On the weekend of the 3rd to the 5th of November 2017 was the ITM Auckland SuperSprint.
This is held at the Pukekohe Park Raceway just south of Auckland in New Zealand.
The V8 Supercars have been racing here since 2013. The track has changed a little from last year with more turns added for the drivers to navigate so I’m sure that the teams would use a different setup for this race weekend.
Other factors that will affect team strategies are:
– With only one race to go for the season after this one, the drivers who are in the championship fight will probably hold back from any risks as they do not want to damage their cars.
– The cars had to be flown over to NZ for the race and their trucks stay in Australia, meaning they have limited spares on hand for repairs.
– There are only 3 safety cars being used for the race.
I think the Red Bull team will be extra careful to ensure they don’t have a repeat of last year when Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen came together in the race.
Race 23 on Saturday and Race 24 on Sunday are both 70 laps and 200Kms each.
In the preliminaries to the race, the Qualifying session was abandoned part way through due to the wet weather. As a result, the grid was set from the Friday Practice times.
Things got better and conditions had improved by the time Race 23 started. Rain had stopped and the track had dried out somewhat.
Cameron Waters started on pole position alongside him was Jamie Whincup.
Jamie Whincup beat Cameron Waters to turn 1 and held lead for the first couple of laps. It wasn’t long before Scott McLaughlin got into 2nd place and was pressuring Jamie Whincup’s number 1 position.
Scott McLaughlin took a risk as he tried to go around the outside of Jamie Whincup but didn’t succeed. Jamie Whincup was defensive and didn’t leave him enough room which earned him a bad sportsmanship flag.
On lap 56 David Reynolds and Fabian Coulthard made contact sending David Reynolds into a tyre barrier and Fabian Coulthard had a massive roll over. He was the only DNF for the race. The car was a mess and the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske didn’t finish the repair until 4:30a.m. Fabian Coulthard was adamant to race on Sunday.
Shane Van Gisbergen was now the race leader followed by Mark Winterbottom and Scott McLaughlin.
Chaz Mostert was trying to re dress so that he wouldn’t get pinged after making contact with David Reynolds exiting turn 8.
In the last laps Shane Van Gisbergen held his lead confidently. No one seemed to be able to catch him.
It was a tight finish. Shane Van Gisbergen reached the chequered flag first having moved up 5 places from his starting position. Mark Winterbottom had taken advantage of his grid starting position 3 and came in 2nd just over 0.8 seconds later. Closely followed by Scott McLaughlin, Jamie Whincup and Jason Bright, with finishing times 01:24:00.2363, 01:24:00.6912 and 01:24:01.3644.
Results for race 23
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd Mark Winterbottom – Prodrive Racing Australia.
3rd Scott Mclaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
4th Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
In race 24 Jamie Whincup started on pole position alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.
During Qualifying for race 24 Craig Lowndes nearly caused a red flag due to running wide in between turns 3 and 4. He recovered well and managed to be placed 12th on the starting grid.
I couldn’t believe that DJR managed to repair Fabian Coulthard’s car after he rolled it the day before, especially due to the limited spares that all the teams have at an ‘away’ race. Fabian Coulthard is a determined man and scored himself the 8th position on the starting grid. It was great to see.
At the start of the 70 lap race Jamie Whincup got the led into the first corner. Scott Mclaughlin had to pull in behind him and stay put because there isn’t room to pass between turns 2 and 3.
Garth Tander was running well early on. He started 11th on the grid but soon moved inside the top 5.
Shane Van Gisbergen was another driver doing well early on and had drama free pit stops.
After the first round of stops and the drivers re-joined the race, Jamie Whincup took his lead back.
Simona de Silvestro was following Rick and Todd Kelly because it was her first race at Pukekohe raceway in New Zealand.
When the 2nd round of pit stops started, Tim Slade making entry to the pits had his pit lane speed limiter on and Shane Van Gisbergen came into the pit lane entry behind him way too fast, and I mean way too fast! He rear-ended Tim Slade who must have gotten the shock of his life. It was a bizarre mistake on Shane Van Gisbergen’s part and he ended up with a bent up bonnet resembling a tent that blocked his view and required him to be guided into his bay. The result was devastating; By the end of the race he had dropped from 7th place on the starting grid to 24th. Such a poor result now put an end to him being a possible contender for the championship.
In the middle of the race the weather was getting worse with clouds starting to come over the race track. It was really dark so fast. I laughed at Neil Crompton comment to fellow commentator Mark Scaife, “It’s gotten so dark, it is like night”.
Towards the end of the race no one else could catch the top 3 drivers which were Jamie Whincup, Scott McLaughlin and Cameron Waters.
Jamie Whincup said he wasn’t feeling very well before the race but he managed to start from pole and basically lead the whole way all bar pit stops.
Results for race 24
1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Team.
2nd Scott Mclaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
3rd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing Team.
4th Craig Lowndes – Team Vortex.
Jamie Whincup now leads the championship by 30 points heading into the Coates Hire Newcastle 500 which will take place between the 24th and the 26th of November 2017.
With this win Jamie Whincup now has 75 career pole positions and 107 career race wins.
The big question at the moment is, “who will win the 2017 V8 Supercars Championship?”.
On the Weekend of the 28th to the 30th of July, 2017 was the Coates Hire Ipswich SuperSprint.
In Qualifying for race 15 Scott McLaughlin got on his 2nd run to try and improve his time. He zoomed past 8 or 9 slower cars out on track, most moving out of the way for him. Later in the lap he had to pull back for safety as he came across Alex Davison right in his path. It was a close call and forced him to abort his qualifying lap. Post race there were many comments made about better race control to avoid such high risk situations.
For the main game it was a special day for Todd Hazelwood making his debut in the V8 Supercars Championship. He joins the ‘main game’ coming up from the Dunlop Super2s under sponsorship from Bigmate Racing.
Another interesting point is that during the Telecast on Friday, Saturday and Sunday on Fox sports 5 channel 506, there was a drone following the cars around the track. It is something that I had not seen before and should make for some interesting footage.
In race 15 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position. Alongside him was Craig Lowndes.
On lap 1 of 39 C raig Lowndes got the jump on Scott McLaughlin and led into turn 1. This was a great start to the race for him considering he had qualified in 2nd spot on the front row of the grid.
Later at turn 3 all hell broke loose. Dale Wood made contact with James Moffat. As James Moffat spun around he made contact with his teammate James Golding. James Golding was able to just continue with bent steering, a brave thing to do. However, James Moffat wasn’t so luck and had to eventually pit with an overheating engine. All this mayhem cause Simona de Silvestro to make contact with Alex Rullo. He came out of turn 3 with a left front tyre pointing in the wrong direction and at the wrong angle. Alex Rullo limped his car back to the pits and unfortunate could not return the race. A DNF even before the first lap was over.
On lap 2 Scott McLaughlin was putting pressure on Craig Lowndes and down at turn 3 he passed him for lead of the race.
On lap 3 all the wildcards were following behind the main game drivers trying to learn as much as they could. It’s a good strategy to learn how the pros do ‘what and when’ as they navigate the track.
