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Supercars

Century Batteries Ipswich Super440 2025

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans Around the world!

On August 8 – 10 was the Century Batteries Ipswich Super 440. It was round 8 of the 2025 Supercars Championship and the final round of the sprint cup.

The event was held at the Queensland Raceway located in the suburb of Willowbank in the city of Ipswich, Queensland.  It was first opened in 1999 and hosts an annual Supercars event.

Craig Lowndes holds the record for the most wins at the Queensland Raceway with 12 victories. He is also the only driver to have competed in every Supercars round at the circuit.

This year the Ipswich Super 440 marked special milestones for two drivers. James Courtney started his 600th race and Cameron Waters started his 300th.

The weekend kicked off with the pre-race sessions. The results were:

  • Broc Feeney was fastest in Practice 1
  • Will Brown was fastest in Practice 2
  • Broc Feeney was fastest in Qualifying

As they did the formation lap to take their place on the grid for Race 23 Chaz Mostert’s brake pedal gave way. He had to head into the garage to resolve the problem before they even started. After repairs he started from the pitlane a few laps behind everyone else.

Broc Feeney started on pole position with teammate Will Brown alongside him. Feeney got the jump off the start line and led through turns 1 and 2 for the first of 39 laps.

By the start of lap 2 Broc Feeney already had a lead of 1.180 seconds. Will Brown had fallen back to 4th place after Kai Allen and Ryan Wood got past him.

By lap 3 Broc Feeney had a 2.050 second lead followed by Kai Allen in 2nd place.

Andre Heimgartner was the first car to pit on lap 4 if you exclude Mostert, who was in the garage before the race even started.

On lap 5 Brodie Kostecki got up the inside of Anton de Pasquale for 5th place behind Will Brown. Meanwhile, Broc Feeney had nearly doubled his lead time to 4.065 seconds over Kai Allen.

Jack le Brocq ran wide at turn 3 but he was able to get back on track unassisted but dropped back to 22nd place.

Will Davison forced Jack le Brocq off the track and was later issued a 15 second time penalty.

Ryan Wood pitted on lap 19 from 3rd place along with Nick Percat and Richie Stanaway.

By the middle of the race Broc Feeney had increased his lead to a whopping 9.049 seconds. His teammate Will Brown had worked his way back into 2nd place. To avoid the possibility of a double stack in the pits with Feeney, Brown came in early on lap 24.

On lap 31 with 8 laps remaining, Broc Feeney was ripping up the track in the lead and recorded the fastest lap, 109.263 seconds.

Lap 36 saw David Reynolds along with Chaz Mostert in the sand trap. The safety car was deployed while the 2 cars were rescued.

Under “safety conditions”, drivers are limited to 80kph and must stay in formation behind the safety car. Unfortunately, this completely demolished Broc Feeney’s incredible lead.

As they bunched up and slowly trailed the safety car they reached the end of the 39 lap race, without any opportunity for last second competition.

Broc Feeney crossed the finish line first, followed by Kai Allen and then Ryan Wood.

Race 23 Results:

1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Kai Allen – Grove Racing
3rd Ryan Wood – Walkinshaw Andretti United

In Race 24 Broc Feeney started on pole position with Ryan Wood alongside him.

Broc Feeney got the jump off the start line for the first of 39 laps.

Will Brown passed Ryan Wood at turn 1. As the rest of the pack came through there was contact between Brodie Kostecki, Jack le Brocq, Cooper Murray, Cameron Crick, Aaron Cameron, Jaxson Evans and Cameron Hill. There was a mess of cars all over the place including the gravel trap. Some were not able to get going again and the safety car was deployed.

The restart was on lap 4 with the top 3 places unchanged. Jamess Courtney who navigated his way through the lap 1 chaos had moved up 10 spots to 15th after starting at the back of the pack.

Amongst others, Brodie Kostecki was still in the garage from the lap 1 incident.

Meanwhile, the officials investigated Broc Feeney for lurching forward before the race start. They issued him a 5 second time penalty for a ‘false start’ which he had to serve during his next pit stop.

Possibly out of frustration at receiving a time penalty, Broc Feeney recorded the fastest circuit time of 109.782 seconds on lap 8.

The first 2 cars to pit were Bryce Fullwood and Matt Payne on lap 14.

By the middle of the race Broc Feeney still maintained the number 1 spot. However, the race leaders were still yet to pit while everybody else had taken their mandatory stops.

With 17 laps to go Broc Feeney pitted and served his additional 5 second penalty. This allowed Will Brown to take over as race leader.

Feeney was on the charge chasing down Will Brown. They were both way ahead of the others. Feeney really wanted the win but Will Brown held strong to the end and crossed the finish line first by a margin of 0.940 seconds. It was a huge 8.3 seconds later that Ryan Wood led the rest pack across the finish line for 3rd place.

