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Supercars

Beaurepaires Melbourne Supersprint 2024

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of March 21 – 24 was the Beaurepairs Melbourne Supersprint.

It was round 2 of the 2024 Supercars Championship and was held in Albert Park, Melbourne Victoria.

Supercars were the support category to the main event, The Rolex Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix.

This year marks the 25th year of Supercars racing as a support category for the Australian F1 Grand Prix.  It was also the first time that the Supercars Sprints ran past sunset.

The Albert Park track is one of the longer circuits, 5.3 km with 14 turns.

Two drivers reached milestones at this event. In race 4 Will Davison reached his 550th race. Andre Heimgartner reached his 250th start. Both deserve a round applause for lasting this long in a very tough sport.

For Melbourne the weather was relatively fine and there were no interruptions to the event.

In the pre-race sessions:

  • Macauley Jones was fastest in Practice 1
  • Broc Feeney was fastest in Practice 2
  • Broc Feeney was also fastest in Qualifying for Race 3.

In Race 3 Broc Feeney started on pole position with Anton de Pasquale alongside him. The race was meant to be 19 laps but due to an extra formation lap it was only an 18-lap race.

Anton de Pasquale got the jump of the start line and led into turn 1. As they approached turn 3 Anton de Pasquale come in way too fast and ran wide. Broc Feeney pushed past and became the new leader with Anton de Pasquale back in second place. Will Brown was in third place followed by Nick Percat and then Chaz Mostert.

It was the beginning of a backward slide for Anton de Pasquale. First, he was passed by Will Brown, then Nick Percat and on the following lap Chaz Mostert.

To add to Anton de Pasquale’s problems, race control announced they were investigating him for possibly jumping too early at the start line.

Further back in the pack Cameron Waters got up the inside of Bryce Fullwood. Thomas Randle was helped off the track by Cameron Hill.

Nick Percat made contact with Chaz Mostert. It caused Mostert to fall way back to 10th place. All the other drivers between moved up a spot. Nick Percat was issued a 5 second penalty for his actions.

Jaxson Evans hit the wall coming out of turn 14. The damage on his car #12 was extensive. After visiting the pits he did manage to rejoin and complete the race.

Ryan Wood and James Golding made contact with each other.

Cameron Waters passed Anton de Pasquale for 5th place.

In the middle of the race Todd Hazelwood received a 5 second time penalty for making contact with Bryce Fullwood in car 14.

With 9 laps remaining the top 3 places had not changed but back in the pack battles were going on for the minor places.

On the following lap Nick Percat recorded the fastest lap of the race, 150.007s.

Drivers started to settle down and there was less contact between cars for the remainder of the race.

The top 3 cars still held on to their positions. In the end Broc Feeney crossed the finish line with a 2.2 second win over his teammate Will  Brown. Nick Percat followed 1.4 seconds later to claim 3rd place.

For such a short race the leaders were spread out a little more than I would have expected.

Results for Race 3

1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing

2nd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing

3rd Nick Percat – Matt Stone Racing

In Race 4 Cameron Waters started on pole position with Will Brown alongside him.

As they took off Will Brown got the jump and led into turn 1 for the first of 19 laps.

Anton de Pasquale was helped off the track by Matt Payne at turn 5. Anton de Pasquale had severe damage and he was down the order in 24th place. He then had to come in for repairs, but the damage was so bad he was unable to return to the race. He was the only driver to receive an NC (Not Complete).

The gap between Will Brown and Cameron Waters was tight, only 0.47 seconds. Broc Feeney was right behind them in third place.

Further back in the pack there was also a lot of action. Thomas Randle and Ryan Wood went off the track at turn 1 and dropped a couple of places.

Mark Winterbottom who had started 4th on the grid had slipped back but regained his position and was 0.432 seconds behind Broc Feeney.

Just before they reached the half way mark of the race Broc Feeney got up the inside of Cameron Waters. However, the manoeuvre caused them both to run wide and Mark Winterbottom took advantage to move up to second place.

It didn’t last long, and Broc Feeney passed him to take back 2nd place and Frosty had dropped back to third place.

Towards the end of the race the two Red Bull cars were looking strong for another 1 2 finish.

With 4 laps remaining Will Brown who was protect by his teammate Broc Feeney, then did the fastest lap of the race 149.720 seconds.

Thomas Randle was once again mixing it up with other drivers. He and Cameron Hill went off the track between turns 9 and 10 putting them both back a couple of places. Later Thomas Randle received a 15 second time penalty for causing the incident.

With only a couple laps remaining Broc Feeney made a driver error locking up the front right wheel. It was bad timing to make a mistake so close to the finish. It allowed Mark Winterbottom and Matt Payne to get between him and Will Brown in the lead.

Will Brown was cruising to yet another win for the season. He crossed the finish line with just under a 1 second lead over Mark Winterbottom. Matt Payne followed through in 3rd place right on his tail. Broc Feeney had no time to make up for his mistake but was also hot on their heels. It was a tight and exciting finish.

Results for Race 4

1st Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing

2nd Mark Winterbottom – Team 18

3rd Matt Payne – Grove Racing

As mentioned before, the V8 Supercars were a support category to the AGP. By the time this race came up on the Saturday the delays resulted in it being cut short to try get back to the running schedule. It was cut from 19 to 14 laps and time certain putting pressure on drivers to be aggressive as possible.

In Race 5 Cameron Waters started on pole position with Matt Payne alongside.

As the lights went green Cameron Waters got the jump and led into turn 1. Chaz Mostert who was 3rd on the grid had a shocker of a start dropping 3 spots back to 6th place.

Between the final two corners of the first lap Matt Payne hit Cameron Waters from behind. They both lost control and spun off the track. Cameron Waters had extensive damage on the front left wheel and Matt Payne’s car was also in poor shape.     

The two drivers behind them, Broc Feeney and Will Brown were handed the lead while Cameron Waters and Matt Payne started their walk back to the pits.

The race went under yellow for the stranded cars to be collected and the track cleaned up.

The tension could be felt everywhere as the clock and laps counted down.

The race restarted with Broc Feeney and Will Brown pulling away while the pack was 5 abreast approaching turn 1. It was mayhem and you got the feeling that the desperation was going to cause something terrible to happen.

With 4 laps remaining Broc Feeney only had a 0.556 second lead over Will Brown. Adding to the tension, Chaz Mostert in 3rd did the fastest lap of the race 148.389 seconds. That is a phenomenal time which was almost 1.5 seconds faster than the best time in the previous race.

Broc Feeney didn’t crack under the pressure. He must have been given nerves of steel from his mentor/manager Jamie Whincup.

The Payne/Waters incident causing the safety deployment at the end of lap 1 had Race Control make the time certain call to cut back to 10 laps.

Feeney held his spot and crossed the finish line 1.791 seconds ahead of his teammate Will Brown. Chaz Mostert came across 3rd only .931 seconds later.

Considering Broc Feeney started 4th and Will Brown 6th on the grid it was an unexpected outcome for such a short race. It was short but very tense.

Results for Race 5

1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing

2nd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing

3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

In Race 6 Chaz Mostert started on pole position. Alongside him was Matt Payne.

Anton de Pasquale was a non-starter and didn’t even make it to the grid in the final race of the weekend.

As they took off Matt Payne got the jump and led into turn 1 for the first of 14 laps. Chaz Mostert followed with Nick Percat right behind in 3rd.

Broc Feeney wasted no time and got up the inside of Cameron Waters to take 4th place.

