Tag Archives: David Reynolds

Supercars

Robson Civil Townsville supersprint 2020 Supercars

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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.

Supercars

Corestaff Darwin Supersprint

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of August 22nd and 23rd, 2020 was the Corestff Darwin Supersprint.

Three races of 38 laps each were run.

In Race 16 Jamie Whincup started on pole position. Alongside was Scott McLaughlin.

When the race got underway Scott McLaughlin led into turn 1 with Jamie Whincup in hot persuit trying to regain his number one position.

Scott McLaughlin’s teammate, Fabian Coulthard was back in the pack having a poor grid starting position of 14th. To avoid any double stacking Fabian pitted early.

Meanwhile, there was an intense battle between Todd Hazelwood and Rick Kelly for 9th and 10th.

Shane Van Gisbergen who started 11th on the grid, seemed to be struggling to keep up with cars in front of him. It was later revealed he just couldn’t get the straight line speed expected. After the race the team couldn’t resolve the issue and decided to change the engine overnight.

Mark Winterbottom and Scott Pye had a great weekend for team 18.

By the middle of the race it was evident that Scott McLaughlin was unbeatable.

He held strong to his lead and crossed the finish line approximately 2.5 seconds ahead of rival, Jamie Whincup. Cameron Waters came in third more than 12 seconds later. Nick Percat had a good run finishing 5th having started from 9th. The other big gain was from his teammate, Todd Hazelwood who started 23rd on the grid and finished 7 places up in 16th. A great result for Brad Jones Racing.

Results for Race 16

1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
3rd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing

In race 17 Scott McLaghlin earned himself another pole position for the season. Alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.

Once again Scott McLaughlin got the jump and led into turn 1.

The cars further back in the pack couldn’t come into the pit lane until at least lap 5.

Fabian Coulthard came in early to ensure he didn’t double stack with teammate and race leader, Scott McLaughlin.

Nick Percat also came in early because he was getting held up by traffic.

Shane Van Gisbergen and Scott Pye were battling fiercely for 2nd and 3rd position.

Lee Holdsworth who had started from 11th position was on the charge. It was evident things were going right for him and he wanted a shot at a podium position if not, then at least be in the top 10. Regardless of his efforts (and they were good) he wasn’t able to get it done and finished in 8th position.

Once again by the middle of the race it appeared that Scott McLaughlin had secured himself in the lead.

Scott McLaughlin scored his second win for the weekend and crossed the finish line 9.6874 seconds ahead of his rival Shane Van Gisbergen.

Shane Van Gisbergen managed to win the battle against Scott Pye by the thinnest margin – .2449 seconds. So the race actually finished in the order that they started on the grid.

Results for Race 17

1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
3rd Scott Pye – Team 18

In Race 18 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position. Alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.

Again Scott McLaughlin in car 17 led into turn 1. This was the third time out of three races for the weekend that car 17 took the lead off the start.

When I saw Scott McLaughlin lead off the line I knew he was going to win. He was having a great weekend.

Rick Kelly was trying to hold off Fabian Coulthard but it couldn’t be done.

Andre Heimgartner was further back in the pack then he wanted to be but didn’t seem to be able to make much headway.

By the time all the pit stops were complete Scott McLaughlin was once again the race leader.

He was just too fast and again kept increasing his leading gap. He crossed the finish line 13.8356 seconds ahead of closest rival, Nick Percat. Scott Pye followed in at 3rd just under a second later.

It was an increadible result for Scott McLaughlin earning 3 out of 3 wins.

Results for race 18

1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
2nd Nick Percat – Brad Jones Racing
3rd Scott Pye – Team 18

Supercars

Beaurepairs Melbourne 400 Supercars

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HI to all you Supercars fans around the world!

Last weekend (starting on Thursday, March 12 through to March 15) was supposed to be the 2nd round of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship and the opening round of the World Formula 1 Championship.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 was the winner for the weekend in its mission to spoil our fun. COVID-19 is not a new race car to contend with the super fast Mustangs, it’s the Corona Virus causing the entire world a bunch of problems.

Some of the pre-race sessions were run (see further down for the results) but the spread of Corona Virus made itself known.