On lap 8 Shane Van Gisbergen was down in the position order after he pitted. However, he gained the advantage of rejoining the race with fresh air.
On lap 9 Simona de Silvestro had put the lap 1 incident behind her and was now enjoying her first race at Ipswich . She followed her team owners, Todd and Rick Kelly gaining valuable pointers from these experienced drivers.
Mark Winterbottom had to abort his attempt to pass Cameron Waters to avoid making contact.
As the race moved on, Shane Van Gisbergen easily made it back through the field after his one and only pit stop.
Fabian Coulthard tried to stay with his teammate Scott McLaughlin in the lead but soon found out just how fast Scott McLaughlin is.
Dick Johnson and Roger Penske would have been very happy with Scott McLaughlin’s race performance. He had held the lead for most of the race and made it look easy.
Shane Van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup were battling it out in attempt to gain a podium position.
On lap 33 Jason Bright left the race receiving a DNF.
As the race came to a close, Scott McLaughlin maintained his lead a past the checkered flag.
Chaz Mostert had a great run and moved up from his starting position of 3 to a finish of second.
Shane Van Gisbergen had come from a start further back in the track gaining 4 positions to come in 3rd.
Craig Lowndes who started the race next to pole position faced some great competition and came in 5th. Still a great performance.
The surprise for me was Jamie Whincup finishing 20th, down 6 spots from his start position and about 30 seconds behind the winner.
Results for race 15
1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson racing Team Penske.
2nd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap auto racing Team.
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – red bull Holden racing team.
4th Tim Slade – Freightliner Racing.
5th Craig Lowndes – Team Vortex
In race 16 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was Chaz Mostert
At the start of the 65-lap race Chaz Mostert got the right amount of throttle to get off the line with a fine start and take the lead into turn 1. Scott McLaughlin pulled in behind him.
At the start of the 2nd lap of the race Garth Tander wanted to pass James Moffat but wasn’t close enough to get the job done and losing his ongoing battle with James Moffat for pit priority.
Jamie Whincup was trying get by his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen but didn’t get close enough.
Craig Lowndes pitted early so that he wouldn’t have to double stack with Will Davison.
Scott McLaughlin was leading after the front runners went into the pits for the first round of pitstops.
Alex Rullo stayed out while his teammate Taz Douglas pitted and then re-joined with clear air which was handy.
There was contact between the 2 Nissan Motorsport cars of Michael Caruso and Shae Davies in between turns 1 and 2 which had ruled Michael out of race 16.
In the middle of the race Fabian Coulthard had made his way back into the top 3 for the final time, later dropping back a couple of positions to finish 5th.
By lap 41 Dale Wood left the race receiving a DNF. He was the fourth one out of the race receiving a DNF after Will Davison, Michael Caruso and Jack Le Brocq.
Towards the end of the race it was a certain for the top 3 drivers; Chaz Mostert, Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen. Jamie Whincup came in 4th about 1.5 seconds later.
Results for 16
1st Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing Team
2nd Scott Mclaughlin – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
4th Jamie Whincup Red bull Holden Racing Team
The next event is the Red Rooster Sydney Supersprint on the 18th to the 20th of August 2017.
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.
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.
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.
On the weekend of the 16th to the 18th of June 2017 was the CrownBet Darwin Triple Crown.
This year Darwin celebrated its 20th year anniversary for V8 Supercars races.
For the 42 laps of race 11, Rick Kelly started on pole position with Scott McLaughlin alongside him.
Rick Kelly got a good start and held Scott McLaughlin’s pass attempts off.
Craig Lowndes started in position 18 due to not getting a clear lap in Qualifying. Roland Dane (888 owner) didn’t attend the weekend’s racing probably based on Craig Lowndes poor starting position.
Craig Lowndes immediately wanted to get out of the pack traffic to get some cool air but he had to hang out there for an extra lap and give pit priority to Will Davison whom he shares pit boom with.
On lap 2 Fabian Coulthard gained second position when Scott McLaughlin ran off the race track.
On lap 4 Garth Tander and Scott Pye put on a show as they battled for positions 5 and 6.
·On lap 5 Rick Kelly was holding onto the race lead quite Comfortably. Which he was happy with.
·On lap 6 Shane Van Gisbergen was staying out on the track and doing good lap times.
On lap 7 Shane Van Gisbergen had moved from his starting position 5 into 3rd. His race engineer, Grant McPherson made the call to stay out on track while the going was good. Jamie Whincup wasn’t far behind him, so I guess the strategy was for the 888 team to hold onto those good positions.
·On lap 8 Rick Kelly was enjoying not being back in the pack, and not hot brake temps and engine temps.
·On lap 9 Simona De Slivestro had to get used to hot and warm Temperature’s in a v8 Supercar.
·On lap 10 Maculey Jones was 1 of 4 wildcards to have a run in the main game. In prep for the Endurance races.
Rick Kelly had been comfortably holding the lead from the start but on lap 11 he overshot the first turn. Fabian Coulthard had been unable to catch the leader until now and used the opportunity to take the lead.
Soon after Shane Van Gisbergen had the lead but it didn’t last long. As he came down the main straight he wasn’t able to slow down and just kept going straight. His lead was over and once again Fabian Coulthard had the number 1 spot.
On lap 15 James Courtney made contact with Jack Le Brocq, which didn’t make him very happy because he went right to the very back of the pack.
It wasn’t the end of Rick Kelly’s unfortunate luck. Later, on lap 16 the throttle got stuck and he had a massive off hitting the tyre barriers. It was the end of the race for Rick Kelly and he received a DNF.
As it approached the middle of the race Fabian Coulthard maintained his lead but things had changed behind him, Scott McLaughlin and Nick Percat were now in 2nd and 3rd. The drivers further back in the pack couldn’t catch them.
With so many changes in the top ten positions up until now, it felt as though anything could happen and nothing could be taken for granted.
Amazingly these three drivers held position right to the end of the race and those behind them battled it out between themselves without hope of catching them.
Shane Van Gisbergen made contact with Garth Tander in lap 38. Garth Tander got to the finish the race but Shane Van Gisbergen lost his steering controls. It was just 4 laps to the finish but he had no option and left the track with a DNF.
In preparation for the Endurance races there were also a few wildcards on track. They seemed to benefit from the earlier mayhem:
·Macauley Jones starting in position 26 moved up 2 positions finishing 24th. ·Jack Le Brocq starting 24th finished 19th. ·Tim Blanchard moved up 2 positions and finished 12th. ·Cameron McConville made the best show, starting 28th gained 11 places and finished 17th. In the following order Fabian Coulthard, Scott McLaughlin and Nick Percat crossed the finish line. Close behind was Jamie Whincup, Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters. Craig Lowndes was the closest car behind them about 4.5 seconds later. A surprising finish considering.
Results for race 11
1st Fabian Coulthard – Dick Johnson racing team Penske. 2nd Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson racing team Penske. 3rd Nick Percat – Brad Jones Racing.
4th Jamie Whincup – red bull Holden racing team.
In race 12 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position, alongside him was Jamie Whincup.