Jack le Brocq was hit by another car and before the first lap was complete went to the pit lane due to damage sustained. He was the second driver in the race to receive an NC (Not Complete) after Anton de Pasquale’s NC for not even making it to the grid.

Things didn’t settle down after the first lap. On lap 2 the leaders, Matt Payne and Chaz Mostert became entangled and went off the track which put Nick Percat in the lead. It also pushed Broc Feeney up into second place. That was a big leapfrog in position considering Feeney started 6th on the grid.

Matt Payne probably wishes he didn’t make back to the track after his incident with Mostert. It was only a short time later that he was spun around by contact from Cameron Hill.

The lap 2 incident seemed to not want to go away. In the middle of the race after official review Chaz Mostert was given a 5 second time penalty for what was considered avoidable contact.

It was at this point Broc Feeney tried to make his move. He got up the inside of Nick Percat for the lead but Percat did the over and under manoeuvre to retake his place. Will Brown who was right behind also slipped under Broc Feeney. Once again, the top 3 positions had changed in an incredibly short race.

On the final lap Ryan Wood gave Cameron Hill a bump and put him in the gravel trap. Cameron Hill was stuck and became the third NC of this race. It must have been so frustrating that close to the finish.

The top 3 cars remained unchanged but had no space between them.

Nick Percat came across the finish line first only .381 of a second ahead of Will Brown. Broc Feeney followed through hot on their heels.

For Percat this win breaks a drought since Adelaide 2016.

Results for Race 6

1st Nick Percat – Matt Stone Racing

2nd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing

3rd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing

Will Brown won the Larry Perkins Trophy for 2024.

He leads the championship by 17 points over his teammate Broc Feeney.

The next event is the ITM super400 April 19 – 21.

Supercars

Thrifty Bathurst 500 2024

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 23 – 25 Feb was the Thrifty Bathurst 500.

It was Round 1 of the V8-Supercars 2024 season.

The event consisted of 2 practice sessions, a qualifying session (1 for each of the 2 races) to determine the entries to the top 10 shootout for grid position and finally 2 races of 40 laps / 250km each.

Last season ended with Erebus taking the teams trophy and Erebus driver Brodie Kostecki taking the drivers’ trophy. Will Brown who was Brodie Kostecki’s teammate took 4th place.

It seems this year the drivers from Erebus have abandoned ship. Will Brown is now driving for Red Bull Ampol Racing alongside Broc Feeney after the exit of legend, Shane Van Gisbergen.

Will Brown has joined Red Bull Ampol Racing

On the 30 January 2024 Brodie Kostecki had a massive falling out with Erebus Motorsports’ boss Barry Ryan and left the team. It must have been serious because now the champion has been left without a seat in this years’ competition. Barry Ryan, team owner Betty Klimenko and Brodie Kostecki have all been very tight lipped about what happened to cause the rift.

This first event of the year started on the Friday with 2 practice sessions. The weather was cloudy with consistent rain. Not a surprise at Bathurst which is known for its extreme weather patterns.        

Results from the pre-race sessions are as follows:

  • Broc Feeney was fastest in Practice 1
  • Will Brown was fastest in Practice 2
  • Broc Feeney was fastest in Qualifying for both Race 1 & 2
  • Will Brown was fastest in Race 1 Top Ten Shootout
  • Broc Feeney was the fastest in Race 2 Top Ten Shootout

On the grid for Race 1 Will Brown started in pole position with teammate Broc Feeney alongside him.

Will Brown got the jump on his teammate off the starting line and led into turn 1 for the first of 40 laps. Chaz Mostert got a ripper of a start from 3rd on the grid and was close behind the two leaders.

Rookie, Ryan Wood went off the track at turn 1 with a helping hand from Tim Slade. The safety car was deployed and the car was towed off the track. I am sure it was not how Ryan Wood envisioned his first race as a rookie.

Race Control looked at the incident and decided to take no penalising action against Wood or Slade.

The restart was on lap 3. Will Brown still had the race lead followed by Broc Feeney, Chaz Mostert and Cameron Hill.

The first 2 cars to pit were Anton de Pasquale and Matt Payne on lap 6. They re-joined one spot from the back of the pack, 22nd and 23rd.

Broc Feeney was tailing leader Will Brown by only 0.934 seconds. On lap 11 he then did the fastest time recorded in this race (208.332 seconds).

Will Brown was the first of the two Red Bull cars to pit to ensure there would be no double stacking at the garage with teammate Broc Feeney. This handed Broc Feeney the lead.

In the middle of the race Nick Percat had the lead. Once he pitted Broc Feeney took back lead control with Will Brown behind him.

Aaron Love hit the wall coming out of The Cutting and damaged the right rear corner of car 3. It was quite a significant hit and he had to limp back to the pits. There was no need to deploy the safety car and later he did manage to return to the race.

Towards the end of the race Broc Feeney and Will Brown were the effective leaders with the 2 cars of Nick Percat and Cameron Waters ahead of them but still yet to pit. Once they pitted the 2 Red Bull cars assumed 1st and 2nd place on the track.

With 9 laps remaining Broc Feeney was still in the lead by 0.871seconds over Will Brown.

On lap 33 Chaz Mostert clocked the fastest lap of the race at 208.113 seconds. This adds 5 point to Mostert’s scoreboard tally.

The competition began to get wild.

On lap 34 the front left wheel came off Cameron Waters Monster Energy Ford Mustang and it went rolling down the track to turn 2. The race went under FCY (Full Course Yellow) to remove the wheel.

With 5 laps to go James Golding went off at The Chase. When he came back on he was alongside his teammate, Tim Slade.

With 2 laps to go Aaron Love hit the wall at The Cutting again! This time the Safety Car had to be deployed to remove the car from the track. He and Ryan Wood were the only two DNFs in the race.

As a result of the deployed Safety Car the race finished under Safety Car conditions. The finish was therefor quite unexciting compared to the action leading up to it.

Broc Feeney came across the line first, followed by Will Brown and then Chaz Mostert.

Results for Race 1:

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

In Race 2 Broc Feeney started on pole position, alongside him was Chaz Mostert.

As they took off Chaz Mostert got the jump and led into turn 1.

Meanwhile back in the pack Cameron Hill and Macauley Jones became entangled and spun both cars. They were able to continue but were now at the back of the pack.

Broc Feeney tried to get up the inside James Golding at The Chase. He made contact with Golding and was issued a 5 second time penalty for the driving infringement.

Will Brown had gone up to second place. He was only 0.385 seconds off Chaz Mostert in the lead. Pole sitter Broc Feeney had dropped back to 3rd place.

Matt Payne was the first driver to take his car into the pits on lap 6.

Ryan Wood also went into the garage to rectify a damaged right front steering sustained on the opening lap.

Aaron Love hit the wall approaching the Reid Park section of the track.

Up the front the top 3 cars were reasonably close to each other.

Broc Feeney was asking whether he can pass Will Brown in attempt to make up for the 5 second time penalty he received earlier. He was given the go ahead but just couldn’t find the space on track to execute the pass.

He then decided to take the first of his 2 mandatory pitstops and also get his 5 second penalty out of the way.

In the middle of the race Chaz Mostert was still the leader by 5.2 seconds over Will Brown, who was then followed by Broc Feeney. Thomas Randle and David Reynolds were battling for 4th and 5th place.

Towards the end of the race only Todd Hazelwood and Andre Heimgartner were still yet to take their second pit stop. Once they did, Will Brown who had overtaken Chaz Mostert would assume the race lead.

In the final 5 laps the top 3 positions were unchanged and stayed that way to the finish.