The McLaren F1 team are now in isolation because 14 of the team members tested positive to Corona virus.

In the end the officials decided on Friday to not let the event go ahead and cancel all the support categories and the Formula 1.

At the moment there is talk that Tasmania and the ITM Super400 could also get cancelled due to this god damn Coronavirus.

So for the sake of keeping check on the form of the teams, here are the results from the pre-race sessions that were run:

  • Practice 1 – Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen finished 1st and 2
  • Practice 2 – Anton de Pasquale was fastest. However, Maculey Jones had a 16G-force impact with the wall at the end of turn 1. Scared the hell out of everyone.
  • Qualifying both Shane Van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup claimed pole position for races 3 and 4.

The next 2 rounds of the Supercars are at Symmons plains and Hampton downs. Let’s hope these next 2 events go ahead. Fingers crossed.

If you have any comments about the event or the affect of Corona Virus we would love to hear from you. Head to my V8 Supercars fan page at https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/ and have your say.

So until the next race – Keep well and healthy and keep it idling.

Supercars

Superloop Adelaide 500 2020 Supercars

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around World!

On the weekend of the 20th to the 23rd of February was the Superloop Adelaide 500. The first official race in the V8 Supercars season. I must say I have been counting down the days to this event.

I am happy to say the race kicked off the season in great nail-biting excitement.

So let’s get started with the results of the…

Pre-race sessions:

  • David Reynolds was fastest in Practice 1
  • Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Practice 2
  • Chaz Mostert was fastest in Practice 3
  • Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Armour All Qualifying for Race 1

Race 1:

In the line up for Race 1 Jamie Whincup started on pole position. Alongside him was David Reynolds.

Todd Hazelwood had his first round racing for Brad Jones Racing. He started at the back of the pack in position 23.

Brad Jones Racing has 4 cars out on track this year compared with 3 cars last year. I do wonder what kind of challenges this will bring the team. If you have an opinion: like and then share this article then have your say on my facebook fanpage (https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/ )

Kelly Racing had their 1st weekend in a Ford Mustang. After a long relationship with Nissan this is their maiden year as Ford drivers.

Scott McLaughlin started in 7th position just behind Shane Van Gisbergen in 6th.

So all the greats & favourites were crammed at the front of the grid for the first race of the season. Expections on everyone were high.

At the start of the 78-lap race Jamie Whincup got the jump off the line so David Reynolds had to tuck back in behind him.

As they reached turn 7 Nick Percat went straight aheadwide due to broken steering arm. Then at turn 8 There was contact between Nick Percat and Garry Jacobson causing Garry Jacobson into the wall.

I am sure a trip the garage on the opening lap was not in their plans. Credit to the team. The car was repaired and Percat returned to the race and finished 22nd . It may have been 13 laps down but still earned the team points.

James Courtney also hit the wall at turn 8 after trying to get a draft off Andre Heimgartner. Unfortunately for James Courtney it took him out of the opening race so he was 1 of the 2 cars to receive and NC (Not Complete). The other car was

When Matt Stone Racing came in for the first of 2 pitstops they had come in on an angle because the Team Sydney crew were trying to push James Courtney’s car back into the Garage.

Bryce Fullwood came into the pits after hitting the wall at turn 11. The damage had him stop the pitlane and get the rest of way into the garage hoisted on ‘go jacks’ for repairs.

Chaz Mostert was battling with his 2 former teammates from 2019 at Tickford Racing ; Will Davison and Cameron Waters.

The Team SYDNEY car that raced was number 22, driven by Chris Pither and he manged to stay out of trouble. By the end of the race he managed to gain 5 places finishing 19th.

For the Red Bull Team things were also looking good. From the middle of the race it seemed that (unless there were some really big mistakes or problems) Jamie Whincup was holding the lead lead with Shane Van Gisbergen running 3rd, which is a fantastic (and encouraging) way to start the year.

As the race drew to a close I couldn’t believe there were no safety cars used in race 1.

No else could catch the race leaders. Jamie Whincup still holding his lead, followed by Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen.

