Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world !
On the weekend of the 5th and 6th September 2020 was the Robson Civil Projects Townsville Supersprint.
The event ran 3 races of 39 laps / 110kms each.
As the event started the Shell V-Power Racing Team were leading the Team Championship thanks to Scott McLaughlin, who was also leading the Driver’s Championship.
In race 22 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position with Shane Van Gisbergen alongside him.
Scott McLaughlin got the jump on Shane Van Gisbergen and led into turn 1 while the cars further back in the pack settled into their race pace.
Mark Winterbottom was battling with Scott Pye for positions 9th and 10th.
The other battle was between Rick Kelly and Andre Heimgartner for pit priority.
When Scott McLaughlin made his pit stop he did a 3 tyre change which seems to be the trend.
Meanwhile Chaz Mostert stayed out on track longer as he was now the race leader. Being at the front gave him the opportunity to make use of clear track ahead and gain ‘time’.
On lap 16 David Reynolds had steering problems and had to take an unscheduled pit stop. Unfortunately the issue couldn’t be resolved so car 9 was now out of the race receiving an NC (Not Complete).
Not long after (lap 22) Shane Van Gisbergen was running 2nd before oil started coming out of his car. The Red Bull Holden Racing Team attempted a fix and changed his steering but when he rejoined the race he received a mechanical black flag, the oil was still coming out the back of his car. He was the second NC for the race.
Meanwhile Scott McLaughlin had regained the lead and was holding strong. Once again he proved too good to chatch, finishing just under 3.5 seconds ahead of Cameron Waters, followed by Chaz Mostert 7+seconds later.
Results for Race 22
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V-Power Racing Team
2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
In Race 23 Nick Percat started on pole position. Alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.
During the opening stages Shane Van Gisbergen took the race lead from his grid start position of 4.
Cars further back in the pack were getting held up so they came in to pit early.
Fabian Coulthard who started way back in the pack at P16 was clearly frustrated so also pitted early to get clear track.
Jamie Whincup who started behind Shane Van Gisbergen wanted to catch up to his teammate to have a chance at another race win, but that wasn’t the case.
Lee Holdsworth caught up to his team mate, James Courtney but couldn’t pass him.
In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was still able to maintain his lead.
It was soon evident that he couldn’t be caught. He seemed to be just loving it and kept increasing his lead. By the time he crossed the finish line he had a 8.3951 second lead over Scott McLaughlin, then followed by Jamie Whincup.
This was a milestone for Triple Eight, their 200th win so it was great to have 2 places on the podium.
Results for Race 23
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V-Power Racing Team
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
In race 24 Brad Jones Racing’s Todd Hazelwood started on pole position. Alongside him was Nick Percat.
Nick Percat got the jump at the start of the race, while the cars further back in the pack were trying to stay with the leaders.
Fabian Coulthard had another poor starting position (P14) didn’t like being this far far back and was on the charge.
David Reynolds fighting back after a DNF on Saturday.
Andre Heimgartner did his best to stay with Rick Kelly.
In the middle of the Red Bull Holden Racing Team in cars 88 and 97 were running 2nd and 3rd to Scott MacLaughlin.
Scott McLaughlin held firm to his position. It seemed Jamie Whincup couldnt find the pace to take the leader. In the second last lap Jamie Whincup gave way to his teammate, Shane Van Gisbergen who had fresher tyres and could maybe find the pace. In a spectacular manoeuvre Shane Van Gisbergen cut into the inside of Scott McLaughlin on a corner. Scott was forced outwards and had to slow down to make the turn. Jamie Whincup was tight on Shane Van Gisbergen’s tail followed him right passed Scott McLaughlin. The championship leader had dropped 2 places in a split second. The two Red Bull cars dashed to the finish line to claim first and second place. It was spectacular!
Results for Race 24
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
3rd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V-Power Racing
The next event is the Bend Supersprint on the 19th and 20th of September 2020.