Last weekend (starting on Thursday, March 12 through to March 15) was supposed to be the 2nd round of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship and the opening round of the World Formula 1 Championship.
Unfortunately, COVID-19 was the winner for the weekend in its mission to spoil our fun. COVID-19 is not a new race car to contend with the super fast Mustangs, it’s the Corona Virus causing the entire world a bunch of problems.
Some of the pre-race sessions were run (see further down for the results) but the spread of Corona Virus made itself known.
The McLaren F1 team are now in isolation because 14 of the team members tested positive to Corona virus.
In the end the officials decided on Friday to not let the event go ahead and cancel all the support categories and the Formula 1.
At the moment there is talk that Tasmania and the ITM Super400 could also get cancelled due to this god damn Coronavirus.
So for the sake of keeping check on the form of the teams, here are the results from the pre-race sessions that were run:
Practice 1 – Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen finished 1st and 2
Practice 2 – Anton de Pasquale was fastest. However, Maculey Jones had a 16G-force impact with the wall at the end of turn 1. Scared the hell out of everyone.
Qualifying both Shane Van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup claimed pole position for races 3 and 4.
The next 2 rounds of the Supercars are at Symmons plains and Hampton downs. Let’s hope these next 2 events go ahead. Fingers crossed.
If you have any comments about the event or the affect of Corona Virus we would love to hear from you. Head to my V8 Supercars fan page at https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/ and have your say.
So until the next race – Keep well and healthy and keep it idling.
Steven Richards is an Australian motorsport legend who has recently announced his retirement from Supercars racing. He will no longer be running team SRM (Steven Richards Motorsport). I would like to list some of his outstanding career achievements.
Steven Richards was born on the 11th of July, 1972 in New Zealand.
He won the Australian Formula Ford Championship in 1994 before becoming a professional full time driver.
In 1995 Steven Richards made his Bathurst 1000 debut with co-driver Anders Olofsson, finishing 4th under the Gibson Motorsport team.
In 1996 Steven Richards moved over to Garry Rogers Motorsport.
In 1995 and 1997 Steven Richards also competed in an Alfa Romeo 155, Honda Accord and then he drove a Nissan Primera. In 1996 he made his Australian Touring Car Championship debut in a Holden VF Commodore.
Steven Richards competed with his father, Jim Richards at the Bathurst 1000 in 1996 and 1997 and again in 2004.
In the 1997 Bathurst 1000 he and his father finished in 2nd place.
At the 1998 V8 Supercars Bathurst 1000 as a co-driver to Jason Bright, Richards finished 1st for Stone Brothers Racing.
In that same year he finished 2nd with co-driver Matt Neil in the Touring Car Bathurst 1000. This was an amazing feat because they were driving a Nissan Primera for UK bases Team Dynamics.
He then backed up his Bathurst 1st place the following year (1999) with co-driver Greg Murphy for Gibson Motorsport.
He continued in the same way for nearly another 20 years with one success after the other.
Steven Richards has 5 Bathurst 1000 wins: 1998, 1999, 2013, 2015 and 2018.
He has also won pole position for Bathurst in 2004 and 2007.
In 2014 (just to prove he wasnt too old to be racing he won the Australian Carrera Cup Championship and scored 5th in the Australian GT Championship.
In 2016 he ran in both the Australian GT Championship and Endurance Championship under his own team, Steve Richards Motorsport (SRM).
In total Steven Richards has:
completed 451 races
12 race wins
& 60 podium finishes.
Now work that out. It means he at approximately gets 1 podium finish per 7 races. Not bad at all.
Teams that Steven Richards have driven for are:
Garry Rogers Motorsport 1996 1997 1998
Gibson Motorsport 1999 2000
Ford Tickford Racing 2001
Perkins Engineering 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006.
Ford Performance Racing 2007 2008 2009 2010.
Ford Performance Racing 2011 2012 2013
Red Bull Racing Australia 2014 2015
Team Vortex 2016 & 2017 and Autobarn Lowndes Racing 2018.
On the weekend of the 22nd to the 24th of November 2019 was the Coates Hire Newcastle 500.
The event at Newcastle has been running since 2017 so this is the third time they will be hosting the final event of the season.
The track at Newcastle is a street track and this year they tweaked it to provide better passing opportunities.
Newcastle really knows how to put on an event and had 155,000 people attend over the 3 days.
Before the weekend started Scott McLaughlin was declared ‘Driver Champion Elect’ based on a points lead that could not be caught up to with only this race remaining for the season. With that in mind, it must have been quite a fun weekend for him.
