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Supercars

Valo Adelaide 500 2022

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of December 1 – 4, 2022 was the V8-Supercars season finale, The Valo Adelaide 500.

The event was held on the Adelaide Street Circuit, a 3.2km track with 14 turns and is made up of two 78 lap races (250kms each).

The circuit was first opened on the 31st October, 1985 for the F1 Australian Grand Prix. A few years later in 1999 the races became an official round of the Supercars Championship.

This year’s event marked a special milestone in the hearts of many Australians. It was the last race ever for the iconic Holden brand. In 2020 General Motors announced the retirement of the Holden brand name and 2022 was the last year of its manufacture. Supercars teams will now replace the Holdens with the Cheverolet Camaro. Australian motorsports will never be the same.

In the four day event the pre-race sessions results were:

  • Thomas Randle was fastest in Practice 1
  • Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Practice 2
  • Chaz Mostert was fastest Practice 3 and in Qualifying for Race 33             
  • Cameron Waters was fastest in the Shootout for Race 33

For Race 33 Cameron Waters started on pole position with Scott Pye alongside him. The big surprise was the champion elect, Shane Van Gisbergen starting in 25th place after a bad wide turn in qualifying and running out of time to have another attempt.

At the start Cameron Waters got the jump and led into turns 1 and 2 while Scott Pye had to tuck in behind.

At turn 7 James Golding made a mistake which allowed Chaz Mostert to get up the inside of him at turn 9 to take 6th place.

As the field completed lap 1 Cameron Waters had the lead and was 0.9 second ahead of Scott Pye. Shane Van Gisbergen had gained 4 spots to be in 21st place.

Shane Van Gisbergen was soon on the charge. In the second lap he first passed Mark Winterbottom, then Broc Feeney and Bryce Fullwood.

Further ahead, Will Davison got up the inside of Will Brown to move into 13th.

Bryce Fullwood ran wide on the exit of turn 4 which allowed Broc Feeney and Mark Winterbottom to overtake.

Pretty soon Shane Van Gisbergen had gained 9 spots up to 16th position. He was still 11.6 seconds off the lead.

Will Davison passed Brodie Kostecki to move into 12th. The tightly packed group meant engine temperatures were rising and they would have to make attempts to get clean air as soon as possible.

The first car to pit was Nick Percat on lap 6 to get out of the traffic and help keep his engine temperature under control.

At turn 11 Jack Smith went off the track through his own error but it didn’t cause any incident.

On lap 7 James Golding in car 31 had power steering dramas after hitting the wall, so had to immediately head to the pits.

Up the front Anton de Pasquale and James Courtney were in a battle for 3rd and 4th.

I was amazed at Shane Van Gisbergen who was now up 13 places from the start.

Broc Feeney was the first of the 2 Red Bull cars to pit on lap 11 so that Shane Van Gisbergen didn’t have to double stack.

Will Davison was the first of the front runners to pit on lap 13.

On return to the track he locked the right front wheels and race engineer Richard Harris asked him to return to the pits to check for flat spots on his tyres.

Shane Van Gisbergen put in an aggressive effort and was now battling with Lee Holdsworth for 7th position. Yes folks, I do not lie! Shane Van Gisbergen had started 25th on the grid and was now in 8th place going hard.

When Anton de Pasquale came in, he overshot the mark. The crew managed it well, but it was less than perfect especially when you are one of the front runners.

A few laps later Broc Feeney went off the road at turn 11 and hit the tyre wall. It could have spelled disaster, but he managed the recovery well and was able to continue.

Chaz Mostert pitted from 3rd place and came back out in 10th.

Cameron Waters pitted from the lead and came back out with clear air.

In the middle of the race the safety car was deployed because Jack le Brocq was in the wall. The rest of the field took the opportunity to come in and fuel up.

After the race went back to ‘green’, Chaz Mostert made wheel to wheel contact with Shane Van Gisbergen but it didn’t result in any significant damage.

With 32 laps to go Thomas Randle and Todd Hazelwood were the first two drivers to complete their second and final pit stop.

Will Davison pitted a few laps later, lap 49.

On the next lap Shane Van Gisbergen went off the track at turn 11 and buried the front end in the tyre wall. Race control deployed the safety car. He managed to get the car out but had reasonable damage requiring repair.

On the restart Chaz Mostert was the leader of the race followed by Andre Heimgartner and Nick Percat.

At turn 5 Cameron Waters tried to get up the inside of Todd Hazelwood. It didn’t work but it sent Hazelwood into the wall. Will Brown was so close he couldn’t avoid following him into the wall, so it was less than a lap after restart that another safety car came back out on the track. Shortly after Cameron Waters was issued a drive through penalty for being the cause of the mayhem.

On the restart with 22 laps to go Andre Heimgartner tried to go around the race leader Chaz Mostert but failed and lost ground. On the exit of turn 6 he made another mistake which allowed Nick Percat to take 2nd place off him. Walkinshaw Andretti United now had the 2 front places in the running.

With 17 laps to go Bryce Fullwood had to serve a pit lane penalty for making contact with Scott Pye earlier. It ultimately put him out of the running for a place on the podium.

With 16 laps to go Chaz Mostert’s lead was 2.5 seconds over Nick Percat in 2nd place.

With 8 laps to go James Courtney was given a bad sportsmanship flag for exceeding track limits and was out of lives. Race control issued him with previous warnings and now gave him a drive through penalty.

In the end, on the final lap Chaz Mostert finished 1.9 seconds ahead of his teammate Nick Percat. It was a spectacular finish for Chaz Mostert, earning him his 21st career win and his 5th race win of 2022. It was also a welcome finish for Walkinshaw Andretti United having a 1st and 2nd place.

Results for Race 33

1st Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

2nd Nick Percat – Walkinshaw Andretti United

3rd James Courtney – Tickford Racing

In Race 34 Anton de Pasquale started on pole position and alongside him was his teammate, Will Davison.

As they took off Anton de Pasquale led into turns 1 and 2.

Back in the pack there was contact between Mark Winterbottom and James Golding. They both went off the track. Golding had to wait for all the cars to pass before he could re-enter putting him at the back of the pack.

There was only 0.373 seconds between Anton de Pasquale in first place and Will Davison in second. They were closely followed by champion Shane Van Gisbergen and Broc Feeney.