Results for Race 1

1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team

Race 2:

Pre-Race Results for Race 2 set the scene for another nail-biting event ahead;

  • Jamie Whincup was fastest in Armour All Qualifying
  • Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in the Top 10 Shootout

So again Red Bull had prime position with Shane Van Gisbergen starting on pole position with Scott McLaughlin alongside him.

As they took off for another 78 laps in Race 2, Scott McLaughlin had a perfect start taking Shane Van Gisbergen around the outside for the lead of the race.

James Courtney went to the back of the field due to going down the escape road at turn 4.

Fabian Coulthard was trying to not double stack behind Scott McLaughlin while the safety car was out because the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske crew didn’t want to lose time and track position. However, the crew were not keeping an eye on the Red Bull Holden Racing Team which ended up costing Scott McLaughlin track position.

Rick Kelly was battling with Fabian Coulthard. The power from the brand new Ford Mustangs were crazy and Rick Kelly was happy to use it.

When Shane Van Gisbergen came into the pits the crew didn’t load the right amount of fuel which meant after getting back out on track he had to come back into the pitlane for the right amount of fuel and fresh tyres.

To regain lost time, Shane Van Gisbergen was on the charge. As he was coming back through the field he made contact between turns 6 and 7 resulting in a broken Anti Roll Bar Adjuster. He went from a ‘firm lead’ to a ‘Not Complete’ only 4 laps short of the finish line. He got a lift back to the pitlane with Cameron Waters. Must have been an awkward trip.

Scott Pye and Anton De Pasquale received their NC’s before the opening lap was completed. Chris Pither left the track with an NC at lap 11. Now, Shane Van Gisbergen so close to the end of the race also left the track. The dynamic of the race had changed significantly.

It seemed no-one was going to be able challenge the top 3 drivers and they held position to the finish line; Scott McLaughlin, Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters.

Results for Race 2

1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
3rd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing Team

The next event is the Beaurepaires Melbourne 400 on March 12th to 15th , 2020.

Scott McLaughlin is the current championship leader over Jamie Whincup by 27 points.

Jamie Whincup weekend success gives him a amazing 119 career wins in Supercars.

 

Bathurst 12 hour

Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour 2020

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HI to all you Supercars fans around the World!

On the weekend of January 31 to February 2nd was the 2020 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12-hour, a pre supercars season race.

This is one of the years most gruelling endurance races for GT cars. It is so well known it draws many international teams and drivers.

In the preliminaries to the race there were a number of mishaps.

The 777 car didn’t take the start due to too much damage on Saturday. Team manager, Roland Dane was not happy. He said that Cameron McConville should have retired a long time ago. Joke or not, that is pretty harsh!

39 cars were entered but only 34 started the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 hour before the sun came up, at the unholy time of 5:45am.

Most cars had experienced international drivers start behind the wheel.

The number 8 Bentley started near the back of the pack after not making Qualifying.

Matt Campbell put the Porsche on pole position but co-driver Patrick Pilet started the car.

During the opening stages the 999 Mercedes led the opening lap, then not long after that the McLaren took the lead and was hard to catch from there.

Craig Lowndes started the number 1 Porsche and he did a double stint early on.

When the sun came up the accidents started to happen.

The first safety car was dispatched just under 90 minutes into the race. Car 188, the Aston Martin driven by Côme Ledogar took a turn too wide, bounced over S-bend curbs and heavily hit a concrete wall. He then bounced off the wall and made contact with cars on the left and then the right. The the whole right hand side was torn clean off the car, passenger door and rear wheel included coming to a halt in the middle of the track

This wasn’t the last of the carnage. There was much more to come during the race.

Chaz Mostert’s 12-hour race got ruined in the third hour. After his co-driver Nicky Catsburg took the wheel, in his first few laps collided with a kangaroo. It must have been a big disappointment; Chaz Mostert is yet to win the 12 hour.

Also, Warren Luff was behind the wheel when the 95 MARC car caught fire in the pitlane. Twice!

Garth Tander crashed out in the # 22 Audi between Reid Park and McPhillamy Park after contact with the 222 Audi which completely decimated the 22 Audi. I thought there is no way that the team could repair the car in time for the rest of the race, which unfortunately they didnt.

Jamie Whincup spun Marc Cini around in number 9 Hallmarc Audi and didn’t get pinged for it.