The Team Championship point spread was a little bit closer with a gap of just 116 and the Red Bull team were in a position take the lead away from the Scott McLaughlin’s Shell V Power Racing Team which made things a little more exciting.
The weekend got off to a great start. In summary the pre-race sessions took place with the following results:
Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 1
Jamie Whincup was fastest in Practice 2
Jamie Whincup was fastest in Armour All Qualifying
Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in the Armour All Top Ten Shootout.
In race 31 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position. Alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.
At the start of the 95-lap race Shane Van Gisbergen got the jump off the line.
Scott McLaughlin was held up high and wide at the first turn which allowed Jamie Whincup to go up to 2nd spot. I was surprised that Scott McLaughlin let Jamie Whincup pass him on the opening lap.
Shane Van Gisbergen continued to hold his lead all the way except for pit stops.
Fabian Coulthard came in to pits first to not double stack with the champion elect Scott McLaughlin.
David Reynolds was battling with Anton De Pasquale for pit priority.
In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup were still running 1st and 2nd .
It was only in the last laps that Jamie Whincup came off track at turn 1. He wasnt able to get into the reverse gear and lost time slipping from 2nd to 8th place by the race finish. It was this mistake that cost the Red Bull Team the season championship. The team championship spread was now just 77 points.
I think, to the surprise of everyone there were no safety cars on Saturday.
Results for Race 31
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
3rd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team
In preparation for the final race of the season:
Cameron Waters was fastest in Armour All Qualifying
Jamie Whincup was Fastest in the top ten shootout
In race 32 Jamie Whincup started on pole position. Alongside him was Cameron Waters.
At the start of the final race of the season Lee Holdsworth received damaged to his Ford Mustang requiring an immediate return to the pits after contact with another car.
As the rest of the pack prepped for the pits, the race leaders stayed out to avoid the dreaded double stacking.
Soon after James Courtney and Anton de Pasquale made contact in between turns 2 and 3 which required the first safety car of the weekend to be deployed to remove Anton de Pasquale’s car.
On the restart Shane Van Gisbergen was on the charge along with Will Davison after those drivers got pinged before the race and set further back on the start grid.
Regardless of efforts no could catch Jamie Whincup who dominated the race all bar pit stops. Jamie Whincup crossed the line first.
That now gives Jamie Whincup 118 career wins and 83 career poles.
Rick Kelly and Andre Heimgartner and Garry Jacobson had their final race with the Nissan Altama’s before they switch to the Ford Mustang, which will make 8 Mustangs on the Supercars grid for next year.
Results for Race 32
1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team
3rd Tim Slade – Brad Jones Racing
Please feel free to comment on how the Newcastle event went.
On the weekend of the 8th to the 10th of November 2019 was the Penrite Oil Sandown 500.
Results for the pre – race sessions were as follows:
Garth Tander was fastest in practice 1 for co-drivers
David Reynolds was fastest in Practice 2
Craig Lowndes was fastest in Practice 3
Scott Pye & Warren Luff were fastest in the warm up for the Sandown 500.
Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 4 & Armour All Qualifying for Race 28
Craig Lowndes won Race 28
Jamie Whincup won Race 29
Before the race on Sunday the Supercars community at Sandown paid tribute to the life of Mike Raymond, who passed away a few days earlier at the age of 76. Mike Raymond was most well known as a commentator in the late 80s, early 90s. He gave so much to the sport, our condolences to his family and all that knew him. If anyone has a good memory to share about Mike Raymond please post it on my Supercars Facebook Fan Page. I am sure others would love to hear it. https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/
At the start of the 500 kilometre 161 lap race Craig Lowndes started on pole position, alongside him was Bryce Fullwood from the Dunlop Super 2 Series.
All the co-drivers bar Scott Pye started behind the wheel for the race on Sunday. I guess this is part of the strategy as the co-drivers have to do a minimum of 54 laps and can only do a maximum 107 laps.
Jack Smith was behind the wheel co-driving with Todd Hazelwood in his debut at the Enduro’s.
Both Alex Premat (co-driver for Scott McLaughlin) and Garth Tander (co-driver for Shane Van Gisbergen) started in positions 24th and 25th. These two cars are normally at the front of the grid. Garth Tander’s positioning was caused by Shane Van Gisbergen unable to complete the ‘main driver’ race on Saturday due to to a spin off track from a poorly timed takeover with Anton de Pasquale.
