The reason why I am writing this article is because Todd Kelly has now retired from fulltime V8 Supercars racing after a 20+ year career. He has had outstanding success and given a great deal to the sport so I wanted to say thanks by summarising his career.
Todd Kelly was born on the 9th of October 1979.
He started racing in the Australian Formula Ford Championship way back in 1996 to 1998 before joining The Shell Championship Series (aka the V8 Supercars Championship) in 1999.
He stayed with the Holden Young Lions in 1999 before moving to the Holden Racing for Enduro races in 2000 which were at the Queensland 500 and FAI 1000 at Mount Panorama Bathurst New South Wales.
Then in 2001 he joined the Kmart Racing Team and he stayed through 2002.
From 2003 to 2007 was with the Holden Racing Team to be teammates with Mark Skaife.
He spent the following year, 2008 with Jack Daniel’s Racing – Perkins Engineering before Tod and his brother, Rick Kelly started their own race team in 2009 called Kelly Brothers Racing.
Todd and Rick share a passion for racing so starting their own team made sense. However no one could ever say there was no sibling rivalry. When it came to racing, brother or not they were very competitive.
Unfortunately Todd Kelly’s competitive nature means he was going to be in the thick of it resulting in some bad incidents:
·Barbagallo 2009 in race 24 he crashed on lap 40 of 84 ·Sydney Olympic Park 2011 in race 28 he crashed on lap 47 of 74 ·Albert park 2005 in race 2 he crashed on lap 1
Some of his career highs (and a few lows) include:
Towards the end of the 2017 racing season Jason Bright announced his retirement from full time racing.
In this article we look back at a magnificent career spanning 2 decades.
Jason Bright was born on the 3rd of March 1973 In Moe, Victoria.
At the age of 15 he started racing Go Karts and immediately won championships.
In 1992 Bright raced Go Karts doubling up efforts with his entry to the Victorian Formula Ford Championship.
The following year saw him in the Australian Formula Ford Championship.
He was winning races and championships left right and centre.
Jason started full time touring car driver in 1998. The only year that Jason didn’t race in fulltime was 2000 because he was racing in Indy Lights. He has racked up a phenomenal 572 starts in V8 Supercars races.
In that first 2 years of racing under the Stone Brothers Racing Team he did extremely well and with co-driver Steven Richards won the Bathurst Classic.
The year 2000 was big for Bright. His ended his contract with Stone Brothers Racing and joined Dick Johnson Racing but also entered the Indy Lights, Champcar World Series, Shell Championship Series and the American Le Mans Series.
From 2001 onwards he held 2 year contracts following each other with Holden Racing Team, Paul Weel Racing and Ford Performance Racing(FPR). I am sure one of his career highlights was 2003 in the Bathurst 24 Hour, co-driving with Peter Brock, Greg Murphy and Todd Kelly. With a team like that of course they came in first.
Jason Bright does like to keep busy because in the meantime (2005) he established his own V8 Supercars team, Britek Motorsports with Fujitsu Racing as their main sponsor. He was so busy (and under contract) that he didn’t even have time to race in his own team until 2 years later. So for 2007 – 2009 Jason got to race in his own team. For a number of reasons Britek Motorsports was absorbed into Brad Jones Racing in 2009. He then joined Brad Jones Racing for the 2010 season and stayed with them until 2016.
He signed up with Prodrive racing Australia in 2017 when he felt it was time to hang the helmet up fulltime. He has confirmed he will be doing the Enduro races in 2018.
There are way too many career highlights and statistics to list but here are a selected few thrown in with a few lows:
·1998 Bathurst Winner ·1999 Darwin Round Winner. ·2001 Clipsal winner. ·Winton 1st 2002 ·Barbagallo 1st 2002 ·Best championship finish was back in 2002 ·1st 2003 Albert park race 1 ·2006 Sandown winner. ·2005 Jason Bright started his own race team, Britek Motorsports ·DNF’S Bathurst 2006 2007 ·Abu Dhabi 2nd 2011 race 2
·1st Barbagallo 2011 ·2014 he had a bad crash ·Started a total of 17 races in pole position two of which were 2011 at Barbagallo raceway and 2009 at Phillip island ·20 race wins and 88 podium finishes ·Competed in 572 V8 Supercars Championship races
Jason Bright’s co drivers for the 1997 Primus 1000 classic was Allan Jones and Scott Preutt. They were driving car number 9.