Cameron Waters was able to pass his former teammate, Chaz Mostert for 5th place.

On lap 3 Scott Pye ran extremely wide at the final corner and Anton de Pasquale hit the tyre bundle at turns 1 and 2 of the next lap putting some damage on his car.

Jack Le Brocq’s car had smoke coming out of the back due to an oil leak. Officials issued him a mechanical black flag and he had to come into the pits right away.

Broc Feeney was the first of the Red Bull cars to pit on lap 11 so teammate Shane Van Gisbergen wouldn’t have to double stack.

On lap 14 Anton de Pasquale was still in control of the race. Will Davison pitted to avoid a challenge from Broc Feeney who had just done the fastest lap of the race so far.

Todd Hazelwood had a massive slide between turns 13 and 14, while Will Davison got a bad sportsmanship flag for exceeding track limits.

On lap 18 Jake Kostecki hit the wall exiting turn 8 and the left rear wheel departed car 56. The safety car was deployed for the first time in the final race of the year.

On the restart with 58 laps to go Will Davison was leading the race with Broc Feeney and Anton de Pasquale close behind.

Yet again at turn 8, Brodie Kostecki hit the wall and put a bruise on car 99.

On the next lap David Reynolds got a bad sportsmanship flag for exceeding track limits at turn 2.

Meanwhile back up the front Will Davison was under pressure from Broc Feeney in 2nd place.  Will Davison made a mistake at the turn 9 hairpin that allowed Broc Feeney to take the race lead.

In the middle of the race Broc Feeney was still the leader and looking confident. From that point he did a fantastic job of holding out against the winner of the previous race at this event, Chaz Mostert.

Chaz Mostert kept the pressure on but in the final laps Broc Feeney managed to create some space between the two. It was only about 1 second but enough to let Feeney concentrate on driving rather than defending.

Broc Feeney kept the more experienced Chaz Mostert at bay and crossed the finish line with 0.9644 of a second lead. It was just under another long 8.5 seconds before Anton de Pasquale followed in 3rd place.

Broc Feeney and the team were ecstatic to claim his first win in his rookie year. It also seemed a fitting climax as the Holden brand name’s final race ever in Supercars.

A special congratulations to Broc Feeney on a great finish to your rookie year and your teammate, Shane Van Gisbergen who is now officially a 3 time Supercars champion.

Also, I would like to send out congratulations to Lee Holdsworth on his retirement race. You have been an absolute stalwart of the sport for two decades. Thanks for the brilliant memories and best of luck for the future. You will be missed.

Results for Race 34

1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing

2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

3rd Anton de Pasquale – Shell V-Power Racing Team

The next events are the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 hour, February 3rd to 5th 2023. Then the Supercars season begins on March 10 with the Thrifty Newcastle 500. I can’t wait and hope you will join me then.

Supercars

OTR Supersprint 2022

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of July 30-31, 2022 was the OTR Supersprint.

Ford Mustang drivers have dominated in the recent past at The Bend Motorsport Park. They’ve taken the last seven race wins at the South Australian circuit, as well as the last eight pole positions.

The Bend marks the 100th Supercars Championship round start for Monster Mustang driver Cameron Waters. This weekend is also his 95th round with Tickford Racing. He made his first appearance for the team when it was known as Prodrive Racing Australia at the 2015 Sandown 500.

In the pre-race sessions:

  • Broc Feeney was fastest in Practice 1
  • Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Practice 2
  • Zac Best was fastest in Qualifying for Race 21
  • Cameron Waters was fastest in Qualifying for Race 22 and 23

In Race 21 Zac Best scored his maiden pole position in the Supercars championship. It must have been exciting for him and his team Tickford Racing, but it must have been a baptism of fire having series leader Shane Van Gisbergen alongside him.

At the start of the race Zac Best got the jump and led into turn 1. Cameron Waters got up the inside of Shane Van Gisbergen and now had to challenge his teammate Zac Best in car 78 who was in front by a mere 0.213 seconds.

The cars further back in the pack were battling for positions inside the top 10. As the field made the approach down to turn 6 Chaz Mostert was putting the pressure on Shane Van Gisbergen for 3rd place. David Reynolds was putting the pressure on Anton de Pasquale for 6th place. Nick Percat was trying to pass his ex-race car from his days with Brad Jones Racing being driven Andre Heimgartner.

Zac Best was under investigation for jumping the race start. In the end the officials decided not to take any further action so there was no penalty.

Nick Percat passed Andre Heimgartner and now was trying to go around the outside of Broc Feeney. He made an attempt on the approach down to turn 10 but he couldn’t get the job done.

Andre Heimgartner got up the inside of Broc Feeney for 9th position right at the end of lap 1.

On lap 2 David Reynolds ran wide on the exit of turn 5 and made contact with Will Brown at 210kms p/h an hour. Will Brown had the racing line for turn 6 and kept in front. Just behind the pair was Andre Heimgartner. He had gained 5 spots up to 9th position.

Zac Best still had the lead and was 1.4 seconds ahead of his teammate Cameron Waters. Shane Van Gisberen followed just 0.683 seconds behind.

Once again David Reynolds was battling with Will Brown. Again he was trying to go around the outside of him but he was on the wrong side on the approach to turn 17 giving Will Brown the racing line for the final corner. Andre Heimgartner was also in the mix.

Broc Feeney was right behind Andre Heimgartner.

Thomas Randle was trying to get passed Brodie Kostecki for 11th place but he wasn’t able to get the job done.

The first cars to pit on lap 6 were Will Davison, Will Brown, Jake Kostecki and Tim Slade.

Soon after, Will Brown in car 9 was under investigation for an unsafe pit release. He was issued a 15 second penalty.

Car 56 driven by Jake Kostecki had to serve a drive thru penalty for breaching the pit lane speed.

At the start of lap 7 Shane Van Gisbergen passed Cameron Waters for 2nd place with Zak Best still ahead.

By lap 8 Zac Best was still the race leader but was under serious pressure from Shane Van Gisbergen.

On lap 9 Zac Best made a mistake by locking a brake and ran wide. Shane Van Gisbergen tried to take the opportunity but couldn’t make the pass.

On lap 10 Shane Van Gisbergen makes another attempt to pass but again wasn’t able to.

His third attempt was on lap 11 and he finally got the job done.  