Alex Premat was sentenced to the back of the grid due to officials finding Scott McLaughlin’s engine was over-specced dating back to Bathurst. Quite a drama. If you have a point of view on this please feel free to put it up for discussion on my Supercars Facebook Fan Page.
Without surprise the experienced Craig Lowndes got the jump on Bryce Fullwood off the start line. Further back in the grid 3 cars stalled on the green light causing a fair bit of havoc.
Alex Davison was in one of the cars that stalled and was extremely lucky not to be collected by the cars just behind him.
At the end of the opening lap Tony Dalberto got turned around by Richard Muscat and found himself at the very back of the pack.
Luke Youlden in car # 9 received damage and was missing the rear wing. When he got back to the pits he knew that the day was over. With only 30 laps completed it must have been a big blow for him and his main driver, David Reynolds.
I was actually surprised that Dale Wood and Luke Youlden managed to limp their cars back to the pits. They looked in very poor shape.
Later in the race there was contact between Michael Caruso and Jake Kostecki. This was a really messy situation. It was when Jake Kostecki was merging from the pit lane into the fast lane. It appeared he was unaware that Caruso was coming down the fast lane. Usually the car controller gives the driver warning to yield over the comms when merging back onto the track.
Kostecki was able to continue the race but Michael Caruso’s front left wheel was now at a strange looking angle. With this damage he had to complete a full lap at a slower in order to come back around to the pits.
It merge was deemed as unsafe and the Kostecki Brothers Racing team were issued a drive through penalty.
In the middle of the race the Red Bull Holden Racing Team were running 1st & 2nd. If they could maintain their lead to the end of the race it would also place them at the top of the Team’s Championship ladder. The pressure was on!
But as luck would have it, with only 10 laps to go and in the lead, Shane Van Gisbergen’s car lost a bolt and smoke was coming out of the right rear. He was forced to call into the pits which dropped him from 1st to 17th. Shane Van Gisbergen & co-driver Garth Tander must have been gutted. They had started from the back of the grid in position 24 and worked their way into the lead. That is pretty amazing but it wold have also been Shane Van Gisbergen’s first win at Sandown (and a second win at Sandown for Garth Tander)
It was lucky for the Red Bull Team that Jamie Whincup was just behind Shane Van Gisbergen and able to take the lead for the team. Once he was told that his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen had to pit he knew he had to hold the lead to the end.
This was not difficult for Jamie Whincup and he came across the line first.
It brings Jamie Whincup’s career win total to 117 and Craig Lowndes win total to 110.
However, Shane Van Gisbergen slipping back to 17th meant they only closed the Team Championship points trail from 132 to 116. I’m sure it will be their inspiration to ‘go hard’ in the coming last race of the season, The Newcastle 500.
Results for Race 30
1st Jamie Whincup & Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd Chaz Mostert & James Moffatt – Supercheap Auto Racing Team.
3rd Lee Holdsworth & Thomas Randle – Bottle O Racing Team.
Congratulations to Jack Smith who will be making his full time Virgin Australia Supercars Championship debut in 2020. Read about it in the link: https://www.speedcafe.com/2019/11/13/bjr-confirms-smith-in-expanded-four-car-2020-line-up/
Please feel free to comment on how Sandown went via my Facebook Fanpage.
On the weekend of the 25th to the 27th of October was the Vodafone Gold Coast 600.
Pre-race sessions:
Jamie Whincup was fastest in Practice 1.
Garth Tander was fastest in Practice 2 for co-drivers.
Cameron Waters was fastest in practice 3 the season was red flagged due to a lot of water on the track.
Chaz Mostert was fastest in Armour All Qualifying.
Scott McLaughlin was the fastest in the Armour All top ten shootout.
In Race 26 Alex Premat started on pole position alongside him was Craig Lowndes.
At the start of the 102 lap race Craig Lowndes got the jump off the start line. Alex Premat stalled his car losing his number 1 position on the grid which put the championship leading car back into 2nd off the start.
All of the co-driver’s started the race behind the wheel except main game driver. Jack Le Brocq.
During the opening stages it got overcrowded in the S-bends. In order to avoid making contact with other cars eight drivers were forced to short cut the circuit and drove straight over the chicanes. Race Control issued warnings to them about having all four wheels out of track bounds and short cutting the circuit but they didn’t penalise anyone at that stage.
Thomas Randle who was making his debut in the V8-Supercars Championship as co-driver for Lee Holdsworth showed his inexperience and held up Michael Caruso. Eventually the pass was made and he was lucky not to be penalised. Even commentator Mark Skaife said that Thomas Randle should have let Michael Caruso by a lot earlier than he did.