Will Brown crossed the line with a 1.6 second lead on Chaz Mostert. Then it was 1.4 seconds back to Broc Feeney.

It was a good race and a lot of fun watching it.

Results for Race 2:

1st Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing

2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

3rd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing

After the first of event of the season Will Brown is the series leader by 9 points over Broc Feeney.

The Red Bull Ampol Racing team are in the lead of the teams championship by 201 points over Grove Racing.

The next event in the Supercars series is as a support category at the Rolex Australian F1 Grand Prix at Albert Park on March 21 to 24 2024.

I hope you will all join me.

Bathurst 12 hour

Repco Bathurst 12 hour 2024

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 16 – 18 of February 2024 was the Repco Bathurst 12 Hour.

The Bathurst 12 Hour was first run in 1991 so this year marks a milestone as the 21st running.

The Bathurst 12 Hour is not officially a part of the Supercars season. However, many of the Supercars drivers take part in the grand event. It is made of 4 classes; Pro AM, Silver, GT4 and the invitational class. Being a gruelling 12 hours on one of the most difficult tracks in the country, each car has three drivers that take turns behind the wheel.

Sheldon Van Der Linde claimed pole position and the Allan Simonsen Trophy for BMW team, WRT. Local Broc Feeney of the Triple 8 team qualified his 888 Mercedes to earn provisional pole position.

The race kicked off under safety car in the dark of Sunday at 5:45am. Bathurst is known for its erratic weather conditions but they started with a dry track and no major challenges. For the next 12 hours there was a spectacular display of driving from local and international teams alike.

2024 Bathurst 12 Hour Highlights

On the start, Sheldon Van Der Linde immediately made a break from the pack. Within a few laps he already created a gap of about 10 car lengths but there was still a long way to go.

There were no major incidents before the sun came up and all 25 cars were still on track.

At about the 75 minute mark, number 19 Racing Ginetta G55 GT4 caught fire in the pit lane. They were the first retirement of the race.

The first safety car was deployed after 2 hours 40 minutes of racing when the 701 Vortex spun off the track into the sand trap as it headed towards the S’s. 

As the 12 hour countdown got to 8hrs 36 minutes car number 91 found the fence at turn 2 and came to a standstill on the blind corner.               

A few minutes before they marked the 5th hour of driving, Charles Weerts behind the wheel of the pole sitting car made contact at “The Cutting”. In spectacular fashion his car was out of control and the rear mounted the concrete barrier sliding along for over 50 meters. He was lucky to have not gone right over the top. The damage was so severe # 32 was now out of the race. The team was doing so well throughout the whole weekend it is a great shame they were not able to continue. I am sure they would have been contenders for a win and offered up much more of their competitive driving.

When they were into the 6th hour of racing Bathurst did what Bathurst does. The weather changed completely and the rain came down heavily. At times there were sheets of water covering the track.

Cars were going off the track left, right and centre. The international drivers began sticking behind local drivers who knew the track and how to manage in the wet conditions. Still many cars aquaplaned off the challenging track and there were many moments that had viewers holding their breath.

Local Matt Campbell behind the wheel of #912 had the lead in the Manthey Racing / EMA Motorsport Porsche.

He was challenged multiple times with the biggest coming from the #13 Phantom Global Racing/Team 75 Porsche entry driven by Bastian Buus, Joel Eriksson and NZ local Jaxon Evans. The other challenge came from the SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes driven by Jules Gounon, Kenny Habul and Luca Stolz.

With 30 minutes remaining there was less than 1 second between the leading 3 cars and less than 8 seconds back to 8th place. It was anyone’s game and there was no room for mistakes.

The rain had stopped but the track was still wet. With leading cars so close to each other the competitive driving was incredibly fierce.

With 15 minutes on the clock the leading Porsche #912 with Matt Campbell behind the wheel edged ahead to create a 5+ second lead. Noone was giving up. Drivers were flying down the straights side by side heading into corners looking for any opportunity to make a pass.

Matt Campbells driving was incredible. He kept the lead in the #912 Porsche and even though the gap closed down to just over 2 seconds, he looked confident and strong on that last lap.

The #75 Mercedes driven by Jules Gounon crossed the finish line within 2.6 seconds to take 2nd place followed by the #22 Audi.

For Matt Campbell this is his second Bathurst 12 Hour win. It also breaks the Mercedes 3 time winning streak.

Results for the 2024 Repco Bathurst 12 Hour:

1st Matt Campbell, Ayhancan Guven, Laurens Vanthoor – Manthey Racing/EMA Motorsport

2nd Jules Gounon, Kenny Habul, Luca Stolz – SunEnergy1 Racing

3rd Christopher Haase, Kelvin van der Linde, Liam Talbot – Melbourne Performance Centre

Supercars

Valo Adelaide 500 2023

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 23 – 26 November 2023 was the Valo Adelaide 500.

The Adelaide street circuit was first opened in 1985 and hosted the F1 Australian Grand Prix until 1995. The street circuit came back into use in 1999 when Supercars moved their events from the Mallala Motorsport Park.

Jason Bright took the very first pole position at this venue. Craig Lowndes started the leg 1 from 3rd on the grid and won the opening race. The next day he was sent to the back of the field and still came through to win leg 2. It was the stuff that legends are made of.

This year’s Adelaide 500 was the 12th and final round of the 2023 Supercars Championship.

As one of the longer events on the calendar made up of 2 races of 250km each, it was always going to be a tough event. To add to the tension it was also the decider for the Driver’s Championship.

The defending champion Shane Van Gisbergen was trailing Brodie Kostecki in the number 1 spot by 131 points. A win in both races would total 300 points so the championship was still up for grabs. Shane Van Gisbergen is heading to the U.S. at the end of the season to try his hand at NASCAR so it could very well also be his final farewell to Supercars.

The points gap from 3rd place onwards was too great to contend for 1st or 2nd place. However, the points were close enough between 3rd, 4th and 5th for there to be a change on the final scoreboard for Will Brown, Broc Feeney and Chaz Mostert.

The Final Event and the Final Decider! A setting for nail biting stuff!

The event started on Thursday with a wet Practice 1.

The pre-race sessions results are as follows:

  • Chaz Mostert was fastest in Practice 1
  • Thomas Randle was Fastest in Practice 2
  • Brodie Kostecki was fastest in Qualifying
  • Brodie Kostecki was also fastest in the top 10 Shootout.

For Race 27 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position which was his 9th pole for the year. David Reynolds was alongside him on the front row of the starting grid.

At the start of the race Brodie Kostecki got the jump and led into turns 1 and 2 for first of 78 laps.

As the pack rounded turn 4 Will Brown tried passing Anton de Pasquale. Shane Van Gisbergen also tried following Will Brown to jump up in position. However, Anton de Pasquale made contact with Will Brown and then from behind Shane Van Gisbergen made contact with Will Brown. Brown’s car came to stop almost immediately. Shane Van Gisbergen was able to get back to the pits but it was soon evident that he wouldn’t be returning to the track. Not only was it all over for this race but also his ability to contend for the championship title. Such bad luck.

The safety car was deployed. It was only the opening lap and things were very messed up for Will Brown and Shane Van Gisbergen.

Later, after reviewing the incident the officials took no further action and no penalty was issued to any of the three cars involved.

Matt Payne and Cameron Hill were in the pits because of damage they received after the start.

The restart was on lap 6 and Brodie Kostecki was still in control of the race, followed by David Reynolds and Thomas Randle in 3rd place.

Broc Feeney passed James Courtney for 8th place.