Jason Bright also raced at the Le man 24 hours back in 2013.
To have a 20 year career is just fantastic in the sport of racing and to have such phenomenal career is even more unusual.
Well-Done Jason Bright! Enjoy your retirement from full time racing (knew you couldn’t go cold turkey and will be glad to see you in the Enduro races).
Enjoy your next chapter in your life what ever that may hold.
On the weekend of the 24th to the 26th of November 2017 was the Coates Hire Newcastle 500.
This was the final race for the season. It was very exciting because the season champion was still to be determined and this race weekend was going to be the decider. The main championship contenders were Scott McLaughlin and Jamie Whincup. They were only separated by 30 points in favour of Jamie Whincup. I didn’t get the feeling either would hold back and there would be some incredible racing.
It was also the first race event at Newcastle, a seaside city about 2 hrs north of Sydney. This was a street circuit that no one had driven at before so it made the practice sessions all critical in order to determine their car setup for the race.
Due to the circuit being local streets, some parts are quite narrow and there are plenty of ups and downs for the drivers to navigate. This would mean a reduced opportunity for passing and possibly slower speeds.
Jamie Whincup went there a couple weeks in advance in a reconnaissance mission to get a feel for the area.
The weekend finally arrived and Newcastle put on a beautiful show. The weather was beautiful and sunny with the main straight running along the shore of the sparkling beach and great crowds had turned out for the spectacle.
On the Saturday Race 25 was for 95 laps. Due to the tight schedule for other race events it was also time certain so when the time was up the winner would be called regardless of laps.
It was a special occasion for Todd Kelly as this was his 540th V8 Supercars race, which is a long time to be in this sport.
Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was David Reynolds.
Scott McLaughlin got the jump on David Reynolds and got to turn 1 first.
Later in the first lap, Jamie Whincup made contact with Michael Caruso which as a result put Jamie Whincup into the wall and broke his right front steering arm. This was not ideal considering he went into the Newcastle event 30 points ahead of Scott McLaughlin.
Mark Skaife and Neil Crompton couldn’t believe that Jamie Whincup managed to steer his car back to the pits.
During the opening stages Scott McLaughlin was the race leader until the first round of pit stops.
Up until that first round of pit stops Craig Lowndes was on track for his first podium finish in 2017. The last time he got a podium finish (1st, 2nd or 3rd) was the Sydney SuperSprint 2016.
There was contact between Jason Bright and Alex Davison. Jamie Whincup just missed being involved which would have been disastrous as he was already 13 laps behind the race leader as a result of having a broken steering arm.
Soon after, Simona de Silvestro pulled off some amazing driving passing a bunch of cars at turn 7. My first thoughts were after looking at the racetrack that the drivers wouldn’t be able to pass at turn 7 safely but she somehow managed to do it.
In the middle of the race the two DJR cars held the lead strongly.
As the race went on the schedule time was running out and the race was going to be called short.
The 2 DJR cars driven by Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard were too quick, their pace was really fast and reached the flag in a 1, 2 finish at lap 91 (4 laps short of the set laps).
It was such bad luck for Jamie Whincup. He had been making incredible gains, after being 13 laps behind he finished in 21st position only 2 laps behind the leader. If he just had a bit more time it would have been really interesting.
Results for race 25
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team. 2nd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing team.
3rd Tim Slade – Brad Jones Racing Team.
In Qualifying for race 26 James Courtney caused a red flag meaning his fastest time to that point was deleted and also meant he couldn’t take any further part in the session.
Scott McLaughlin started on pole position once again for the 16th time in 2017. Alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.
Jamie Whincup started 5th on the grid.
At the start of the 95-lap race, Scott McLaughlin took the race lead, which was good for the DJR Team.