Mark Winterbottom had a problem with his car which made him have to re visit the pit lane to have the problem sorted out.
Fabian Coulthard was watching the opening stages race from the garage while Tony Dalberto was behind the wheel doing his minimum 34 laps required by all co-drivers. I’m sure Fabian Coulthard’s heart must have skipped a beat when Dalberto made contact Jack Perkins. Luckily it wasn’t major and both continued without stopping.
By the middle of the race Jamie Whincup was effectively leading. The cars ahead of him only lead because they had not perform their second pit stop.
Jamie Whincup was not going to blow this opportunity. He maintained his lead all the way to the finish line. Shane Van Gisbergen was on his tail pushing him along. This was a great result for the Triple Eight team and the only time this year to get a 1st & 2nd in a race.
As co-driver to Jamie Whincup, Craig Lowndes statistics breach 1000 laps of lead for all combined races. A momentous occasion for such a legend.
Results for Race 26
1st Jamie Whincup & Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
|2nd Shane Van Gisbergen & Garth Tander – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Scott McLaughlin & Alex Premat – Shell V Power Racing Team.
In Qualifying for race 27 Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest and then again in the Armour All top ten shootout.
Scott McLaughlin did not take part in this race at all because he crashed in Qualifying.
As co-driver for Shane Van Gisbergen, Garth Tander started on pole position. Alongside him was Craig Lowndes, co-driver for Jamie Whincup.
As they started the 102 lap race Craig Lowndes got the jump on Garth Tander but then Garth Tander took the lead and held position.
On the opening there was an accident between Ash Walsh, Will Brown, Todd Hazelwood and Dean Canto.
Garth Tander led his opening stint until it was time to pit and hand over to Shane Van Gisbergen.
James Courtney’s driver’s swung open. He tried to close it but at the next turn it swung open again. He faught with the door but it just wouldn’t close. He ended up getting a Mechanical Black Flag meaning he was forced into the pits for the team to tape it shut.
By the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was the effective race leader with cars in front of him yet to complete their 2nd pit stops.
It was looking good again for the Triple Eight Team.
In the closing stages Jamie Whincup had fresh rubber on and grip to his advantage but he just fell short on getting another race win for 2019. It was his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen who crossed the line first.
It was another 1st and 2nd for the Red Bull Holden Racing Team for the weekend.
Results for Race 27
1st Shane Van Gisbergen & Garth Tander – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd Jamie Whincup & Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
|3rd David Reynolds & Luke Youlden – Erebus Motorsport.
The next event is the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 on the 8th to the 10th of November 2019.
Please feel free to comment on how the Gold Coast event was.
On the weekend of the 23rd to the August 2019 was The Bend Supersprint.
This is the second year that Tailem Bend, South Australia played host to a V8 Supercars event.
It was also a milestone for Will Davison making his 200th championship round start and Triple 8 marking their 500th Supercars race.
As part of the preparations for the biggest event of the year The Bathurst 1000, the co-drivers had their own practice session. Thomas Randle was the fastest co-driver in this practice.
Then Scott McLaughlin once again proved his invincibility by being fastest in Practice 1, 2 and 3.
Chaz Mostert earned himself the Pole position for Race 21 being fastest in the Armour All Qualifying.
In race 21 Scott McLaughlin lined up next to Chaz Mostert in the pole position.
At the start of 24 lap race, Chaz Mostert originally took the lead off the start line but then Scott McLaughlin took him and led into turn 1.
During the opening lap there was contact between Will Davison, Todd Hazelwood and Simona De Silvestro. All 3 cars suffered damage but managed to get back the pits under their own power but all received NC’s (Not Complete). It appeared they all felt there was no point returning to track due to the race being so short, only 24 laps.
By the middle of the race the three race leaders appeared uncatchable; Scott McLaughlin, Chaz Mostert and Anton de Pasquale.
From that moment Scott McLaughlin set out to prove just how fast he was and stretched his lead on the other two. He crossed the finish line nearly 8 seconds ahead of Chaz Mostert and just over 25 seconds ahead of Anton de Pasquale. It was an incredible finish.
Results for race 21
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team. 2nd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing. 3rd Anton de Pasquale – Erebus Motorsport.
In race 22 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position, alongside him was Will Davison.
At the start of 41 lap race Will Davison got the jump and led into turn 1.
Scott McLaughlin followed Will Davison for most of the opening stint and wasn’t able to to get by him.
