Hi to all you Supercars fans around the world!
On the weekend of the 25th to the 27th of October was the Vodafone Gold Coast 600.
Pre-race sessions:
- Jamie Whincup was fastest in Practice 1.
- Garth Tander was fastest in Practice 2 for co-drivers.
- Cameron Waters was fastest in practice 3 the season was red flagged due to a lot of water on the track.
- Chaz Mostert was fastest in Armour All Qualifying.
- Scott McLaughlin was the fastest in the Armour All top ten shootout.
In Race 26 Alex Premat started on pole position alongside him was Craig Lowndes.
At the start of the 102 lap race Craig Lowndes got the jump off the start line. Alex Premat stalled his car losing his number 1 position on the grid which put the championship leading car back into 2nd off the start.
All of the co-driver’s started the race behind the wheel except main game driver. Jack Le Brocq.
During the opening stages it got overcrowded in the S-bends. In order to avoid making contact with other cars eight drivers were forced to short cut the circuit and drove straight over the chicanes. Race Control issued warnings to them about having all four wheels out of track bounds and short cutting the circuit but they didn’t penalise anyone at that stage.
Thomas Randle who was making his debut in the V8-Supercars Championship as co-driver for Lee Holdsworth showed his inexperience and held up Michael Caruso. Eventually the pass was made and he was lucky not to be penalised. Even commentator Mark Skaife said that Thomas Randle should have let Michael Caruso by a lot earlier than he did.
Mark Winterbottom had a problem with his car which made him have to re visit the pit lane to have the problem sorted out.
Fabian Coulthard was watching the opening stages race from the garage while Tony Dalberto was behind the wheel doing his minimum 34 laps required by all co-drivers. I’m sure Fabian Coulthard’s heart must have skipped a beat when Dalberto made contact Jack Perkins. Luckily it wasn’t major and both continued without stopping.
By the middle of the race Jamie Whincup was effectively leading. The cars ahead of him only lead because they had not perform their second pit stop.
Jamie Whincup was not going to blow this opportunity. He maintained his lead all the way to the finish line. Shane Van Gisbergen was on his tail pushing him along. This was a great result for the Triple Eight team and the only time this year to get a 1st & 2nd in a race.
As co-driver to Jamie Whincup, Craig Lowndes statistics breach 1000 laps of lead for all combined races. A momentous occasion for such a legend.
Results for Race 26
1st Jamie Whincup & Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
|2nd Shane Van Gisbergen & Garth Tander – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
3rd Scott McLaughlin & Alex Premat – Shell V Power Racing Team.
In Qualifying for race 27 Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest and then again in the Armour All top ten shootout.
Scott McLaughlin did not take part in this race at all because he crashed in Qualifying.
As co-driver for Shane Van Gisbergen, Garth Tander started on pole position. Alongside him was Craig Lowndes, co-driver for Jamie Whincup.
As they started the 102 lap race Craig Lowndes got the jump on Garth Tander but then Garth Tander took the lead and held position.
On the opening there was an accident between Ash Walsh, Will Brown, Todd Hazelwood and Dean Canto.
Garth Tander led his opening stint until it was time to pit and hand over to Shane Van Gisbergen.
James Courtney’s driver’s swung open. He tried to close it but at the next turn it swung open again. He faught with the door but it just wouldn’t close. He ended up getting a Mechanical Black Flag meaning he was forced into the pits for the team to tape it shut.
By the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was the effective race leader with cars in front of him yet to complete their 2nd pit stops.
It was looking good again for the Triple Eight Team.
In the closing stages Jamie Whincup had fresh rubber on and grip to his advantage but he just fell short on getting another race win for 2019. It was his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen who crossed the line first.
It was another 1st and 2nd for the Red Bull Holden Racing Team for the weekend.
Results for Race 27
1st Shane Van Gisbergen & Garth Tander – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
2nd Jamie Whincup & Craig Lowndes – Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
|3rd David Reynolds & Luke Youlden – Erebus Motorsport.
The next event is the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 on the 8th to the 10th of November 2019.
Please feel free to comment on how the Gold Coast event was.
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