At the start of the 70 lap race Jamie Whincup got the jump on Scott McLaughlin and led during the opening stages. I was thinking that Jamie Whincup would get his first race win for 2017 in Darwin but wasn’t to be. Then Scott McLaughlan was trying to get past Jamie Whincup as quickly as possible so his engine didn’t overheat.
On the 2nd lap Mark Winterbottom was battling away with Cameron Waters and Chaz Mostert for the positions behind the two leaders.
Craig Lowndes was desperately trying to get out from behind his teammates and get some fresh air.
Shane Van Gisbergen didn’t quite get the result he wanted but did manage to get a position on the podium. Mark Dutton wasn’t pleased with the result either, having high expectations for Shane Van Gisbergen to win the race like last year.
Will Davison had come in early because how far down the in the race he was. Which he knew there was a long way to go but he was still happy with the pace of the Tekno car number 19.
Shae Davies had his first race at Darwin. He stuck close behind Rick and Todd Kelly.
Just 12 laps to go, James Moffat had a tyre blowout. It was bad timing and cost him dearly, crossing the finish line 25th from a start position of 3.
Jamie Whincup had control of the lead in the early stages of the race but in the end it was Scott McLaughlin’s day. He took the chequered flag ahead of Jamie Whincup by over 2 seconds.
This puts Scott McLaughlin second in the championship to his teammate Fabian Coulthard.
Results for race 12
1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske. 2nd Jamie Whincup – Red bull Holden racing team. 3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red bull Holden Racing Team. The next event is the Watpac Townsville 400.
On the weekend of the 19th to the 21st of May 2017 was the Winton SuperSprint.
Some interesting background notes on this race: ·Craig Lowndes started 19th due to not getting a clear run in Qualifying. ·There were 3 wild cards (solo debuts) at Winton which were Macauley Jones, Shae Davies and James Golding. I have no doubt that this would change the dynamics out on track. ·Fabian Coulthard has a different colour number on his Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske car is because he is the current championship leader. This seems to be the ‘new thing’ since Shane Van Gisbergen turned down the traditional championship leader Number One sticker and kept his usual number. Was it superstition or other reasoning? I am not sure. ·Simona De Silvestro seemed to enjoy her first race at Winton, and did pretty well in this race finishing 2 spots up from her starting position on the grid. ·During Friday’s practice there were a lot of drivers and cars that went off the wet track and onto the grass. It made the drivers weary of conditions but fortunately the weather cleared for the weekend. ·LOL… During Friday’s 2nd practice session, presenter and commentator Neil Crompton got Mark Skaife’s name wrong during an interview and called him Mike Skaife.
In the 120km race 9, Scott McLaughlin started on pole position. Alongside him was Chaz Mostert.
On lap 1 of 40 Scott McLaughlin beat Chaz Mostert off the start line and led into turns 1 and 2. Between turns 6 and 7 James Moffatt spun James Courtney and put him right to the back of the pack. As a result, he had to start making his way back up through the pack.
Mark Winterbottom ran well during the opening stages of the race.
Craig Lowndes’ race engineer, John McGregor (aka “Irish”) called him into the pits. As mentioned Craig Lowndes had a poor starting position of 19, so this was a strategy to get him out of the traffic and get a clear track and make headway later on.
On lap 4 cars further back in the pack were crowded up so started pitting to get clear air. Scott McLaughlin was still leading the race so stayed out longer while the going was good.
On lap 5 Scott Pye and James Courtney were contending for positions 8 and 9 and desperate to stay in the top 10.
On lap 7 David Reynolds was close in behind his Erebus Motorsport teammate Dale Wood.
On lap 10 Craig Lowndes was making his presence felt and was in battle with Will Davison trying to gain another position.
On lap 11 Garth Tander was trying hard to get passed James Moffatt to get fresh air so that engine does overheat
On lap 13 Chaz Mostert could feel something wrong with his engine. Adam De Borre, his race engineer told him to come in to the pits. At first he stayed in the car then Adam De Borre told him to get out. It was all over for the race and Chaz Mostert received a DNF.
Rick Kelly was trying to pass Tim Slade at turns 1 and 2, both trying to stay in the top 10.
On lap 13 Todd Kelly also just made it into the top 10. He was desperate for this after his start position of 11th.
On lap 14 Will Davison was staying cautious after his experience in a12 car pile-up at Tasmania. He ended up in hospital and his car was close to demolished. The Tekno team had to do an all-nighter to get back out on track the next day.
On lap 17 Macauley Jones was safely following James Golding, one of the wildcards on the day to not get caught up in an incident.
At this stage engineers usually start calling cars in to the pits but the going was good and most drivers stayed out on track not wanting to lose any advantage they could gain pitting later on.
On lap 19 Tim Slade managed a successful pass of his teammate, Nick Percat after his pit stop.
On lap 21 Craig Lowndes was moving up through the field due to his pit stop strategy.
On lap 23 there was a battle between Garth Tander, James Moffatt, James Courtney and Nick Percat.
On lap 24 Scott McLaughlin was still leading over his teammate and Championship Leader, Fabian Coulthard.
On lap 25 Shae Davies had a close call with Simona De Silvestro and only just avoided making contact.
On lap 26 Shane Van Gisbergen was trying to keep up with his teammate, Jamie Whincup. It was exactly Roland Dane wanted to see. The only thing that Roland Dane didn’t want to see was the 2 teammates making contact.
By this stage of the race Craig Lowndes was running in 6th after starting in the 19th spot. It is no easy feat to gain 13 positions in a 40 lap race and then maintain it to the finish. Proof of why he gets paid the big bucks.
On the second last lap James Courtney ended up in the sand and couldn’t get out. He received a DNF which was just plain bad luck for him.
As the race progressed into it final laps it was clear the top 3 drivers were untouchable; Scott McLaughlin (who managed to hold his lead from start to finish), Jamie Whincup and Fabian Coulthard.
David Reynolds was the closest in 4th position crossing the finish line nearly 8 seconds later, but it was a good race for him having gained 10 spots from his 14th position on the starting grid.
Things in the championship are now getting really interesting. With the win going to Scott McLaughlin, Fabain Coulthard only leads the Championship by only 4 points.
Results for race 9:
1st Scott Mclaughlin – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske Shell V Power racing team. 2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team. 3rd Fabain Coulthard – Dick Johnson Racing team Penske Shell V power racing team.
In race 10 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position. Alongside him was Jamie Whincup.
On lap 1 of 67 Jamie Whincup got into turn 1 and 2 first over Scott McLaughlin.
On lap 2 Shane Van Gisbergen and Fabian Coulthard were battling for 2nd and 3rd. Shane Van Gisbergen got the better of him making a pass for clear track. Scott McLaughlin slipping to 4th.
On lap 3 888 race engineer, David Cauchi stategised for Jamie Whincup to stay out on track longer and not pit too early, especially while he maintained pit priority over Shane Van Gisbergen.
On lap 4 Chaz Mostert was trying to find a way passed Cameron Waters. But he couldn’t get the job done.
On lap 5 Chaz Mostert wasn’t making headway out on track so pitted early to avoid the pit lane congestion. This strategy paid off for him later on.
On lap 7 Craig Lowndes was on a charge, moving up from 26th up to 23rd.