In the middle of the race most of the teams changed brake pads and rotors. This improved performance and the drivers went nuts with grip.

The number 1 Porsche had brake dramas and finished the race 2 laps down.

Towards the end of the race the bad weather forecasted hit with a dust storm, thunder, lighting and buckets of rain.

I was surprised how many crashes there were in the Bathurst 12-hour last weekend.

Out of the 34 cars that were in the start line only 23 finished. Awesome but gruelling race!

 

Results for the 2020 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour:
1st Jules Gounon & Maxine Soulet – Bentley Team M Sport.
2nd Alvaro Parente & Ben Barnicoat – 59 Racing.
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen Jamie Whincup & Maximilan Gotez. – Mercades AMG Team Triple Eight.

Post Race Report, Supercars

Coates Hire Newcastle 500 2019 Supercars

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 22nd to the 24th of November 2019 was the Coates Hire Newcastle 500.

The event at Newcastle has been running since 2017 so this is the third time they will be hosting the final event of the season.

The track at Newcastle is a street track and this year they tweaked it to provide better passing opportunities.

Newcastle really knows how to put on an event and had 155,000 people attend over the 3 days.

Before the weekend started Scott McLaughlin was declared ‘Driver Champion Elect’ based on a points lead that could not be caught up to with only this race remaining for the season. With that in mind, it must have been quite a fun weekend for him.

The Team Championship point spread was a little bit closer with a gap of just 116 and the Red Bull team were in a position take the lead away from the Scott McLaughlin’s Shell V Power Racing Team which made things a little more exciting.

The weekend got off to a great start. In summary the pre-race sessions took place with the following results:

  • Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 1
  • Jamie Whincup was fastest in Practice 2
  • Jamie Whincup was fastest in Armour All Qualifying
  • Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in the Armour All Top Ten Shootout.

In race 31 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position. Alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.

At the start of the 95-lap race Shane Van Gisbergen got the jump off the line.

Scott McLaughlin was held up high and wide at the first turn which allowed Jamie Whincup to go up to 2nd spot. I was surprised that Scott McLaughlin let Jamie Whincup pass him on the opening lap.

Shane Van Gisbergen continued to hold his lead all the way except for pit stops.

Fabian Coulthard came in to pits first to not double stack with the champion elect Scott McLaughlin.

David Reynolds was battling with Anton De Pasquale for pit priority.

In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup were still running 1st and 2nd .

It was only in the last laps that Jamie Whincup came off track at turn 1. He wasnt able to get into the reverse gear and lost time slipping from 2nd to 8th place by the race finish. It was this mistake that cost the Red Bull Team the season championship. The team championship spread was now just 77 points.

I think, to the surprise of everyone there were no safety cars on Saturday.

Results for Race 31

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
3rd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team

In preparation for the final race of the season:

  • Cameron Waters was fastest in Armour All Qualifying
  • Jamie Whincup was Fastest in the top ten shootout

In race 32 Jamie Whincup started on pole position. Alongside him was Cameron Waters.

At the start of the final race of the season Lee Holdsworth received damaged to his Ford Mustang requiring an immediate return to the pits after contact with another car.

As the rest of the pack prepped for the pits, the race leaders stayed out to avoid the dreaded double stacking.

Soon after James Courtney and Anton de Pasquale made contact in between turns 2 and 3 which required the first safety car of the weekend to be deployed to remove Anton de Pasquale’s car.

On the restart Shane Van Gisbergen was on the charge along with Will Davison after those drivers got pinged before the race and set further back on the start grid.

Regardless of efforts no could catch Jamie Whincup who dominated the race all bar pit stops. Jamie Whincup crossed the line first.

That now gives Jamie Whincup 118 career wins and 83 career poles.

Rick Kelly and Andre Heimgartner and Garry Jacobson had their final race with the Nissan Altama’s before they switch to the Ford Mustang, which will make 8 Mustangs on the Supercars grid for next year.

Results for Race 32

1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team
3rd Tim Slade – Brad Jones Racing

Please feel free to comment on how the Newcastle event went.

https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/

Post Race Report, Supercars

Penrite Oil Sandown 500 2019 Supercars

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 8th to the 10th of November 2019 was the Penrite Oil Sandown 500.

