughlin off the start line after starting from 2nd spot which was on the clean side of the race track (meaning it has got more grip).

Towards the end of Lap 1 Jamie Whincup let Scott McLaughlin take over the race lead. Commentator Mark Skaife thought that letting Scott McLaughlin pass him was too soft.

On lap 2 Jamie Whincup tried to stay close as possible but Scott McLaughlin just pulled away.

Fabian Coulthard had starting in the top ten. He held high hopes to maintain his position as championship leader to the end of the season. On lap 3 he was hit from behind and spun around. As a result he ended up at the back of the pack and probably felt his championship hopes fade. However, I am sure he knew it was still early in the race and had plenty of opportunity to do something about it.

His worries weren’t over yet. On lap 6 he had a close call. Fabian Coulthard’s rear wing clipped the driver’s side door of Lee Houldsworth’s car. The damage didn’t look too bad but the door on Lee Houldsworth’s car wouldn’t stay shut. Fabian Coulthard got off without damage but Lee Houldsworth had to make it the pits and have his door taped shut.

On lap 7 Scott McLaughlin was still the race leader but chose to pit now. I can only assume it was part of the strategy to give him as much opportunity to retake the lead later in the race.

On lap 11 Chaz Mostert was battling with Mark Winterbottom to get fresh air but it wasn’t going to be easy trying to take a position while in the top ten.

By lap 12 Fabian Coulthard was trying to fight back from the spin on the opening couple of laps.

On lap 13 Shane Van Gisbergen was battling with Jamie Whincup for 3rd and 4th and also pit priority.

On lap 14 Jason Bright caught up with his teammates but had to wait till after the hairpin turn to make a pass safely.

On lap 19 Simona De Silvestro was following Rick and Todd Kelly for experience at the new track.

By lap 23 Macauley Jones was getting  noticed carving his way through the field after starting near the back.

On lap 24 some drivers hit the pits to get out from the battle going on near the back of the pack.

On lap 26 Jason Bright caught up to his teammates mark Winterbottom and Cameron Waters. He couldn’t manage to pass them so decided to pit again.

On lap 29 Jamie Whincup was putting pressure on Scott McLaughlin hoping he would make an error but Scott McLaughlin was faultless and wasn’t going to give the lead away easily.

In the middle of the race no one could catch the top 3 drivers which were Scott McLaughlin, Jamie Whincup and Mark Winterbottom.

On lap 34 Todd Kelly ran into engine problems and could go on. He received a DNF.

Towards the end of the race Shane Van Gisbergen had a sick car not running on all eight cylinders. Regardless, he managed to complete the race coming in at 7th position.

Scott McLaughlin finished with nearly a 4 second lead over Jamie Whincup.  Mark Winterbottom came in third over 15 seconds after the winner. Quite a spread at the finish line.

Results for race 13

1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson racing Team Penske.

2nd Jamie Whincup – Red bull Holden Racing Team.

3rd Mark Winterbottom – Prodrive racing Australia.

In race 14 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.

Craig Lowndes started in 21st on the grid due to not making the top 10 shootout.  To add to the pressure he also had to get passed Will Davison to get pit priority.

On the start of the 70 lap race Shane Van Gisbergen tried to go around the outside of the pole sitter but couldn’t get the job done.

On lap 2 Scott McLaughlin was still the race leader but he was under pressure from Shane Van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup which was good to see such a challenge.

On lap 3 John Mcgregor who is Craig Lowndes race engineer told him to pit because even though it wasn’t ideal timing he could see he was getting held in traffic.

On lap 5 Jamie Whincup was still chasing Scott McLaughlin for the race lead.

On lap 7 Fabian Coulthard was trying to regain the Championship lead but it wasn’t his day. He must have been  gutted over losing his championship lead.

On lap 9 Jamie Whincup running second to Scott McLaughlin him in their first round of pit stops.

On lap 10 Simona De Silvrestro was battling with Michael Caruso for positions 12 and 13. Both knew they were just outside the top 10 so these were critical spots.

On lap 11 Alex Rullo was doing a great job for his first V8 Supercars race at Townsville.

On lap 13 Jason Bright pitted to re-enter the race track with no cars in front or behind him.

On lap 15 Craig Lowndes was doing a fantastic job moving up through the field.  He was picking cars off with every lap which I thought was very impressive.

On lap 16, Grant McPherson, race engineer for Shane Van Gisbergen called a change in strategy; Shane Van Gisbergen was behind Jamie Whincup so was called into pits early. The strategy was so that Jamie Whincup would not have to double stack behind him.

On lap 18 Scott Pye was forced into pits at an un-ideal time because he was getting held up by James Courtney.

By lap 22 Craig Lowndes had worked his way up to 11th position, which in my opinion was a mighty drive.

On lap 25 a lot of cars started pitting for the 2nd round of pit stops to prepare for the race to the chequered flag.

