Monthly Archives: October 2017

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Wilson Security Sandown 500 2017

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 Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 15th to the 17th of September 2017 was the Wilson Security Sandown 500.

Mark Skaife said that the Sandown 500 is the precursor to the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. I agree and believe it can make the drivers a little overeager to push hard.

It may be why the extra rule on this weekend was to have the seat belts done up and fastened before leaving the pit lane.

Even pre-race I felt it was going to be an exciting weekend. On the final lap of the Armor All Race for the Grid 1, Jonathon Webb locked the brakes at the end of the back straight.  This resulted in Todd Hazelwood crashing into the tyre wall at a terrifying top speed of 260 kilometres an hour.  This also resulted in Will Davison not racing in Race for the Grid 2 for the main drivers.

Regardless, it didn’t mean that fun was not had. Russell Ingall was in an old Castrol Perkins race suit and wig. Also, Mark Skaife donned a Fox Sports race suit.  Whenever I spotted them I couldn’t stop laughing.

In Race 19, Cameron Waters and Richie Stanaway started on pole position with Richie Stanaway behind the wheel. Alongside them were Scott McLaughlin and Alexandre Premat.

It was interesting to note only 2 main drivers started the race. These were Shane Van Gisbergen and Craig Lowndes in cars 97 and 888 respectively.

Craig Lowndes started 23rd due to a DNF in Race for the Grid 2 with a power steering issue.

Shane Van Gisbergen started in position 21.

At the start of what was supposed to be a 161-lap race, Richie Stanaway got the jump and led into turn 1.

Dean Canto got turned around between turns 3 and 4. Ash Walsh also got spun around at turn 4 on the opening lap.

Then Taz Douglas hit the wall at the end of the back straight due to a flat right front tyre. The red flag came out for the Marshalls and Officials to repair the tyre barrier.  

The result of the hold-up was the race went to a ‘time certain’ finish. When the race got back underway the clock started ticking.

When the green flag went up, Richie Stanaway took off into the distance which the drivers behind didn’t want to see. Close behind him was Alex Premat.

Early on Tony Dalberto was running inside the top 5.

Paul Dumbrell was running 3rd trying to catch the race leaders up front. However, he knew he had to keep the car ‘straight’ for when he handed it back to Jamie Whincup.

When Paul Dumbrell got a puncture, it was coming out of turn 4 and he knew he had to back right off to reduce chance of damage to car 88.

A lot of tyres let go I think due to the end of the turn 1 curb. The race engineers were telling their drivers to stay off the turn 1 curb edge.

Craig Lowndes pitted early to hand over to Steven Richards ensuring he re-joined with a clear race track in front and behind.

It was funny that Todd Kelly ran wide and collected the Dunlop Break Marker. The only way he could get rid of it was to make sure there were no other cars behind him and brake hard.

In the middle of the race Cameron Waters was back in the driver’s seat being chased down by Scott McLaughlin.

Soon all main drivers got back in the driver’s seat for the run to the checkered flag. With the race becoming ‘time certain’ strategies had changed.

Towards the end of the race no one could catch the top 3 cars. All were Fords; Cameron Waters Scott Mclaughlin and Chaz Mostert.

As the others crossed the line it became a little messy.

Ash Walsh and Tim Slade got excluded from the results due to both drivers not completing the minimum 54 laps.

Taz Douglas was out of the race and received a DNF.

Shane Van Gisbergen was docked 2 grid spots due to spinning Fabian Coulthard earlier on.

Aside from this the other noteworthy points were:

This was Matt Campbell’s 2nd Enduro campaign but first with the Red Bull Holden Racing Team. I was quite impressed with his performance.

Craig Lowndes line of the weekend was perfect. It was like James Bond not the Colin Bond like the Livery is.

HA HA! I Was Laughing at Garth Tander because he was trying to be a camera man while the race was under red flag.

Results for the 2017 Wilson Security Sandown 500 race 19.

1st Cameron Waters and Richie Stanaway – Monster Energy Racing team.
2nd Scott Mclaughlin and Alex Premat – Shell V Power racing team.
3rd Chaz Mostert and Steve Owen – Supercheap Auto racing team.

Ford 1 2 and 3.

The next event is the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 on the 5th to the 8th of October 2017.

 

 

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Red Rooster Sydney Supersprint 2017

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 18th to the 20th of August 2017 was the Red Rooster Sydney Supersprint.

This was a great weekend of racing at the Sydney Motorsport Raceway (Eastern Creek) because I’m a Sydneysider and was able to attend. Alongside me in Pole Position was my Dad (bless him for getting the wheelchair accessible van for the weekend, navigating and supporting me in my V8 Supercars passion).

We also had my Support Worker and friend, Sam join us for the Friday practice sessions. It was Sam’s first race event and he really got into it. He spent the day running around like a made chook filming and photographing the on and off track action. This was later edited along with my own footage and photos for my youtube channel and Facebook fan page.