On lap 9 Fabian Coulthard dropped to 4th giving Scott McLaughlan an easy pass. He knew it was a long race so was saving his energies for later.
On lap 10 Mark Winterbottom was following his teammates Cameron Waters and Chaz Mostert. This was also OK by him so early on in the race.
On lap 11 Simona de Silvestro was keeping up with her team owners Rick and Todd Kelly. It was a great setup where she could get some first hand knowledge from them on her first visit to Winton Raceway.
On lap 13 Macauley Jones one of the other wild cards on the day was making his dad, Brad Jones proud of him in his solo V8 Supercars Championship debut.
On lap 14 Scott Mclaughlin was happy to be back in the lead after dominating the first race of the weekend. Roland Dane, 888 owner did not want to see their main rivals, Dick Johnson Racing make it 2 for 2.
On Lap 15 James Courtney was driving cautiously not wanting to have another bad race for the 2nd day in a row.
On Lap 17 Fabian Coulthard took advantage of Shane Van Gisbergen going wide at turn 3. He managed to slip through on the inside. It was a very cool move.
On lap 18 Mark Winterbottom also passed Shane Van Gisbergen and was now trying to find a way past Fabian Coulthard. Fabian Coulthard wasn’t going drop the ball and Mark Winterbottom couldn’t get far enough up to make the pass.
On lap 20 David Reynolds was on the charge after he disengaged the pit lane speed limiter. He just got in front of Rick Kelly which was planned by the team before the start of the race.
On lap 21 Craig Lowndes wanted to pit first but because he was behind teammate, Will Davison the pit priority was not his.
On lap 22 Alex Rullo stayed in close behind his more experienced teammate Taz Douglas, gaining valuable pointers.
Chaz Mostert was trying to catch up to the race leaders and capitalise on any mistakes made. Unfortunately for him, Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen weren’t giving him any opportunities.
On lap 25 Alex Rullo was blocking Mark Winterbottom, which is considered poor form so early in the race. In fact, later Mark Winterbottom told host of RPM Matthew White that he wasn’t impressed with the move that the Rookie made whatsoever
On lap 29 Todd Kelly passed his brother Rick Kelly but it was a short lived result. In usual sibling rivalry Rick Kelly took back the lead over his brother.
On lap 31 the 2 Red Bull Holden Racing team cars were holding the top two positions, Jamie Whincup 1st and Shane Van Gisbergen 2nd.
In the middle of the race Mark Winterbottom gave Alex Rullo a lesson in good driving manners and didn’t block him as he passed.
Towards the end of the race the Vodafone Safety Car was deployed due to Michael Caruso getting stuck in the tyre barrier after making contact with Shae Davies.
On the race restart Jamie Whincup was on target to match Craig Lowndes career wins of 104. It would have been a nice way for the 888 team to finish the weekend but things didn’t go quite to plan. At the final corner he ran wide, Shane Van Gisbergen slipped through on the inside to take the chequered flag. Jamie Whincup will just have to wait till net time.
Results for race 10:
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team. 3rd Fabain Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
The next event of the v8 Supercars Championship is the Crown bet Darwin Triple Crown on the 16th to the 18th of June 2017.
On the weekend of the 5th to the 7th of May 2017 was the Perth Super Sprint at Barbagallo Raceway.
In the 2nd run of qualifying Shane Van Gisbergen nearly hit the wall at a top speed of 255km/h. It could have been catastrophic and put everyone on edge.
Mark Dutton, the team manager later stated he would like see qualifying be done via a ‘go point’. He felt such a close call was an obvious example of how dangerous it is for drivers qualifying (hot lap) to be dealing with drivers warming up on track (I must say that I do agree with him).
Regardless of this hair raising moment the racing this weekend was excellent. Scott McLaughlin held race 7 in the palm of his hand and then (spoiler alert) took out race 8 as well, an almost unimaginable feat.
So here is the run-down on how it happened.
In race 7 Fabian Coulthard was on pole position and alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.
On lap 1 of 50 Scott McLaughlin got the jump on his team mate, Fabian Coulthard in a fantastic launch. It was a pretty clean start no one ended off the race track.
It was those two cars that dominated. Except for a few moments the other cars didn’t see the two for the rest of the race.
Fabian Coulthard tried passing to take the lead and pit priority but Scott McLaughlin held on to the number one position.
On lap 3 Chaz Mostert who started in position 5 was now in position 3 following the two Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske cars at the lead.
During the opening stages Craig Lowndes was doing well.
Alex Rullo was also doing well for his first race on his home turf.
Garth Tander was also on home turf showing his best form to impress his local crowd.
Simona de Silvestro was following her two team owners, the Kelly brothers out on track, getting some good pointers and experience.
James Courtney was outside the top 10 and just couldn’t understand why he wasn’t up near the leaders.
On lap 10 Fabian Coulthard’s race engineer, Phil Keed told him, if you get held up by Scott McLaughlin come in so that you re-join in clear air but that’s only if you’re getting held up.
On laps 16 & 17 the telecast crossed over to Mark Dutton (Red Bull Team Manager) and then Mark Skaife (Foxsports Commentator) and you could just see by their expressions how much they were enjoying the race.
By lap 24 the drivers had completed their 1st round of pit stops.
On lap 25 Scott McLaughlin was still holding the lead and looking strong.
It must have felt pretty good for him as he continually gained more lead on the chasing cars.
The Red Bull team seemed surprised and unsure of what to do about the two DJR cars up ahead that were getting further and further away. First, Shane Van Gisbergen gave chase but with little result. He then swapped his 3rd position with Jamie Whincup in 4th. I’m not sure but, it looked as though the strategy was for one to give chase and the other to hold off cars from behind. That way they would be sure to get Red Bull a spot on the podium.
It did pay off in the end with Jamie Whincup coming in at 3rd. However, Scott McLaughlan and Fabian Coulthard were just too good on the day; coming in at 1st and 2nd place respectively and Jamie Whincup over 7 seconds behind at 3rd. It was a spectacular finish for the DJR Team.
Results for Race 7
1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
2nd Fabian Coulthard – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
In race 8 Scott McLaughlin started in pole position with Chaz Mostert alongside him.
On lap 1 of the 83 lap race, Scott McLaughlin got the jump on Chaz Mostert. Chaz Mostert tried to go around the outside but it didn’t work so before the turns he quickly tucked in behind Scott McLaughlin.
On lap 2 Craig Lowndes was displaying his talents and coming through the field well.
In lap 7 Scott Pye saw the opportunity to put some pressure on James Courtney and tried passing him but he couldn’t get it done cleanly.
On lap 9 Todd Kelly was in front of Rick Kelly both pushing hard in their usual sibling rivalry.
By this stage Chaz Mostert dropped back in the pack from his 2nd position at the start. It didn’t seem to be going his way and Mark Winterbottom made it look easy to get a clean pass of Chaz Mostert to take 7th position.
On lap 14 Craig Lowndes came in for his next stop before he got trapped out on the track. His drive after that stop was cool.
On lap 15 Fabian Coulthard tried to pass Scott McLaughlin but it was the same as race 7, Scott McLaughlin was having his day and held tight to his position.