I was amazed that Zac Best lead the opening stages because he is a rookie and had not turned a lap of the Taliem Bend circuit. I thought it was very impressive.

Cameron Waters was the first of the front runners to pit and it put Chaz Mostert up to 3rd position.

As Cameron Waters re-joined the race Will Davison passed him going into turn 1. Anton de Pasquale wanted to follow but couldn’t make it and gave Cameron Waters a nudge from behind.

As the race reached the halfway mark (lap 12) Thomas Randle, Nick Percat and Mark Winterbottom took their pitstops. There were still 11 cars to pit. Shane Van Gisbergen also didn’t pit. He decided to stay out and make the most of the track position and the 1.9 second lead that he had.

Zac Best pitted on lap 13 while Shane Van Gisbergen kept going. I was thinking, will he ever pit?

The cars that hadn’t done so earlier started to peel off into the pits for their 1 and only mandatory stop.

As Cameron Waters was approaching turn 1 he locked up the left front. Shortly after he lost his 6th position to ex Tickford teammate, Chaz Mostert.

Shane Van Gisbergen now had a 16.5 second lead over Lee Holdsworth.

Lee Holdsworth and Macauley Jones pitted leaving Shane Van Gisbergen the last car that had not stopped.

Shane Van Gisbergen had an incredible 37.987 second lead over Will Davison. It was then another 45.192 seconds back to Chaz Mostert in 3rd.

Finally, Shane Van Gisbergen pitted on lap 20 for 2 rear tyres. When he re-joined the race he assumed the lead with only 4 laps to go.

For the last 2 laps Chaz Mostert was the fastest car. He closed the massive gap to Will Davison down to only 2.8 seconds. Will Davison was only 1.9 seconds behind the race leader Shane Van Gisbergen.

In a last-minute effort David Reynolds got up the inside of Anton de Pasquale.

With 1 lap to go Shane Van Gisbergen was still holding a 1.4 second lead over Will Davison and was cruising to the finish line.

In the end he crossed the line 2.2 seconds clear of Will Davison and Chaz Mostert.

It was Shane Van Gisbergen’s 12th win for 2022.

Results for Race 21

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing.

2nd Will Davison – Shell V-Power Racing Team.

3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United.

In Race 22 Cameron Waters started on pole position and alongside him was Thomas Randle.

Thomas Randle stalled on the take-off from the grid. Apparently, a clutch failure. Andre Heimgartner was right behind him and had nowhere to move. He crashed full force into the back of Thomas Randle, the impact estimated at 8 Gs. Both cars were a mess. In the mayhem Nick Percat also ended up in the pit lane wall. The race was red flagged on the grid with all 24 laps to go.  

The three cars had to be moved off the track to the pits for repairs, but none were able to return for the restart. The damage to the first 2 cars was so severe that after looking at them it appeared they would never race again. Heimgartner and Randle were both taken to the hospital as precaution. Both were complaining of chest pain and Randle of heel pain.

On the restart James Courtney and Chaz Mostert both got fantastic starts. After a brief challenge by James Courtney Chaz Mostert led into turns 1 and 2. He had gained 5 places to take that lead before the first turn. Chaz Mostert had a ¾ second lead over James Courtney. 

James Courtney had gained 2 places to be in 2nd followed by Anton de Pasquale.

Shane Van Gisbergen was 1 back and 1 wide in 4th position.

Cameron Waters who was on pole for the restart had dropped to 5th.

Will Davison got spun around and ended up at the back of the pack.

Macauley Jones made contact with Scott Pye on the exit of the 2nd last corner causing Scott Pye to run wide.

Shane Van Gisbergen was complaining over the comms radio that his tyres’ pressures were very low.

The first car to pit in this race was James Golding in car 31 on lap 5. Will Brown, James Courtney, Anton de Pasquale, Bryce Fullwood, Scott Pye, Chris Pither and Lee Holdsworth also came in. So that’s eight cars in total in the pits area.

When Lee Holdsworth was exiting his pit bay, he made contact with Scott Pye’s left hand side door. Scott Pye said to his team, “what the hell were they thinking releasing him like that!”, they hit quite hard. Lee Holdsworth got a 15 second penalty for the unsafe pit release.

Later on in interview, David Cauchi said it was caused by a communication problem between the car controller and himself.

At this point in the race Chaz Mostert was still the leader by 1.1 seconds over the defending Supercars champion Shane Van Gisbergen. It was another 1.3 seconds back to Cameron Waters in 3rd place.

On lap   7 four more cars came into pit; Chaz Mostert, Broc Feeney, Mark Winterbottom and Macauley Jones.

When Chaz Mostert came into pit it left Shane Van Gisbergen in the lead, 1.4 seconds over Cameron Waters. It was another 4.6 seconds between 2nd and 3rd place. It was an indicator that the leaders were making a big break away from the rest of the pack.

With the lead and clean air Shane Van Gisbergen did the fastest first 2 sectors of the circuit. The gap from Shane Van Gisbergen back to Chaz Mostert was now 38.6 seconds. It takes about 38 seconds to get off the racetrack and come into the pits for 2 tyres and re – join the track. That means Gisbergen who hadn’t pitted yet was not really that far ahead.

Broc Feeney in 15th position was being challenged by Will Brown.

At this point in the race there were 9 cars yet to pit.

In the middle of the race Cameron Waters came in along with Jordan Boys.

When Brodie Kostecki was leaving the pit bay after coming in on lap 14, the pit gantry looked like it was going to topple over due to the hydraulic rattle gun still being attached to the rear wheel. The team was issued a penalty for the pit stop infringement.

Shane Van Gisbergen was still in the lead and now had a 8.1 second lead over David Reynolds.

Shortly after David Reynolds and Will Davison pitted.

On lap 16 only 2 laps after his pit stop, Brodie Kostecki went off the track onto the grass. When he drove back onto the track he was moving slowly and it could be seen his left front tyre had been shredded. He had to return to the pits. It was poor timing because up until then he had been one of the front runners.

Shane Van Gisbergen had a 41+ second lead over Chaz Mostert before he came in to pit on lap 16. This big lead allowed him to re–join the race in position 1 with a 1.498 second lead.

Due to the delays at the start of the race and being ‘time certain’ the total laps were reduced from 24 to 18.

It was now truly a race to the finish. Shane Van Gisbergen with cold rear tyres had to hold off Chaz Mostert’s Commodore.

