On the weekend of the 23rd to the August 2019 was The Bend Supersprint.
This is the second year that Tailem Bend, South Australia played host to a V8 Supercars event.
It was also a milestone for Will Davison making his 200th championship round start and Triple 8 marking their 500th Supercars race.
As part of the preparations for the biggest event of the year The Bathurst 1000, the co-drivers had their own practice session. Thomas Randle was the fastest co-driver in this practice.
Then Scott McLaughlin once again proved his invincibility by being fastest in Practice 1, 2 and 3.
Chaz Mostert earned himself the Pole position for Race 21 being fastest in the Armour All Qualifying.
In race 21 Scott McLaughlin lined up next to Chaz Mostert in the pole position.
At the start of 24 lap race, Chaz Mostert originally took the lead off the start line but then Scott McLaughlin took him and led into turn 1.
During the opening lap there was contact between Will Davison, Todd Hazelwood and Simona De Silvestro. All 3 cars suffered damage but managed to get back the pits under their own power but all received NC’s (Not Complete). It appeared they all felt there was no point returning to track due to the race being so short, only 24 laps.
By the middle of the race the three race leaders appeared uncatchable; Scott McLaughlin, Chaz Mostert and Anton de Pasquale.
From that moment Scott McLaughlin set out to prove just how fast he was and stretched his lead on the other two. He crossed the finish line nearly 8 seconds ahead of Chaz Mostert and just over 25 seconds ahead of Anton de Pasquale. It was an incredible finish.
Results for race 21
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team. 2nd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing. 3rd Anton de Pasquale – Erebus Motorsport.
In race 22 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position, alongside him was Will Davison.
At the start of 41 lap race Will Davison got the jump and led into turn 1.
Scott McLaughlin followed Will Davison for most of the opening stint and wasn’t able to to get by him.
I thought that Will Davison looked on track to claim his first race win for 2019.
In an effort to claim his second race for the year, Jamie Whincup also tried to pass Will Davison but couldn’t get the job done.
Will Davison made his first mistake, locking up his tyres he almost when off the track. I thought he was going to lose race positioning but somehow he held on to the lead. It honestly surprised me.
Jamie Whincup then dropped a couple of spots. It was still early on he knew there was a long way to go to the finish line.
Rick Kelly was trying to keep up with his teammates but it wasn’t his day and fell further back into the pack.
In the middle of the race Scott Mclaughlin was still the race leader and looking good for another race win.
Towards the end of the race no one could catch Scott Mclaughlin.
In the middle of the race Will Davison had an air box fire on pit entry. Although he managed to get back out on the track it had slowed him down. Now Scot McLaughlin had the lead with Chaz Mostert in hot pursuit.
Scott McLaughlin was unbeatable and held his lead to the finish line followed by Will Davison and then Chaz Mostert. Who can stop Scott McLaughlin’s winning run?
The teams’ cars and equipment will be going to New Zealand via a boat because the its too expensive to fly everything to New Zealand by plane. The drivers of course will be flying in.
Results for race 22
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team. 2nd Will Davison – 23 Red Racing. 3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.
The event is the ITM Auckland Supersprint on the 13th to the 15th of September 2019.
On the weekend of the 26th to the 28th of July 2019 was the Century Batteries Ipswich Supersprint.
This Queensland raceway is home territory to the legend Craig Lowndes where he has had 12 race wins through his career. Considering that this is the 23rd Supercars event at this venue, Craig Lowndes’ stats go prove why he is a legend.
This is not to say it is a ‘friendly’ track to everyone. In 2005 Jason Richards had a massive rollover after Paul Morris made contact with him. At the same event Cameron McLean also rolled in the same section of the track. In 2010 Mark Winterbottom had a huge crash that I am sure still sticks in his mind.
Heading into the weekend Scott McLaughlin leads the championship by 292 points over his teammate, Fabian Coulthard. If there is going to be any challenges for the championship, this weekend is the time to make a move.
As it turned out Scott McLaughlin ruled in the pre-race sessions; Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 1, 2 & 3 and then again for the Armour All Qualifying.
In race 19 he started on pole position, alongside him was Jamie Whincup.
At the start of the 39-lap race Scott McLaughlin didn’t want to have any contact with Jamie Whincup so he let him go at turn 2.
By the end of the opening lap Scott McLaughlin went from 1st to 4th
There was contact between Will Davison and Scott McLaughlin which was not good. I thought that Scott McLaughlin would have had damage but somehow he didn’t.
Scott McLaughlin’s troubles were not over. Later he had a 9.2 second pit stop due to a jammed left front wheel nut. It surely affected his result at the finish line slipping from pole position to 4th.
Lee Holdsworth had a massive slide but saved it, which was super impressive.
Scott Pye had contact with another car which resulted in problems in the pits later on when removing the left rear wheel. He dropped 7 positions and finished 21st.
Jamie Whincup had a 4.1 second stop. Excepting pit stops, Jamie Whincup held his lead throughout the race.
Fabian Coulthard didn’t have a great race at all. He started 9th on the grid and finished 10th.
As they crossed the finish line, no one else could catch the top 3 drivers; Jamie Whincup with a 2 + second lead over Will Davison, then Chaz Mostert following a further 3.87 seconds later.
Although no safety car was deployed during the race, Tim Slade and Macauley Jones were both NC’s.
It was a convincing win for Jamie Whincup whose last race win was the Sandown 500 in 2018. His tally now reaches 114 wins from 484 races.
Results for Race 19
1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team. 2nd Will Davison – 23 Red Racing. 3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.
The unusual result for Scott McLaughlin in race 19 didn’t seem to affect him the next morning. He was fastest in practice 4 and Qualifying, earning him pole position for race 20. That is his 13th pole start this year.