The final chase between teammates Feeney and Brown was a real nail biter!

Race 24 Results:

1st Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
3rd Ryan Wood – Walkinshaw Andretti United

For the 3rd time out of 3 races Broc Feeney started on pole position. Alongside him was Ryan Wood.

As they took off Broc Feeney led Ryan Wood and Will Brown through the first of the 63 laps in the race.

It wasn’t long after the start that the forecasted rain arrived. Regardless of the forecast, I don’t think anyone was prepared for it to be bucketing down like it was. All the cars had slick (dry weather) tyres on. It was going to get messy.

In the first of many incidents caused by the wet weather, Ryan Wood chasing the leader Broc Feeney, almost spun a full 360 as they went through a turn. Somehow, he managed to stay on track.

James Courtney was the first driver to pit on lap 4 to change onto wet weather tyres. He rejoined in 26th place.

Will Davison made contact with Jack le Brocq and was given a 5 second time penalty.

On lap 10 Broc Feeney recorded the fastest lap so far, 109.976 seconds. Not a bad result considering the conditions.

Chaz Mostert in 7th place was the first of the front runners to pit.

Leader, Broc Feeney pitted on lap 29 and came back out onto the circuit in 4th place. The strategy was perfect. The 3 drivers ahead were still yet to pit. When they did Feeney would once again have the lead.

Cameron Crick was slid off the track and got bogged in a sand trap at turn 6. The safety car was deployed so Crick’s car could be removed.

On the restart Broc Feeney had already passed Ryan Wood for 4th place and he had 3 more cars to pass to get to the race lead.

By the middle of the race everybody had completed their second stops and it was a sprint to the finish.

With 26 laps to go Broc Feeney only had 2 cars to pass to regain the race lead.

Shortly after Anton de Pasquale had smoke coming out of the back of the car.

Will Brown got turned around at turn 3 by Ryan Wood, dropping Brown from 5th all the way down to 23rd position.

Soon Feeney was just 0.386 seconds off Cameron Waters in the lead.

With 20 laps remaining Broc was back in the lead. He remained cool under pressure and made no mistakes.

As it got closer to the race ending, Feeney kept inching ahead.

He crossed the finish line 8.809 seconds ahead of Cam Waters. Kai Allen earned 3rd place about 1 ½ seconds later.

What a great finish for the finale of the weekend.

Race 25 results:

1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
3rd Kai Allen – Grove Racing.

Broc Feeney won the sprint cup and the golden ticket to the finals. He also has a 337 points lead over Will Brown in the season championship ladder.

The teams are now preparing for the Enduro cup at the Bend and Bathurst.

The next event is the Air Touch 500 at The Bend September 12 – 14, 2025.

Supercars

NTI Townsville 500 2025

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of July 11 – 13 was round 7 of the 2025 Supercars Championship, the NTI Townsville 500.       

The Townsville street circuit was first opened in 2009 for the Townsville 400, a Supercars championship event. Lee Holdsworth and Garth Tander scored the first 2 pole positions back in 2009. Jamie Whincup and James Courtney shared the wins.

Jamie Whincup holds the record of most wins at Townsville with a total of 12. He also holds the most podiums record of 23. Shane Van Gisbergen is second with 8 wins.

This year was the 19th occasion that the Supercars have raced on the streets of Townsville and the venue didn’t let anyone down with perfect weather.

In the pre-race sessions:

  • Ryan Wood was fastest in Practice 1
  • Thomas Randle was fastest in Practice 2
  • Brodie Kostecki was fastest in Qualifying

In Race 20 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position with Cameron Waters alongside him.

At the start of the race Brodie Kostecki got the jump and led into turns 1 and 2 for the first of 35 laps. He was followed by Cameron Waters, Will Davison and Anton de Pasquale.

Jaxson Evans received damage to the front right corner of his car #12 from contact with David Reynolds. They both dropped down to 22nd and 24th place respectively.

A few laps into the race James Courtney made contact with Aaron Cameron dropping James Courtney back to 16th and Aaron Cameron to 23rd place.

The Red Bull Ampol Racing drivers Broc Feeney and Will Brown qualified 14th and 20th on the grid. They made easy work of moving up to 10th and 14th place.

Brodie Kostecki still had the lead but was shadowed by Cameron Waters in second place.

Will Davison was passed by Anton de Pasquale and then by Matt Payne dropping him back to 5th place.

The first car to pit was Ryan Wood on lap 10 from 23rd place and when he came back out he was still in 23rd place.

Both Broc Feeney and Will Brown were still making gains and in 9th and 11th place.