As the first round of pit stops started the Championship leader Scott McLaughlin got a pit lane penalty for exceeding the speed limit of 40kms p/h. Then Fabian Coulthard pitted and had to try and fix his gearbox issue. After that Fabain Coulthard also received a pit lane penalty for the same infringement. That was a blow for the DJR Team Penske Crew.
Later Scott Mclaughlin turned Simona de Silvrestro around at turn 2. Scott McLaughlin received another penalty of 15 seconds. Things for Scott McLaughlin as one of the main championship contenders were not looking good. Commentators Mark Skaife and Neil Crompton said it will be the longest 15 seconds of his life.
In the middle of the race the teams started to get organized for the 2nd round of stops to take place and prepare for the run to the finish.
When the Vodafone Safety Car was deployed it was to get Aaren Russell out of the tyre bundle. As a result that helped Scott McLaughlin big time.
At this stage of the race Scott McLaughlin was down the order in 16th position. He needed to finish in 11th to claim the title for 2017.
Scott McLaughlin’s car was bruised and battered and he was trying to do the best he could on the day.
Towards the end of the race with 2 laps to go, Craig Lowndes tried to get up inside of Scott McLaughlin at turn 1 but Scott McLaughlin blocked his pass and they made contact. This resulted in 2 things. First Craig Lowndes dropped from 6th to 10th. Second Scott McLaughlin got a post-race penalty dropping him all the way down to 18th in the results. Even though Scott McLaughlin would have finished 12th and not won the championship it must have been a real kick in the guts to be pushed down to 18th after the race had finished.
Jamie Whincup won the race and the season championship for 2017. A great result for the Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
Results for race 26
1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team. 2nd Shane Van Gisbergen -Red Bull Holden Racing Team. 3rd David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport.
Well done to all the drivers and teams in 2017.
Looking forward to seeing you in 2018.
The next event will be the Adelaide 500 on the 1st to the 4th of March 2018.
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 5th to the 8th October 2017 was the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.
The Bathurst 1000 is the biggest and most well known race in Australia. Held in Bathurst NSW at the Mount Panorama Circuit, it is a 161 lap race totalling 1000kms and is known amongst fans as ‘The Great Race’. Mount Panorama is an unusual track. The word ‘Mount’ gives it all away. There are lots of ups and downs as it winds its way over the hill. There is approximately 174m between the highest and lowest part of the circuit. It is unusual and makes for a gruelling but spectacular race.
There are so many things that happened over the weekend I couldn’t possibly report on them all so I’m going to limit it to my observations and race highlights.
Greg Murphy who is a pit reporter got to drive Triple 8 Sandman V6 Turbo around Bathurst circuit as a demo for the fans.
A special ‘congratulations’ to Craig Lowndes who made his 24th Bathurst start on Sunday. His co-driver, Steven Richards started his 200th career race at Bathurst. I must say monumental occasions for both of them.
The rookies to have their first Bathurst races were Garry Jacobson, Alex Rullo and Todd Hazelwood.
The Bathurst race rules require teams to complete a minimum of 7 pit stops though out the day. All teams seemed to manage this.
The weather this Sunday was not looking good. Commentator Neil Crompton thought the rain would hit at midday but it hit a lot earlier than that, soaking the track even before the race begun. A setting for a messy Bathurst.
In race 20, Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was David Reynolds.
It was interesting to note all of the main drivers started the race. Usually it’s the less experienced co-drivers that take the wheel at the start. The heavy rain may have had something to do with this.
At the start of the 161 lap race Scott McLaughlin got to turn 1 first. Mark Winterbottom tried to move past David Reynolds for the 2nd spot but had to pull back realising he didn’t have enough space for the manoeuvre.
On lap 2 Scott McLaughlin went down the escape road coming into turn 23 too fast. Now Chaz Mostert had the race lead.
Shane Van Gisbergen and Craig Lowndes driving close together both left the track on the same corner turn 1, which wasn’t good for either of them.
