Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!
On the weekend of February 26th to 28th was the official start the 2021 V8 Supercars season kicking off with the Repco Mount Panorama 500.
In order to celebrate and watch the race I went to the Royal Hotel Ryde on both Saturday (with my mate Sam) and Sunday (with Dad).
We were also celebrating two other things. The first, is the easing of COVID restrictions in the Sydney area allowing us to actually go to a pub.
The second was the successful training I have been doing since the start of the year. What training I hear you ask. Well, I always drink liquids from a bottle with a spout because I have Cerebral Palsy and have never drunk from an open top glass (read this as schooner glass). To add to this problem, last year I had a massive stroke that paralysed my dominant side. On the 1st of January I set a goal to ‘learn’ how to drink from an open top glass. With the help of too many people to mention I have achieved this. It might be seen like a small thing to most but for me IT IS AWESOME!!!! . It was a great feeling drinking from a schooner at the pub.
I also wanted slip in a very big Thank You to the manager at the Royal Hotel Ryde, Chris and his partner Bianca who reserved an easily accessible table for us right in front of the TVs which he kindly switched over the Supercars Race. Your consideration, hospitality and friendship is very much appreciated.
I had such an enjoyable time I had to mention all that. However, now I will give you a quick run down of the actual races.
In the pre-race sessions:
- Chaz Mostert was fastest in Practice 1 and 2.
- Anton De Pasquale was the fastest in the Armour All Qualifying.
- Cameron Waters was fastest in the Armour All Top 10 Shootout earning him Pole Position for the race.
In Race 1 alongside Cameron Waters on pole position was Tim Slade.
Cameron Waters got the jump off the line and led into turn 1.
On the first lap Scott Pye hit the wall at The Cutting which meant he had to limp back to the pits. The repairs took a while but he was lucky enough to rejoin the race later. Unfortunately it put him way back in the pack, having started from position 10 he finished 2 laps behind in 19th place.The drivers soon settled down into their race pace.
On lap 6 Anton De Pasquale also hit the wall at The Cutting and this time the safety car was deployed. Another victim of The Cutting, he was towed back to the pits and didn’t rejoin receiving a NC (Not Complete)
Cameron Waters was running up the front of the race but then a car problem forced an unscheduled pit stop.. He lost the lead and when he rejoined he was at least a lap down. After starting on Pole and holding the lead it was bad luck he didnt manage to at least stay up the front. He finished 20th and was short 6 laps short of the winner.
It was at this stage that Shane Van Gisbergen became the race leader with the cars behind him battling for 2nd , 3rd and 4th.
Shane Van Gisbergen held the number one position from that point on. It seemed no one was able to catch him. In the last minutes of the race Will Davison was battling with Tim Slade for 3rd spot. 5 laps from the finish Tim Slade had a bone shattering side-on with the wall at Forrest Elbow. He bounced off the wall with such force it took everyone’s breath away. He was lucky enough to be able to roll the car out of the way onto the grass area. The damage was severe and he wasn’t rejoining the race and the team couldnt even get the repairs done for the next day’s race. It must have been a tough race as his was the 4th NC for the day.
Results for Race 1
1st Shane Van Gisberen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.
2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United.
3rd Will Davison – Dick Johnson Racing.
In Race 2 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position, alongside him was Cameron Waters. Cameron Waters led into turn 1 for the first of 40 laps.
Shane Van Gisbergen stayed in 2nd place. Behind them Will Davison was battling with Chaz Mostert for positions 3 and 4.
Cameron Waters kept his lead in the opening stages while Shane Van Gisbergern stayed close copping a lot of hot air.
Further back Jamie Whincup was trying to catch up with his teammate, Shane Van Gisbergen.
but the cars in front of him didn’t make it easy to get by .
By the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen had the lead and was charging his way to victory. He held fast to the number 1 spot and it appeared he just couldn’t be caught. He crossed the line 6.1277 seconds ahead of his nearest rival, Cameron Waters and earned himself 2 out 2 victories for the weekend.
Shane Van Gisbergen now leads the championship with 300 points.
His team, Red Bull Ampol Racing Team leads the teams championship by 54 points.
Results for Race 2
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.
2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing.
3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United.
The next race is the Penrite Oil Sandown Superspint on the 20th and 21st of March, 2021.