Brodie Kostecki maintained control and by the middle of the race had increased his lead to 3.171 seconds over Cameron Waters.

With 11 laps remaining, the leading 3 cars of Brodie Kostecki, Cameron Waters and Anton de Pasquale finally took their mandatory pit stops.

On return to the track, the 3 drivers still held the lead and it was a mad dash to the finish line. Cameron Waters and Anton de Pasquale couldn’t make any gains on the super-fast Brodie Kostecki and he flew across the finish line with 3.7 second lead.

Race 20 Results:

1st Brodie Kostecki – Shell V-Power Racing Team
2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
3rd Anton de Pasquale – Team 18

In Race 21 David Reynolds started on pole position with Matt Payne alongside him.

Matt Payne got the jump off the start line and led into turns 1 and 2 for the first of 70 laps.

Exiting turn 3 James Golding, Thomas Randle, Cameron Waters and Jaxson Evans all made contact and cars were spinning out of control everywhere. Cars behind them had to take evasive action. When the dust settled James Golding was stranded out in the middle of the track and the safety car had to be deployed. Thomas Randle, Ryan Wood and Cameron Waters had all dropped to the back of the field. Later, the officials declared it was a racing incident and no penalties were issued.

The restart was on lap 6 with Matt Payne still in control of the race, followed by David Reynolds and Jack le Brocq. Soon after, Broc Feeney passed Jack le Brocq to take 3rd place.

The first car to pit was Thomas Randle from 22nd place on lap 8. His car needed repair work done after being involved in the lap 1 pile up.

Brodie Kostecki was moving up and passed James Courtney for 5th place.

By lap 10 Thomas Randle was still in the pits and the crew declared that a shock absorber was broken. Once the repair was completed he rejoined the race but was way behind.

Will Davison had his rear guard smashed and pushed against the tyre by Will Brown making an aggressive pass. Davison had to pit early. After official investigation Will Brown was later issued a 5 second time penalty for his actions.

On lap 12 James Courtney’s engine failed and the safety car was deployed once again. Everyone pitted to take advantage of yellow flag. Broc Feeney did a really quick stop of 4 seconds which gave him track position.

The restart was on lap 18. Broc Feeney was in the lead followed by Matt Payne and David Reynolds.

By the middle of the race Broc Feeney had a 1.163 second lead over Matt Payne. Brodie Kostecki was 0.926 seconds adrift in third place. Chaz Mostert was 4th, up an amazing 13 places after starting 17th on the grid.

As the race continued Chaz Mostert still had more to offer. Towards the end of the race he worked his way up to 2nd place. Broc Feeney was driving faultlessly and increased his lead to 5.557 seconds. Matt Payne was still managing to hold 3rd place.

In the final laps the top 5 drivers were quite spread out giving them clean air and space to reach top speeds. However, Broc Feeney was flying and it seemed no one was able to catch him. In fact he gained even more lead over the others.

Broc Feeny crossed the finish line 6.429 seconds ahead of Chaz Mostert to earn his 21st career win. Matt Payne came in 3rd 1.963 seconds later. Will Brown led the rest of the pack across the line 13+ seconds later.

It was another spectacular finish for Feeney.

Race 21 Results:

1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
3rd Matt Payne – Grove Racing

In Race 22 Broc Feeney started on pole position with Matt Payne alongside him on the front row of the grid.

Broc Feeney got the jump off the start line leading for the first of 70 laps.

Anton de Pasquale went up to second place.

On lap 3 Will Brown clocked the fastest lap of the race so far, 115.088 seconds.

On the next lap Ryan Wood outdid him recording a 114.821 second lap time.

On lap 12 the front runners were still close together. Matt Payne found the space and regained his former 2nd position from Anton de Pasquale.

The first car to pit was Cameron Waters from 4th place on lap 15. Jack le Brocq pitted on the same lap.

Will Brown got up the inside of Anton de Pasquale for third place around lap 20. He was 1.6 seconds behind Matt Payne and Broc Feeney was 2.9 seconds ahead of him.

Jack Le Brocq then recorded the fastest lap of the race 114.621 seconds.

In the middle of the race Cameron Waters had a 1.5 second lead over Broc Feeney. However, Cameron Waters was still yet to pit so it wouldn’t be long before Feeney resumed the lead. Will Brown was 2.1 seconds back, followed by Anton de Pasquale.

The top 6 cars waited till the last part of the race to take their pit stops. Once back on the track, Broc Feeney was leading over Will Brown by 1.5 seconds. Cameron Waters was following in 3rd place.

Once again Chaz Mostert was moving up through the pack and now in 4th place. It didn’t take him too long to pass Cameron Waters in 3rd.