In race 20 Scott McLaughlin in pole position had Chaz Mostert alongside him.
At the start of the 200 Km, 65 lap race Chaz Mostert tried to go around the outside of the Championship leader but he wasn’t able to and had to pull back in behind.
Scott McLaughlin led the whole way excepting in his 2 pit stops.
Fabian Coulthard had a shocking weekend because he didn’t qualify in the top ten on Sunday.
After such a positive result in Saturday’s race Will Davison drove with inspiration and seemed to really want to get back to back podiums. However, he just wasn’t able to move up from his starting position of 5.
By the middle of race Shane Van Gisbergen had taken over Jamie Whincup and Chaz Mostert. Now in second place he was putting pressure on Scott McLaughlin for the race lead.
In the last laps Shane Van Gisbergen stayed right on Scott McLaughlin’s tail but he wasn’t given any opportunity to take advantage of. They crossed the finish line just 0.7 seconds apart and nearly 10 seconds ahead of their closest rival, Chaz Mostert.
Results for Race 20
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team. 2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team. 3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.
Scott McLaughlin got pinged for doing his post race burnouts in the wrong spots.
He also got fined $1000 for taking a poster on to the podium.
On the weekend of the 5th to the 7th of July, 2019 was the Watpac Townsville 400.
While Scott McLaughlin has dominated the season, his teammate Fabian Coulthard has also had a great season. On this weekend he will be hitting a milestone, his 400th race. He is 2nd in the championship with career stats including 12 race wins, 54 podiums, 9 pole positions and held the lead for 689 laps over all races. It is no wonder that even this early in the year the Shell V Power Racing Team have announced re-signing Fabian Coulthard (and Scott McLaughlin) for next season.
This news ends the speculation about Scott McLaughlin racing for Roger Penske in the US. The following link is an article by ‘FoxSprts’ and gives some insight to some of the big name drivers and their prospects for 2020.
As the weekend wound up to the big event, the results in the pre-race sessions were as follows:
·Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 1
·Lee Holdsworth was fastest in Practice 2
·Fabian Coulthard was fastest Practice 3
·David Reynolds was fastest in Qualifying for race 17
In race 17 David Reynolds started on pole position. Alongside him was Chaz Mostert.
Rick Kelly ran with a new car number, 100 in honour of one of his big supporters, Castrol to celebrate 100 years in Australia and New Zealand.
At the start of the 70 lap race David Reynolds got the jump on Chaz Mostert and kept his lead for most of the opening laps.
Andre Heimgartner, Cameron Waters and Jamie Whincup nearly came together and almost hit the wall but somehow they missed.The drivers who started back in the pack came in early to try and get track position.
Jamie Whincup also came in early to get out of the traffic and also get track position. It worked out well for him and he found the clear air he was looking for. It was a big help in keeping him up front with a chance of taking his first race win of 2019.
In the middle of the race David Reynolds had bad luck in his pit stop. It was unfortunate that cross threaded wheel nut cost him his chance at victory.
David Reynolds’ bad luck was just the opportunity Scott McLaughlin was looking for and he was soon in the lead.
As the race came to a close he and Jamie Whincup had a good lead on the rest of the pack without a chance of being caught.
Shane Van Gisbergen who wanted to get on the podium also had some bad luck (that went by the name of Chaz Mostert ) and finished 4th with Chaz Mostert in front of him.
Results for Race 17:
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team 2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team 3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing
In race 18 on the Sunday, Cameron Waters started on pole position. Alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.
As they started the 70 lap race the rain started. A wet and slippery track usually spells disaster.
David Reynolds and Scott McLaughlin made contact between turns 1 and 2. The damage was significant enough for them to both head back to the pits.
David Reynolds’ car went back into the garage with broken steering.
I was quite surprised that the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske crew let Scott McLaughlin re-join the race. I thought for sure that the DJR Team would have put car 17 in the garage but didn’t.
The rain was getting heavier. After Jamie Whincup had re-joined from his pit stop he was still on slick tyres and the wet weather caused him to hit the wall.
As Jamie Whincup got his car back to the pits race engineer David Cauchi said, ‘Turn it off. No oil pressure!’. It was the second time this weekend that Jamie Whincup missed out on what could have been his first race win for the season.
In the middle of the race the rain started to pour down. This meant the cars and drivers needed to be on ‘Wets’.
Simona de Silvestro got called to come in to the pits but when she went back onto the track she crossed the yellow line to re-join which is not allowed. The drive through penalty she received cost her a few positions at the finish line.
Towards the end of the race Shane Van Gisbergen took the lead after Scott McLaughlin received car damage. He and Fabian Coulthard had comfortable space ahead of the pack and were uncatchable.
But the race was interrupted. Both Nick Percat and Garry Jacobson’s cars caught fire in two separate incidents. Nick Percat’s fire was in the pits causing a huge amount of smoke and flames looked to almost reach the fuel stands (That would have been a massive disaster).
Garry Jacobson’s car caught fire out on track which meant the race finished under safety car.
As they called the end of the race there were 3 DNF’s. They were Jamie Whincup, Mark Winterbottom and Garry Jacobson.
Results for Race 18:
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team 2nd Fabian Coulthard – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske 3rd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing
The next is the Century Batteries Ipswich Supersprint on the 26th to the 28th of July 2019.
On the weekend of the 14th to the 16th of June, 2019 was the BetEasy Darwin Triple Crown.
In the preliminaries to the race:
·Chaz Mostert was fastest in Practice 1
·Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 2
·Scott McLaughlin followed up with the fastest time in Practice 3
·And then again in Qualifying for race 15.
So in Race 15 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position and alongside him was David Reynolds.