Later in the race when Shane Van Gisbergen’s co-driver, Matt Campbell jumped in the number 97 Red Bull Holden Commodore he got spun around by Michael Caruso. By the time he turned his car around and re-joined the race he ended up right at the back of the pack. This didn’t impress the Triple 8 team one bit.
When co-driver Alex Premat took over from Scott McLaughlin that’s when an engine issue started. Alex Premat brought the car in for the team to check it out. It was running off song. They couldn’t work out the problem and Alex Premat was told to push on. He went back out on track but stopped due to no oil pressure at turn 4 known as ‘the cutting’. Any corner is a high-risk spot to break down and the Vodafone Safety Car was deployed. The race was now under yellow. Car 17 had to be towed back to pits and to the team’s distress was out for the rest of the race. DNF at lap 74! Not even half way through the race.
It was a complete disaster for Scott McLaughlin as the 2017 Championship leader. There is only one other event to go for the year and he will now have to make up 30 points to close the gap on the new leader, Jamie Whincup.
Then 2 laps later, the Preston Hire Racing team of Lee Holdsworth and Karl Reindler left the track also due to engine problems. Another DNF!
Paul Dumbrell was running 3rd going down Conrod Straight and couldn’t see out of the front window because of the heavy rain. Due to some controversy earlier in the year the Triple 8 team made an official request to the V8 Supercars Technical Manager, David Stuart to be allowed to use a squeegee while driving. David Stuart weighed up the risk between visibility and ‘squeegeeing whilst driving’ and permitted its use for this occasion.
‘Squeegeeing Whilst Driving’ (SWD) a new technical phrase. You heard it here first at Williams Perfect Ride.
With permission now granted, both Paul Dumbrell and Matt Campbell also joined the SWD ranks.
A funny part was, while it was raining the crews had to carry the drivers on their backs out onto the pit lane so that the driver’s shoes didn’t get wet. No driver wants slippery feet going at those speeds.
I couldn’t believe how many cars went off the track throughout the race down at turn 23. It was just crazy.
It was funny to see one of fans up at the top of the hill in McPhillamy Park offering pit reporter Greg Rust a beer before he had to get back down to the pit lane.
As Lee Holdsworth was coming in, David Wall in nearly made contact with him in car 18.
In the middle of the race the Vodafone Safety car came out due to a Kangaroo being close to the track. In total there were 6 Safety cars.
On lap 141 James Moffat hit the wall at the top of the hill. Once again the Safety Car came out and car 34 was towed from the track. Co-driver Richard Muscat watching intently from the garage must have known what this meant for the race.
Towards the end of the race, at lap 152 Simona De Silvestro had DNF due to a wet track making her lose it at the last turn and hit the pit lane wall. It was so bad the car had to be towed off track. Except for possibly a bruised ego she came out of it fine. It was so close to the end of the race I am sure she and her co-driver David Russell felt terrible. They had done so well throughout the race.
Soon after, at lap 159 with Mark Winterbottom at the wheel, he and co-driver Dean Canto left the track with a DNF. Another casualty of the wet weather, dropping 19 spots from their start at position 3.
The gruelling race took another victim a lap later (160). Nick Percat and Macauley Jones had their car #8 taken from the track and also received a DNF.
As the race drew to a close no one else could catch the top 3 podium spots. The Erubus team with drivers David Reynolds and Luke Youlden finished an amazing 4 seconds ahead of the next team, Scott Pye and Warren Luff. They were followed less than a second later by Fabain Coulthard and Tony D’Alberto.
The reason why Craig Lowndes surprisingly finished 11th was because he had an issue with his car for the 2nd year in a row.
Also surprisingly, Jamie Whincup finished 20th completing only 124 laps when time was called. This was because his car dropped a cylinder. The team decided to get back out there was better than a DNF. Such bad luck for both of them.
Results for race 20
1st David Reynolds and Luke Youlden – Erebus Motorsport. 2nd Scott Pye and Warren Luff – Mobil 1 HSV Racing. 3rd Fabain Coulthard and Tony D’Alberto – Shell V Power Racing
Team.