On lap 17 Todd Kelly came in because he was getting held up by the cars in front of him which wasn’t ideal in terms of track position and strategy.
On lap 18 Cameron Waters was handling the pressure from David Reynolds reasonable well.
In the middle of the race Jamie Whincup pitted to try to get track position. This did work for a while but soon after Scott McLaughlin took the lead of the again.
Chaz Mostert seemed to be going crazy as he tried to make his way up through the pack. It was like the stressed guy having to go into the office on a Sunday, appearing frustrated at not being able to make his way past the ‘Sunday Drivers’ fast enough. His pit stop strategies paid off ( his first at lap 21) and he was soon on his way to the podium pack (singing ‘Day-o, Day – ay – ay –ay –O!).
The leaders began moving further and further from the rest of the pack. It soon became obvious no one was going to catch them.
Scott McLaughlin held tight to his leading spot and came across the line first (a second race win for the weekend. It really was his day.
He was then followed by Chaz Mostert across the line and once again for this weekend, Jamie Whincup in third.
Results for Race 8
1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson racing Team Penske.
2nd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing Team.
3rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
The next event after Perth Western Australia was the Winton Supersprint on the 19th to the 21st of May 2017.
Coates Hire V8 Supercars Challenge Albert Park 2017.
Hi to all you v8 Supercars fans around the world!
On the weekend of the 23rd to the 26th of March 2017 was the Coates Hire V8 Supercars Challenge, a non-championship round run at Albert Park (Vic).
This weekend the teams got the chance to try out the brand new Dunlop Super Soft tyres. It was the first time the V8 Supercars Championship has tried a super soft tyres normally used in F1 racing. These are under issue from Dunlop motorsport manager Kevin Fitzsimons and intended to be used for the entire Supercars 2017 season.
In race 1 Fabian Coulthard started on pole position. Alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.
On lap 1 of 13 Scott McLaughlin got the led into turns 1 and 2. Fabian Coulthard got a bit of wheel spin so didn’t get the traction that he wanted off the starting grid.
For the first lap Jamie Whincup was running 3rd, early behind Fabian Coulthard and Scott McLaughlin.
Scott Pye went wide exiting turn 1. Fabian Coulthard passed his teammate, Scott McLaughlin heading into turn 3. However, as a result Fabian Coulthard ran wide and Jamie Whincup went from 4th to 3rd to 2nd then to 1st position on the opening lap.
Mark Winterbottom was in front of his teammate, Jason Bright.
Meanwhile further back in the pack, Cameron Waters got the better of Rick Kelly after some fierce competition against each other.
At the back end of the Albert Park track the other Kelly (brother), Todd was facing problems of his own. Smoke was coming out the back of his car. James Courtney gained a position passing him easily.
James Courtney soon found himself up behind the leading brother Rick Kelly, attempts to pass him but fails, tries again later and finally does? Tim Blanchard was also having a poor opening lap. First he ran wide in between turns 10 and 11 and Simona De Silvestro passed him. Then towards the end of the lap David Reynolds also passed.
Chaz Mostert also gained a position as he managed to get down the inside of Shane Van Gisbergen between turns 14 and 15. (This put Chaz in a great mood and he broke out into his favourite tune, ‘Day o, day ay ay ay yo. Come Mr Tally mon tally me banana’…)
On lap 2 Lee Holdsworth got past Dale Wood going into turn 1. Nick Percat also tried to make the move on Dale wood but couldn’t manage it.
Jamie Whincup was still in the lead but under pressure from Scott McLaughlin.
On lap 4 Alex Rullo was near the back of the pack understandably, as it was his first race at Albert Park and had to get used to the track.
On lap 4 Shane Van Gisbergen was trying to get as far up the field as possible.
On lap 6 the drivers were putting their best foot forward as it was already the middle of the race and only 7 laps to go. Jason Bright, however, overdid it and locked the loaded left front tyre as he was going into a turn and just sailed straight ahead.
On lap 7 pit reporter, Mark Larkham made comment about the rivalry between the two race leader’s teams, Red Bull Holden Racing Team and Dick Johnson Racing team Penske, stating how enjoyable it was to see these teams vigorously competing against each other today. I can only agree with his comments.
On lap 8 Chaz Mostert was near the front of the pack. Mark Winterbottom wasn’t too far behind.
On lap 9 Scott McLaughlin did not want to make any mistakes while Fabian Coulthard was following him so closely.
On lap 10 Nick Percat was close behind Lee Holdsworth. At his first opportunity he tried to overtake Lee Holdsworth on the inside of a turn. At 260kms/ph Nick Percat’s breaks failed on entry to the turn. He had no chance of taking the corner. His car screaming straight ahead and crossed in front of Lee Holdsworth’s path. Contact was made and they both ended up off track. They were both disappointingly now out of the race with a DNF.
On lap 11 Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard were running 1st and 2nd. Both cars being on the same team it was as if they were saying to everybody else behind them ‘catch us if you can we are the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske’.
On lap 12 Chaz Mostert was trying to catch Fabian Coulthard for 2nd spot but just wasn’t able to. Jamie Whincup was close behind them both, desperately wanting a piece of the action but it was the second last lap and they weren’t going to make it easy.
In the final lap the top 4 cars had such a good lead they couldn’t be caught; Scott McLaughlin, Fabain Coulthard, Chaz Mostert and Jamie Whincup.
Although this is a short race (only 13 laps) it was exciting and really enjoyable to watch.
Result for race 1.
1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson racing Team Penske.
2nd Fabian Coulthard – Dick Johnson racing team Penske.
3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing Team.
4th Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
In race 2 Fabian Coulthard started on pole position with his (Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske) teammate, Scott McLaughlin alongside him.
On lap 1 of 13 Fabian Coulthard took the lead over Scott McLaughlin. Garth Tander tried to make a move on Michael Caruso but it didn’t happen. He then tried it on with Chaz Mostert and did pass him.
Mark Winterbottom and Cameron Waters made contact which wouldn’t have made Tim Edwards a very happy team owner at all.
James Moffatt tried to get down the inside of Craig Lowndes but wasn’t successful. David Reynolds and Todd Kelly were battling back in the pack. Tim Slade was looking to make a move on Craig Lowndes as well and he got the job done. Scott Pye was following the two cars in front of him and hoping to take advantage of any mistake in their 1-on-1 battle.
On lap 2 Jamie Whincup went back to 7th from 3rd on the grid. Dale Wood made contact with Simona De Slivestro but both managed to stay on track.
Chaz Mostert was putting pressure on Shane Van Gisbergen and passed him at turn 3. But Shane Van Gisbergen had the racing line going into turn number 4 and he took back his original spot.
On lap 3 Chaz Mostert was under pressure from Jamie Whincup.
Then Chaz Mostert turned Shane Van Gisbergen around in between turns 14 and 15 clipping him at the left rear corner as he attempted a pass. As a result Chaz got a drive thru penalty. Shane Van Gisbergen then got into more trouble. As he went forward to turn his car around and get going in the right direction again, James Moffatt hit him head on. Both drivers had to walk back to pit lane. The damage caused was extensive enough and they were both out of the race.
Roland Dane and Garry Rogers would not have been happy with their 2 cars being damaged so severely.