Once again, the series leader and defending champion drove like a demon.

It was the last lap and Shane Van Gisbergen managed to not only increase his lead over Chaz Mostert to 2.5736 seconds but he clocked the fasted lap time of the race.

Not that he needed it but the drive who does the fastest lap is awarded 5 bonus points. This year Gisbergen has earned 105 bonus points for the fastest lap. Incredible!

Chaz Mostert was followed across the line by James Courtney, Cameron Waters, Anton de Pasquale and Broc Feeney.

Results for Race 22

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing.

2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United.

3rd James Courtney – Tickford Racing.

In Race 23 Cameron Waters started on pole position with Anton de Pasquale alongside him.

Before the race started the rain that threatened through the weekend finally came and it came in buckets. The teams had to change to ‘wet’ tyres .

The field did 2 laps under safety car and the race started on lap 3.

At the start of the race Cameron Waters got the jump and led into turn 1 while cars behind were virtually hidden by the tyre spray mist coming off the cars up front. Drivers in the pack were struggling to see where they were going.

With the poor visibility I thought that cars would have gone off the track at turn 1 but somehow, they didn’t.

The tightly packed leaders were Cameron Waters, Anton de Pasquale, Shane Van Gisbergen and Broc Feeney. Each car was nose to tail.

James Courtney was keeping up with the leaders and back in the pack Brodie Kostecki gained 1 spot up to 12th passing Lee Holdsworth.

Cameron Waters made a mistake due to the wet track and lost the race lead to Anton de Pasquale. Shane Van Gisbergen went on the attack trying to get passed Cameron Waters and close down the gap to the new race leader Anton de Pasquale.

While Anton de Pasquale was under attack from both Shane Van Gisbergen and Broc Feeney, Cameron Waters re-gained the race lead.

As the pack came down to the final corner there was yet again a change in the lead and the 2 times Supercars Champion Shane Van Gisbergen was up front. It was only moments before Cameron Waters took the race lead back. Shane Van Gisbergen dropped 5 spots from 2nd to 8th but soon enough was back up to 2nd with 0.343 second gap to leader Cameron Waters.

Over the radio comms Shane Van Gisbergen said to his engineer Andrew Edwards he couldn’t see anything in the rear view mirror and didn’t know where Broc Feeney was but would let him go if need be.

As the leaders were pulling away from the pack, James Courtney and Chaz Mostert were battling for 6th and 7th.

Bryce Fullwood had a lot of damage on the left side of car 14 which wouldn’t have been helping the Aerodynamics on the Brad Jones Racing Holden Commodore.

On lap 6 Broc Feeney went off the track at turn 6. Chaz Mostert gave Will Davison a tap causing him to spin around into the dirt.

Both the Matt Stone Racing cars of Jack le Brocq and Todd Hazelwood made contact with each other at turn 6 and both had a lot of damage. Todd Hazelwood apologised over the radio for taking out his own teammate.

The first car to pit was rookie Zac Best on lap 7. When he came in he was down in 25th position.

The wet weather was causing mayhem. Jordan Boys went off the track between turns 14 and 15 and Jack le Brocq went off the track again.

Chaz Mostert in car 25 got a 15 second penalty for a driving infringement that had to be served after his pit stop.

On lap 8 Chaz Mostert was the first car from the leading group to take his pit stop.

Finally Shane Van Gisbergen took the race lead off the pole sitter Cameron Waters and then didn’t look back.

In the middle of the race Jake Kostecki was in the garage because of a problem with his car.

Nick Percat went off the track and David Reynolds had lots of damage as a result of contact with James Golding.

Shane Van Gisbergen kept edging away in the lead. In the last few laps he actually passed Todd Hazelwood at the back of the pack.

Although it seems late in the race, Shane Van Gisbergen pitted on lap 23 of the 24 laps.

On return to the track he was still in the lead and keeping ahead between 6 and 9+ seconds.

The front of the field was spread out giving the drivers plenty of space to move on the track but Shane Van Gisbergen was uncatchable.

Without fault he crossed the finish line 8.7109 seconds ahead of Cameron Waters. Brodie Kostecki in third place was a further 8.5198 seconds behind.

It was a wet but spectacular finish for the champion Shane Van Gisbergen taking 3 wins of 3 races at this event.

This brings the total Drivers Championship points to 2196 for Shane Van Gisbergen. That is 393 points clear of Cameron Waters.

Results for Race 23

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing.

2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing.

3rd Brodie Kostecki – Boost Mobile Racing.

The next event is the Penrite Oil Sandown Supersprint August 19th to the 21st 2022.

Supercars

OTR supersprint 2021

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 8th and 9th of May 2021 was the OTR Supersprint at The Bend in South Australia.

The event consisted of 3 races, 24 laps each which includes 18 ‘Bends’ over the shortened circuit of 4.95km. So they are fast and furious sprints with not much room for error.

I am sure that Jamie Whincup was trying not to repeat the incident of the 2020 OTR Supersprint. He made contact with Scott McLaughlin. It impacted Whincup’s race and chance at the championship.

Jess Yates returned to the host desk for Foxsports after giving birth to her second child, Samuel Lewis Egan on the 30th of March this year. That is less than 6 weeks prior to this event. So fellas, forget the heroic stats of all the drivers, this woman is the real deal.

Pit reporter, Molly Taylor was not present. She was in the hot seat in Saudi Arabia doing her other ‘job’ rally driving. Incidentally she claimed victory. Congratulations!

In the Race 9 Pre-Race sessions results were as follows:

  • Mark Winterbottom was fastest in Practice 1
  • Andre Heimgartner was fastest in Practice 2 and Armour All Qualifying.

In Race 9 Andre Heimgartner started on pole position (his second pole in his supercars career). Alongside him was Chaz Mostert.

Chaz Mostert got the jump into turn 1 but didn’t stay in the race lead for long. He ran wide on lap 1 which gave the pole sitter Andre Heimgartner the race lead.

Pretty soon Andre Heimgartner was pulling away from the rest of the field.

When the pit stops started the leaders stayed out longer to keep track position. Later, when Andre Heimgartner was exiting after his stop he made contact with the incoming Jamie Whincup. As a result he got a 5 second post-race pit lane penalty.