On lap 27 Jamie Whincup ended up getting the undercut which made him the effective race leader at that point of the race.   He was not only on his way to his first race win for 2017 but also being on the same number of race wins as Craig Lowndes, in fact        equalling the same of Career wins.

On lap 28 the top 3 at that stage were Jamie Whincup, Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen.

In the middle of the race no one else could catch the top drivers which were Jamie Whincup, Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen. Holden, Ford, Holden.

They kept the pattern and finished the race in that order.

The win by Jamie Whincup  puts him only 6 points behind Scott McLaughlin.

 

Results for race 14

1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing team.

2nd Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson racing Team Penske Shell V Power Racing Team.

3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red bull Holden racing team.

The next event is the Coates hire Ipswich Supersprint 28th to the 30th of July 2017.

 

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Castrol Edge Townsville 400 Post race 2016

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Hi to all you v8 Supercars fans around the world.

On the weekend of the 8th – 10th of July 2016, was the Castrol Edge Townsville 400.

 

In race 14 Jamie Whincup started on pole position alongside him was his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen on the 70 lap race.

On lap 1 Jamie Whincup got the jump on his teammate off the start line, everybody was trying to get track position early, Scott McLaughlin made contact with Dale Wood on the run up to turn 3, Nick Percat nearly made contact with the Nissan Altama car 96. Rick Kelly made contact with Tim Slade at turn 10. James Courtney and Shane Van Gisbergen pitted at the same time, due to the Safety car being Deployed.   Andre Heimgartner was lucky not run up the back Will Davison. While the leaders out front were just pulling away. The cars further back wanted to get into the top ten.

On lap 2 it was still a Red Bull 1 and 2, the cars were trying to catch the leaders up front of the race.

On lap 3 the cars further back pitted so they didn’t have to double stack behind the car in front when they re-joined the cars approaching turn 1 had to be careful to run up the back of the cars ahead.

On lap 4 the leaders were just cruising out front.

On lap 5 the teams were trying to stay out for as long as possible.

In the middle of the race Chaz Mostert was battling away with Shane Van Gisbergen. Also at the halfway mark the Team Vortex pit crew had put the wrong on tyres on the back of Craig Lownde’s car.

I was laughing at Neil Crompton when he told The Gear that Michael Caruso had selected to get in their gear. That was very funny.

Towards the end of the race there was a yellow flag – Safety car as a result of Nick Percat stopping on the track. The tow truck had to pull his car off to the side so that the cars could spend minimal amount of time under the Yellow Flag.

On the restart Jamie Whincup just put his foot down and took off, Mark Winterbottom was unable to catch him. By the end of the first race he had extended his championship lead to 83 points. That now takes Jamie’s career V8 wins to 99; 1 off 100. When will he reach 100 wins?

 

Results for race 14

1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia
2nd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia
3rd – Mark Winterbottom – Rod Nash Racing

Townsville 2016

In race 15 Mark Winterbottom started on pole position alongside him was Craig Lowndes for the second 70 lap race of the weekend.

On lap 1 Craig bogged it down from the front row of the grid meaning he did not get away well. Which had allowed Frosty to take the race lead. Further back in the pack Tim Slade, Todd Kelly and Rick Kelly nearly came together just after the start of the race David Reynolds passed Jamie Whincup at turn 2 and tucked in behind Frosty, then he tried to take the lead, but that wasn’t able to be done. Scott McLaughlin tried to go around the outside of Shane Van Gisbergen, Chaz Mostert got a hit up the behind from James Courtney, and then Dale Wood nearly got spun by Chaz Mostert.

On lap 2 the leaders were getting away from the cars behind. The Red Bull team decided to change their strategy meaning the team brought in Shane Van Gisbergen first because Jamie Whincup was leading the race. Jamie Whincup stayed out for as long as he could to avoid the double stack. The Holden Racing team got a big slap on the wrist for letting a wheel nut travel out into the fast lane from car 2’s pit stop for Garth Tander, the team received a 30-point penalty for not taking care of their equipment in pit lane, plus they also received a fine on top of that as well.

On lap 3 Jamie was the man to beat early on.

On lap 4 the pack was settling down to a good race pace with the stops starting to take place.

On lap 5 everyone was in position to try and get track as quick as possible.

On lap 6 the race was still under green.

In the middle of the race the youngest ever V8 Supercars driver Kurt Kostecki was replacing Lee Holdsworth while he recovers. Hit the wall. Due to a Broken Steering arm. In car 18. Towards the end of the Race Van Gisbergen was still in control.

Results for race 15

1st – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia
2nd – James Courtney – Holden Racing Team
3rd – Mark Winterbottom – Rod Nash Racing

Shane Van Gisbergen Townsville 2016

The next event is the Coates Hire Ipswich Supersprint. July 22nd – 24th 2016.

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Townsville 2015

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Hi to you V8 Supercar followers around the world.