On lap 15 David Reynolds took the lead off Brodie Kostecki with some incredible manoeuvring through turns 8 and 9.

The first car to pit in this race was Anton de Pasquale on lap 16.

Broc Feeney was next to pit on lap 19. When he re-joined the race he was in 20th place with clear track ahead.

Up front it started getting busy. Thomas Randle moved up to 2nd place dropping Brodie Kostecki back to 3rd place.

Cameron Waters in 4th place was 3 + seconds behind. The front of the pack were beginning to spread out.

Soon after, Thomas Randle pitted from second place handing over the spot to Cameron Waters.

Thomas Randle came out of the pits and was like a rocket. Within a few laps he managed to move up through the pack and regain 2nd place.

Cameron Waters wasn’t happy to give back the second spot to Thomas Randle and found the opportunity to pass him. Once again, the order of the top 3 cars changed.

In the middle of the race Cameron Waters was still holding second place right on the rear bumper of David Reynolds in the lead. He found his opportunity and with precision driving made the pass to get the number one spot.

Further back in the pack, Todd Hazelwood received a 5 second time penalty for contact with another car.

David Reynolds never gave up the fight to regain 1st place. With 17 laps to go he did the fastest lap of the race, 119.957 seconds. Unfortunately, it didn’t give him what he wanted. He was also under pressure from Thomas Randle in 3rd place. The front 3 cars were once again tight and left no room for error.

Cameron Waters stayed strong and held the lead using his experience to fend off the two drivers right on his tail.

Soon Cameron Water and David Reynolds edged away from Thomas Randle still holding 3rd place.

They were both on fire screaming ahead of the pack.

They crossed the finish line 0.67 seconds apart and way ahead of the others. Thomas Randle came in 14.353 seconds later to earn 3rd place. It was an incredible finish for an intense race.

Results for Race 27

1st Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing.

2nd David Reynolds – Grove Racing.

3rd Thomas Randle – Castrol Racing & Tradie Racing.

In Race 28 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position for the 10th time this season. This is an incredible feat and he was given the Armor All Pole Award for year along with $10,000. Next to him on the front row of the grid was Matt Payne.

As they took off Matt Payne got the jump and led into turns 1 and 2 for the first of 78 laps. As much as Brodie Kostecki tried he was not able to pass Matt Payne.

Further back Shane Van Gisbergen was trying to pass Anton de Pasquale but also wasn’t able to execute a pass. It wasn’t until a few laps later that he got into his stride.

On lap 2 Broc Feeney was able to get up the inside of Cameron Waters for 4th place.

David Reynolds made his move on lap 3 to pass Todd Hazelwood for 9th place.

Shane Van Gisbergen was now moving through the pack and had now passed Anton de Pasquale, Will Davison and Will Brown for 11th place.

On lap 6 Nick Percat made contact with Jack le Brocq who went off the track and into the tyre-wall at the final turn. Surprisingly, he managed to get himself out and the safety car did not have to be deployed.

After investigation the incident the officials took no further action against either driver.

By lap 10 Matt Payne had a 1.2 second lead over Brodie Kostecki.

Broc Feeney was putting pressure on Chaz Mostert for 3rd place. He managed to get by at turn 6.

Shane Van Gisbergen showed how eager he was to make up for the NC (Not Complete) he received in the first race at this event. He did the fastest lap of the race, 120.735 seconds.

On lap 11 Chaz Mostert was desperately trying to get 3rd place back from Broc Feeney. In his attempt Chaz Mostert made contact with him and did manage to pass. It was a messy attack and Chaz Mostert was later issued a 5 second time penalty.

Shane Van Gisbergen was the first of the Red Bull cars to take a pit-stop.

In the pit area Macauley Jones was spun around by Tim Slade who was coming out of his garage.

In the middle of the race Matt Payne was still in control with a 4.8 second lead over Broc Feeney flowed by David Reynolds in 3rd.

As the race continued Matt Payne kept edging ahead. Towards the end of the race, he had a 7.5 second lead over Broc Feeney and was on target to claim his maiden win with Penrite Racing.

Noone seemed able to make ground on the rookie Matt Payne. In fact he managed to edge further ahead of the competitors.

He crossed the line with a 8.548 second lead over Broc Feeney. David Reynolds come in 3rd a few seconds later.

It was a spectacular and solid win for Matt Payne. Congratulations!

Results for Race 28:

1st Matt Payne – Grove Racing.

2nd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing.

3rd David Reynolds – Grove Racing.

A massive congratulations to Erebus Motorsport and Brodie Kostecki. Well done!

This was the final race for the 2023 season. The next event will be the Bathurst Superfest on the 16th to the 25th of February 2024.

It’s with a sense of sadness that we say farewell to Shane Van Gisbergen. Well done on everything you have achieved in Supercars and best of luck for your new adventures in Nascar. Go get em!

Supercars

Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 2023

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of 27 – 29 October 2023 was the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500.

It was round 11 of the 12 rounds in the 2023 Supercars Championship.

The Gold Coast race at Surfers Paradise is a street circuit which was first opened in 1991. The challenging 4.47 km circuit alongside a strip of beaches has several fast sections and four chicanes.

From 1991 to 2008 the Gold Coast Indy 300 was an annual open-wheel motor race event. In the early days Supercars were there as a support category but from 2002 through to present it has been a round of the Supercars Championship. This year      was the 21st event at the venue that has held 44 V8 Supercars races to date.

As expected, it was perfect Queensland weather excepting a small shower on the first practice day. In the pre-race sessions:

  • Scott Pye was fastest in Practice 1
  • Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Practice 2
  • Cameron Waters was fastest in Qualifying
  • Cameron Waters was fastest in the Top 10 Shootout

In Race 25 Cameron Waters started on pole position with Matt Payne alongside him.

As they took off Cameron Waters got the jump and led into turns 1 and 2 for the first of 85 laps that makes up the 250km race. Matt Payne was right on his tail.

After starting 3rd on the grid Shane Van Gisbergen dropped to 5th before the first turn.

As Thomas Randle got to the first turn he took a shortcut across the chicanes. The officials spotted it but took no further action.

As Tim Slade got to the first turn another car made contact and spun him around. The safety car was deployed to slow drivers while he extracted himself from the dangerous position at the turn.

Brodie Kostecki was on the charge. He started 10th on the grid because his shootout lap was disallowed for going out of bounds. Now he had jumped to 7th place.

Within a few laps Chaz Mostert passed Thomas Randle to get up to 3rd place and was only 0.672 seconds behind Matt Payne.

The first car to pit was Broc Feeney on lap 9, along with Anton de Pasquale. They returned to clear track in 24th and 25th place.

Thomas Randle got by Chaz Mostert for 3rd spot.

It then seemed like the drivers were struggling with the high speed track. First Matt Payne received a bad sportsmanship flag for exceeding track limits.

Soon after both Chaz Mostert and Will Brown received bad sportsmanship flags for exceeding track limits.

Then it was Todd Hazelwood’s turn to receive a bad sportsmanship flag for the same reason.

Shane Van Gisbergen overtook Chaz Mostert for 4th position and was only 2.3 seconds behind Thomas Randle in 3rd place and only 4 seconds off the race lead.

Jack le Brocq alerted the team he was leaking fuel and went into the garage.

Brodie Kostecki was now in 5th place right behind Shane Van Gisbergen in their personal title battle for this year’s championship.

Cameron Waters pitted early and came back out in 8th place. When the top 7 cars took their pit stops he would resume the lead.