Meanwhile, the two Red Bull Ampol Racing drivers Broc Feeney and Will Brown were in the lead and breaking away from the pack. They created a huge lead and it seemed no one could keep up. In fact, Will Brown seemed to be having trouble keeping up with Broc Feeney.

Feeney crossed the finish line with a lead of 3.019 seconds over Will Brown. Nearly 10 seconds later Chaz Mostert who had kept ahead of Cam Waters, crossed the line to take 3rd place.

It was an incredible finish for the weekend.

Race 22 Results:

1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing

2nd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing

3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

Broc Feeney has extended his championship lead to 220 points over Will Brown.

Red Bull Ampol Racing still have command of the Teams Championship by 830 points over Grove Racing.

The next event will be the Century Batteries Ipswich Super 440 on August 8 – 10 2025.

I’m looking forward to it already and hope you will join me.

Till then, Keep Revving!

Supercars

NTI Townsville 500 2024

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 5th – 7th July 2024 was round 6 of the 2024 Supercars championship, the NTI Townsville 500.

The event was held in Townsville, North Queensland.

Supercars have been racing in Townsville for 16, years since the street circuit was first opened in 2009. The circuit is 2.8km long with 13 turns.

In that very first event of 2009, Lee Holdsworth and Garth Tander shared the pole positions and Jamie Whincup and Jamess Courtney shared the race wins.

Townsville displayed its typical weather pattern on the Saturday of this year’s event, bloody hot with an afternoon storm but on the Sunday it managed to stay dry.

In the pre-race sessions

  • Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 1
  • Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 2
  • Will Davison was fastest in Qualifying
  • Cameron Waters was fastest in the Top Ten Shootout

In Race 13 Cameron Waters started on pole position with Chaz Mostert alongside him.

Cameron Waters got the jump off the start line and led into turn 1 for the first of 88 laps, a total of 250kms.

Thomas Randle got up the inside of Will Davison at turn 3 for 3rd place but back in the pack there was chaos. As the rest of the cars got to turn 3 Nick Percat, Brodie Kostecki and Anton de Pasquale made contact heavily. As they bounced around the track there was a big risk of other cars hitting them from behind. As Jaxon Evans came through, he joined the chaos and was also turned around. Will Brown who started 13th on the grid was in the danger zone of being caught up but somehow, he managed to stay out of trouble.

The first 3 cars in the incident, Percat, Kostecki and Pasquale had to all head into the pits due to damage. Race officials investigated the incident but found no-one to at fault, so no penalties were issued.

By lap 2 the positions had changed significantly. James Courtney had gained 6 places moving up to 11th. Will Brown gained 1 place up to 12th and David Reynolds was up 8 spots in 13th place.

The leading 5 cars were reasonably close to each other. Chaz Mostert was right behind his former teammate Cameron Waters by only 0.682 seconds.

The first car to pit by choice was Aaron Love on lap 19. He came back on the circuit in 21st place.

A few laps later Chaz Mostert was the first of the leaders to pit. There were 9 cars still yet to take their stops. Once they did, they would be out of the way and Chaz Mostert would be able to resume his face-to-face battle for the lead with Cameron Waters.

When Cameron Waters pitted on lap 28 he had a 7.7 second lead over Will Davison in 2nd place.

By the middle of the race Chaz Mostert was given the space by Cameron Waters to pass and now had the number 1 spot with 1.8 seconds lead.

Chaz Mostert kept the lead and with 15 laps to go was followed by Thomas Randle and then Cameron Waters.

Further back in the pack Will Brown had gained an amazing 7 spots into 6th place and now behind Jack Le Brocq in 5th.

With 11 laps remaining the rain started to bucket down and drivers were struggling to keep the cars on the track. As suddenly as it had started, the rain passed. Although the track was still wet, I am sure the drivers were thankful.

Cameron Waters wasted no time. Soon enough he passed his teammate Thomas Randle to be in 2nd place.

Thomas Randle lost his momentum and dropped back a few places. Will Brown made contact with him on the approach to turn 3 but somehow both cars stayed away from the wall.

Cameron Waters was now challenging Chaz Mostert. Waters wouldn’t let up. Chaz Mostert must have felt he wasn’t able to defend the number 1 spot without high risk. Instead of possibly endangering his car and losing a podium finish he seemed to let Cameron Waters pass easily.

Cameron Waters edged ahead in the last laps and finally crossed the line with a 1.8 second lead over Chaz Mostert. Then there was another 4.6 seconds back to Will Brown who managed to move up into 3rd place for the finish. It was a spectacular result.

Results for Race 13

1st Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
3rd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing

On the Sunday of the 3 day event Jack le Brocq started on pole position for Race 14. Alongside him was Cameron Waters.