Before the practice started on Friday we walked and talked our way through the pit viewing area. The ‘Dunlop Promo Girls’ past us going the other way. To our surprise Sam broke conversation and in split second reflex spun around, whipped out his ……er um ….phone and was filming as he followed them. Dad and I just burst into hysterical laughter. We knew we found the right man for the job of cam man and were going to have a great day.

Over the weekend I managed to get autographs, take photos and videos that you can see ……here.

My YouTube Channel

Facebook Fan Page Eastern Creek album.

There are plenty of other stories to tell but that would take all day. Following is a quick summary of the on-track action for the weekend.

The qualifying session for race 17 was exciting. Yet again, Scott McLaughlin won the pole position. That’s the 7th time in a row!. Not only that but he broke the Supercar record for the fastest lap around the Eastern Creek track.

It was also a first for both Alex Rullo and Simona de Silvestro to race at this track.

So as I mentioned, Scott McLaughlin started on pole position for race 17. Alongside him was mark Winterbottom.

At the start of the 31 lap race Mark Winterbottom got the jump and led into turn 1.

Will Davison spun at turn 1 sending him to the back of the field. As a result of his incredible spin he had to pit early due to the massive flat spot on all 4 tyres.  Meanwhile, Jamie Whincup moved up from 5th to 4th.

At the early stage of the race, Fabian Coulthard tried to stay on the rear bumpers of the leaders but couldn’t quite hang on. They were just too quick and pulled away.

Will Davison had to come into pits earlier than expected. It was later revealed he was having engine problems.

Craig Lowndes started in 10th position and went from 10th straight to 9th and was now moving up trying to catch the cars in front of him.

In the middle of the race the Vodafone safety car was deployed due to Todd Kelly’s tyre exploding.

On restart the leaders were bumping which wasn’t ideal.

Later towards the end of the race Scott McLaughlin had the living nightmare of all drivers. He was in the lead but got spun by Shane Van Gisbergen. It was so late in the race that by the time they recovered Scott McLaughlin ended up finishing 21st. A far cry from his pole position. Shane Van Gisbergen also dropped 20 places from his start position and finished 23rd.

Due to this there was an unexpected change in the race leaders. They stayed in sequence to the chequered flag. Fabian Coulthard, Chaz Mostert (singing the ‘Banana Boat Song’ at the top of voice; Day-o, Da-ay-ay O…) and then Jamie Whincup .

Results for race 17

1st Fabian Coulthard – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske Shell V Power racing team.
2nd Chaz Mostert – Super Cheap Auto Racing.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.

In race 18 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position yet again. This claimed his 13th pole position for 2017. Alongside him was Chaz Mostert.

At the start of the Scott McLaughlin got swamped and he went from pole back to 5th which was caused by him bogging down getting off the start line. It didn’t impress the Championship leader at all.

The mistake by Scott McLaughlin paid Chaz Mostert with the lead.

Craig Lowndes got called in by engineer, John McGregor (aka ‘Irish’) because the team suspected he had a tyre going down, which wasn’t the case at all. It wasn’t a bad mistake because on rejoining the race he was in the clear with no cars in front or behind him.  Unfortunately, his troubles weren’t over and was soon back in the pits for an unscheduled stop.  His car was off song and it turned out it dropped a cylinder from 8 to 7.

When Dad and I heard the team Vortex boys restart Craig’s car we knew that it was off song. Craig Lowndes said himself that he was very disappointed about being parked in the garage. But there is nothing he could do about it.   

Todd Kelly was trying to get passed Simona De Silvestro.

In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen got told by his engineer, Grant Mcpherson to let Jamie Whincup go, which he did.

Towards the end of the race Fabian Coulthard said to Phil Keed, “Keep the information coming”.

He responded with, “There are 5 laps to go. You need to pass Gizzy to come 2nd “.

Fabian’s response was, “Well that’s OBVIOUS”.

Mark Skaife said that’s the best line of the weekend. And Neil Crompton said we will give that a run later in the week.

In the thrilling final moments of the race Fabian Coulthard passed Shane Van Gisbergen to break the hopes of 888 cleaning up with 1st and second position.

Close behind Scott McLaughlin and Chaz Mostert were in very close pursuit for the 3rd position. They were just split seconds apart.

Jamie Whincup made it look all too easy coming across the finish line first over 9 seconds ahead of Fabian Coulthard, followed by Shane Van Gisbergen another 3 seconds later.

This gives Jamie Whincup his 106th career win. He humbly talked it down but it beats the record currently held by Craig Lowndes. Whincup wil go down in V8Supercars history.

Results for race 18

1st Jamie Whincup – red bull Holden racing team.
2nd Fabian Coulthard – DJR Team Penske.
3rd Shane van Gisbergen – red bull Holden racing team.
 

As Jeromy Moore exclaimed at the  2015  Red Rooster Sydney Supersprint, “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner”.

The next event is the Wilson Security Sandown 500 on the 15th to the 17th of September 2017.

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.