On lap 28 Shane Van Gisbergen took the number 1 spot off Matt Payne.

A few laps later Shane Van Gisbergen pitted and Brodie Kostecki followed him in. They came back out in 5th and 7th place.

In the middle of the race Broc Feeney was the first of the Red Bull cars to take his final pitstop. Meanwhile his teammate, Shane Van Gisbergen did the fastest lap of the race and was 6.1 seconds away from the lead.

Further ahead, David Reynolds was battling with Thomas Randle for 2nd and 3rd place.

Towards the end of the race with only 11 laps to go Cameron Waters was 1.4 seconds ahead of David Reynolds. It was another 2 seconds back to Shane Van Gisbergen in 3rd place.

Chaz Mostert once again exceeded track limits. This time he received a 5 second time penalty.

With 10 laps to go Cameron Waters still had the lead over David Reynolds but Shane Van Gisbergen had closed the gap to only 0.315 seconds.

Soon Shane Van Gisbergen took over David Reynolds. The gap to Cameron Waters in 1st was just 0.362 seconds.

With only a few laps remaining Shane Van Gisbergen was desperately looking for an opportunity to overtake for the lead and win. However, Cameron Waters is a seasoned driver. He kept his cool and defended the number 1 spot. Shane Van Gisbergen kept on his tail to the end of the race.

As they crossed the finish line there was only 0.194 seconds between them. It was a spectacular tight finish.

Results for Race 25:

1st Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing

2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing

3rd David Reynolds – Grove Racing

In Race 26 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position for the 8th time this year. Alongside him was David Reynolds.

As they took off Brodie Kostecki got the jump and led into turns 1 and 2 for the first of 85 laps.

At turn 4 Tim Slade, James Courtney, Jack Smith and Macfauley Jones made contact and cars were spinning out of control in every direction. The cars back in the pack had to drive over the top of the first chicanes to avoid adding to the pileup. All four cars had come to a stop in this dangerous part of the track. The first safety car was deployed while the stranded cars were rescued.

The track was cleared by lap 8. However, it is the lead driver who gets to make the call for when the race goes back to green. Brodie Kostecki was waiting for the right moment to give the green light signal but the other drivers became impatient and started racing too soon. Confusion followed but the race still continued. It took a while for the officials to review, and it was only later that the offending drivers were penalised.

The first two cars to pit were Jack le Brocq and Will Davison on lap 9.

David Reynolds was challenging Brodie Kostecki for the lead and putting him under pressure. He was right on his tail and constantly on the attack.

Further back Shane Van Gisbergen got by Anton de Pasquale for 9th place. His next target was Cameron Waters in 8th place.

Brodie Kostecki held the lead until he pitted on lap 28. This relinquished the number 1 spot to David Reynolds. When Brodie Kostecki returned to the race he was in 12th place.

As the other drivers began to take their pit stops Brodie Kostecki moved up and eventually had the lead again.

Once again David Reynolds was right on his tail.

Towards the end of the race David Reynolds finally took advantage of a weak spot in the leader, Brodie Kostecki’s defence and passed him. I believe Brodie Kostecki didn’t aggressively defend the move at the risk of being knocked out of the race. All he had to do was get a podium finish ahead of Shane Van Gisbergen to protect his position in the season championship.

Cameron Waters was in 3rd place but was a few seconds behind and didn’t pose an immediate challenge to Brodie Kostecki.

With 7 laps to go James Golding had a massive shunt from behind and spun around landing in the tyre barrier. He almost collected Scott Pye in the process. They did make contact but luckily it seemed pretty light.

Shortly after Scott Pye’s car readings showed a big problem. He had to pull over immediately and the safety car was once again deployed.

When the race went back to green there was only 5 laps remaining. David Reynolds still had the lead over Brodie Kostecki, followed by Cameron Waters.

Brodie Kostecki was always close behind and a constant threat. At times there was less than 0.3 of a second between them. David Reynolds is a tough and seasoned driver. He never showed signs of cracking and at no time gave any opportunities away to his challengers.

In the end David Reynolds crossed the line 0.189 seconds ahead of Brodie Kostecki.

It was Reynold’s first race win since 2018 in what was probably the most exciting race of the year.

Congratulations to David Reynolds and his team, Grove Racing.

Results for Race 26:

1st David Reynolds – Grove Racing

2nd Brodie Kostecki – Erebus Motorsport

3rd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing

With 1 event made up of 2 races remaining, Brodie Kostecki leads over Shane Van Gisbergen by 131 points. Will Brown is 3rd and trails by 495 points, Broc Feeney is 504 points behind and Chaz Mostert is 640 points.

The grand finale event for the year will be the Valo Adelaide 500, 23 – 26 November 2023.

Hope you can join me.

Supercars, V8 Supercars

Repco Bathurst 1000 2023

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of 5-8 October 2023 was the Repco Bathurst 1000. It was round 10 of the 2023 Supercars Championship.                 

Mount Panorama was first opened on March 17, 1938. The track is actually a street circuit so outside of race dates it is a public road. Yes! That is the answer to your question, “Can I actually drive around the Bathurst track?” just remember it is a 60 zone.

The first event held at Mount Panorama was a motorcycle race on the 16th of April 1938, the  Australian Tourist Trophy. Two days later the Australian Grand Prix took place (a motor car race).

Before becoming known as The Bathurst 1000 the race was called the Armstrong 500. The first few years it ran at Phillip Island and was then moved to Bathurst in 1963. In those days it was a 500 mile race (approx. 804Km) and was done with only a single driver. A few years after Australia changed to metric measurements the race was increased to 1000kms.

It has become the most well-known race in Australia and is also internationally revered. It’s the race that stops the nation and creates legends.

The legend of the King of the Mountain, Peter Brock was earned through this event. Peter Brock won his first Bathurst in 1972 in the days without a co-driver. He then went on to win again in 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1987.  No other driver has beaten his record of 9 Bathurst 1000 wins.

This year was the 60th running of the Repco Bathurst 1000. An incredible milestone for any race event.

This year the event kicked off under almost perfect weather conditions. A surprise to all as Bathurst is known for some pretty challenging conditions at this time of the year.

The pre-race sessions kicked off on the Thursday and went through to Sunday morning. The results were:

  • Will Brown was fastest in Practice 1
  • David Russell was fastest in Practice 2
  • David Reynolds was fastest in Practice 3
  • Brodie Kostecki was fastest in Practice 4
  • Brodie Kostecki was fastest in Qualifying
  • Richie Stanaway was fastest in Practice 5
  • Broc Feeney was fastest in Practice 6
  • Brodie Kostecki was fastest in the Shootout
  • Brodie Kostecki and co-driver David Russell were fastest in the warm up

In Race 24 Brodie Kostecki earned pole position but his co-driver David Russell was behind the wheel of car 99 for the start. Alongside them was co-driver Jamie Whincup after main driver Broc Feeney scored second place on the front row of the grid. There were 16 out of 28 co-drivers who started the race behind the wheel. So, it was quite a common strategy.

As the lights went green, they took off and Jamie Whincup led into turn 1 for the first of 161 laps. Pole sitter David Russell was right under his rear wing only 0.174 seconds behind.

The cars further back in the pack were dicing for places outside the top 10.

Early on Will Brown had gained 5 places up to 12th. James Golding had gained 1 spot after starting 4th on the grid.

Jamie Whincup had a hard time getting some space between himself and David Russell in 2nd place. By lap 4 Jamie Whincup managed to increase his lead to only 0.498 seconds. It was another 1 second back to James Golding in 3rd.