I thought that Will Davison looked on track to claim his first race win for 2019.
In an effort to claim his second race for the year, Jamie Whincup also tried to pass Will Davison but couldn’t get the job done.
Will Davison made his first mistake, locking up his tyres he almost when off the track. I thought he was going to lose race positioning but somehow he held on to the lead. It honestly surprised me.
Jamie Whincup then dropped a couple of spots. It was still early on he knew there was a long way to go to the finish line.
Rick Kelly was trying to keep up with his teammates but it wasn’t his day and fell further back into the pack.
In the middle of the race Scott Mclaughlin was still the race leader and looking good for another race win.
Towards the end of the race no one could catch Scott Mclaughlin.
In the middle of the race Will Davison had an air box fire on pit entry. Although he managed to get back out on the track it had slowed him down. Now Scot McLaughlin had the lead with Chaz Mostert in hot pursuit.
Scott McLaughlin was unbeatable and held his lead to the finish line followed by Will Davison and then Chaz Mostert. Who can stop Scott McLaughlin’s winning run?
The teams’ cars and equipment will be going to New Zealand via a boat because the its too expensive to fly everything to New Zealand by plane. The drivers of course will be flying in.
Results for race 22
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team. 2nd Will Davison – 23 Red Racing. 3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.
The event is the ITM Auckland Supersprint on the 13th to the 15th of September 2019.
On the weekend of the 26th to the 28th of July 2019 was the Century Batteries Ipswich Supersprint.
This Queensland raceway is home territory to the legend Craig Lowndes where he has had 12 race wins through his career. Considering that this is the 23rd Supercars event at this venue, Craig Lowndes’ stats go prove why he is a legend.
This is not to say it is a ‘friendly’ track to everyone. In 2005 Jason Richards had a massive rollover after Paul Morris made contact with him. At the same event Cameron McLean also rolled in the same section of the track. In 2010 Mark Winterbottom had a huge crash that I am sure still sticks in his mind.
Heading into the weekend Scott McLaughlin leads the championship by 292 points over his teammate, Fabian Coulthard. If there is going to be any challenges for the championship, this weekend is the time to make a move.
As it turned out Scott McLaughlin ruled in the pre-race sessions; Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 1, 2 & 3 and then again for the Armour All Qualifying.
In race 19 he started on pole position, alongside him was Jamie Whincup.
At the start of the 39-lap race Scott McLaughlin didn’t want to have any contact with Jamie Whincup so he let him go at turn 2.
By the end of the opening lap Scott McLaughlin went from 1st to 4th
There was contact between Will Davison and Scott McLaughlin which was not good. I thought that Scott McLaughlin would have had damage but somehow he didn’t.
Scott McLaughlin’s troubles were not over. Later he had a 9.2 second pit stop due to a jammed left front wheel nut. It surely affected his result at the finish line slipping from pole position to 4th.
Lee Holdsworth had a massive slide but saved it, which was super impressive.
Scott Pye had contact with another car which resulted in problems in the pits later on when removing the left rear wheel. He dropped 7 positions and finished 21st.
Jamie Whincup had a 4.1 second stop. Excepting pit stops, Jamie Whincup held his lead throughout the race.
Fabian Coulthard didn’t have a great race at all. He started 9th on the grid and finished 10th.
As they crossed the finish line, no one else could catch the top 3 drivers; Jamie Whincup with a 2 + second lead over Will Davison, then Chaz Mostert following a further 3.87 seconds later.
Although no safety car was deployed during the race, Tim Slade and Macauley Jones were both NC’s.
It was a convincing win for Jamie Whincup whose last race win was the Sandown 500 in 2018. His tally now reaches 114 wins from 484 races.
Results for Race 19
1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team. 2nd Will Davison – 23 Red Racing. 3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.
The unusual result for Scott McLaughlin in race 19 didn’t seem to affect him the next morning. He was fastest in practice 4 and Qualifying, earning him pole position for race 20. That is his 13th pole start this year.
In race 20 Scott McLaughlin in pole position had Chaz Mostert alongside him.
At the start of the 200 Km, 65 lap race Chaz Mostert tried to go around the outside of the Championship leader but he wasn’t able to and had to pull back in behind.
Scott McLaughlin led the whole way excepting in his 2 pit stops.
Fabian Coulthard had a shocking weekend because he didn’t qualify in the top ten on Sunday.
After such a positive result in Saturday’s race Will Davison drove with inspiration and seemed to really want to get back to back podiums. However, he just wasn’t able to move up from his starting position of 5.