Andre Heimgartner now had had a mission to build a 5 second lead into his win to make up for the penalty. He showed amazing form and kept inching ahead. Pretty soon it was evident that no one was going to catch him. By the end of the race he had well reached his goal and came in first a little under 9 seconds ahead of the next competitor, Chaz Mostert.

Congratulations Andre Heimgartner on your first Supercars win.

Results for Race 9

1st Andre Heimgartner – Kelly Grove Racing

2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

3rd Anton de Pasquale – Dick Johnson Racing

In race 10 Anton de Pasquale took his first pole position in his Supercars career. Alongside him was teammate, Will Davison.

At the start of the race Anton de Pasquale got the jump and led into turn 1 for the first of 24 laps.

Will Davison tried to go around the outside at turn 1 but couldn’t do it safely so backed off.

The cars further back in the pack came in early to get clear track, which worked for most.

The leaders stayed out longer to keep track position.

In the middle of the race Anton de Pasquale was the race leader and looking strong to take his first win for DJR in 2021.

Towards the end of the race no one else could catch Anton de Pasquale for the ace win. Getting his second win in his supercars career must have been an exciting moment for him. Congrats Anton!

Results for Race 10

1st Anton de Pasquale – Dick Johnson Racing

2nd Will Davison – Dick Johnson Racing

3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team

In race 11 Anton de Pasquale yet again started on pole position alongside him this time was the 7 times Supercars champion, Jamie Whincup.

At the start of the race Jamie Whincup looked as though he might have taken the lead but that wasn’t the case. Anton de Pasquale was having a good weekend.

The cars further pack were trying to move forward but the only way to do that was through strategy.

Mark Winterbottom hit a career milestone starting his 500th race. As if to celebrate he made up 7 spots in the opening stages of the race. Congrats Frosty.

As the pit stops started the list of to have or to have pitted was moving up and down like the stock market.

In the middle of the race Cameron Waters was leading having moved up two places from his starting position on the grid.

Shane Van Gisbergen was in hot pursuit but couldn’t find the space to overtake. Just too many ‘Bends’. His only option was trying to pressure Cam Waters into making a mistake. Cam Waters kept his focus and great form to the finish making the weekend a Ford clean sweep.

Results for Race 11

1st Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing

2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team

3rd Will Davison – Dick Johnson Racing

The next event is the Winton Supersprint on the 29th and 30th of May 2021.

Supercars

Superloop Adelaide 500 2020 Supercars

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around World!

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

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

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

Pre-race sessions:

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

Race 1:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for Race 1

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

Race 2:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results for Race 2

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

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

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

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

 

Supercars

The Bend Supersprint 2019 Supercars

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Hi to all you Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 23rd to the August 2019 was The Bend Supersprint.

This is the second year that Tailem Bend, South Australia played host to a V8 Supercars event.

It was also a milestone for Will Davison making his 200th championship round start and Triple 8 marking their 500th Supercars race.

As part of the preparations for the biggest event of the year The Bathurst 1000, the co-drivers had their own practice session. Thomas Randle was the fastest co-driver in this practice.

Then Scott McLaughlin once again proved his invincibility by being fastest  in Practice 1, 2 and 3.

Chaz Mostert earned himself the Pole position for Race 21 being fastest in the Armour All Qualifying.

In race 21 Scott McLaughlin lined up next to Chaz Mostert in the pole position.

At the start of 24 lap race, Chaz Mostert originally took the lead off the start line but then Scott McLaughlin took him and led into turn 1.

During the opening lap there was contact between Will Davison, Todd Hazelwood and Simona De Silvestro. All 3 cars suffered damage but managed to get back the pits under their own power but all received NC’s (Not Complete). It appeared they all felt there was no point returning to track  due to the race being so short, only 24 laps.

By the middle of the race the three race leaders appeared uncatchable;  Scott McLaughlin, Chaz Mostert and Anton de Pasquale.

From that moment Scott McLaughlin set out to prove just how fast he was and stretched his lead on the other two. He crossed the finish line nearly 8 seconds ahead of Chaz Mostert and just over 25 seconds ahead of Anton de Pasquale. It was an incredible finish.

Results for race 21

1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
2nd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.
3rd Anton de Pasquale – Erebus Motorsport.

 In race 22 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position, alongside him was Will Davison.

At the start of 41 lap race Will Davison got the jump and led into turn 1.

Scott McLaughlin followed Will Davison for most of the opening stint and wasn’t able to to get by him.

I thought that Will Davison looked on track to claim his first race win for 2019.

In an effort to claim his second race for the year, Jamie Whincup also tried to pass Will Davison but couldn’t get the job done.

Will Davison made his first mistake, locking up his tyres he almost when off the track. I thought he was going to lose race positioning but somehow he held on to the lead. It honestly surprised me.

Jamie Whincup then dropped a couple of spots. It was still early on he knew there was a long way to go to the finish line.

Rick Kelly was trying to keep up with his teammates but it wasn’t his day and fell further back into the pack.

In the middle of the race Scott Mclaughlin was still the race leader and looking good for another race win.

Towards the end of the race no one could catch Scott Mclaughlin.

In the middle of the race Will Davison had an air box fire on pit entry. Although he managed to get back out on the track it had slowed him down. Now Scot McLaughlin had the lead with Chaz Mostert in hot pursuit.

Scott McLaughlin was unbeatable and held his lead to the finish line followed by Will Davison and then Chaz Mostert.  Who can stop Scott McLaughlin’s winning run?

The teams’ cars and equipment will be going to New Zealand via a boat because the its too expensive to fly everything to New Zealand by plane. The drivers of course will be flying in.

Results for race 22

1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
2nd Will Davison – 23 Red Racing.
3rd Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing.

The event is the ITM Auckland Supersprint on the 13th to the 15th of September 2019.

 

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

 

Supercars

Superloop Adelaide 500 2019 Supercars

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HI to all you Supercars fans around the world!                              

From Thursday 28th of February to the 3rd of March, 2019 was the Superloop Adelaide 500.

As the official first race of the 2019 V8 Supercars Championship Season it is an exciting start to the year with two races of 250Km each.

Before I get into the rest of my review I must say that I really missed the familiar faces of Garth Tander and Craig Lowndes out on track. Both retired from full time driving at the end of last season and I am sure I am not the only one who will miss their presence.