On lap 5 James Courtney ran wide on the exit to the final corner but didn’t lose any places.

Thomas Randle got up the inside of Lee Holdsworth exiting Forest Elbow for 10th place.

Jamie Whincup had managed to increase his lead to around 1 second over David Russell.

Richie Stanaway finally got up the inside of Garth Tander to move into 5th place. His next target was Cameron Waters sitting in 4th position.

The first car to pit in this race was car 96 of Macauley Jones and Jordan Boys on lap 10.

Between lap 4 and 10 Jamie Whincup managed to extend his lead 1.525 seconds over David Russell.

Further back Will Brown was on the charge. He was up 10 spots after starting 17th on the grid. He now smoothly passed Garth Tander moving into 6th place and was only 2.8 seconds away from the lead.

On lap 17 Craig Lowndes started slowing down due to a broken gear lever mount and was forced to pit.

James Golding in 3rd was the first of the front runners to pit on lap 18.

Car 3 driven by Todd Hazelwood and Tim Blanchard pitted on lap 21. Soon after they were investigated for a pit stop infringement and issued a 15 second time penalty to be served on their next stop. Although disappointing it was still early in the race. They had another 5 hours to catch up.

On lap 24 Dean Fiore co-driver to Bryce Fullwood made contact with Simona de Silvestro at The Chase.  Simona de Silvestro who returned from her homeland, Switzerland especially for this race was pushed off the road onto the grass. There was no damage to speak of and she re-joined the race easily. Race officials took no further action on the incident.

Kevin Estre (co-driver to Matt Payne) had a big lockup at turn 1 and ended up in the sand trap. He couldn’t get out on his own and the first safety car was deployed so the recovery vehicle could assist.

While the Yellow flag was out (indicating drivers to slow down and stay in formation behind the safety car) all drivers except 2 took the opportunity to pit.

David Reynolds was under investigation for jumping ahead in the safety car line. He was later issued a pit lane drive thru penalty. That didn’t go down too well and David Reynolds started to argue the case when told by his race engineer Alistair McVean. After the restart he was reluctant to give back 3rd place to Broc Feeney and even refused to take the drive thru penalty on the next lap. Race Director James Taylor had to warn him that he still did have to take it.

The restart which was on lap 30 saw Shane Van Gisbergen immediately took the race lead off Dylan O’Keeffe (co-driver to James Golding).

Broc Feeney was in 3rd place (after Reynolds let him pass) and then managed to get by Dylan O’Keeffe for 2nd place.

The 2 Red Bull cars were now running 1st and 2nd on the track, followed by O’Keeffe and then Reynolds.

Bryce Fullwood made contact and pushed Aaron Love off the track at The Chase. Bryce Fullwood was later issued a penalty for his actions.

On lap 39 Scott Pye made contact with Dale Wood who then went off track into the gravel trap. The safety car was sent out while Dale Wood’s car was pulled out and luckily able to return straight to the race.

When they restarted Mark Winterbottom was out front followed by Fabian Coulthard and Brodie Kostecki.

Meanwhile car 6 driven by James Moffat was under investigation for an unsafe pit release. It was later on lap 43 when he was issued a 5 second time penalty.

Brodie Kostecki soon passed Fabian Coulthard to take 2nd position.

Then Richie Stanaway got up the inside of Declan Fraser for 4th place. His next target was Fabian Coulthard in 3rd place. It wasn’t long after that Richie Stanaway made his move pushing Fabian Coulthard down another spot to 4th.

The 2 Brad Jones Racing cars with Jack Smith and Macauley Jones in the driver’s seat made contact with each other at The Chase. They both went off the track and both had minor damage that required a visit to the pits ASAP.

Not long after Macauley Jones received a 15 second time penalty for the driving infringement.

On lap 71 Dean Fiore co-driver to Bryce Fullwood was under investigation for a pit lane infringement and was issued a time penalty.

James Moffat hit the wall coming out of The Dipper and came to a stop in a dangerous part of the track. Officials thought he would not be able to get out of the predicament on his own and sent out  the 3rd safety car of the race. Before help could arrive, James Moffat was able to get going again. Unfortunately, it was only to get back to the pits in his smashed up car to then find out he would not be returning to the race.

Car 888 driven by Craig Lowndes had to serve a pit lane penalty after he turned off the ‘pit limiter’ to early while in the pit lane.

Richie Stanway clocked the best lap time of the race on lap 92. He had also moved up to 2nd place after passing Tony Dalberto.

Jamie Whincup rounded up Garth Tander which took him from 5th up to 4th place. “The Goat” was now only 7.9 seconds away from the lead. He then pitted on lap 93 to hand the wheel over to Broc Feeney who would race all the to the end.

Richie Stanaway pitted soon after on lap 97 from the number 1 position and Shane Van Gisbergen took the driver’s seat for the final stage of the race.

Once these two Red Bull Ampol Racing Team cars came out of the pits, Shane Van Gisbergen returned to the number 1 spot with his team mate Broc Feeney not far behind.

On lap 137 of 161 (25 laps remaining) Broc Feeney was slowing due to a gearbox issue stopping him from changing gears. He slipped from 2nd to 3rd allowing Brodie Kostecki to pass him. Broc Feeney had to head to the pits. It was unlucky timing being so close to the end of the race.

The team were able to repair the issue, but Broc returned to the track in 24th position. Unfortunate for him to go from a podium contender to the back of the pack.

It was later revealed that all 3 of the 888 Engineering cars had the same issue (the 2 cars of Gisbergen and Feeney driving for Red Bull Ampol Racing and also the Craig Lowndes/ Zane Goddard duo driving under the Super Cheap Auto banner. It’s surprising any of them finished.

With 18 laps to go Shane Van Gisbergen was still out front with a good lead of 15.010 seconds over Brodie Kostecki.

In the last laps Shane Van Gisbergen controlled the race and was too far ahead for Brodie Kostecki to challenge him for the win.

It was incredible to watch as Shane Van Gisbergen kept edging ahead to finally cross the line with a 19.9 seconds lead over Brodie Kostecki.

Shane Van Gisbergen is now a 3-time winner of the Bathurst 1000.

It puts him in striking distance of the season leader Brodie Kostecki for the remaining two events. Can he now become a 4-time Supercars Champion before he heads to the US in 2024? Its going to be fun finding out.

Results for Race 24

1st Shane Van Gisbergen and Richie Stanaway – Red Bull Ampol Racing

2nd Brodie Kostecki and David Russell – Erebus Motorsport

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

Out of the 28 starters only 24 cars finished the race. 4 cars got a DNF.

Brodie Kostecki still leads the championship by 131 points over Shane Van Gisbergen. With 2 events to go (4 races) in the 2023 championship it is going be an exciting finish to the year,

The next event is the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 on the 27th – 29th October 2023.

I hope you will join me.

Supercars

OTR Supersprint the Bend 2023

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 19 – 20 of August 2023 was the OTR Supersprint at The Bend.

The Tailem Bend racetrack was first opened in 2017 and is the youngest circuit in Australia. The Bend Motorsports Park is also known by its sponsorship name Shell V-Power Motorsport Park.

The Bend first hosted a V8-Supercars championship round in 2018 and has staged Supercars racing ever since. This includes two rounds during the Covid affected 2020 season.

This year’s round 8, the OTR Supersprint at “The Bend” was a significant round in the history books of the Australian Touring Car Championship – Supercars Championship. It was the 600th round of the championship since starting 63 years ago in 1960.