Race 16

On the weekend of the 10th – 12th of July 2015 was the Townsville 400. In race 16 Chaz Mostert started on pole position alongside him was Mark Winterbottom. Shane Van Gisbergen started from the back of the pack due to using warm up tyres in qualifying. On lap 1, Frosty got the jump on his Pepsi MAX Crew teammate in Chaz Mostert and led the field through turns 1 and 2 for the first of 70 laps. There was contact between Todd Kelly and Andre Heimgartner, Andre came off the worse for wear. Towards the end of the opening lap Scott McLaughlin was trying to fend off Jamie Whincup. On lap 2 Jamie went from 6th to 4th also on lap 2 Tim Blanchard was the first to pit. In car 3, Scott McLaughlin couldn’t get too adventurous because Scott Pye was right behind him. The Super Black Racing Ford Falcon FGX had damage on the front left hand side on car 111. Towards the end of lap 2 Jamie was flying through the field. On lap 3 the 2 Scott’s were battling down the main straight for track Position. James Courtney had jumped to the other to avoid contact with Scott Pye and Fabain Coulthard. Craig Lowndes had moved from 13th down 1 spot to 14th. David Reynolds was following his teammates in cars 5 and 6. In the middle of the race Jason Bright was putting the pressure on car 888. Towards the end of the race no one could catch Mark Winterbottom and David Reynolds.

Results for race 16

1st – Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max Crew
2nd – David Reynolds – Bottle ‘O’
3rd – Fabain Coulthard – Brad Jones Racing.

Race 17

In race 17 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was Chaz Mostert, on lap 1 Scott led through turns 1 and 2. Shane Van Gisbergen tried to get up the inside of Chaz at turn 2, Garth Tander was putting the pressure on Todd Kelly. On lap 2 Craig Lowndes was still in 23rd on lap 3 Scott Mclaughlin was still leading the race. On lap 4 Fabain got passed Garth Tander. On lap 5 Garth Tander was very quick. On lap 6 David Reynolds took over the race lead. Chaz wanted to follow David through to 2nd spot, but that wasn’t able to be done. On lap 7 Scott McLaughlin had dropped back to 3rd, Mark Winterbottom tried to sneak down the inside in the process he gave the Volvo a slight bump on the rear bumper. On lap 8 the David Reynolds was still out in front, Shane Van Gisbergen was chasing down Chaz Mostert. On lap 9 Nissan Motorsport had a pit board due a radio malfunction for Michael Caruso, in the middle of the race David Reynolds was leading at the halfway mark, towards the end of the race no one could catch Frosty, he was too good.

Mark Dutton will be Jamie’s race engineer for the rest of the year, due to David Cauchi being under too much pressure, as a result of where Jamie was positioned on the ladder.

The next race meeting is the Ipswich 400, on the 31st July to the 2nd August 2015. Craig is back in 2nd 248 points off the championship lead. Jamie Whincup is 391 points behind. Triple 8 are 317 points behind in the team championship leader board.

Results for race 17

1st – Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max Crew
2nd – James Courtney – Holden Racing Team,
3rd – David Reynolds – Bottle ‘O’ Racing Team

Pre Race Report, V8 Supercars

Townsville QLD – Pre-Race Report

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Hi to all you V8 Supercar fans around the world.

This weekend is the Castrol Edge Townsville 400. Let’s take a look back at what happened in Townsville 12 months ago, in race 20 James Courtney started on pole position along was Garth Tander. Garth got a bump from Craig Lowndes, as a result Scott McLaughlin took the race lead. On lap 1 Chaz Mostert was spun around at turn 7 by the Jack Daniel’s Racing Nissan Altama. Craig then got spun around by Will Davison. Who will win the Castrol edge gold coast 400 this weekend?

History of the Townsville event, the first event was back in 2009 the winners back then were Jamie Whincup and James Courtney respectively. The pole position winners in the recent years have been 2009 Lee Holdsworth and James Courtney.

Best of luck everybody for weekend this week is races 16 and 17, 70 laps each. Can Craig get the Championship lead back off Frosty this week? Also can Craig Lowndes get his 101st this week? Can Jamie climb his way back towards top of the ladder?

The telecast will be on channel 10 channel 110 and Foxsports 5 Channel 506, enjoy the telecast this weekend. Watching the telecast on Foxsports you will have every practice session, qualifying and race.

Mark Dutton will be returning to his former position as Jamie’s race engineer, due to David Cauchi stepping aside. That means Roland Dane will be the team manager this weekend. The last time Mark was Jamie’s race engineer was 2013. 200 kilometres for each race on Saturday and Sunday. Marcos Ambrose won’t be driving at all this weekend. Scott Mclaughlin has been having engine dramas will that continue? Have GRM solved the issues.

Results from Townsville 2014. For race 20,

1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Scott Mclaughlin – Volvo Polstar racing.
3rd – Garth Tander – SP Tools holden racing team.

Results for race 21

1st – Garth Tander – SP Tools Holden Racing team.
2nd – James Courtney – SP Tools Holden Racing Team.
3rd – Nick Percat – Heavy Haulage Australia Racing.

https://youtu.be/r74MgOgjhoU