At the start of the 42-lap race both David Reynolds and Will Davison from the third position on the grid tried to take the race lead. David Reynolds made contact with Scott McLaughlin trying to take the lead from the outside of turn 1 but wasn’t going to risk serious damage and pulled back.
As Scott McLaughlin held his line into the first corner there was a tangle as the rest of the pack came through. It was James Golding, Macauley Jones and Jack Le Brocq creating havoc. All three Holdens were damaged and Macauley Jones was the only one who managed to return to the race.
On lap two Rick Kelly made contact with Tim Slade and had to serve a drive-through penalty.
Then again at Turn 1, on the third lap Simona De Silvestro collided with Todd Hazelwood and hocky pucked his car off the track. In a post-race investigation she was handed a 15 second penalty pushing her good result finishing 16th to 19th.
With the mayhem early in the race drivers back in the pack pitted early to find clear track. Meanwhile Jamie Whincup stayed out on track in the lead trying to make up some valuable time while the track was clear.
Other than Jamie Whincup’s short time up front, Scott McLaughlin was leading the race the whole way.
I was quite surprised that no one could manage to offer Scott McLaughlin any reasonable competition. He once again came across the finish line first.
His closest rivals almost 7 seconds behind in second place were Chaz Mostert followed by David Reynolds just under one second later in third place.
Jack Smith was the wildcard for Brad Jones Racing and started 25th on the grid. At the end of the race he finished 20th making up 5 places.
Results for Race 15
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
2nd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing
3rd David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport
In race 16, Yet again Scott McLaughlin started on pole position with Fabian Coulthard alongside him.
Scott McLaughlin got the jump off the line but Fabian Coulthard tried to make a stand and stayed on the outside of turn 1. It looked like he would make it and would end up spinning off onto the grass. Somehow he managed to make the turn but it didn’t help his position and tucked in behind the leader.
Rick Kelly was putting pressure on Simona De Silvestro and Andre Heimgartner for position.
Soon after on Turn 5, Andre Heimgartner got spun around and other drivers had to avoid the spinning Nissan Altama. The mistake put him to the back of the pack.
The front runners stayed out to keep track position and the rest of the pack came in for the first round of pit stops.
David Reynolds lost his Window Rubber which wasn’t ideal.
Through the middle of the race Scott McLaughlin maintained his lead of over teammate Fabian Coulthard.
Once again Scott McLaughlin comfortably came in first. David Reynolds was over 13 seconds behind with Fabian Coulthard close on his tail. Cameron Waters held his own position and came in 4th.
Winning the two races over the weekend made Scott McLaughlin the first to earn Darwin’s Triple Crown (on it’s 13th anniversary) since it started back in 2006
So far this year Scott McLaughlin stats show out of 15 races he has been on the podium 14 times, 12 of which were 1st place. That is a phenomenal 80% win rate and 93.3% on the podium.
He has been the dominant driver so far in 2019. can anybody stop him?
Results for race 16
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
2nd David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport Penrite Racing
3rd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team
On the weekend of the 24th to the 26th of May was the Truck Assist Winton Supersprint
The hot news as this goes to press is that Chaz Mostert has a big decision to make about his future because at the end of this season he will be off contract with Tickford Racing. There is talk about opportunities for him at Team Penske as well as going overseas. It’s a; happening for him right now. What will Chaz Mostert choose to do? (AutoAction published a really interesting article on Chaz https://autoaction.com.au/2019/05/30/chazs-big-decision).
In the co–drivers’ session which was Practice 0, Craig Lowndes and Garth Tander finished 1st and 2nd.
Chaz Mostert was fastest in Practice 1.
Chaz Mostert was also fastest in Armour All Qualifying which gave him pole position for Race 13.
This weekend was also a milestone for some out on track:
·It was Shane Van Gisbergen’s 100th race as a member of Triple Eight Race Engineering. ·It was also Jamie Whincup’s 220th round start, equalling him with Mark Skaife for 8th on the all-time list of starts.
I just had a flashback to Winton 2013. Jamie Whincup, Russell Ingall and Dean Fiore had an accident which took them out of the race. I hoped nothing like that would happen on this weekend.
In Race 13 Chaz Mostert started on pole position and alongside him was Fabian Coulthard.
At the start of the 40-lap race Both Chaz Mostert and Fabian Coulthard made contact in between turns 1 and 2 which allowed James Courtney to take the race lead!
Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard came together on lap 1 at turn 5 and re-joined at turn 9.
I thought Scott McLaughlin was going to get a drive thru penalty or a 15 second stop and hold for re-joining between turns 8 and 9 but apparently they were within the rules for the Winton weekend.
Fabian Coulthard received a 15 second penalty for making that contact with Scott McLaughlin.
Throughout the race a number of drivers got pinged for a range of driving infringements.
When David Reynolds gave James Courtney a bump and took the race lead he copped a 15 second penalty.
Fabian Coulthard was trying keep up with his teammate, Scott McLaughlin but he couldn’t quite get close enough.
Scott Pye was struggling to stay in the top 10.
By the middle of the race the two Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske drivers, Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard were running 1st and 2nd.
Towards the end of the race no one could catch Scott McLaughlin in first and Fabian Coulthard, second.
Unfortunately Fabian Coulthard’s 15 second penalty early on in the race pushed him down to 15th place, dropping 13 spots. Must have been a hard pill to swallow but the weekend was not over yet.
Results for Race 13
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V power Racing Team. 2nd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing Team. 3rd David Reynolds – Penrite Racing. 4th James Courtney – Mobil 1 Mega Racing. 5th Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team. 6th Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
In the lead up to Sunday’s race Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 2 and then also fastest in the Armour All Qualifying.
For the 67 lap Race 14, once again Scott McLaughlin started on pole position with Fabian Coulthard alongside him.
Scott McLaughlin got the jump on his teammate Fabian Coulthard and pretty much dominated the race accept for pit stops.