In the pre-race sessions for this years’ event:

  • Thomas Randle was fastest in Practice 1
  • Broc Feeney was fastest in Practice 2
  • Brodie Kostecki was fastest in Qualifying

In Race 20 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position and alongside him was Thomas Randle.

At the start of the race Thomas Randle got the jump and led into turn 1 for the first of the quick 20 laps.

As the rest of the pack came through turn 1 Jack Le Brocq made contact with Will Brown and chaos broke loose. Will Brown was spun around and tightly packed cars behind were going in all directions to avoid colliding with him. Some we simply unlucky, Jack Smith and Cameron Hill ploughed straight into him. Somehow Mark Winterbottom who was directly behind them missed the carnage.

The safety car was immediately despatched to clean up the mess. The three cars of Will Brown, Jack Smith and Cameron Hill were removed from the track unable to return and received a Not Complete (NC).

The officials had a look at the incident and decided to take no further action so no one was penalised.

The restart was on lap 5 and it was the cars outside of the top 10 that were dicing for position.

The first cars to pit were Broc Feeney, James Courtney, Bryce Fullwood and Jack le Brocq on lap 6.

The leaders stayed out to maintain their track position while the going was good.

Brodie Kostecki passed Chaz Mostert for 2nd place. He was now only 0.588 seconds off the race lead, Thomas Randle.

In the middle of the race Andre Heimgartner pitted from 10th place. No one else followed him into the pits.

Brodie Kostecki soon found the opportunity and passed Thomas Randle for the lead. Thomas Randle and Chaz Moster knew it was a losing battle to try and chase the championship leader and all three pitted on lap 12. Macauley Jones also came in. There were now only 6 drivers yet to pit.

With 9 laps remaining the challenge was now on. Once the 6 cars ahead pitted Brodie Kostecki assumed the lead of the race with Thomas Randle and Chaz Mostert right behind him.

With 8 laps to go Cameron Waters, Shane Van Gisbergen and Nick Percat all pitted, only leaving 3 cars to pit.

The top three drivers kept their positions until the final laps when Chaz Mostert was able to pass Thomas Randle for 2nd place.

Even though the front runners were reasonably close together, on the last lap no one could catch Brodie Kostecki.

He crossed the line 1.71 seconds ahead of Chaz Mostert. He was followed by Thomas Randle and Cameron Waters.

Results for Race 20

1st Brodie Kostecki – Erebus Motorsport

2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

3rd Thomas Randle – Castrol Racing

In Race 21 Thomas Randle started on pole position for the first time since starting his full time Supercars career in 2022.

Brodie Kostecki started next to pole and led off the start line into turn 1 for the first of 20 laps. Shane Van Gisbergen who started 4th on the grid immediately moved up to 3rd place.

Meanwhile the cars further back in the pack were battling for places outside the top 10.

Inside the top 10 Will Davison, Cameron Waters and Jack le Brocq all got spun around at turn 6 which put them back in the running order. They dropped down to 22nd, 24th and 25th place.

Race control investigated the incident and not long after issued Jack le Brocq with a drive thru penalty for the driving infringement that was the cause.

The first car to pit in this race was Mark Winterbottom on lap 3. He started 24th on the grid and was probably just wanted to get out of the traffic.

Brodie Kostecki did the fastest lap of the race 152.106 seconds on lap 5.

Chaz Mostert was behind Thomas Randle and 2.8 seconds off the lead.

Nick Percat, Bryce Fullwood and Macauley Jones all pitted on the same lap.

In the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was still in 4th place but running was 36 seconds off Brodie Kostecki’s lead.

While still commanding the number 1 spot, Brodie Kostecki was the first of the front runners to pit with 8 cars still yet to take their stops. 6 of these were the top 6 cars so when they did pit it would allow Brodie Kostecki to resume his lead.

Towards the end of the race no one else was able to chase down the leaders.

Brodie Kostecki was still in 1st place followed by Thomas Randle, Chaz Mostert, David Reynolds and Shane Van Gisbergen.

The series leader Brodie Kostecki seemed untouchable. He crossed the line 1.0866 seconds clear of Thomas Randle. Chaz Mostert was 1.06342 seconds further back in 3rd place.

For Brodie Kostecki it was his 2nd win for the weekend. Also Thomas Randle had his second podium finish. A great result for both of them.

Results for Race 21

1st Brodie Kostecki – Erebus Motorsport

2nd Thomas Randle – Castrol Racing

3rd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United

In Race 22 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position with Cameron Waters alongside him.

As they took off Brodie Kostecki got the jump and led into turn 1. Nick Percat made a blinder of a start and was in 2nd place by turn 1.

After passing Nick Percat, Cameron Waters got up inside of Thomas Randle at turn 6 and managed to make the move stick.

Cameron Waters was now in second place hunting down the race leader Brodie Kostecki who only had a 0.574 second lead.

The cars behind were battling for pit priority.

Just behind those front runners Shane Van Gisbergen was trying to get up the inside of Will Davison but couldn’t make the move stick.

That was when Will Davison did the fastest lap of the race, 152.502 seconds.

Within a few laps Brodie Kostecki had a 1.3 second lead over Cameron Waters. I was amazed at the pace that he had.

The first car to pit was Bryce Fullwood on lap 5. He came in way too quick and hit the dirt by the pit lane entry. He recovered quite easily but after review by race control it was deemed a driving infringement and he was issued a 15 second time penalty.

It wasn’t long before the drivers back in the pack also pitted to get out of the traffic.

Todd Hazelwood got up the inside of David Reynolds between turns 2 and 3.

On lap 9 Nick Percat was the first of the front runners to take his mandatory pit stop.

Thomas Randle also pitted from 5th place. When he come back out he was in 12th.

There were 11 cars still yet to pit.

On the next lap Shane Van Gisbergen took his pit stop. On departure the right rear wheel gun was still in place. A very dangerous mistake to make and as a result of this 888 were docked 30 teams championship points post-race.

There were only 2 cars remaining to pit, Brodie Kostecki and Mark Winterbottom.

Chaz Mostert hit the unlucky lap number 13 making contact with another driver and received a bad sportsmanship flag.

The front runners kept their position but Brodie Kostecki had to defend the number 1 spot from Cameron Waters constant threat. The others were a little further back so it was really between those 2 drivers.

On the last lap Broc Feeney who had managed to stay in the top 10 was helped off the track by David Reynolds. It was so unfortunate for the young driver as he dropped down to 24th place.

Brodie Kostecki managed to hold off Cameron Waters all the way to the checkered flag. He crossed the line with only a 0.946 second margin.  It was another 6+ seconds before Thomas Randle crossed the line in 3rd place.

Brodie Kostecki must have felt it was a magic weekend getting 3 of 3 wins. Thomas Randle was another driver that must have been pretty happy earning a 3rd, 2nd and then another 3rd place.

Results for Race 22

1st Brodie Kostecki – Erebus Motorsport

2nd Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing

3rd Thomas Randle – Castrol Racing

Brodie Kostecki still leads the drivers championship by 137 over Shane Van Gisbergen in 2nd place Broc Feeney is still in 3rd place he is only 228 points off the lead of the championship.

Will Brown is in 4th 258 points behind the series leader Brodie Kostecki.

Chaz Mostert is 5th  313 points off the series lead.

The next event is the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 on the 15 – 17 of September 2023.

There are 4 events remaining 1200 points still up for grabs.

Sandown and Bathurst are 300 points each for the winners.

Supercars

Beaurepaires Sydney Supernight 2023

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of 29 – 30 July 2023 was the Beaurepairs Sydney Supernight, the 7th round of this year’s Supercars championship.