Results for the pre – race sessions were as follows:

  • Garth Tander was fastest in practice 1 for co-drivers
  • David Reynolds was fastest in Practice 2
  • Craig Lowndes was fastest in Practice 3
  • Scott Pye & Warren Luff were fastest in the warm up for the Sandown 500.
  • Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 4 & Armour All Qualifying for Race 28
  • Craig Lowndes won Race 28
  • Jamie Whincup won Race 29

Before the race on Sunday the Supercars community at Sandown paid tribute to the life of Mike Raymond, who passed away a few days earlier at the age of 76. Mike Raymond was most well known as a commentator in the late 80s, early 90s. He gave so much to the sport, our condolences to his family and all that knew him. If anyone has a good memory to share about Mike Raymond please post it on my Supercars Facebook Fan Page. I am sure others would love to hear it. https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/

At the start of the 500 kilometre 161 lap race Craig Lowndes started on pole position, alongside him was Bryce Fullwood from the Dunlop Super 2 Series.

All the co-drivers bar Scott Pye started behind the wheel for the race on Sunday. I guess this is part of the strategy as the co-drivers have to do a minimum of 54 laps and can only do a maximum 107 laps.

Jack Smith was behind the wheel co-driving with Todd Hazelwood in his debut at the Enduro’s.

Both Alex Premat (co-driver for Scott McLaughlin) and Garth Tander (co-driver for Shane Van Gisbergen) started in positions 24th and 25th. These two cars are normally at the front of the grid. Garth Tander’s positioning was caused by Shane Van Gisbergen unable to complete the ‘main driver’ race on Saturday due to to a spin off track from a poorly timed takeover with Anton de Pasquale.

Alex Premat was sentenced to the back of the grid due to officials finding Scott McLaughlin’s engine was over-specced dating back to Bathurst. Quite a drama. If you have a point of view on this please feel free to put it up for discussion on my Supercars Facebook Fan Page.

Without surprise the experienced Craig Lowndes got the jump on Bryce Fullwood off the start line. Further back in the grid 3 cars stalled on the green light causing a fair bit of havoc.

Alex Davison was in one of the cars that stalled and was extremely lucky not to be collected by the cars just behind him.

At the end of the opening lap Tony Dalberto got turned around by Richard Muscat and found himself at the very back of the pack.

Luke Youlden in car # 9 received damage and was missing the rear wing. When he got back to the pits he knew that the day was over. With only 30 laps completed it must have been a big blow for him and his main driver, David Reynolds.

I was actually surprised that Dale Wood and Luke Youlden managed to limp their cars back to the pits. They looked in very poor shape.

Later in the race there was contact between Michael Caruso and Jake Kostecki. This was a really messy situation. It was when Jake Kostecki was merging from the pit lane into the fast lane. It appeared he was unaware that Caruso was coming down the fast lane. Usually the car controller gives the driver warning to yield over the comms when merging back onto the track.

Kostecki was able to continue the race but Michael Caruso’s front left wheel was now at a strange looking angle. With this damage he had to complete a full lap at a slower in order to come back around to the pits.

It merge was deemed as unsafe and the Kostecki Brothers Racing team were issued a drive through penalty.

In the middle of the race the Red Bull Holden Racing Team were running 1st & 2nd. If they could maintain their lead to the end of the race it would also place them at the top of the Team’s Championship ladder. The pressure was on!

But as luck would have it, with only 10 laps to go and in the lead, Shane Van Gisbergen’s car lost a bolt and smoke was coming out of the right rear. He was forced to call into the pits which dropped him from 1st to 17th. Shane Van Gisbergen & co-driver Garth Tander must have been gutted. They had started from the back of the grid in position 24 and worked their way into the lead. That is pretty amazing but it wold have also been Shane Van Gisbergen’s first win at Sandown (and a second win at Sandown for Garth Tander)

It was lucky for the Red Bull Team that Jamie Whincup was just behind Shane Van Gisbergen and able to take the lead for the team. Once he was told that his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen had to pit he knew he had to hold the lead to the end.

This was not difficult for Jamie Whincup and he came across the line first.