Will Davison was hoping for a solid result so I was quite surprised that Will Davison broke down and Rick Kelly’s engine blew. They both ended up with DNF’S .
In the middle of the race, after the 2nd round of pit stops no one could catch the 2 Shell V Power Mustangs of Scott McLaughlin and teammate, Fabian Coulthard.
Once again the pair held position and crossed the finish line 1st and 2nd. This time Fabian Coulthard made it onto the podium.
Results for Race 14
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team. 2nd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team. 3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
The next event is the Bet Easy Darwin Triple Crown at Hidden Valley Raceway starting on June 14.
On the Weekend of the 2nd to the 4th of May 2019 was the Pirtek Perth Supernight.
This was the first night race to take place at the Barbagallo Raceway and as showcase of the setup commentators Craig Lowndes and Greg Murphy took Jamie Whincup and Rick Kelly’s cars out onto the racetrack for a couple laps.
I thought the lights and light towers looked incredible.
As the pre-race sessions started I noted the return of Mark Larkham as pit-lane commentator. He missed the last event at Phillip Island (see my previous article for details) so it was good to see him back in his role.
Results for the pre-race sessions were as one would expect:
·Jamie Whincup was fastest in Practice 1
·Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 2
·Scott McLaughlin was also fastest in Qualifying for race 11
In race 11 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position and alongside him was Fabian Coulthard.
At the start of the 50-lap race Fabian Coulthard got jump off the line and the championship leader, Scott McLaughlin had to pull in behind him.
David Reynolds and Anton de Pasquale were in battle for position and made contact with each other at turn 1 but David Reynolds held his spot.
Shane Van Gisbergen pitted early to get track position because he was getting held up by David Reynolds in his battle with Anton De Pasquale.
Scott McLaughlin tried to make a pass for the lead but Fabian Coulthard held firm to his lead.
Later Todd Hazelwood made a great pass on Jack Le Brocq. It was a nice clean piece of driving.
Before the pit stops had been completed Fabian Coulthard was the affective race leader and seemed in fine form as he held the position through the entire race. Scott McLaughlin was still close behind but everyone else was further back and no one could catch them.
Fabian Coulthard appeared full of confidence as he crossed the finish line to make it a back 2 back win after winning at race 10 at Phillip Island.
It was a great race and the night light setup was brilliant. Surprisingly no Safety Cars were deployed through the entire race.
Results for Race 11
1st Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team.
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing Team.
4th Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
In the Pre-Race Sessions for race 12:
·Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 3
·Scott McLaughlin was also fastest in Qualifying
In race 12 Scott McLaughlin once again started on pole position with Jamie Whincup alongside him.
At the start of the 83-lap race Scott McLaughlin nearly stalled giving Jamie Whincup the lead he wanted. This was bad luck again for Scott McLaughlin after his poor start from pole position in Race 11.
Jamie Whincup was in front of the field for the first couple of laps.
Most of the cars back in the pack pitted early to get into clear air.
Soon after Andre Heimgartner made contact with Scott Pye which caused the 1 and only Safety Car deployment during races 11 and 12.
On the restart Shane Van Gisbergen gave Rick Kelly a bump which put him off the race track and Rick Kelly’s front air dam was full of sponsorship signs. I thought there would’ve been no way he could have made it to the end of the race but somehow he did.
Scott McLaughlin was now leading the race but Jamie Whincup kept him honest the whole way, which was good to see.
I thought at one stage that Jamie Whincup was going to win his first race for 2019 but that wasn’t the case.
As the race came to a close Jamie Whincup kept the pressure on the defending Supercars Champion and series leader, Scott McLaughlin. Driving without fault there was no chance for Jamie Whincup to take that lead position from him.
So once again Scott McLaughlin won another race for 2019.
Jamie Whincup started the Perth Supernight Supercars event down in 9th in the driver’s championship and is now up to 6th in the championship.
The only way any of the other drivers can close the points gap on Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard is for them have 8 bad races with DNF’S and NC’S. It does seem none of the other drivers will have a chance.
Results for Race 12
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing Team.
I thought the night racing was an awesome spectacle.
The next event is the Truck Assist Winton Supersprint 24th to the 26th of May 2019.
Please feel free to comment on how the Perth Supernight went via my Facebook Fanpage.
On the weekend of the 12th to the 14th of April 2019 was the WD-40 Phillip Island Supersprint.
The Fox Sport coverage themed the race around Fox’s hit drama series Game of Thrones, which is about to air their new season on TV. They included a “winner’s throne”, character dress ups and other stuff. I guess it was a bit of fun BUT it had nothing to do with racing so they can take their cross promotion and stick it up their ( x ).
Commentator, Mark Larkham was not at Phillip Island on the weekend due to personal reasons. Andrew Jones filled in for him. I’m not interested in prying into personal affairs but just want to say if its due to some form of tragedy, ‘Larko, our thoughts are with you’.
Last year Scott McLaughlin won both races at this track. With his winning streak so far this season I am sure was geared up and ready to go.
This weekend Supercars trialled closure of the pit lane while a Safety Car is deployed. This is apparently due to safety concerns over the usual mad rush to the pits when the race is flagged yellow. Just think back to Mostert and Kelly’s T-Bone incident in the pit lane earlier this season to see why they are trying to remedy this safety issue. What this will means is that the teams will have to think more strategically about when to take their pit stops.
This doesn’t change what happens when a race is flagged red. All drivers still have to come in from the track. This happened multiple times this weekend, three of which was because the local geese decided to take a stroll out on the track. The first instance was in Practice 1 between turns 6 And 7. Once the geese flew off the practice session resumed. It was kind of funny but also put a horrific picture in my mind of what would happen if they weren’t spotted in the first place.