The big talk on the scene over the last few months is the introduction of the Ford Mustangs into the V8 Supercars Championship. It seems everyone out there loves the Mustang.  So its new cars all round for DJRTP drivers and Tickford with Chaz Mostert’s Supercheap Auto and Lee Holdsworth’s Bottle-O cars. I am sure that they will be under heavy scrutiny by everyone to see if the Mustangs have what it takes to race in Australia.

In last year’s Superloop 500 it was Shane Van Gisbergen who made this his event for a second time by a double win of both races. That’s right! He won the 2 season opening races in both 2017 and 2018. This year was no exception to spectacular driving and amazing results.

The Red Bull Holden Racing Team won the 2018 Teams Championship so it earned them the privilege to lead the field out of the pit lane this year (always an advantage).

There were some interesting happenings in the pre-race sessions:

Anton De Pasquale was the fastest in Practice 1 and Scott McLaughlin stopped outside turn 11 due to a loss of oil pressure.

Scott McLaughlin wasn’t phased and proved himself and his car as fastest in Practice 2.

Fabian Coulthard was fastest in Practice 3.

Scott McLaughlin was fastest in Qualifying for Race 1 and then followed that up as fastest in Practice 4.

Macauley Jones didn’t join Race 1 due to a massive accident caused by brake failure at the end of Practice 4.

Fabian Coulthard followed up his great run in Practice 3 and was fastest in the Race 1 Top Ten Shootout.

So in Race 1, Fabian Coulthard started on pole position and alongside him was Jamie Whincup.

Surprisingly both Fabian Coulthard and Jamie Whincup stalled off the starting grid which allowed Scott McLaughlin to take the race lead early on.

Off the line the cars were 4 wide which I thought was going to end up in a massive shunt.

After the opening lap Fabian Coulthard got pinged by race control for jumping the start. This mistake earned him a 10 second stop and hold penalty dropping him from 2nd to 20th.

Pretty soon Cameron Waters was complaining about the heat because his cool suit failed. I’m sure it didn’t help him cool down when officials forced him to come in to the pits.

Lee Holdsworth and Scott Pye ended up in tyre bundle together at turn 7.  Surprisingly they managed to get out of the mess themselves without needing assistance from the safety car so the race continued.

In the middle of the race Fabian Coulthard was still fighting back from his 10 second Stop and Hold Penalty.

Also, the Red Bull Holden Racing Team had a problem with their regulator which holds the pressure for the rattle guns hose.  It was going nuts and hissing loudly because it wasn’t done up tight enough.

Towards the end of the race no one could catch Scott McLaughlin who dominated Race 1.

As Scott McLaughlin crossed the finish line he appeared to be singing. When Greg Murphy asked him what he was singing he said ‘Horses from Daryl Braithwaite’. LOL!

Results for Race 1

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

 Scott McLaughlin once again proved he is one of the fastest out on track claiming the Qualifying and Top ten Shootout rounds to earn him Pole Position. It was a nice way for Scott McLaughlin to start the 200th race of his career.

In race 2 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position and alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.

Shane Van Gisbergen was the only Red Bull Holden Racing Team car to make the Top Ten Shootout. His teammate Jamie Whincup qualified 12th.

At the start of the 78 lap race Shane Van Gisbergen tried to go around the outside of Scott McLaughlin but that didn’t work. When Scott McLaughlin ran wide at turn 4 Shane Van Gisbergen tried to criss cross, over and under but that didn’t work either. McLaughlin was not prepared to give up the race lead that easily so Shane Van Gisbergen had to pull back in behind him.

Simona De Silvestro made a mistake in all the traffic at turn 4 and went straight up the escape road.

Rick Kelly nearly made contact with Nick Percat on track.

Jack Le Brocq caused the first deployment of the Vodafone Safety Car due to him being stranded at turn 11 unable to get restarted. With the race now under ‘yellow’ most teams took the opportunity to head to their pits to meet race requirements.

Then the day of the ‘Pit Lane Mess’ started. As the pit lane became very busy I knew there was going to be chaos. Chaz Mostert had just been in the pits a lap before but still went back like all the others. I don’t know how this happened but his car controller gave him the go-ahead. As he came out of the pits Rick Kelly was travelling along the pit lane and ‘T-boned’ him. Kelly seemed angry and didn’t take his foot off the accelerator. They were blocking the pit lane. The other cars had to drive through the DJRTP and Red Bull garages to get around. All high risks activities. Chaz Mostert copped a drive through penalty and later apologised publicly but there were differing opinions on this.

Nick Percat and David Reynolds stayed out on track to avoid the congestion and it worked to their advantage. Both of them ended up with track position coming in at 5th and 9th respectively.

Towards the end of the race officials had to ‘call time’. They weren’t going to complete the total number of laps and cut the race short.

Once again no one could catch Scott McLaughlin who managed to start his title defence of the Supercars Championship with a perfect score 300 points. A double win puts him up there with some of the great drivers of all time.

Mark Winterbottom was my hero of the day. He started 24th due to not recording a time in Qualifying. Throughout the race he managed to gain 18 places to finish 6th. What an amazing effort.

 

Results for Race 2

1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing team
2nd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team

In my opinion personally I would like to see Supercars get rid of timed race because it would make more enjoyable for the fans not only watching on but live at the track as well.

That is my Opinion anyway.

https://www.facebook.com/williamsperfectride/ please feel free to let me know how the event from your Opinion via my Facebook Fanpage.

The next event is the Beaurepairs Melbourne 400 on the 14th to the 17th of March 2019.

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

V8 Supercars 2018 Adeleaide 500

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around world!

Welcome to the V8 Supercars Championship season for 2018.

The new season finds V8 Supercars with a new CEO, Sean Seamer. He takes over from James Warburton who left the position last year.

The Adelaide 500 is the first official race of the season and was run on the weekend of the 1st to the 4th of March 2018.

In Qualifying on the Friday both Cameron Waters and Jamie Whincup hit the wall at turn 8 which forced both the Monster Energy Racing Team and the Red Bull Holden Racing Team to do all-nighters on repairs. The Red Bull team didn’t finish Jamie Whincup’s car until 4:15AM.

Regardless of this incident Jamie Whincup was still the fastest in Practice 1 and made the top 10 shootout, starting the first race in 5th position.

In race 1 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position and alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.