By the middle of race Shane Van Gisbergen had taken over Jamie Whincup and Chaz Mostert. Now in second place he was putting pressure on Scott McLaughlin for the race lead.
In the last laps Shane Van Gisbergen stayed right on Scott McLaughlin’s tail but he wasn’t given any opportunity to take advantage of. They crossed the finish line just 0.7 seconds apart and nearly 10 seconds ahead of their closest rival, Chaz Mostert.
Results for Race 20
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team. 2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team. 3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.
Scott McLaughlin got pinged for doing his post race burnouts in the wrong spots.
He also got fined $1000 for taking a poster on to the podium.
On the weekend of the 5th to the 7th of July, 2019 was the Watpac Townsville 400.
While Scott McLaughlin has dominated the season, his teammate Fabian Coulthard has also had a great season. On this weekend he will be hitting a milestone, his 400th race. He is 2nd in the championship with career stats including 12 race wins, 54 podiums, 9 pole positions and held the lead for 689 laps over all races. It is no wonder that even this early in the year the Shell V Power Racing Team have announced re-signing Fabian Coulthard (and Scott McLaughlin) for next season.
This news ends the speculation about Scott McLaughlin racing for Roger Penske in the US. The following link is an article by ‘FoxSprts’ and gives some insight to some of the big name drivers and their prospects for 2020.
As the weekend wound up to the big event, the results in the pre-race sessions were as follows:
·Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 1
·Lee Holdsworth was fastest in Practice 2
·Fabian Coulthard was fastest Practice 3
·David Reynolds was fastest in Qualifying for race 17
In race 17 David Reynolds started on pole position. Alongside him was Chaz Mostert.
Rick Kelly ran with a new car number, 100 in honour of one of his big supporters, Castrol to celebrate 100 years in Australia and New Zealand.
At the start of the 70 lap race David Reynolds got the jump on Chaz Mostert and kept his lead for most of the opening laps.
Andre Heimgartner, Cameron Waters and Jamie Whincup nearly came together and almost hit the wall but somehow they missed.The drivers who started back in the pack came in early to try and get track position.
Jamie Whincup also came in early to get out of the traffic and also get track position. It worked out well for him and he found the clear air he was looking for. It was a big help in keeping him up front with a chance of taking his first race win of 2019.
In the middle of the race David Reynolds had bad luck in his pit stop. It was unfortunate that cross threaded wheel nut cost him his chance at victory.
David Reynolds’ bad luck was just the opportunity Scott McLaughlin was looking for and he was soon in the lead.
As the race came to a close he and Jamie Whincup had a good lead on the rest of the pack without a chance of being caught.
Shane Van Gisbergen who wanted to get on the podium also had some bad luck (that went by the name of Chaz Mostert ) and finished 4th with Chaz Mostert in front of him.
Results for Race 17:
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team 2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team 3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing
In race 18 on the Sunday, Cameron Waters started on pole position. Alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.
As they started the 70 lap race the rain started. A wet and slippery track usually spells disaster.
David Reynolds and Scott McLaughlin made contact between turns 1 and 2. The damage was significant enough for them to both head back to the pits.
David Reynolds’ car went back into the garage with broken steering.
I was quite surprised that the Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske crew let Scott McLaughlin re-join the race. I thought for sure that the DJR Team would have put car 17 in the garage but didn’t.
The rain was getting heavier. After Jamie Whincup had re-joined from his pit stop he was still on slick tyres and the wet weather caused him to hit the wall.
As Jamie Whincup got his car back to the pits race engineer David Cauchi said, ‘Turn it off. No oil pressure!’. It was the second time this weekend that Jamie Whincup missed out on what could have been his first race win for the season.
In the middle of the race the rain started to pour down. This meant the cars and drivers needed to be on ‘Wets’.
Simona de Silvestro got called to come in to the pits but when she went back onto the track she crossed the yellow line to re-join which is not allowed. The drive through penalty she received cost her a few positions at the finish line.
Towards the end of the race Shane Van Gisbergen took the lead after Scott McLaughlin received car damage. He and Fabian Coulthard had comfortable space ahead of the pack and were uncatchable.
But the race was interrupted. Both Nick Percat and Garry Jacobson’s cars caught fire in two separate incidents. Nick Percat’s fire was in the pits causing a huge amount of smoke and flames looked to almost reach the fuel stands (That would have been a massive disaster).
Garry Jacobson’s car caught fire out on track which meant the race finished under safety car.