The results for the pre-race sessions were as follows:
·Anton De Pasquale was fastest in Practice 1
·Fabian Coulthard was fastest in Practice 2
·Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 3
·Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Qualifying for race 9
·Fabian Coulthard was fastest again in Practice 4
In race 9 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position with Fabian Coulthard alongside him.
At the start of the 120km, 27 lap race Scott McLaughlin got the jump on Fabian Coulthard who had to slot behind him in 2nd place.
He tried to go around the outside of his teammate but that didn’t work out, Scott McLaughlin was just too fast.
During the race James Courtney and Tim Slade both had front right tyres go flat when going down the main straight at 260kms/ph. In both incidents I thought they were going to have a massive accident but thankfully for them and their teams they got away with no damage.
Shane Van Gisbergen’s team gave him an incredible 4.7 second pit stop to change tyres. That really is incredible.
When teammate, Jamie Whincup pitted the Car Controller stepped away too early and gave Jamie Whincup the go-ahead. However something went wrong in the communications and the right front wheel man had not been able to finish tightening the nut. Jamie Whincup lost the wheel completely before completing the next lap.
By the middle of the race Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard had secured their lead on the race.
In the last part of the race Shane Van Gisbergen made contact with Cameron Waters who received damage to his right rear wheel. Cameron Waters was now out of the race. Shane Van Gisbergen however was able to continue without much damage.
Cameron Waters and Jamie Whincup were the only driver to not complete the race. Both of them must have been devastated.
Race 9 finished with Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard in 1st and 2nd. Andre Heingartner came in 3rd earning Nissan Motorsport (aka the Kelly brothers) their first podium finish for the season. Congratulations!
Results for race 9
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team. 2nd Fabian Coulthard -Shell V Power Racing Team. 3rd Andre Heimgartner – Nissan Motorsport.
Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Armour All Qualifying for race 10, earning him pole position. Alongside him was his teammate, Fabian Coulthard.
Race 10 was a 200km 45 lap race.
Fabian Coulthard got good launch from the start line but Scott McLaughlin still led into turn 1. Once again it made Shell V Power Racing Team 1st and 2nd.
Most of the drivers pitted on lap 5 to make sure they didn’t caught if the Safety Car was deployed. It seemed best to get the stops done as early as possible just in case, because if the safety car did come out the pit lane would’ve have been closed anyway.
Richie Stanaway took to the pits and his teammate, James Golding had to double stack. I don’t quite understand why the team made the decision to call them in at the same time.
Rick Kelly was holding up a bunch of cars and blocking them from getting by. It appeared to be poor sportsmanship. Commentator, Mark Skaife said he was being the modern day John Bowe (a former who also hogged the track regardless of other drivers). I thought that was a good comment.
In the middle of race Tim Slade was on the charge because he had new set of ‘green’ tyres. Most other drivers had long ago fitted their last set of tyres.
Towards the end of race, nobody could catch Fabian Coulthard and Scott McLaughlin. Once again the two Shell V Power Racing Team cars won the race, this time with Fabian Coulthard coming in 1st.
So both Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard got to sit on the Iron Throne.
This also puts Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard 1st and 2nd on the championship ladder.
Results for Race 10
1st Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team. 2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team. 3rd Anton De Pasquale – Penrite Racing Erebus Motorsport.
The next event is the Pirtek Perth Supernight on the 2nd to the 4th of May, 2019.
Please feel free to comment on the event or my review via my Facebook Fanpage.
On the weekend of the 14th to the 17th of March 2019 was the Beaurepaires Melbourne 400 at Albert Park in Melbourne, Victoria.
The Larry Perkins Trophy is up for grabs with Jamie Whincup defending ownership after his great win last year. Incidentally, earlier in the previous week Larry Perkins went into hospital for surgery to remove a gallbladder.
In the past The Melbourne 400 was run as a support category to the Australian Grand Prix F1 series. It was only last year that the Melbourne 400 officially became the second round of the V8 Supercars championship. I think it makes for more exciting racing as it is no longer seen as a ‘test run’.
The Melbourne 400 is an interesting opportunity in the championship because there are actually four races (25, 13, 25 & 13 laps), giving drivers with different strengths an opportunity to take advantage.
It also means 4 qualifying rounds which give the rookies a better chance to get to know the track.
Albert Park is an interesting venue as it is one of the longer tracks being 5.303Kms.
Race 4 also had the honour of being the 1000th race since the championship started in 1960. So the weekend was quite a milestone for the sport.
As we entered the weekend, the Red Bull Holden Racing Team held the Team’s Championship lead by 5 points, while Scott McLaughlin defends his lead in the Driver’s Championship.
In the pre-race sessions it was Chaz Mostert driving his new superfast Ford Mustang who had his best weekend in a while:
Chaz Mostert was fastest in Practice 1
Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 2
Scott McLaughlin was also fastest in Qualifying for Race 3, 4 & 5
Chaz Mostert was fastest in Qualifying for Race 6
All 4 Qualifying sessions were only 10 minutes each.
Race 3 was run on Friday as sunset approached at 5:55pm
Scott McLaughlin started on pole position and alongside him was Fabian Coulthard.
At the start of 130 Kilometre, 25 lap race Scott McLaughlin got the jump on his teammate Fabian Coulthard.
Scott McLaughlin now didn’t have to worry about clean air or about being stuck behind his teammate.
It was all Mustangs at the front, Scott McLaughlin, Fabian Coulthard and Cameron Waters followed by Red Bull’s Shane Van Gisbergen in his Commodore.
However, it was the compulsory tyre change pit stop that would be the decider for many.
The only time Scott McLaughlin wasn’t leading the race was during the pitstop shuffle.
Scott McLaughlin hit the pits on lap 12 with a 4 second lead and once again came out on track to dominate.