4th Dale Wood and Chris Pither – Erebus Motorsport. 5th Shane Van Gisbergen and Matt Campbell – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
The next event is the Vodafone Gold Coast 600 on the 20th to the 22nd of October 2017.
Interesting to note, Fabian Coulthard has now taken back the championship over Jamie Whincup by 91 points and Scott McLaughlin has now dropped from 1st to 3rd, 97 points away.
This was David and Luke Youden’s first Bathurst win together.
Erebus Team owner Betty Klimenko couldn’t talk because she had happy tears coming out of her eyes.
On the weekend of the 15th to the 17th of September 2017 was the Wilson Security Sandown 500.
Mark Skaife said that the Sandown 500 is the precursor to the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. I agree and believe it can make the drivers a little overeager to push hard.
It may be why the extra rule on this weekend was to have the seat belts done up and fastened before leaving the pit lane.
Even pre-race I felt it was going to be an exciting weekend. On the final lap of the Armor All Race for the Grid 1, Jonathon Webb locked the brakes at the end of the back straight. This resulted in Todd Hazelwood crashing into the tyre wall at a terrifying top speed of 260 kilometres an hour. This also resulted in Will Davison not racing in Race for the Grid 2 for the main drivers.
Regardless, it didn’t mean that fun was not had. Russell Ingall was in an old Castrol Perkins race suit and wig. Also, Mark Skaife donned a Fox Sports race suit. Whenever I spotted them I couldn’t stop laughing.
In Race 19, Cameron Waters and Richie Stanaway started on pole position with Richie Stanaway behind the wheel. Alongside them were Scott McLaughlin and Alexandre Premat.
It was interesting to note only 2 main drivers started the race. These were Shane Van Gisbergen and Craig Lowndes in cars 97 and 888 respectively.
Craig Lowndes started 23rd due to a DNF in Race for the Grid 2 with a power steering issue.
Shane Van Gisbergen started in position 21.
At the start of what was supposed to be a 161-lap race, Richie Stanaway got the jump and led into turn 1.
Dean Canto got turned around between turns 3 and 4. Ash Walsh also got spun around at turn 4 on the opening lap.
Then Taz Douglas hit the wall at the end of the back straight due to a flat right front tyre. The red flag came out for the Marshalls and Officials to repair the tyre barrier.
The result of the hold-up was the race went to a ‘time certain’ finish. When the race got back underway the clock started ticking.
When the green flag went up, Richie Stanaway took off into the distance which the drivers behind didn’t want to see. Close behind him was Alex Premat.
Early on Tony Dalberto was running inside the top 5.
Paul Dumbrell was running 3rd trying to catch the race leaders up front. However, he knew he had to keep the car ‘straight’ for when he handed it back to Jamie Whincup.
When Paul Dumbrell got a puncture, it was coming out of turn 4 and he knew he had to back right off to reduce chance of damage to car 88.
A lot of tyres let go I think due to the end of the turn 1 curb. The race engineers were telling their drivers to stay off the turn 1 curb edge.
Craig Lowndes pitted early to hand over to Steven Richards ensuring he re-joined with a clear race track in front and behind.
It was funny that Todd Kelly ran wide and collected the Dunlop Break Marker. The only way he could get rid of it was to make sure there were no other cars behind him and brake hard.
In the middle of the race Cameron Waters was back in the driver’s seat being chased down by Scott McLaughlin.
Soon all main drivers got back in the driver’s seat for the run to the checkered flag. With the race becoming ‘time certain’ strategies had changed.
Towards the end of the race no one could catch the top 3 cars. All were Fords; Cameron Waters Scott Mclaughlin and Chaz Mostert.
As the others crossed the line it became a little messy.
Ash Walsh and Tim Slade got excluded from the results due to both drivers not completing the minimum 54 laps.
Taz Douglas was out of the race and received a DNF.
Shane Van Gisbergen was docked 2 grid spots due to spinning Fabian Coulthard earlier on.
Aside from this the other noteworthy points were:
This was Matt Campbell’s 2nd Enduro campaign but first with the Red Bull Holden Racing Team. I was quite impressed with his performance.