On lap 3 the Safety Car came out to clean up the damaged Holden Commodores of Shane Van Gisbergen and James Moffatt.
Simona De Slivestro was also out of race 2 due to a stuck throttle.
On the restart the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske cars were leading, that is Scott Mclaughlin and Fabian Coulthard. The Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske were putting in a good challenge to the Triple 8 race engineering team (Jamie Whincup, Shane Van Gisbergen and Craig Lowndes).
Pit reporter, Mark Larkham interviewed Roland Dane, team owner of Triple 8 Race Engineering. In regards to the extensive and costly car repairs needed after the incident with James Moffatt, he told Mark Larkham ‘I will never be as rich as Roger Penske’.
Mark Larkham then interviewed Shane Van Gisbergen who stated his deep disappointment about the incident with James Moffatt.
On lap 5 the cars were still under the safety car. After the restart there was bad news coming for Supercheap Auto Racing’ and Chaz Mostert. He copped a black flag (drive thru penalty) for spinning Shane Van Gisbergen around.
On lap 6 After Chaz Mostert came in to serve his pit lane drive thru penalty. The 2 DJR Shell V power racing team fords had bolted into the distance and couldn’t be caught by the cars behind them.
On lap 7 Todd Kelly was battling with his brother Rick Kelly for 8th and 9th spot. On 8 David Reynolds was following his teammate Dale Wood to get fresh and cool air for the engine due to how long he was behind him for.
On lap 9 Fabian Coulthard had Scott Mclaughlin chasing him down for the race lead. It was exactly what Dick Johnson racing Team Penske wanted.
On lap 10 Scott Pye was following James Courtney for 11th and 12th. On lap 11 Michael Caruso was putting pressure on Scott Mclaughlin for 2nd place but he couldn’t get the move done in time. Which Michael Caruso wasn’t happy with at all.
On lap 12 David Reynolds was following James Moffatt but wasn’t able to pass him cleanly. Meaning without contact and no damage.
In the final lap of the race teammates Fabain Coulthard and Scott Mclaughlin took the race win,
Results for race 2
1st Fabain Coulthard – Shell V Power racing team. Dick Johnson racing team Penske.
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power racing team. Dick Johnson racing team Penske.
3rd Michael Caruso – Nissan Motorsport.
4th Garth Tander – Garry Rogers Motorsport.
In race 3 Fabian Coulthard started on pole position alongside him was Jamie Whincup.
On lap 1 of 13 Jamie Whincup tried to go around the outside of the pole sitter Fabain Coulthard but couldn’t quite pass him. Jason Bright, Garth Tander and Alex Rullo made contact in concertina affect. Taz Douglas was right behind them and just managed to swerve around them. Jason Bright and Garth Tander both spun around. When they re-joined the race they were at the back of the pack. They were all doubled up on turn 3. Gath Tander was on the outside of Rick Kelly. Will Davison was on the outside of Michael Caruso. James Courtney was on the outside of David Reynolds. David Reynolds gave James Courtney enough racing room for them to continue their battle for positions 5 and 6.
Shane Van Gisbergen started race 3 in position 25 on the grid and made it all the way up to 11th on the first lap. Mark Winterbottom passed Craig Lowndes back in the pack. Tim Blanchard, Cameron Waters and Tim Slade were three abreast. Cameron Waters managed to pass both of them in 1 go. Then Tim Slade got up the inside of his teammate, Tim Blanchard.
On lap 2 the field was settling down into a race pace and rhythm. While everyone else was trying to catch the leaders up front, Simona De Silvestro went off the track due to trying to pass her teammate Rick Kelly . Scott Pye went off on to the grass to avoid making contact with Simona. James Courtney went into pit lane to inspect some damage that he may have suffered as a result of contact with another car. Garth Tander had a flat right front tyre (which meant he had to limp back to the pits to get it changed). It seemed that once again for a short race there was going to be lots of excitement.
On lap 3 Fabian Coulthard was pulling away from Jamie Whincup. Mark Larkham had a chat to Ryan Story, Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske team manager and asked why the 2 Dick Johnson Racing team Penske cars were going so well at Albert park.
Craig Lowndes got in front of Cameron Waters. Cameron Waters tried to get the spot back but couldn’t get the job done. At turn 3 Shane Van Gisbergen tried to get up the inside of Rick Kelly but the Champion couldn’t get job done
On lap 4 the drivers up front were doing well and had the cars behind chase them down. Tim Slade got up the inside of Cameron Waters at turn 3. But then Cameron Waters did the switch back and got the spot back after Tim Slade ran very wide. Tim Slade could only re-join safely on lap 5
On lap 6 Chaz Mostert was chasing Cameron Waters for 10th place, the cars were doing well in terms of No Damage, on lap 7 Scott Mclaughlin and Fabain Coulthard the 2 Dick Johnson Racing team Penske Cars couldn’t be caught because they were just too quick. On lap 8 Mark Winterbottom was following his teammates to get in front to be in the top half of the race instead of the bottom half. Which Tim Edwards wanted. So they did. On lap 9 James Courtney was doing a great job making places for the Mobil1 HSV Racing Team. Which he wanted to do on lap 10 the cars up the front of the field were racing towards the Checkered Flag. On lap 11 Jamie Whincup was running 2nd which he the red bull Holden Racing Team and Roland Dane who is the team boss at Triple 8 race engineering were very happy with. In the middle of the race the fords were just too fast for the Holden’s too catch them. On lap 12 No One was able to catch the front runners. Towards the end of the race no one could catch Fabain Coulthard and Jamie Whincup. On the final lap which was lap 13 Dick Johnson was getting Excited because his team was about to score another 1st and 2nd finish.
Results for race 3
1st Fabain Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team. Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson Racing team Penske.
4th Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing team.
In race 4 Jamie Whincup started on pole position alongside him was Fabain Coulthard on lap 1 of 13 Fabain Coulthard got the jump Jamie Whincup got Wheel spin off the line. Tim Slade lost a couple of spots at the start of the race. Shane Van Gisbergen tried to get up the inside of Chaz Mostert in between turn 15 and 16. But Chaz wouldn’t let him pass.
On lap 2 Garth Tander and Cameron Waters both had Damage to their race cars heading into turn 1. Scott McLaughlin passed Cameron Waters on exit of turn 1. Craig Lowndes tried to go around the outside of Cameron Waters and Craig managed to get him.
On lap 3 Tim Slade was putting a lot of pressure on the 2016 V8 Supercars Champion Shane Van Gisbergen. Cameron Waters had Extreme heat problem with the engine on the monster energy racing ford car 6.
On lap 4 Tim Slade tried to pass Shane Van Gisbergen at turn 3 but wasn’t able to be done. He was rattling the rear bumper of car 97 just letting him know that he was there. Michael Caruso was putting the pressure on James Courtney.
On lap 5 Shane Van Gisbergen was holding up a bunch of cars behind him.
On lap 6 the cars and drivers were starting to think about the end of the race, in the middle of the race Fabain Coulthard had a flat tyre due to an Aggressive Set up. On car 12.
