Hi to all you Supercars fans around the world!
On the weekend of the 20th to the 22nd of April 2018 was the WD 40 Phillip Island 500.
It was an exciting weekend of racing and also marked several milestones; Mark Winterbottom started his 200th round, Rick Kelly started his 500th race and Brad Jones Racing Team competed in their 250th round. So congratulations to all of you.
In the lead up to the race there were a few surprises. In practice 1 both Mark Winterbottom and Chaz Mostert went off at the Southern Loop at turn 2.
During the Qualifying round Fabian Coulthard received a technical infringement due to a rear wing drama so, regardless of earning 2nd position to start race 9 he ended up at the back of the grid in the 26th position. It must have been a disappointing result for him and the team but keep reading and you will see he wasn’t the only one caught out by penalties.
As they lined up for race 9, Scott McLaughlin started on pole position with Jamie Whincup alongside him. As a 24 year old (and regardless of what a great driver he is) Scott McLaughlin surely must have felt the pressure of having a seasoned pro like Jamie Whincup alongside him.
With Fabian Coulthard’s relegation to from second to 26th, Shane Van Gisbergen started 3rd and Craig Lowndes started in 4th spot.
At the start of the 57-lap race Jamie Whincup got the jump into turn 1 first and led early on with Scott McLaughlin close behind him. Mark Winterbottom nearly went off the racetrack approaching the ‘Hayshed’ and nearly made contact with Richie Stanaway, a scenario that would not have made for a good debrief afterwards at Tickford Racing.
I thought Fabain Coulthard would pit early because of where he started but he didn’t.
Shane Van Gisbergen had a steering wheel issue. The Red Bull Holden Racing Team had a new steering wheel all ready to go but it was too big and Shane Van Gisbergen’s knees couldn’t fit under it. The team reversed the decision and somehow they made it through the race without the change. A strange situation if there ever was one.
Craig Lowndes stayed out on track longer than desired because Jack Le Brocq had priority and pitted first.
Jamie Whincup and Scott McLaughlin pitted at the same time. Scott McLaughlin followed Jamie Whincup into the pit lane and whether it was on purpose or not, gave him a nudge from behind.
Then on exiting the pit lane Jamie Whincup turned off his pit lane speed limiter too early. He realised immediately and turned it back on. Unfortunately the mistake would come back to bite him later on.
In the middle of the race I couldn’t stop laughing at Mark Skaife when he said to Neil Crompton, ‘you are Nostradamus’, because he was already predicting the race winner.
Towards the end of the race Scott McLaughlin was being chased down by Jamie Whincup for the race win. Scott McLaughlin prevailed and was just too quick so Jamie Whincup finished 2nd.
Unfortunately for Jamie Whincup his podium finish was a short lived ideal. The officials gave him a 38 second time penalty for his earlier error in turning off his pit lane speed limiter. The time penalty was supposed to be the equivalent to a drive through penalty had it been issued during the race. This was a real downer for Jamie Whincup who now officially finished 14th. Not a great situation for his scoreboard totals. The second and third positions subsequently went to Rick Kelly and Shane Van Gisbergen.
Result for Race 9
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team
2nd Rick Kelly – Nissan Motorsport
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
4th Craig Lowndes – Autobarn Lowndes Racing.
In race 10 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was David Reynolds.
At the start of 57 lap race Scott McLaughlin led into turn 1.
On lap 8 James Courtney who drives for Walkinshaw Andretti United in car number 25 stopped and couldn’t get back into the pit lane due to a broken transaxle. As a result the Vodafone Safety Car was deployed. Then the car had to be pushed up to the pit garage. Regardless of whether the team could fix it or not, he was ‘benched’ due to not being able to get the car back to the pit garage under his own steam.
When Scott McLaughlin was re-joining the race after his first pit stop the timing was just a few seconds late and he had to merge into traffic instead of being ahead of them. This was a costly few seconds and he lost track position.
Craig Lowndes Qualified 13th for race 10 finished 7th and moved up 6 spots from Qualifying spot,
Shane Van Gisbergen performed a lot better on the Sunday after he was Struggling a lot due to a steering drama.
In the middle of the race David Reynolds tried to hold off Scott McLaughlin but it was in vain. Scott McLaughlin had better pace and more grip so he managed to get passed David Reynolds quickly and easily.
Towards the end of the race no one else could catch the top 3 drivers; Scott McLaughlin, David Reynolds and Rick Kelly.
Results for race 10
1st Scott McLaughlin – Shell V Power Racing Team.
2nd David Reynolds – Erebus Motorsport
3rd Rick Kelly – Nissan Motorsport.
The next event is the Perth Supersprint on the 4th to the 6th of May 2018.
Also, the Formula 1 qualifying system used at Symmons Plains, Tasmania will again be used at Barbagallo Western Australia. I can’t wait for it. It should be fantastic!