As they called the end of the race there were 3 DNF’s. They were Jamie Whincup, Mark Winterbottom and Garry Jacobson.
Results for Race 18:
1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team 2nd Fabian Coulthard – Dick Johnson Racing Team Penske 3rd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing
The next is the Century Batteries Ipswich Supersprint on the 26th to the 28th of July 2019.
On the Weekend of the 2nd to the 4th of May 2019 was the Pirtek Perth Supernight.
This was the first night race to take place at the Barbagallo Raceway and as showcase of the setup commentators Craig Lowndes and Greg Murphy took Jamie Whincup and Rick Kelly’s cars out onto the racetrack for a couple laps.
I thought the lights and light towers looked incredible.
As the pre-race sessions started I noted the return of Mark Larkham as pit-lane commentator. He missed the last event at Phillip Island (see my previous article for details) so it was good to see him back in his role.
Results for the pre-race sessions were as one would expect:
·Jamie Whincup was fastest in Practice 1
·Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 2
·Scott McLaughlin was also fastest in Qualifying for race 11
In race 11 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position and alongside him was Fabian Coulthard.
At the start of the 50-lap race Fabian Coulthard got jump off the line and the championship leader, Scott McLaughlin had to pull in behind him.
David Reynolds and Anton de Pasquale were in battle for position and made contact with each other at turn 1 but David Reynolds held his spot.
Shane Van Gisbergen pitted early to get track position because he was getting held up by David Reynolds in his battle with Anton De Pasquale.
Scott McLaughlin tried to make a pass for the lead but Fabian Coulthard held firm to his lead.
Later Todd Hazelwood made a great pass on Jack Le Brocq. It was a nice clean piece of driving.
Before the pit stops had been completed Fabian Coulthard was the affective race leader and seemed in fine form as he held the position through the entire race. Scott McLaughlin was still close behind but everyone else was further back and no one could catch them.
Fabian Coulthard appeared full of confidence as he crossed the finish line to make it a back 2 back win after winning at race 10 at Phillip Island.
It was a great race and the night light setup was brilliant. Surprisingly no Safety Cars were deployed through the entire race.
Results for Race 11
1st Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team.
2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing Team.
4th Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
In the Pre-Race Sessions for race 12:
·Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 3
·Scott McLaughlin was also fastest in Qualifying
In race 12 Scott McLaughlin once again started on pole position with Jamie Whincup alongside him.
At the start of the 83-lap race Scott McLaughlin nearly stalled giving Jamie Whincup the lead he wanted. This was bad luck again for Scott McLaughlin after his poor start from pole position in Race 11.
Jamie Whincup was in front of the field for the first couple of laps.
Most of the cars back in the pack pitted early to get into clear air.
Soon after Andre Heimgartner made contact with Scott Pye which caused the 1 and only Safety Car deployment during races 11 and 12.
On the restart Shane Van Gisbergen gave Rick Kelly a bump which put him off the race track and Rick Kelly’s front air dam was full of sponsorship signs. I thought there would’ve been no way he could have made it to the end of the race but somehow he did.
Scott McLaughlin was now leading the race but Jamie Whincup kept him honest the whole way, which was good to see.
I thought at one stage that Jamie Whincup was going to win his first race for 2019 but that wasn’t the case.
As the race came to a close Jamie Whincup kept the pressure on the defending Supercars Champion and series leader, Scott McLaughlin. Driving without fault there was no chance for Jamie Whincup to take that lead position from him.
So once again Scott McLaughlin won another race for 2019.
Jamie Whincup started the Perth Supernight Supercars event down in 9th in the driver’s championship and is now up to 6th in the championship.
The only way any of the other drivers can close the points gap on Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard is for them have 8 bad races with DNF’S and NC’S. It does seem none of the other drivers will have a chance.
Results for Race 12
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
2nd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing Team.
I thought the night racing was an awesome spectacle.
The next event is the Truck Assist Winton Supersprint 24th to the 26th of May 2019.
Please feel free to comment on how the Perth Supernight went via my Facebook Fanpage.
On the weekend of the 12th to the 14th of April 2019 was the WD-40 Phillip Island Supersprint.
The Fox Sport coverage themed the race around Fox’s hit drama series Game of Thrones, which is about to air their new season on TV. They included a “winner’s throne”, character dress ups and other stuff. I guess it was a bit of fun BUT it had nothing to do with racing so they can take their cross promotion and stick it up their ( x ).