Craig Lowndes line of the weekend was perfect. It was like James Bond not the Colin Bond like the Livery is.
HA HA! I Was Laughing at Garth Tander because he was trying to be a camera man while the race was under red flag.
Results for the 2017 Wilson Security Sandown 500 race 19.
1st Cameron Waters and Richie Stanaway – Monster Energy Racing team. 2nd Scott Mclaughlin and Alex Premat – Shell V Power racing team. 3rd Chaz Mostert and Steve Owen – Supercheap Auto racing team.
Ford 1 2 and 3.
The next event is the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 on the 5th to the 8th of October 2017.
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 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.
On the 11th – 13th of September will be the 2015 Wilson Security Sandown 500 race, let’s take a look back at what happen in 2014.
In the first race Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell started on pole position alongside them was Shane Van Gisbergen and Jonathon Webb. On lap 1 all of the co-drivers started the race but one main driver which was David Reynolds, Taz Douglas in the Norton Nissan couldn’t re-join the race due to the fuel hose being stuck in the side of car 360. The Tekno crew had to chase the left front wheel so that it didn’t roll into the fast lane, because otherwise that would have been a drive thru penalty.
Who will win the 2015 Wilson Security Sandown 500? Will it be the defending champs in car 1 or will another combination step up?
Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell will be getting a brand new car for the 500, the Sandown event will be event 9. The race will be 500 Kilometres and 161 laps.
Can Red Bull make it 4 Sandown 500 wins in a row in 2015? Can they go back 2 back poles?
How will Marcos Ambrose and Scott Pye go at the Enduros this year? Best of luck to everybody for the upcoming event, the Wilson Security Sandown 500. The commentators 12 months ago were Neil Crompton along with Mark Skaife, the host was Mark Beretta.
We will heading down on the Thursday the 10th for the weekend of racing action. I am looking forward to the Pirtek Enduro cup which starts this month.
Results from the 2014 Sandown 500.
1st – Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – James Courtney and Greg Murphy – SP Tools Holden Racing team.
3rd – Garth Tander and Warren Luff – Holden Racing Team.
Pirtek Enduro cup pairings for 2015.
Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell – Red Bull Racing Australia, car 1.
Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards – Red Bull Racing Australia, car 888.
Mark Winterbottom and Steve Owen, – Pepsi Max Crew, car 5.
Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters – Pepsi Max Crew. car 6.
David Reynolds and Dean Canto – Rod Nash Racing, car 55.
Andre Heimgartner and Ant Pederson – car 111 – Superblack Racing Team.
Garth Tander and Warren Luff – Holden Racing Team, car 2.
Jack Perkins and Russell Ingall – Holden Racing, Team. car 22.
Tim Slade and Tony Dalberto -Supercheap Auto Racing Team. car 47.
Lee Holdsworth and Sebation Bourdais. – Walkinshaw Racing, Car 18.
Jason Bright and Andrew Jones – Team BOC, car 8.
Dale Wood and Macauley Jones – GB Galvanizing Racing, car 21
Fabain Coulthard and Luke Youlden – Freightliner racing, car 14.
Shane Van Gisbergen and Jonathon Webb, – Team Tekno Darrwell Lea Stix car 97.
Scott Pye and Marcos Ambrose – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske, car 17.
Micheal Caruso and Dean Fiore – Nissan Motorsport, car 23.
James Moffatt and Taz Douglas – Nissan Motorsport, car 99.
Rick Kelly and David Russell – Jack Daniel’s Racing, car 15.
Todd Kelly and Alex Buncombe – Nissan Motorsport, car 7.
Scott Mclaughlin and Alex Premat- – Garry Rogers Motorsport. car 33.
David Wall and Chris Pither – Garry Rogers Motorsport, – car 34.
Will Davison and Alex Davison – Erebus Motorsort V8 car 9.
Ash Walsh and Jack LEbrocq. Erebus Motorsport V8 car 4.
Nick Percat and Oliver Gavin – Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport car 222.
Tim Blanchard and Karl Reindler. – Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport,, car 3.
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.