It brings Jamie Whincup’s career win total to 117 and Craig Lowndes win total to 110.

However, Shane Van Gisbergen slipping back to 17th meant they only closed the Team Championship points trail from 132 to 116. I’m sure it will be their inspiration to ‘go hard’ in the coming last race of the season, The Newcastle 500.

Results for Race 30

1st Jamie Whincup & Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd Chaz Mostert & James Moffatt – Supercheap Auto Racing Team.
3rd Lee Holdsworth & Thomas Randle – Bottle O Racing Team.
Congratulations to Jack Smith who will be making his full time Virgin Australia Supercars Championship debut in 2020. Read about it in the link: https://www.speedcafe.com/2019/11/13/bjr-confirms-smith-in-expanded-four-car-2020-line-up/

Please feel free to comment on how Sandown went via my Facebook Fanpage.

https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/

 

Post Race Report, Supercars

Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 2019 Supercars

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around the World!

checkout my pre vlog below. Its also available on my youtube channel.

On the weekend of the 10th to the 13th of October, 2019 was the 59th running of the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. This is locally known as “The Great Race” and is the most widely viewed motorsport race in Australia and internationally renowned. There is always a hyped up vibe when this endurance   is on and it’s always exciting.

In the Pre-race sessions leading up to big event there we a few surprising results.

In Practice 1 Jamie Whincup was fastest. The session was temporarily stopped (red flagged) when Macauley Jones hit the wall at the cutting. After being towed off the track he was obliged to sit out the rest of the session. That is the penalty for causing a Red Flag in the practice sessions.

Practice 2 was a co-driver session. James Moffatt was fastest. Yet again the red flag was on display, this time for Luke Youlden who hit wall the between Reid Park and McPhillamy Park.

Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 3.

Practice 4 was another co-driver session and Will Brown was fastest.

Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 5 and then in the Armour All Qualifying.

Will Davison was fastest in Practice 6

Chaz Mostert was fastest in Practice 7

In the warm up session on the morning of the race, Fabian Coulthard & Tony Dalberto were fastest.

By 11:30am the race was ready to begin. The cars were all lined up on the starting grid and the tension was building. All of a sudden there was an emergency call out from one of the cars. Brodie Kostecki of Kostecki Brothers Racing was in trouble. The cockpit was filling with carbon monoxide fumes and his helmet’s circulation fan had come loose. He was immediately rushed to medical centre and checked out by the official Supercars doctor, Dr Carl Le. The car was then towed off the grid. They were given dispensation by officials and were able to rejoin the race later.

After this delay the race could finally begin.

Scott McLaughlin was sitting in Pole Position with Chaz Mostert alongside him. This was the second time Scott McLaughlin had earned pole position for the Bathurst 1000. The first time was in 2017.

I was quite surprised that most of the main drivers started and only a couple of co-drivers started the race.

As they took off for the 161 lap 1,000 km race, Scott McLaughlin got the jump into turn 1 and led up mountain straight.

Craig Lowndes did the opening stint for car 888 as part of their strategy. He tried to get up the inside of Will Davison at turn 1 but the pass wasn’t able to be done cleanly and he pulled back. This was OK because he, like all the other drivers knew there was a long way to go.

On that first lap as they got to ‘The Cutting’ Tim Slade was on the outside of Scott Pye. The Cutting is an impossible turn to pass on and Time Slade left the track and hit the wall. The Vodafone Safety Car was deployed to remove the car from the track. It was bad luck for the Brad Jones Racing team. One of their two cars was already out of the race on lap 1. It must have been a massive disappointment for co-driver Ash Walsh to not get a chance to drive in the most coveted event of the year.

After this incident there was no safety car deployed for the next 100 laps.

As the race continued the cars that started further back in the pack came in early to get their first of 7 pit stops out of the way. The leading cars stayed out to make use of the clear track and gain position.

I was surprised how quick Scott McLaughlin and Chaz Mostert was in the opening stages of the race.

In the middle of the race Alex Premat was leading the race in his co-drivers stint. He had a massive lockup on the front right wheel at ‘The Chase’ which caused him go off the track. This allowed Chaz Mostert and Jamie Whincup to move from 2nd and 3rd to 1st and 2nd positions. Although he lost position I couldn’t believe that Alex Premat managed to keep his #17 Mustang straight and not spin.