As they took off Cameron Waters once again led into turn 1 for the first of 88 laps.

The polesitter, Jack le Brocq did not get an ideal start and dropped back to 4th.

Thomas Randle was now in 2nd place and James Courtney was in 3rd.

This year’s championship leader Will Brown missed the Top 10 Shootouts in both races of the event. He qualified 17th on the grid. To add to his woes, David Reynolds hit him from behind in lap 1 sending him into the concrete barrier wall and seriously damaged his car. Will Brown now had to head straight to the pits and returned to the race in 24th, last place. It scrapped all his hopes of protecting his championship lead.

Will Brown’s teammate Broc Feeney (who happens to be 2nd on the championship ladder) was having problems of his own. On this first lap he had dropped from 6th place on the grid back to 13th.

Chaz Mostert who had started 8th on the grid managed to get by Matt Payne for 6th place. He wasted no time and went on the charge. Soon he was in 4th place just behind the leaders. By the end of the 1st lap he was in 3rd.

Within the next few laps Chaz Mostert passed Thomas Randle for second place.

The first car to pit aside from Will Brown at the race start, was Matt Payne on lap 20. He was in 3rd place but unable to challenge the 2 cars ahead. The team strategised to come in now and be better able to make ground with fresh tyres.

By the middle of the race Jack le Brocq who had a terrible start from his pole position was now out the front and leading. Cameron Waters and Chaz Mostert were right behind him.

Matt Payne’s pitting strategy paid off. In the second half of the race he managed to squeeze passed and take the lead. With 7 laps to go he had a 9.2 second lead over Cameron Waters in 2nd place with Chaz Mostert not far behind.

Waters and Mostert chased Matt Payne for all their experience was worth. The cars began to spread out. However, Matt Payne was just too fast and crossed the finish line 6.057 seconds ahead of Cameron Waters.

Mostert had slipped a little but came in 3rd place 7.6 seconds later.

It was an unexpected finish especially after this year’s dominance of Will Brown and Broc Feeney up until now.

Results for Race 14

1st Matt Payne – Grove Racing
2nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing
3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

Regardless of a bad weekend for the Red Bull Ampol Racing team, Will Brown still leads the championship but only by 78 points over Broc Feeney.

The next event is the Panasonic Sydney Supernight July 19 – 21.

I hope you will join me. Until then keep those engines revving!

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Watpac Townsville 400 2017

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Hi to all you V8 Supercars fans around the world!

On the weekend to the 7th to the 9th of July 2017 was the Watpac Townsville 400. Races 13 and 14 were both 200 Kilometres and 70 laps.

Its interesting to note:

  • Craig Lowndes had a worrying start to the weekend. In both practice sessions on Friday he lost control and spun his car.
  • Later in qualifying Jamie Whincup baulked Craig Lowndes costing him a solid top ten starting spot. Craig Lowndes was now placed 19th in the start.
  • Tim Edwards who is the Managing Director at Prodrive Racing Australia was not present for the weekend because he was with his boys watching them play Soccer. Rod Nash was delegated to the role over the weekend.
  • It was Simona De Silvestro first V8 Supercars event in North Queensland. Mark Skaife commented during this race he believed she was improving with every race that she does. I believe without a doubt as she returns next season to the different tracks for a second time she will be a force to be reckoned with.
  • For this season there have been only 2 Aussie drivers to win a race, Jamie Whincup and Chaz Mostert. It has been predominantly NZ drivers so it will be interesting to see if this becomes a matter of contention.

In race 13 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position, alongside him was Jamie Whincup.

On lap 1 of 70 Jamie Whincup got the jump on Scott McLaughlin off the start line after starting from 2nd spot which was on the clean side of the race track (meaning it has got more grip).

Towards the end of Lap 1 Jamie Whincup let Scott McLaughlin take over the race lead. Commentator Mark Skaife thought that letting Scott McLaughlin pass him was too soft.

On lap 2 Jamie Whincup tried to stay close as possible but Scott McLaughlin just pulled away.

Fabian Coulthard had starting in the top ten. He held high hopes to maintain his position as championship leader to the end of the season. On lap 3 he was hit from behind and spun around. As a result he ended up at the back of the pack and probably felt his championship hopes fade. However, I am sure he knew it was still early in the race and had plenty of opportunity to do something about it.

His worries weren’t over yet. On lap 6 he had a close call. Fabian Coulthard’s rear wing clipped the driver’s side door of Lee Houldsworth’s car. The damage didn’t look too bad but the door on Lee Houldsworth’s car wouldn’t stay shut. Fabian Coulthard got off without damage but Lee Houldsworth had to make it the pits and have his door taped shut.