Commentator, Mark Larkham was not at Phillip Island on the weekend due to personal reasons. Andrew Jones filled in for him. I’m not interested in prying into personal affairs but just want to say if its due to some form of tragedy, ‘Larko, our thoughts are with you’.
Last year Scott McLaughlin won both races at this track. With his winning streak so far this season I am sure was geared up and ready to go.
This weekend Supercars trialled closure of the pit lane while a Safety Car is deployed. This is apparently due to safety concerns over the usual mad rush to the pits when the race is flagged yellow. Just think back to Mostert and Kelly’s T-Bone incident in the pit lane earlier this season to see why they are trying to remedy this safety issue. What this will means is that the teams will have to think more strategically about when to take their pit stops.
This doesn’t change what happens when a race is flagged red. All drivers still have to come in from the track. This happened multiple times this weekend, three of which was because the local geese decided to take a stroll out on the track. The first instance was in Practice 1 between turns 6 And 7. Once the geese flew off the practice session resumed. It was kind of funny but also put a horrific picture in my mind of what would happen if they weren’t spotted in the first place.
The results for the pre-race sessions were as follows:
·Anton De Pasquale was fastest in Practice 1
·Fabian Coulthard was fastest in Practice 2
·Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Practice 3
·Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Qualifying for race 9
·Fabian Coulthard was fastest again in Practice 4
In race 9 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position with Fabian Coulthard alongside him.
At the start of the 120km, 27 lap race Scott McLaughlin got the jump on Fabian Coulthard who had to slot behind him in 2nd place.
He tried to go around the outside of his teammate but that didn’t work out, Scott McLaughlin was just too fast.
During the race James Courtney and Tim Slade both had front right tyres go flat when going down the main straight at 260kms/ph. In both incidents I thought they were going to have a massive accident but thankfully for them and their teams they got away with no damage.
Shane Van Gisbergen’s team gave him an incredible 4.7 second pit stop to change tyres. That really is incredible.
When teammate, Jamie Whincup pitted the Car Controller stepped away too early and gave Jamie Whincup the go-ahead. However something went wrong in the communications and the right front wheel man had not been able to finish tightening the nut. Jamie Whincup lost the wheel completely before completing the next lap.
By the middle of the race Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard had secured their lead on the race.
In the last part of the race Shane Van Gisbergen made contact with Cameron Waters who received damage to his right rear wheel. Cameron Waters was now out of the race. Shane Van Gisbergen however was able to continue without much damage.
Cameron Waters and Jamie Whincup were the only driver to not complete the race. Both of them must have been devastated.
Race 9 finished with Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard in 1st and 2nd. Andre Heingartner came in 3rd earning Nissan Motorsport (aka the Kelly brothers) their first podium finish for the season. Congratulations!
Results for race 9
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team. 2nd Fabian Coulthard -Shell V Power Racing Team. 3rd Andre Heimgartner – Nissan Motorsport.
Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Armour All Qualifying for race 10, earning him pole position. Alongside him was his teammate, Fabian Coulthard.
Race 10 was a 200km 45 lap race.
Fabian Coulthard got good launch from the start line but Scott McLaughlin still led into turn 1. Once again it made Shell V Power Racing Team 1st and 2nd.
Most of the drivers pitted on lap 5 to make sure they didn’t caught if the Safety Car was deployed. It seemed best to get the stops done as early as possible just in case, because if the safety car did come out the pit lane would’ve have been closed anyway.
Richie Stanaway took to the pits and his teammate, James Golding had to double stack. I don’t quite understand why the team made the decision to call them in at the same time.
Rick Kelly was holding up a bunch of cars and blocking them from getting by. It appeared to be poor sportsmanship. Commentator, Mark Skaife said he was being the modern day John Bowe (a former who also hogged the track regardless of other drivers). I thought that was a good comment.
In the middle of race Tim Slade was on the charge because he had new set of ‘green’ tyres. Most other drivers had long ago fitted their last set of tyres.
Towards the end of race, nobody could catch Fabian Coulthard and Scott McLaughlin. Once again the two Shell V Power Racing Team cars won the race, this time with Fabian Coulthard coming in 1st.
So both Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard got to sit on the Iron Throne.
This also puts Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard 1st and 2nd on the championship ladder.
Results for Race 10
1st Fabian Coulthard – Shell V Power Racing Team. 2nd Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team. 3rd Anton De Pasquale – Penrite Racing Erebus Motorsport.
The next event is the Pirtek Perth Supernight on the 2nd to the 4th of May, 2019.
Please feel free to comment on the event or my review via my Facebook Fanpage.