On lap 7 Chaz Mostert was up in 2nd place while the cars were battling back in the pack. Which wasn’t ideal. But when the drivers don’t qualify up the front the car can get caught up in the mess.
On lap 8 Mark Winterbottom wanted to finish in a strong spot so that prodrive racing Australia. Didn’t have to do an all-nighter. Towards the end of race Jamie Whincup also had a Flat Tyre on the left rear due to a broken Anti Roll bar. Alex Rullo and Simona De Slivestro were battling for position 18 and 19. In the end no one could catch Chaz Mostert.
On lap 9 David Reynolds was following Dale Wood his teammate for position 12 and 13. Which they were not happy with. But they were just outside the of the top ten.
On lap 10 Chaz Mostert was the leading the race. Which Chaz Mostert wanted.
On lap 11 the cars and drivers behind him but couldn’t which made their teams Frustrated about.
On lap 12 Shane Van Gisbergen and Tim Slade and Todd Kelly all tried to get up to the rear bumper of Chaz Mostert’s Supercheap Auto Racing Car. Car number 55.
Results for race 4.
1st Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing Team.
2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Tim Slade – Brad Jones Racing.
4th Todd Kelly – Nissan Motorsport.
The hosts were Jessica Yates and Russell Ingall. The Commentators were Richard Crail and Jack Perkins. And the pit lane reporter was Mark Larkham. The next event is the Tyre power Tasmania Super sprint from the 7th to the 9th of April 2017.
On the weekend of the 2nd – 5th of March 2017 was the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide South Australia.
As the first race of the season it was interesting to note:
New season equals new cars. Many teams invest in new cars allowing their engineers to really show what they are made of. It’s always interesting to see how they tweak cars to get the best performance.
Alex Rullo was the youngest driver to make his debut in the V8 Supercars Championship at just 16 years and 8 months.
It was Jason Bright’s first race in the Prodrive Racing Australia team.
Scott McLaughlin did pretty well for his debut with the Shell V Power Racing Team and with Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
The space he left in Garry Rogers Motorsport Team has been taken up by Garth Tander.
This was Simona De Silvestro’s 3rd race in V8 Supercars. It was good to see her do well in her first event and first race as a full time V8 Supercars driver.
At the start of the 78 laps in race 1, Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position with Fabian Coulthard alongside him.
Fabian Coulthard got the jump off the start line and led the opening laps.
On Lap 2 Todd Kelly tried to go through turn 8 with three cars wide. As a result, Will Davison hit the wall and copped some bad damage. The red lights came on and he drove his car back to the pit lane. He was out of the race.
The safety came out to put the wall back in place. On restart Scott McLaughlin was weaving side to side, which is not allowed after the safety car lights have gone out and the race has gone back to green. Not sure what he was thinking but officials served him a pit lane penalty, sending him to the 24th spot at the back of the pack.
Meanwhile, Shane Van Gisbergen was putting as much pressure as possible on his fellow Kiwi, but Fabian Coulthard kept his position and the champion wasn’t able to pass.
At the start of lap 3 Jamie Whincup took an early pit stop. Once he re-joined the race he was clear of surrounding traffic and able to press on to gain valuable time.
On lap 4 Simona De Silvestro (what a honey-I want to take her home, cook her dinner & eat swiss chocolate from her clavicle) seemed to be enjoying her 3rd race in a V8 Supercar and also her first race in Adelaide.
On lap 5 Fabian Coulthard made a mistake running wide at a turn. It was just what Shane Van Gisbergen was waiting for. He passed on the inside and took the lead.
On lap 6 Mark Winterbottom was waiting for a clear pit lane to make the first of his 2 pit stops. When Mark Winterbottom came out of the pits he had to look for space to re-join the race and managed to pull in behind his teammate.
On lap 7 Chaz Mostert had taken his pit stop and really found his rhythm (playing the bongos and singing the banana boat song, ‘Daaay-0h, Da-a-a-ay oh, come Mr tally mon, tally me banana’!?) and was moving up through the pack with ease.
On lap 8 Craig Lowndes was able to pit at his own choosing. He didn’t have to worry about a double stack with Will Davison as he was out of the race after crashing on lap 1.
On lap 11 David Reynolds was feeling the need to take his pit, but was forced to stay out longer so he wouldn’t double stack with teammate, Dale Wood.
On lap 13 the cars back in the pack came in to pits to get out of the traffic.
On lap 14 Mark Winterbottom was caught up in a tight pack of cars. Due to the aggressive competition, he nearly ended up making contact with a wall but managed to stay out of trouble. The incident scared the hell out of the Prodrive Racing Australia team. (Only their dry cleaners’ will know just how much it scared them.)
On lap 16 Shane Van Gisbergen pitted after Jamie Whincup. Meanwhile Garth Tander had a good pace going in his new Holden Commodore, number 33.
On lap 17 Craig Lowndes also put his new Team Vortex Holden Commodore to the test and pushed it to its limits.
In the middle of the race at turn 5, Jamie Whincup spun Mark Winterbottom’s car around. With the new season’s rules in place, Jamie Whincup didn’t receive a drive through penalty.
Towards the end of the race Craig Lowndes was struggling. He was running out of fuel and he had to compensate by altering his driving technique.
Shane Van Gisbergen had such a good lead he was virtually unstoppable. The other drivers were not put off and competition for placings was still heated.
It all made for exciting racing with Shane Van Gisbergen comfortably crossing the finish line first.
Results for race 1
1st – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd – Fabain Coulthard – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
3rd – James Courtney – Mobil 1 HSV Racing.
At the start of the 78 laps in race No. 2, Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position alongside him was Fabian Coulthard.
Jamie Whincup started 10th due to putting all 4 wheels over the curb at turn 2 in the qualifying race, which meant his lap was taken away from him.
On lap 1, Fabian Coulthard took the lead. Shane Van Gisbergen didn’t get a good start from pole position so Scott McLaughlin overtook into second place. Nick Percat hit the wall at turn 8 and as a result limped the car back to the pits for repairs.
On lap 2 the leaders were pulling away from the rest of the pack; Scott McLaughlin, James Courtney and Shane Van Gisbergen.
On lap 3 Jamie Whincup again came into the pits early. This appeared to be a good call because of where Jamie Whincup had qualified. Once again, he would be able to re-join the race and concentrate on gaining valuable ground. Scott McLaughlin was doing a great job for his new team, Shell V Power Racing Team. As the newbie to V8 Supercars, Alex Rullo was getting used to being around everybody else. Shane Van Gisbergen was battling with Fabian Coulthard and Scott McLaughlin to maintain the lead. Mark Winterbottom was doing his best to keep out of trouble.
On lap 4 Simona De Silvestro was doing very well in her first weekend as a fulltime female driver in the V8 Supercars Championship.
On lap 5 James Courtney had a close call with the wall. A hit into the wall like that would have been an all-night repair job for the Mobil 1 HSV Racing team.
On lap 6 Scott Pye was trying to find a way to get passed his teammate, James Courtney to gain pit priority.
On lap 7 Tim Slade was having a ‘friendly’ battle with his teammate, Nick Percat.
On lap 8 Shane Van Gisbergen wanted to keep track position so stayed out on track a bit longer.
