Hi to all the V8 Enthusiasts
On the weekend of the 4th to the 6th of April 2014 was the Winton 400 in Victoria. I was lucky enough to be at this year’s event.
In race 7 Fabain Coulthard started from pole position alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen, Fabain got the jump off the start line and led the pack through turns 1 and 2 for the first of 34 laps. Robert Dahlgren did not complete a lap in his Volvo due to engine troubles, Michael Caruso ran wide at turn 12 in his Nissan Altama, which gave the Erebus AMG E63 a chance to try and get up the inside of Scott Pye he passed Will Davison at the last corner.
In the middle of the race the 2 former teammates of Lee Holdsworth and Michael Caruso made contact on approach to turns 1 and 2, both the Volvos were out of race 7, due to no power steering. Towards the end of the race Nick Percat made contact with David Reynolds. James Courtney was stuck at the pitlane entry, so as a result the HRT crew had get the go jacks out and push his car back to their garage. Tim Slade had to be pushed into the pit bunker (garage). On lap Russell Ingall came into the pitlane for fresh tyres under safety car conditions, but then he tapped David Wall and car Michael Caruso, as a result he copped a pitlane penalty, for making contact. In the end Fabain took the race victory,
Results for race 7
1st – Fabain Coulthard – Brad Jones Racing.
2nd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Team VIP.
3rd – Dale Wood – Brad Jones Racing.
In race 8 Fabain Coulthard started again on pole position alongside him was Scott Mclaughlin. Scott led the second race of the weekend, but then had to drive this Volvo S 60 into the garage for a new battery, when he re-joined the race he was back in 25th spot and 3 laps down.
Our current reigning champions Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes from Red Bull Racing haven’t been able to make up much ground, even qualifying outside the top 20.
In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen had no grip but was able to hold onto to his spot. Towards the end of the race Lee Holdsworth took the race lead from Fabian Coulthard and managed to hold on to the lead until the checkered flag.
Results for race 8
1st – Lee Holdsworth – Erebus Motorsport.
2nd – Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max crew FPR.
3rd – Fabain Coulthard – Brad Jones Racing.
In race 9 Scott Mclaughlin started on pole position alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen. Mark Winterbottom made a great start but then was passed Shane at turn 7. Meanwhile Shane went into the pits early and lost ground by being held longer in his pitbox for fuel.
In the middle of the race, Shane came in for his last stop to take on fuel, as he left his pitbox the fuel was leaking out of the hose.
In the end Mark Winterbottom took the race 9 victory, and his first win for 2014 and FPRs 1st win this season. Craig is still the championship leader, while his teammate Jamie Whincup has dropped from 2nd to 5th spot.
The next event is the Auckland 500 on the 24th to the 27th of April 2014.
Results for race 9
1st – Mark Winterbottom – Ford Performance Racing.
2nd – James Courtney – Holden Racing team.
3rd – Tim Slade – Supercheap Auto Racing.