At the start of the 78-lap race, Rick Kelly hit the wall coming out of turn 3 causing him to limp back to the pits for repairs.

After Rick Kelly got back to the pits he was interviewed by Greg Murphy about the damage his Nissan Altima received. He told Greg Murphy that it was due to a bent steering arm but it soon became clear that with the resulting damage he wouldn’t be going back out onto the track very soon. It was very unfortunate and cost him a lot of time. He had started from 7th position on the grid but finished 23rd only ahead of the NCs (not completes).

There are 5 full time Rookies in field this year:

  • Jack Le Brocq Holden car 19
  • James Golding Holden car 34
  • Richie Stanaway Ford car 56
  • Anton De Pasquale Holden car 99
  • Andre Heimgartner Nissan car 7

During the opening stages the rookies didn’t know what was to come given that it was their first race in the main game. All up I think they did a great job.

Chaz Mostert raced very well considering he didn’t make the top ten shootout in Qualifying due to a red flag. I am sure he wouldn’t have been happy with that but was making up for it during this race.

Richie Stanaway and James Golding made contact with the wall. Richie Stanaway was in a really awkward position and had to use reverse gear to try and get out of the tyre stack. As one of the rookies he proved his worth and persisted. Unfortunately a car issue caused a DNF only one lap short of completing the race. He must have been really disappointed.

In the middle of the race Craig Lowndes was running strong under his new team, Autobarn Lowndes Racing before he got a shoved up the rear by Garth Tander. He slid sideways but managed to keep on track. It was a tense moment for sure.

Towards the end of race 1 no one else could catch the top 3 drivers which were Shane Van Gisbergen, James Courtney and Scott McLaughlin.

 

 

Shane Van Gisbergen made it look too easy as he confidently held his position 1 right to the end.

Results for race 1

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd James Courtney – Mobil 1 Boost Mobile Racing
3rd Scott Mclaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team

In race 2 Shane Van Gisbergen started on pole position again and alongside him was his teammate Jamie Whincup.

At the start of the 78 lap 250 kilometre race Jamie Whincup got the jump off the front row on the grid. Shane Van Gisbergen was happy to see his teammate lead the race into the first chicane.

On lap 2 the drivers settled into their race pace and the pack started chasing the two Red Bull leaders trying to close the 2.6 second lead they had.

After the first round of stops the race lead went back to car 1, Jamie Whincup.

As the opening laps were complete it appeared Shane Van Gisbergen didn’t have the pace he normally delivered. When interviewed later he stated there were car setup dramas affecting speed and in good sportsmanship said it was teammate, Jamie Whincup’s race.

Jamie Whincup was flying which was good to see. I thought he had it in the bag and was surely going to win.

Later David Reynolds was in a good spot and racing hard, then nearly hit the wall at turn 8. Luckily he didn’t.

No one else could catch the race leaders at this point of the race.

With 30 laps to go Jamie Whincup was still out front and cruising but then his gearbox failed and he started to slow and had to pull in to the pits. When Jamie got out of car he was gutted when David Cauchi took his head set off. He knew what it meant. The last time Jamie had a DNF was in the 2013 Gold Coast 600. His 136 race finishing streak was broken on Sunday.

Towards the end of the race Shane Van Gisbergen still had the lead. David Reynolds tried to pressure him into an error but it didn’t work.

So once again for the second time on the weekend, Shane Van Gisbergen took 1st place. What an amazing result for him and the Red Bull team.

Results for race 2

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team
2nd David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport
3rd Garth Tander – Garry Rogers Motorsport

The next event is the Coates Hire Supercars Melbourne 400.

 

 

There are 5 Rookies in field this year are

Jack Le Brocq Holden Car 19.

James Golding Holden car 34.

Richie Stanaway Ford car 56.

Anton De Pasquale Holden car 99.

Andre Heimgartner Nissan car 7

Pre Race Report

Clipsal 500 South Australia – Pre race Report

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clipsal 2016 checked flag

Hi to all you V8 Supercar fans around the world, are you ready for a brand new year?

2015 Clipsal intro

Let’s take a look back at what happened 12 months ago.
At Clipsal in race 1 Jamie Whincup started on pole position, alongside him was Fabain Coulthard.

On lap 1 of 38 Jamie Whincup led the field through the first Chicane turns 1, 2 and 3. Fabian Coulthard tried to pass Jamie Whincup but was not able to get it done.

On lap 2 everybody was just settling down into a race groove, while the cars behind were trying to catch the race leading pair of Whincup and Coulthard. During the early Stages Chaz Mostert was running 3rd. James Moffatt hit the wall at turn 8 which meant he had to take it easy for the next couple of corners.

On lap 3 no one was able to stay with Jamie Whincup because he was just pulling away from the rest of the pack. Whincup pitted early so that Craig Lowndes did not have to double stack. Because if he did double stack he would have lost time in the pits.
In the end no could catch the 6 time and defending Champion.
Who will win the 2016 Clipsal 500?

The Clipsal 500 will be run from the 3rd – 6th of March 2016.

2015 Race 1

Results for race 1
1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia
2nd – Chaz Mostert – Pepsi Max Crew
3rd – Fabain Coulthard – Brad Jones Racing

Jamie Whincup Clipsal car 88

In race 2 Jamie Whincup started on pole position (his favourite place) alongside him was Scott McLaughlin.
On lap 1 of 39 Scott McLaughlin got the jump off the grid. But it seems that Scott McLaughlin got investigated for a jump start. The rest of the pack tried to stay with Scott McLaughlin. The drivers at the front stayed with him but the drivers in the mid field couldn’t.
On lap 2, Channel Ten showed a replay of Scott jumping the start. Greg Rust and Neil Crompton said it was borderline.
On lap 3 Scott McLaughlin was out in front controlling the race well.
On lap 4 Scott McLaughlin lost a bit of ground to Jamie in 2nd spot.

On lap 5 James Courtney and Craig Lowndes try and gain track positions. When the pits was clear everybody else on different laps. Chaz had a “Did Not Finish” result in race 2.
In the end no one could catch Fabain Coulthard.

2015 Race 2

Results for race 2
1st – Fabain Coulthard – Brad Jones Racing
2nd – James Courtney – Holden Racing Team
3rd – Scott McLaughlin – Volvo Polstar Racing

In race 3 James Courtney started on pole position alongside him was Fabain Coulthard.