Jamie Whincup pitted first because he didn’t want Shane Van Gisbergen who was running with a chance for a podium position to be waiting in the pits for too long behind him.
However, Shane Van Gisbergen waited to pit on lap 15 and it just mucked up his flow. There were now 4 Mustangs ahead of him.
Will Davison was happy with the way his ford Mustang was performing with only 10 laps to go he was now in 4th position.
Macauley Jones was travelling well and enjoying his first Albert Park event as a rookie.
With 6 laps remaining Shane Van Gisbergen picked up and returned to his lead over Will Davison.
Towards the end of the race, with only 4 laps remaining Shane Van Gisbergen’s engine let go which meant he was the only car to have no points. He came into Albert Park 2nd in championship, but after a disastrous weekend he is now 11th in the championship on minus 175 points.
Scott McLaughlin comfortably took in first place. This made it his 3rd win from the first 3 races in the season.
However, it was Chaz Mostert who had everyone’s eyebrows raised. He started in 22nd on the grid and was 13th by the middle of the race. Once out of the pits he showed everyone just what his car could do and came across the finish line 5th just behind Will Davison. That is a gain of 17 in 25 laps!!!! (I am sure I could hear Chaz singing ‘Day-o, day-o. Come, mister tally man, tally me banana’).
Results for race 3
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
2nd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team
3rd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing Team
4th Will Davison – 23 Red Racing Team car 23
5th Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing Team
In race 4 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was Chaz Mostert.
But again Scott McLaughlin dominated race 4, which wasn’t surprising because the Mustang’s were quick all weekend.
Jamie Whincup was battling with Chaz Mostert for 3rd place. When Chaz Mostert passed him and then Cameron Waters, Jamie Whincup had dropped back to 4th place.
Garry Jacobson and James Golding made contact on the main straight which I thought would end in a massive shunt but thankfully there wasn’t.
Scott McLaughlin was still the driver no one could beat because he was flying and dominated the race from start to finish. He crossed the finish with 2.5 seconds plus lead. This made it his 4th win out 4 starts in the championship.
It also seems the Mustangs, the newest entry to the track this year are making quite a splash. It was Chaz Mostert (Mustang) and Cameron Waters (Mustang) that pushed Red Bull’s Jamie Whincup in his ZB Commodore out of the top 3 positions.
Results for Race 4
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
2nd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing
3rd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing
Before race 5 started on the warm up lap, both Scott McLaughlin and Cameron Waters came together which resulted in both drives not starting and being classified as a NC (Not Complete) as a result Nick Percat and Tim Slade were affectively on the front row of the grid.
Tim Slade kept the lead as Jamie Whincup who started from 6th position came in behind him.
Fabain Coulthard was trying to stay out of trouble because he didn’t want to help the Dick Johnson Racing Team by leaving the track to repair his car.
At lap 13 Jamie Whincup finally took the lead. Tim Slade and Nick Percat then battled for the trailing positions. Nick Percat came into turn 15 in a poor position on the outside driving wide and lost several places that he just couldn’t recover from in the remaining time.
After the pitstops it was Mostert who was right behind Whincup at the lead. The pressure was on.
With only 6 laps remaining Shane Van Gisbergen lost his right back wheel! The Vodafone Safety Car was called out.
With four laps to go Chaz Mostert once again wanted to prove what his Mustang could do and took the lead off Jamie Whincup who was now closely followed by Tim Slade. David Reynolds in his ZB Commodore was not far behind. I get the feeling it was more important to him to stay ahead of Fabian Coulthard’s Mustang than to try take 3rd position from Time Slade (also Commodore).
Chaz Mostert was incredibly fast and opened the gap on his lead to over a second. It was incredible to watch. This was his first race win for 2019. Congratulations Chaz! ‘Day-o, day-o
Daylight come and me wan’ go home’.
Aside from Scott McLaughlin and Cameron Waters who never made it past the warm up lap, it was only Richie Stanaway who was disqualified from the results due to making contact with another car. He later received a $10,000 fine for the incident. Ouch!
Results for Race 5
1st Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing team.
3rd Tim Slade – Brad Jones Racing.
In race 6 Chaz Mostert started on pole position and alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.
At the start of the race Scott McLaughlin got the jump and led the way early on. Given that it was only a 13-lap race with no pit stops, Scott McLaughlin dominated the race once again.
Chaz Mostert got off to a bad start from pole and was immediately behind Jamie Whincup.
It took until lap 3 for Mostert to take Whincup and get into 2nd position but by now Scott McLaughlin had a 2+ second lead.
Rick Kelly didn’t want to get to close to the drivers in front of him otherwise he would get caught up in an accident.
In the middle of the race Macauley Jones had another massive shunt which meant the safety car was deployed to clear Macauley Jones car. He was the only car to leave the race with a Not Complete.
As the race resumed Chaz Mostert made a go for Scott McLaughlin’s lead spot but couldn’t come close. It was still exciting to watch and Im sure it did have Scott McLaughlin on edge.
As they came across the line no one could catch those top 3; Scott McLaughlin, Chaz Mostert and Jamie Whincup.
Results for race 6
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing team
2nd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing Team
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
Chaz Mostert won the Larry Perkins Trophy and Jamie Whincup claimed his 200th podium in his Supercars Career.
Supercars has dropped the time certain race finishes unless there are major Safety Car delays.
Triple 8 are going to debut a new Supercars wheel retention system which is to stop the wheel from coming off the car out on the race track.
The next event is the Tyrepower Tasmania Supersprint on the 5th to the 7th of April 2019.
From Thursday 28th of February to the 3rd of March, 2019 was the Superloop Adelaide 500.
As the official first race of the 2019 V8 Supercars Championship Season it is an exciting start to the year with two races of 250Km each.