On lap 7 Scott McLaughlin was still the race leader but chose to pit now. I can only assume it was part of the strategy to give him as much opportunity to retake the lead later in the race.

On lap 11 Chaz Mostert was battling with Mark Winterbottom to get fresh air but it wasn’t going to be easy trying to take a position while in the top ten.

By lap 12 Fabian Coulthard was trying to fight back from the spin on the opening couple of laps.

On lap 13 Shane Van Gisbergen was battling with Jamie Whincup for 3rd and 4th and also pit priority.

On lap 14 Jason Bright caught up with his teammates but had to wait till after the hairpin turn to make a pass safely.

On lap 19 Simona De Silvestro was following Rick and Todd Kelly for experience at the new track.

By lap 23 Macauley Jones was getting  noticed carving his way through the field after starting near the back.

On lap 24 some drivers hit the pits to get out from the battle going on near the back of the pack.

On lap 26 Jason Bright caught up to his teammates mark Winterbottom and Cameron Waters. He couldn’t manage to pass them so decided to pit again.

On lap 29 Jamie Whincup was putting pressure on Scott McLaughlin hoping he would make an error but Scott McLaughlin was faultless and wasn’t going to give the lead away easily.

In the middle of the race no one could catch the top 3 drivers which were Scott McLaughlin, Jamie Whincup and Mark Winterbottom.

On lap 34 Todd Kelly ran into engine problems and could go on. He received a DNF.

Towards the end of the race Shane Van Gisbergen had a sick car not running on all eight cylinders. Regardless, he managed to complete the race coming in at 7th position.

Scott McLaughlin finished with nearly a 4 second lead over Jamie Whincup.  Mark Winterbottom came in third over 15 seconds after the winner. Quite a spread at the finish line.

Results for race 13

1st Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson racing Team Penske.

2nd Jamie Whincup – Red bull Holden Racing Team.

3rd Mark Winterbottom – Prodrive racing Australia.

In race 14 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was Shane Van Gisbergen.

Craig Lowndes started in 21st on the grid due to not making the top 10 shootout.  To add to the pressure he also had to get passed Will Davison to get pit priority.

On the start of the 70 lap race Shane Van Gisbergen tried to go around the outside of the pole sitter but couldn’t get the job done.

On lap 2 Scott McLaughlin was still the race leader but he was under pressure from Shane Van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup which was good to see such a challenge.

On lap 3 John Mcgregor who is Craig Lowndes race engineer told him to pit because even though it wasn’t ideal timing he could see he was getting held in traffic.

On lap 5 Jamie Whincup was still chasing Scott McLaughlin for the race lead.

On lap 7 Fabian Coulthard was trying to regain the Championship lead but it wasn’t his day. He must have been  gutted over losing his championship lead.

On lap 9 Jamie Whincup running second to Scott McLaughlin him in their first round of pit stops.

On lap 10 Simona De Silvrestro was battling with Michael Caruso for positions 12 and 13. Both knew they were just outside the top 10 so these were critical spots.

On lap 11 Alex Rullo was doing a great job for his first V8 Supercars race at Townsville.

On lap 13 Jason Bright pitted to re-enter the race track with no cars in front or behind him.

On lap 15 Craig Lowndes was doing a fantastic job moving up through the field.  He was picking cars off with every lap which I thought was very impressive.

On lap 16, Grant McPherson, race engineer for Shane Van Gisbergen called a change in strategy; Shane Van Gisbergen was behind Jamie Whincup so was called into pits early. The strategy was so that Jamie Whincup would not have to double stack behind him.

On lap 18 Scott Pye was forced into pits at an un-ideal time because he was getting held up by James Courtney.

By lap 22 Craig Lowndes had worked his way up to 11th position, which in my opinion was a mighty drive.

On lap 25 a lot of cars started pitting for the 2nd round of pit stops to prepare for the race to the chequered flag.

On lap 27 Jamie Whincup ended up getting the undercut which made him the effective race leader at that point of the race.   He was not only on his way to his first race win for 2017 but also being on the same number of race wins as Craig Lowndes, in fact        equalling the same of Career wins.

On lap 28 the top 3 at that stage were Jamie Whincup, Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen.

In the middle of the race no one else could catch the top drivers which were Jamie Whincup, Scott McLaughlin and Shane Van Gisbergen. Holden, Ford, Holden.

They kept the pattern and finished the race in that order.

The win by Jamie Whincup  puts him only 6 points behind Scott McLaughlin.

 

Results for race 14

1st Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Holden Racing team.

2nd Scott McLaughlin – Dick Johnson racing Team Penske Shell V Power Racing Team.

3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red bull Holden racing team.

The next event is the Coates hire Ipswich Supersprint 28th to the 30th of July 2017.