On lap 9 Mark Winterbottom was chasing Cameron Waters for pit priority. Garth Tander and James Moffatt were praying for smooth sailing; if the Safety Car came out their cars 33 and 34 would have had to double stack one behind the other.
On lap 10 Shane Van Gisbergen seemed happy with his car set up for the two races.
On lap 11 Simona De Silvestro got spun around by James Courtney on her way into the pit lane.
On lap 12 Michael Caruso nearly hit the tyres at the first turn. If this did happen it would have an adverse effect on the aerodynamics his Nissan Altama.
Jason Bright’s Cool Suit failed. In emergency response, The Mega Racing Crew, a part of the Prodrive Racing Australia Team had to take out the two windows on the driver’s and passenger’s side.
On lap 13 Alex Rullo was following teammate, Taz Douglas.
In the middle of the race Scott McLaughlin was leading and Shane Van Gisbergen was working hard to keep up the chase for the lead.
Towards the end of the race Scott McLaughlin looked sure to be the winner. However, a mistake on Scott McLaughlin’s part gave Shane Van Gisbergen his second great opportunity for the day. He took the lead in the last minutes and went on to win his second race of the day.
Results for race 2.
1st – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd – Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske.
3rd – Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.
The next event is the non-Championship round at Albert Park in Melbourne Victoria, 23rd – 26th of March 2017. The next Championship race is Symmons Plains raceway in Tasmania, on the 7th – 9th of April 2017.
The Clipsal 500 will be run on the 2nd – 5th of March 2017.
Let’s take a look back at what happened in Adelaide 2016 during race 1.
Scott Pye in car 2 started on pole position and alongside him was Jamie Whincup in car 88. On lap 1 of 39, Jamie Whincup took the race lead from the first chicane. Scott Pye had bogged off the start line and didn’t get the required launch to take the lead so slotted in behind Jamie Whincup. James Courtney tried to get down the inside of Mark Winterbottom to take the fourth position at the final corner, turn 14, but Mark Winterbottom wasn’t going to give in that easily.
On lap 2, Mark Winterbottom tried to get up the inside of Scott McLaughlin but he wasn’t able to get the job done. Garth Tander got down the inside of his former teammate Todd Kelly. Todd Kelly wasn’t going to have a bar of this and took his spot back from Garth Tander on approach to the turn 1 chicane.
On lap 3, Craig Lowndes found himself up against Will Davison for pit priority. Meanwhile, the cars back in the pack were battling it out to get better positioning.
On lap 4, Tim Blanchard and Andre Heimgartner were trying to take placing from one another. Neither driver were willing to give in, making for some very exciting racing. Rick Kelly had a go trying to take position from Shane Van Gisbergen. Craig Lowndes was trying to get passed Will Davison for some fresh air to cool his engine but he just wasn’t close enough.
On lap 5, Fabian Coulthard got down the inside of Michael Caruso in car 23 at turn 9. Craig Lowndes and Chaz Mostert did their pit stops to avoid getting caught up in traffic. Craig Lowndes also wanted to avoid a double stack in the pits with Will Davison.
This was an early pit stop so once back on the track Craig Lowndes and Chaz Mostert did a very long run on their 2nd set of tyres.
By lap 5, Jamie Whincup had a good enough lead so didn’t have to push too hard. James Courtney tried to get passed the season champion, Mark Winterbottom at turn 14 but wasn’t able to. Then Fabian Coulthard tried to get up the inside of Mark Winterbottom but was also staved off. Jason Bright wanting to move up the order put the pressure on Chris Pither.
In the middle of the race the cars back in the pack were pitting to not get caught up in traffic.
After hitting a wall Tim Slade couldn’t find the reverse gear to get back into the race. He only needed to be facing the right way to continue but officials forced him onto the tow truck. Tim Slade looked dark about the decision that meant that he was out of the race.
Towards the end of the race no one could catch the top 3 drivers.
Results for race 1
1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull racing Australia.
2nd – James Courtney – Holden Racing Team.
3rd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia.
In race 2 Chaz Mostert started on pole position alongside him was Jamie Whincup on lap 1 of 39 Chaz Mostert took the race lead early on through the centre chicane. Jamie Whincup tried to follow him through but James Courtney had to get out of the throttle to ensure that there was no contact.
On lap 2 Jamie Whincup tried to do the crisscross at turn 4, but he couldn’t pull it off.
During the opening laps everybody was settling down to a race pace. Then the pit stops started. When the pack came into the pits a few teams had to double stack. For this reason teams like to have 2 or in the case of Triple 8 Engineering, 3 cars on different strategies.
Craig Lowndes had to try and stay in front of Will Davison so that he didn’t have to double stack behind Will Davison.
On lap 3 the cars back in the pack where trying to keep up with the race leaders.
On lap 4 the leaders stayed out longer. The cars down the bottom of the field came in.
In the middle of the race James Courtney got track position over Jamie Whincup, as a result of a faster pitstop from the Holden Racing Team.
On lap 5 all the crews where watching from the garage until they needed to go out into the pits.
Results for race 2
1st – James Courtney – Holden Racing Team
2nd – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia
3rd – Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing
In race 3 Fabain Coulthard started on pole position, alongside him was Chaz Mostert. The race started under safety car due to the wet weather. Before the race started Mark Winterbottom nearly put car number 1 in the fence during the sighting lap. His race engineer told him to come in to the pits for wet weather tyres.
The cars did 5 laps under safety car. Greg Murphy working as pit reporter, was wondering why all the team managers were talking to the officials. The team managers were huddled around the officials questioning the pit stops taking place before the race start.
When the race went to green, the track was still wet and the drivers had to be really careful. Early on Shane Van Gisbergen even had his wiper on just so he could see out the windscreen.
At turn 9 James Courtney hit Jamie Whincup from behind and spun him around. When Jamie Whincup was trying to get back on the track to re-join the race, he nearly hit another couple of cars causing some hairs to stand on end.
Later in the race Shane Van Gisbergen hit James Courtney from behind and caused him to spin around. This gave Craig Lowndes the opportunity he was waiting for and took the lead.
The weather got worse and there was thunder and lightning. The officials were forced to put up the red flag for more than an hour due to deteriorating weather conditions. When they returned to the race they had ‘time certain’ finish.
Nick Percat ended up scoring the race win due to other cars being penalised on fuelling rules.
Results for race 3
1st – Nick Percat – Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport.
2nd – Michael Caruso. Nissan Motorsport.
3rd – Garth Tander – Holden Racing Team.
It was an exciting race and it’s that time of the year again. The first race of the season! Who will win the 2017 Clipsal 500 this weekend? Will there be any wet weather? The defending Clipsal champ is Nick Percat. It will also be Craig Lowndes 21st year in V8 Supercars. Can he win his 4th Championship in 2017? Mark Winterbottom has never won the Clipsal 500. Will he do it this year or will someone else step up?
Best of luck to everybody for the 2017 season. Race 1 will be 250 Klms over 78 laps. Will Jamie Whincup win the opening race again?
Jamie Whincup now leads the championship by 30 points heading into the Coates Hire Newcastle 500 which will take place between the 24th and the 26th of November 2017.