Before I get into the rest of my review I must say that I really missed the familiar faces of Garth Tander and Craig Lowndes out on track. Both retired from full time driving at the end of last season and I am sure I am not the only one who will miss their presence.
The big talk on the scene over the last few months is the introduction of the Ford Mustangs into the V8 Supercars Championship. It seems everyone out there loves the Mustang. So its new cars all round for DJRTP drivers and Tickford with Chaz Mostert’s Supercheap Auto and Lee Holdsworth’s Bottle-O cars. I am sure that they will be under heavy scrutiny by everyone to see if the Mustangs have what it takes to race in Australia.
In last year’s Superloop 500 it was Shane Van Gisbergen who made this his event for a second time by a double win of both races. That’s right! He won the 2 season opening races in both 2017 and 2018. This year was no exception to spectacular driving and amazing results.
The Red Bull Holden Racing Team won the 2018 Teams Championship so it earned them the privilege to lead the field out of the pit lane this year (always an advantage).
There were some interesting happenings in the pre-race sessions:
Anton De Pasquale was the fastest in Practice 1 and Scott McLaughlin stopped outside turn 11 due to a loss of oil pressure.
Scott McLaughlin wasn’t phased and proved himself and his car as fastest in Practice 2.
Fabian Coulthard was fastest in Practice 3.
Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Qualifying for Race 1 and then followed that up as fastest in Practice 4.
Macauley Jones didn’t join Race 1 due to a massive accident caused by brake failure at the end of Practice 4.
Fabian Coulthard followed up his great run in Practice 3 and was fastest in the Race 1 Top Ten Shootout.
So in Race 1, Fabian Coulthard started on pole position and alongside him was Jamie Whincup.
Surprisingly both Fabian Coulthard and Jamie Whincup stalled off the starting grid which allowed Scott McLaughlin to take the race lead early on.
Off the line the cars were 4 wide which I thought was going to end up in a massive shunt.
After the opening lap Fabian Coulthard got pinged by race control for jumping the start. This mistake earned him a 10 second stop and hold penalty dropping him from 2nd to 20th.
Pretty soon Cameron Waters was complaining about the heat because his cool suit failed. I’m sure it didn’t help him cool down when officials forced him to come in to the pits.
Lee Holdsworth and Scott Pye ended up in tyre bundle together at turn 7. Surprisingly they managed to get out of the mess themselves without needing assistance from the safety car so the race continued.
In the middle of the race Fabian Coulthard was still fighting back from his 10 second Stop and Hold Penalty.
Also, the Red Bull Holden Racing Team had a problem with their regulator which holds the pressure for the rattle guns hose. It was going nuts and hissing loudly because it wasn’t done up tight enough.
Towards the end of the race no one could catch Scott McLaughlin who dominated Race 1.
As Scott McLaughlin crossed the finish line he appeared to be singing. When Greg Murphy asked him what he was singing he said ‘Horses from Daryl Braithwaite’. LOL!
Results for Race 1
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Ford Mustang 2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team 3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
Scott McLaughlin once again proved he is one of the fastest out on track claiming the Qualifying and Top ten Shootout rounds to earn him Pole Position. It was a nice way for Scott McLaughlin to start the 200th race of his career.
In race 2 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position and alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.
Shane Van Gisbergen was the only Red Bull Holden Racing Team car to make the Top Ten Shootout. His teammate Jamie Whincup qualified 12th.
At the start of the 78 lap race Shane Van Gisbergen tried to go around the outside of Scott McLaughlin but that didn’t work. When Scott McLaughlin ran wide at turn 4 Shane Van Gisbergen tried to criss cross, over and under but that didn’t work either. McLaughlin was not prepared to give up the race lead that easily so Shane Van Gisbergen had to pull back in behind him.
Simona De Silvestro made a mistake in all the traffic at turn 4 and went straight up the escape road.
Rick Kelly nearly made contact with Nick Percat on track.
Jack Le Brocq caused the first deployment of the Vodafone Safety Car due to him being stranded at turn 11 unable to get restarted. With the race now under ‘yellow’ most teams took the opportunity to head to their pits to meet race requirements.
Then the day of the ‘Pit Lane Mess’ started. As the pit lane became very busy I knew there was going to be chaos. Chaz Mostert had just been in the pits a lap before but still went back like all the others. I don’t know how this happened but his car controller gave him the go-ahead. As he came out of the pits Rick Kelly was travelling along the pit lane and ‘T-boned’ him. Kelly seemed angry and didn’t take his foot off the accelerator. They were blocking the pit lane. The other cars had to drive through the DJRTP and Red Bull garages to get around. All high risks activities. Chaz Mostert copped a drive through penalty and later apologised publicly but there were differing opinions on this.
Nick Percat and David Reynolds stayed out on track to avoid the congestion and it worked to their advantage. Both of them ended up with track position coming in at 5th and 9th respectively.
Towards the end of the race officials had to ‘call time’. They weren’t going to complete the total number of laps and cut the race short.
Once again no one could catch Scott McLaughlin who managed to start his title defence of the Supercars Championship with a perfect score 300 points. A double win puts him up there with some of the great drivers of all time.
Mark Winterbottom was my hero of the day. He started 24th due to not recording a time in Qualifying. Throughout the race he managed to gain 18 places to finish 6th. What an amazing effort.
Results for Race 2
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing team 2nd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing 3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
In my opinion personally I would like to see Supercars get rid of timed race because it would make more enjoyable for the fans not only watching on but live at the track as well.
On the weekend of the 23rd to the 25th of November 2018 was the Coates Hire Newcastle 500, the Supercars season grand finale.
The Newcastle race is held on local streets, part of which runs along its beautiful shore line and the city comes alive for the spectacle. Each year it gets better and better.