 

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Castrol Edge Townsville 400 Post race 2016

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Hi to all you v8 Supercars fans around the world.

On the weekend of the 8th – 10th of July 2016, was the Castrol Edge Townsville 400.

 

In race 14 Jamie Whincup started on pole position alongside him was his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen on the 70 lap race.

On lap 1 Jamie Whincup got the jump on his teammate off the start line, everybody was trying to get track position early, Scott McLaughlin made contact with Dale Wood on the run up to turn 3, Nick Percat nearly made contact with the Nissan Altama car 96. Rick Kelly made contact with Tim Slade at turn 10. James Courtney and Shane Van Gisbergen pitted at the same time, due to the Safety car being Deployed.   Andre Heimgartner was lucky not run up the back Will Davison. While the leaders out front were just pulling away. The cars further back wanted to get into the top ten.

On lap 2 it was still a Red Bull 1 and 2, the cars were trying to catch the leaders up front of the race.

On lap 3 the cars further back pitted so they didn’t have to double stack behind the car in front when they re-joined the cars approaching turn 1 had to be careful to run up the back of the cars ahead.

On lap 4 the leaders were just cruising out front.

On lap 5 the teams were trying to stay out for as long as possible.

In the middle of the race Chaz Mostert was battling away with Shane Van Gisbergen. Also at the halfway mark the Team Vortex pit crew had put the wrong on tyres on the back of Craig Lownde’s car.

I was laughing at Neil Crompton when he told The Gear that Michael Caruso had selected to get in their gear. That was very funny.

Towards the end of the race there was a yellow flag – Safety car as a result of Nick Percat stopping on the track. The tow truck had to pull his car off to the side so that the cars could spend minimal amount of time under the Yellow Flag.

On the restart Jamie Whincup just put his foot down and took off, Mark Winterbottom was unable to catch him. By the end of the first race he had extended his championship lead to 83 points. That now takes Jamie’s career V8 wins to 99; 1 off 100. When will he reach 100 wins?

 

Results for race 14

1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia
2nd – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia
3rd – Mark Winterbottom – Rod Nash Racing

Townsville 2016

In race 15 Mark Winterbottom started on pole position alongside him was Craig Lowndes for the second 70 lap race of the weekend.

On lap 1 Craig bogged it down from the front row of the grid meaning he did not get away well. Which had allowed Frosty to take the race lead. Further back in the pack Tim Slade, Todd Kelly and Rick Kelly nearly came together just after the start of the race David Reynolds passed Jamie Whincup at turn 2 and tucked in behind Frosty, then he tried to take the lead, but that wasn’t able to be done. Scott McLaughlin tried to go around the outside of Shane Van Gisbergen, Chaz Mostert got a hit up the behind from James Courtney, and then Dale Wood nearly got spun by Chaz Mostert.

On lap 2 the leaders were getting away from the cars behind. The Red Bull team decided to change their strategy meaning the team brought in Shane Van Gisbergen first because Jamie Whincup was leading the race. Jamie Whincup stayed out for as long as he could to avoid the double stack. The Holden Racing team got a big slap on the wrist for letting a wheel nut travel out into the fast lane from car 2’s pit stop for Garth Tander, the team received a 30-point penalty for not taking care of their equipment in pit lane, plus they also received a fine on top of that as well.

On lap 3 Jamie was the man to beat early on.

On lap 4 the pack was settling down to a good race pace with the stops starting to take place.

On lap 5 everyone was in position to try and get track as quick as possible.

On lap 6 the race was still under green.

In the middle of the race the youngest ever V8 Supercars driver Kurt Kostecki was replacing Lee Holdsworth while he recovers. Hit the wall. Due to a Broken Steering arm. In car 18. Towards the end of the Race Van Gisbergen was still in control.

Results for race 15

1st – Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Racing Australia
2nd – James Courtney – Holden Racing Team
3rd – Mark Winterbottom – Rod Nash Racing

Shane Van Gisbergen Townsville 2016

The next event is the Coates Hire Ipswich Supersprint. July 22nd – 24th 2016.

Post Race Report, V8 Supercars

Townsville 2015

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Hi to you V8 Supercar followers around the world.