For the closing stage of the race it’s normal strategy to get main drivers back in the car. For Lowndes and Tander, who were for the first time in their careers acting as co-drivers, it must have been nerve wracking to watch from the sidelines and not be behind the wheel.

When the main drivers jumped back in they needed to conserve fuel to get to the end of the race. Once again the spotlight was on Brodie Kostecki. He hit the wall going up the hill out of The Cutting and the race went to ‘Yellow’ as the Safety Car was deployed and the car was recovered and returned to the pits.

Oil Soak had to be spread on the track to absorb the oil lost from Kostecki’s car. It meant other drivers couldn’t use the racing line coming out of The Cutting at the risk of taking a slide.

At this point of the race, Jamie Whincup was the leading car cruising behind the safety car and saving fuel.

Soon after the race went back to green, at lap 135 the car of Indy drivers Alexander Rossi and James Hinchcliffe left the track and got stuck in the sand. Once again the safety car was deployed and the car was towed out but still able to re-join the race track.

It was during this incident that the biggest controversy in history of the Bathurst 1000 occurred. Jamie Whincup in the lead and Scott McLaughlin in 2nd place were told to press on. 888 instructed Jamie Whincup to head into the pits to take the opportunity to top up on fuel. Fabian Coulthard in third place was instructed to slow down. This held the rest of the cars on the track as they were unable to pass while the race was still under yellow. It was deemed by officials as a purposeful tactic to let his teammate, Scott McLaughlin continue in the lead without any contenders. The unsporting manoeuvre earned Fabian Coulthard a drive through penalty. In the following week this incident blew up into a massive controversy of how the team and Scott McLaughlin as the race winner should be penalised. Many, including Erebus Team Manager, Barry Ryan, have called for Scott McLaughlin to be stripped of his title.

Just one lap short of the race finish, at lap 160 the Safety Car was again deployed. This time it was Andre Heimgartner of Nissan Motorsport. The officials didn’t want to delay the race or have it finish safety car, yellow so they tucked his car in behind barriers till the end of the race.

This gave the leaders a 1 lap dash to the finish line. There just wasn’t opportunity in that last lap for anyone to take the lead of Scott McLaughlin.

The last time the pole sitter won the Bathurst 1000 was Garth Tander and Will Davison back in 2009.

Results for race 25

1st Scott McLaughlin & Alex Premat – Shell V Power Racing Team.
2nd Shane Van Gisbergen & Garth Tander – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd James Courtney & Jack Perkins – Walkinshaw Andretti United (started 18th gaining 15 places to finished 3rd).
4th Jamie Whincup & Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.

The next event is the Vodafone Gold Coast 600 25th to the 27th of October 2019.

Feel free to give me your opinion on how the Bathurst event went via my facebook Fanpage.

https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/

 

 

 

https://www.velocitynews.co.nz/news/confirmed-mclaughlin-keeps-bathurst-1000-win-coulthard-and-djrtp-penalized?fbclid=IwAR1ycPBzMsGabevwrSlNZIRDhVdiMwTnJozSqCi-8Qqsx8Q8iidhjZHZKu0

 

https://www.speedcafe.com/2019/10/18/grm-confirms-supercars-exit/

Supercars

ITM Auckland Supersprint 2019 Supercars

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 13th to the 15th of September 2019 was the ITM Auckland Supersprint.

Results for the Pre – Race sessions:

•        Will Davison was fastest in Practice 1.
•        Lee Holdsworth was fastest in Practice 2.
•        Chaz Mostert was fastest in Practice 3.

Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Qualifying so started on pole position with Cameron Waters alongside him.

At the start of the 70 lap race Shane Van Gisbergen had a perfect start and led the opening stages.

Cameron Waters tried to go around the outside of Shane Van Gisbergen at turn 1 but he couldn’t get the pace so had to tuck back in behind the leader.