One of the funniest moment of the weekend was when Jessica Yates, Mark Skaife and Russell Ingall wore a t-shirt taking a dig at his fellow commentator (Russell Ingall) for a incident back in 2003. It was printed with ‘Dearest Mark, I am sorry for firing you into the fence at Sydney Motorsport Park Eastern Creek – Love Russ’. LOL.
In the sessions prior to the race:
Lee Holdsworth was fastest in Practice 1
Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 2
Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in the ‘Armour All’ Qualifying for race 30
Scott McLaughlin was fastest in the ‘Armour All’ Qualifying for race 31
In race 30 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position and alongside him was Jamie Whincup.
At the start of the 95-lap race Jamie Whincup got the jump on his teammate, Shane Van Gisbergen but then let him pass him up Watt Street so that Shane Van Gisbergen could close the Driver’s Championship points gap with Scott McLaughlin.
Fabian Coulthard got spun around by Jamie Whincup stopping Fabian Coulthard helping out his teammate, Scott McLaughlin up the front.
Later Fabian Coulthard got himself in more trouble. He made a mistake approaching turn 1 which put him in the wall. He then was also joined by Tim Blanchard and Nick Percat. In fact it was such a mess Nick Percat had half of Fabian Coulthard’s car in his lap. Fabians car looked pretty smashed up and he was out of the race with an NC (not complete). I didn’t think the team would be able to repair the car for Sunday’s race but somehow they worked their magic.
Craig Lowndes followed Scott Pye into pit lane for his pit stop. James Courtney was already in the pits causing Scott Pye to double stack, blocking the pit lane for Craig Lowndes. I’m sure he was mighty pissed off losing that valuable time.
When John McGregor asked Craig Lowndes what happened he replied angrily with ”Bloody Pye blocked the fastlane”.
In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen had enough fuel and tyre grip to chase down the cars in front of him.
However, burning up all that fuel meant when he pitted for his 3rd and final stop there was an extended wait to fill up the race requirement of 140 litres.
Towards the end of the race Scott McLaughlin was in the lead, heading for victory until the most embarrassing thing of all happened. On the 2nd last corner before the finish line he ran out of fuel! Amazingly his car continued to roll without fuel across the finish line.
Shane Van Gisbergen was close behind taking full advantage and crossed the line ahead of Scott McLaughlin.
Now Shane Van Gisbergen was just 2 points behind Scott McLaughlin in the championship. It was a very unusual finish to the race.
However, after the dust settled at the finish line the Stewards gave Shane Van Gisbergen a 25 second penalty for his car being lowered to the ground while fuelling up at his last pit stop. Whoops!
Gisbergen had lost his win and had now been relegated to finishing 5th in the race. So officially McLaughlin was the winner. With only 1 race for the weekend and season he now had the points to secure this year’s championship.
Results for race 30
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
2nd David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
Before the start of race 31 Craig Lowndes did his final lap around the Newcastle streets circuit waving to all the fans. When he got back he took a walk up the pit lane thanking everybody for their support. All the teams took part in congratulating Craig Lowndes on his fantastic career. All the Triple 8 team members wore a shirt that said ‘Thanks CL’.
Chaz Mostert showed one of the greatest gestures of respect and asked Craig Lowndes to sign his suit.
It was now time for Race 31 and Craig Lowndes was bestowed the honour of leading the drivers out to the start line.
David Reynolds started on pole position and alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.
All the Nissan drivers and cars were pink because they were supporting the McGrath Foundation. It was quite a sight.
As the 95 lap race started David Reynolds led with Scott McLaughlin following during the opening laps.
Scott McLaughlin seemed to be playing it safe which I thought was a good call; If Scott McLaughlin damaged his car and got a DNF he would lose the championship again (last year he lost the championship by only one race). All he had to do was hang in there.
Jamie Whincup helped out teammate Shane Van Gisbergen and pitted early to avoid a double stack.
Tim Blanchard got a pit lane drive through penalty for contact with Simona de Silvestro.
David Reynolds was still leading before his first pit stop.
Meanwhile Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen where battling it out in 2nd and 3rd position for the championship.
For a time they didn’t have the support of their team mates, Jamie Whincup in 7th place and Fabian Coulthard back in 9th.
Michael Caruso was trying to finish on a high with Nissan Motorsport with his contract still up for renewal. He finished the race 19th, gaining 5 places from a starting position 24.
Lee Holdsworth is also another driver without a contract for next season. Mark Winterbottom will be replacing him at Team 18.
Nick Percat didn’t want a repeat of Saturday’s dramas which he thankfully avoided by qualifying further up the grid and running a clean race.
In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen had the front guards on the left and right hanging out. It wasn’t that bad so he wasn’t about to lose time with a pit stop. His race engineer, Grant McPherson said him, ‘If the Safety Car comes out in the next few laps we will pit to fix it’ (but just keep racing).
Towards the end of the race no one else could catch Scott McLaughlin or David Reynolds in 1st and 2nd place.
At that point Ryan Story who is the team manager at Shell V Power Racing was being interviewed by Greg Murphy and said to Mark Skaife and Neil Crompton ‘We are good on fuel today. OK boys!’. LOL.
Right at the end of the race David Reynolds had great pace. Scott McLaughlin knew he had the championship all wrapped up and it seemed he moved over and let David Reynolds take the race win.
Results for Race 31
1st David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport.
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
Congratulations to Craig Lowndes on everything you have achieved during your remarkable Supercars career. What you have done for the sport of Supercars racing has been documented. It will be weird not seeing you in the car full time next year. So, well done Craig Lowndes!
Thanks CL!
The next event is the 2019 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour on the 1st to the 3rd of February 2019.
But the Supercars Championship doesn’t start until 28th of February to the 3rd of March 2019.