Race 16

On the weekend of the 10th – 12th of July 2015 was the Townsville 400. In race 16 Chaz Mostert started on pole position alongside him was Mark Winterbottom. Shane Van Gisbergen started from the back of the pack due to using warm up tyres in qualifying. On lap 1, Frosty got the jump on his Pepsi MAX Crew teammate in Chaz Mostert and led the field through turns 1 and 2 for the first of 70 laps. There was contact between Todd Kelly and Andre Heimgartner, Andre came off the worse for wear. Towards the end of the opening lap Scott McLaughlin was trying to fend off Jamie Whincup. On lap 2 Jamie went from 6th to 4th also on lap 2 Tim Blanchard was the first to pit. In car 3, Scott McLaughlin couldn’t get too adventurous because Scott Pye was right behind him. The Super Black Racing Ford Falcon FGX had damage on the front left hand side on car 111. Towards the end of lap 2 Jamie was flying through the field. On lap 3 the 2 Scott’s were battling down the main straight for track Position. James Courtney had jumped to the other to avoid contact with Scott Pye and Fabain Coulthard. Craig Lowndes had moved from 13th down 1 spot to 14th. David Reynolds was following his teammates in cars 5 and 6. In the middle of the race Jason Bright was putting the pressure on car 888. Towards the end of the race no one could catch Mark Winterbottom and David Reynolds.

Results for race 16

1st – Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max Crew
2nd – David Reynolds – Bottle ‘O’
3rd – Fabain Coulthard – Brad Jones Racing.

Race 17

In race 17 Scott McLaughlin started on pole position alongside him was Chaz Mostert, on lap 1 Scott led through turns 1 and 2. Shane Van Gisbergen tried to get up the inside of Chaz at turn 2, Garth Tander was putting the pressure on Todd Kelly. On lap 2 Craig Lowndes was still in 23rd on lap 3 Scott Mclaughlin was still leading the race. On lap 4 Fabain got passed Garth Tander. On lap 5 Garth Tander was very quick. On lap 6 David Reynolds took over the race lead. Chaz wanted to follow David through to 2nd spot, but that wasn’t able to be done. On lap 7 Scott McLaughlin had dropped back to 3rd, Mark Winterbottom tried to sneak down the inside in the process he gave the Volvo a slight bump on the rear bumper. On lap 8 the David Reynolds was still out in front, Shane Van Gisbergen was chasing down Chaz Mostert. On lap 9 Nissan Motorsport had a pit board due a radio malfunction for Michael Caruso, in the middle of the race David Reynolds was leading at the halfway mark, towards the end of the race no one could catch Frosty, he was too good.

Mark Dutton will be Jamie’s race engineer for the rest of the year, due to David Cauchi being under too much pressure, as a result of where Jamie was positioned on the ladder.

The next race meeting is the Ipswich 400, on the 31st July to the 2nd August 2015. Craig is back in 2nd 248 points off the championship lead. Jamie Whincup is 391 points behind. Triple 8 are 317 points behind in the team championship leader board.

Results for race 17

1st – Mark Winterbottom – Pepsi Max Crew
2nd – James Courtney – Holden Racing Team,
3rd – David Reynolds – Bottle ‘O’ Racing Team

Pre Race Report, V8 Supercars

Townsville QLD – Pre-Race Report

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Hi to all you V8 Supercar fans around the world.

This weekend is the Castrol Edge Townsville 400. Let’s take a look back at what happened in Townsville 12 months ago, in race 20 James Courtney started on pole position along was Garth Tander. Garth got a bump from Craig Lowndes, as a result Scott McLaughlin took the race lead. On lap 1 Chaz Mostert was spun around at turn 7 by the Jack Daniel’s Racing Nissan Altama. Craig then got spun around by Will Davison. Who will win the Castrol edge gold coast 400 this weekend?

History of the Townsville event, the first event was back in 2009 the winners back then were Jamie Whincup and James Courtney respectively. The pole position winners in the recent years have been 2009 Lee Holdsworth and James Courtney.

Best of luck everybody for weekend this week is races 16 and 17, 70 laps each. Can Craig get the Championship lead back off Frosty this week? Also can Craig Lowndes get his 101st this week? Can Jamie climb his way back towards top of the ladder?

The telecast will be on channel 10 channel 110 and Foxsports 5 Channel 506, enjoy the telecast this weekend. Watching the telecast on Foxsports you will have every practice session, qualifying and race.

Mark Dutton will be returning to his former position as Jamie’s race engineer, due to David Cauchi stepping aside. That means Roland Dane will be the team manager this weekend. The last time Mark was Jamie’s race engineer was 2013. 200 kilometres for each race on Saturday and Sunday. Marcos Ambrose won’t be driving at all this weekend. Scott Mclaughlin has been having engine dramas will that continue? Have GRM solved the issues.

Results from Townsville 2014. For race 20,

1st – Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Racing Australia.
2nd – Scott Mclaughlin – Volvo Polstar racing.
3rd – Garth Tander – SP Tools holden racing team.

Results for race 21

1st – Garth Tander – SP Tools Holden Racing team.
2nd – James Courtney – SP Tools Holden Racing Team.
3rd – Nick Percat – Heavy Haulage Australia Racing.

https://youtu.be/r74MgOgjhoU