Back in the pack Jamie Whincup started in position 12 behind Scott Pye in 11th and Nick Percat in 10th. Jamie Whicup wanted to immediately gain ground and took Scott Pye on the inside. It seemed he was going too fast and bumped Nick Percat out of the way, taking his position. I was surprised that Jamie Whincup didn’t redress (return race positioning) with Nick Percat. It didnt look good like good form on Whincup’s behalf but the officials made no mention of it.  It was something that would later haunt Jamie Whincup.

Most of the field pitted early to get clear track and avoid double stacking with teammates.

Scott McLaughlin who surprisingly started the race from the 6th position wanted to keep with the race leaders. By the middle the race it seemed it wasn’t going to be a great weekend for him and he couldn’t find himself within the top 3 spots.

As the race drew to a close Shane Van Gisbergen crossed the finish line with confident 3 second lead over his Red Bull teammate, Jamie Whincup. They were followed by Cameron Waters and David Reynolds.

It must have been a proud moment for the Red Bull Team to take 1st and 2nd places after such a tough year of Scott McLaughlin’s domination.

The real race drama took place after the podium presentations. The officials who made no comment about the incident between Nick Percat and Jamie Whincup on lap 1, retrospectively issued Jamie Whincup a 15 second penalty. It must have been devastating for Jamie Whincup to go from 2nd place to 6th. I’m sure he was wondering why the officials waited until after the race to take up on the issue. If it was during the race, at least then he would have an opportunity to make up for it. A big blow for the Red Bull team.

Results for Race 23

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing.
3rd David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport.

In Qualifying for Race 24 Scott McLaughlin continued his bad weekend and nearly wrote off his Ford Mustang after he spun off track. As he hit the signage on track side it made a loud thud and I thought there was no way he would race. Even though he had kept his foot planted on the throttle and didnt back off while the car was in a spin (total mad man), somehow he kept the car straight and the damage didn’t appear that bad at all.

Also in the same session David Reynolds mismanaged a corner and ran off track into the tyre barriers. He didn’t get off as lightly as Scott McLaughlin and was Red flagged, which meant he had to sit out the rest of the session and positioned 22nd at the back of the starting grid for race 24.

In Race 24 Jamie Whincup finally broke his pole drought and started in the number 1 position with Lee Holdsworth 2nd alongside him.

Jamie Whincup took full advantage of his prime position and led into turn 1 with Lee Holdsworth close behind in 2nd.

Jamie Whincup kept his lead through the opening laps until he pitted.

On lap 14 David Reynolds continued his bad lack from the Qualifying and his car stopped in a terrifyingly bad spot on the hairpin turn. The Vodafone safety car was deployed to remove him from the track.

On the restart Jamie Whincup was still leading the race and looking good to claim his 2nd race win for 2019.

Unfortunately Jamie Whincup passed the Vodafone safety car with the amber lights flashing which caused quite a level of confusion. Officials didn’t recognise that Jamie Whincup was not in the lead and issued him a drive through penalty. If he was the leader he would have been obliged to to tuck in behind the safety car but that wasn’t the case. Team boss at Tickford Racing, Tim Edwards said that Jamie Whincup should’ve been waved by because he wasn’t the leader at that time, Scott McLaughlin was.

The safety car should not have had the amber lights flashing at this time. It was a mess up from the officials side. They then incorrectly penalised Jamie Whincup under the premise of the leader’s obligation to tuck in behind the safety car. It not only affected him but lots of teams were disadvantaged by the official’s stuff up.. not a happy moment for the sport at all.

It even caused Whincup to lose his cool after the race with officials not taking too kindly to his comments and threatened him with a fine and being banned from racing. It was the Officials fault and caused things to escalate but they used their power call Jamie Whincup’s comments into question as ‘unprofessional behaviour’. See the links below for more info on the drama.

Towards the end of the race Scott McLaughlin followed by Shane Van Gisbergen had a convincing lead. Chaz Mostert crossed the line 3rd over 6 seconds behind number 1 and over 4 seconds after the number 2 position. Nick Percat managed to come in soon after with a 25 second + lead on the rest of the pack. It was spectacular!

Results for Race 24.

1st Scott Mclaughlin – Shell V Power Racing.
2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.

Supercars

The Bend Supersprint 2019 Supercars

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around the world!

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.

 

https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/ please feel free to comment on how the Bend was.