On lap 1 of 78 James Courtney got the jump from pole position and led the field into turns 1 and 2, Shane Van Gisbergen ran wide on the exit of turn 6 which had allowed James Moffatt to pass him at turn 7. Towards the end of the opening the leaders were starting to settle down.

On lap 2 Mark Winterbottom was the first car to pit along with Andre Heimgartner. Jamie Whincup was putting the pressure on James Courtney. Marcos Ambrose was in the top 10 during the opening laps.

On lap 3 Craig Lowndes was behind Marcos Ambrose in position number 10.

On lap 4 Lee Holdsworth pitted for tyres and fuel.

On lap 5 Marcos Ambrose had to get his groove back for driving a V8 Supercar again in 2015 because the last time he drove a V8 was Phillip Island back in 2005. Garth Tander made a mistake exiting turn 7 which allowed Shane Van Gisbergen to get up the inside at turn 8.
Towards the end of the race no one could catch James Courtney.

2015 Race 3

Results for race 3
1st – James Courtney – Holden Racing Team
2nd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Tekno Autoaports
3rd – Garth Tander – Holden Racing Team

Drivers moments

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Albert Park, Victoria – Non Championship Round

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Hi to all you V8 followers, around the world

On the weekend of the 12th – 15th of March 2015 was at Albert Park in Victoria and was a V8 Supercars Non Championship round. The V8 Supercar was in the support category round for the Formula 1.

Race 1

In race 1, Murphy’s Law was running ramped. Mark Winterbottom and Chaz Mostert started on the front row of the grid. On lap 1, Frosty got the jump into turn 1 for the first 12 laps. The rest of the pack was 4 and 5 wide, on the run down to the opening turn. Shane Van Gisbergen tried to push James Courtney wide. Todd Kelly pushed Scott McLaughlin, in the Volvo s60 wide on the exit out of turn 3. And Garth Tander got into the back of Todd, the s60 went right to the back of the 25 car pack. Tim Blanchard, Marcos Ambrose and came together with Ash Walsh.

On lap 2 there was a safety car, to clean up the racetrack. Where the cars where stopped, Tim was in the pits chatting with Mark Larkham. The restart was on lap 5, in the middle of the race Shane tried to get down the inside on David of Reynolds, he ran off into the sandtrap but managed to get himself out without getting bogged towards the end of race 1.

No one could catch Mark Winterbottom and Chaz Mostert. These boys dominated the whole weekend at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne Victoria. When will that event become a championship round for the V8s not this year? How much longer will it be a non point’s race?

Results for race 1

1st – Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max Crew.
2nd – Chaz Mostert – Pepsi Max crew.
3rd – James Courtney – Holden Racing team.

Race 2

In race 2 Mark Winterbottom and Chazz Mostert again started on the front row of the grid, in positions 1 and 2, on lap 1 Mark Winterbottom led into turns 1 and 2 But Chaz tried to go around the outside of him. Also on lap 1 Dale Wood spun around in-between turns 6 and 7, the restart was on lap 4. Jamie Whincup had a big slide around the back of the Albert Park racetrack.

In the middle of the race Mark Winterbottom and Chaz Monstert were still leading, towards the end of race 2 they shortened the race from 12 laps to 9 laps, due to time restrictions, the V8s are just the Support Category at the Australian Grand Prix.

Results for race 2

1st – Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max Crew.
2nd – Chaz Mostert – Pepsi Max Crew.
3rd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Tekno Autosports.

Race 3

In race 3 Mark Winterbottom started from pole postion alongside him was his teammate Chaz Mostert in postion 2. On lap 1 Mark led the field through turns 1 and 2 for the 1st lap, around the Albert Park racetrack. The rest of the field had to try and catch Mark Winterbottom and Chaz Mostert, but couldn’t because they were way out infront, in the middle of the race all of the cars   were getting into a rhythm for the run to the checked flag. The last time triple 8 race engineering team won at Albert park was in 2011, with Team Vodafone, ever since then they haven’t been able convert a pole to a race win at that event.

The V8s commenced the Non Championship event at Albert Park in 1996, the only years they didn’t race there was 2007.

Results for race 3

1st – Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max Crew.
2nd – Chaz Mostert – Pepsi Max Crew.
3rd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Tekno Autosports.

Race 4

In race 4 Mark Winterbottom and Chaz Mostert started on the front row of the grid, on lap 1 Nick Percat, Marcos Ambrose and Will Davison all got involved in the start line shunt. A safety car was deployed to clean up the mess at back of the grid. The Queensland based teams had to get back to their workshops to repair their cars, Craig didn’t have a great weekend at the AGP. Luckily it was not a championship event, but car 888, did not rejoin the race track after contact with car 8, in the middle of the race Craig Lowndes was back in the Garage watching the race instead of being in the car.

Towards the end of race 4, no one could catch the 2 ford falcons. When will Red Bull Racing Australia win another event at Albert Park? Well done to everybody on the 4 races run over that weekend.

Results for race 4

1st – Mark Winterbottom Pepsi Max Crew.
2nd – Chaz Mostert – Pepsi Max Crew.
3rd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Tekno Autosports.

Pre Race Report, V8 Supercars

Pre race report – Clipsal 500

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Hi to all you petrol heads around the world

Welcome to the 2015 racing season, starting off in Adelaide for the Clipsal 500.

Boy have we had some changes since last year, firstly a change of telecaster, it will no longer be seen on Channel 7, it will be telecast through Fox Sport 5 and Channel 10. While we have lost the talent of Mark Beretta as he is still with Channel 7. We welcome to the commentary team, such people as Riana Crehan from Fox Sport, Greg Murphy, Russell Ingall former drivers.

Secondly we saw the last of V8 Extra on Channel 7, so it is now going to be called RPM and televised through Channel 10, so the fun continues…

Check out the list on the side to see car changes and driver changes for this year. Red Bull has a new engineer, welcome to Grant Macpherson.

The Clipsal 500 was started back in 1999.

After such a successful year and breaking a few records, we are wondering if Jamie Whincup can continue on his winning streak and make 2015 his seventh championship. Good luck Jamie…

Results for the 2014

Race 1 – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia

Race 2 – Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Racing Australia

Race 3 – James Courtney – SP Tools Holden Racing team

http://youtu.be/E1BpREuYtVo