The event was held at Sydney Motorsport Park in New South Wales.

Originally named Eastern Creek Raceway, the New South Wales state government approved its development back in 1988 and opened on the 10th of November, 1990. The first Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) race was held in 1993. The ATCC was the previous title before being renamed V8 Supercars in 1997).

This event was a special occasion for me, aside from being in my home town of Sydney it was the first time I have been able to get to any track since 2017. It was a lot of fun and I was glad to finally have wheelchair accessible transport (thanks Dad) and the general threat of COVID gone. It was great to be back!

The event started on the Saturday but I managed to get there for only the Sunday.

In the pre-race sessions:

  • Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Practice 1
  • Shane Van Gisbergen was also fastest in Practice 2
  • Andre Heimgartner was fastest in Qualifying

In Race 18 Andre Heimgartner started on pole position with Brodie Kostecki alongside him.

At the start of the race Brodie Kostecki and Will Brown went into turn 1 in 1st and 2nd place. The pole sitter Andre Heimgartner had dropped from 1st to 5th place after a bad start off the line.

Cameron Hill made a blinder of a start. He had made up 4 spots after starting 8th on the grid.

The cars further back in the pack were dicing for positions outside the top 10 while the leading cars held their positions.

The 2 Erebus Camaros were out in front and controlling proceedings early on.

Brodie Kostecki had half a second lead over Will Brown by lap 2.

Shane Van Gisbergen was also making way and gained 2 spots after starting in 20th on the grid.

Jack le Brocq in 5th place was soon under assault from Andre Heimgartner after he lost his pole position. However, instead of gaining a spot he lost his own spot to James Golding who snuck by him.

The leaders were comfortable out front while the cars behind were chasing them. This was probably the cause of Jack Smith in car 4 receiving a bad sportsmanship flag for exceeding track limits.

The first car to pit was Anton de Pasquale on lap 11.

James Golding was again on the move and got up the inside of Cameron Hill at turn 2 for 5th place.

Chaz Mostert also tried to go around the outside of Cameron Hill, but he couldn’t make the move stick.

Cameron Hill was being a cork in the bottle he was holding up the cars behind him.

After Anton de Pasquale completed his pitstop he came back out in 25th position.

A lap later Chaz Mostert finally got past Cameron Hill at turn 1 and Will Davison got up the inside of Andre Heimgartner for 8th place.

Shane Van Gisbergen then got up the inside of Scott Pye to move into 12th place. The defending champion Shane Van Gisbergen had gained 8 places since the start.

By lap 13 Scott Pye had dropped back to 22nd position and chose to make his first pit stop and rethink strategy.

Cameron Hill pitted on lap 14 along with James Courtney and Thomas Randle.

By lap 17 of 51 the top 13 cars were still yet to take their stops.

Will Brown was the first of the front runners to pit followed by Will Davison, Cameron Waters and Jack le Brocq.

Shane Van Gisbergen also pitted a lap later, lap 18.

Soon after Todd Hazelwood and James Courtney received bad sportsmanship flags for exceeding track limits.

It wasn’t over for Todd Hazelwood. He received a pit lane drive thru penalty for a refuelling breach on his first stop.

In the middle of the race Andre Heimgartner had assumed the race lead while frontrunners were pitting. Soon he went into the pits handing the lead over to Brodie Kostecki who was followed by Cameron Waters and Will Brown in 3rd place.

On lap 32 David Reynolds went off the track between turns 9 and 10. He hit the wall and the stricken Ford Mustang wouldn’t move. The Safety car was deployed while they removed car #26.

The race restarted on lap 39. Chaz Mostert soon made a pass of Jack le Brocq to move into 4th place and only 0.748 seconds behind Will Brown in 3rd.

Shane Van Gisbergen was up to 6th place and looking for further gains. As the race got closer to the finish he was on the charge and managed to pass Jack le Brocq. Shane Van Gisbergen was now only 1.144 seconds from the back of the podium.

On lap 42 Shane Van Gisbergen showed just how much he wanted that podium finish and did the fastest lap of the race, 130.064.

By the final 10 laps the top 5 places had not changed but quite spread out. Brodie Kostecki had a good lead and was on target for his first win since the Melbourne Grand Prix in March.

On lap 44 Declan Fraser received a bad sportsmanship flag for exceeding track limits.

James Golding managed to go around the outside of James Courtney at turn 8 with 7 laps to go.

With 2 laps to go Chaz Mostert was up 7 places after starting 9th on the grid. Shane Van Gisbergen was behind in 3rd having moved up from a start of 20th on the grid.

However, the gaps between the top 3 couldn’t be closed. In the end Brodie Kostecki crossed the finish line with a 7 second margin over Chaz Mostert.  Shane Van Gisbergen was a further 10.479 seconds behind.

A post race penalty was issued to Shane Van Gisbergen for contact with Will Brown so unfortunately Shane was recorded in 7th place on the final results. Will Brown inherited the podium finish in 3rd. Credit is still owed to Shane Van Gisbergen for a phenomenal drive.

Results for Race 18

1st Brodie Kostecki – Erebus Motorsport
2nd Chaz Mostert – Walkinshaw Andretti United
3rd Will Brown – Erebus Motorsport

Shane Van Gisbergen was fastest in Qualifying for Race 19 and earned pole position bringing his career pole total to 48. I would love for him to get another 2 more and reach a half century before he leaves Supercars at the end of this season.

Andre Heimgartner sat alongside Shane Van Gisbergen on the starting grid.

As they took off Andre Heimgartner got the jump and led into turn 1 for the first of 36 laps. Shane Van Gisbergen and Broc Feeney were in 2nd and 3rd.

Will Brown and David Reynolds made contact and left the track. As they rejoined they were now in 24th and 25th place. Race control immediately put the incident under investigation. It took a while but they declared no penalties would be issued.

Shane Van Gisbergen was soon closing in on the back of the leader Andre Heimgartner. Broc Feeney in 3rd was followed by Brodie Kostecki.

Chaz Mostert had moved up 5 places into 11th after starting 16th on the grid.

On the second lap James Golding and Thomas Randle made contact. Although they kept going the officials were investigating the incident and later issued time penalties to both drivers.

On lap 4 Shane Van Gisbergen took the race lead off Andre Heimgartner at turn 6.

Just to make a statement, Shane Van Gisbergen then did the fastest lap of the race 131.993.

The first car to pit was Broc Feeney from 4th place on lap 16. When he came back out he was in 24th place.

The front runners were tightly packed. Shane Van Gisbergen was still the leader with a 1 second gap over Andre Heimgartner. Then it was only 0.968 of a second back to Brodie Kostecki.

Further back in the running Declan Fraser received a bad sportsmanship flag for exceeding track limits.

Then Will Brown and Macauley Jones received a bad sportsmanship flag for the same reason.

By the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen was in a commanding position with a 6.7 second lead over Andre Heimgartner. The front runners were yet to pit. Andre Heimgartner was the first to make his stop from 2nd place.

Shane Van Gisbergen took his stop towards the end of the race and returned to the track in 7th place. He must have known he was in great shape because the 6 cars in front still had to take their pit stops so he would naturally assume the lead when they did.

One by one they peeled off the track for the mandatory pit stop leaving Shane Van Gisbergen back in the number 1 spot with a 3 second lead over Andre Heimgartner. It was then 1.4 seconds back to Broc Feeney in 3rd place.

As the race was coming to its conclusion Shane Van Gisbergen was showing his authority and seemed uncatchable as he edged ahead.

After his incident on lap 2 Thomas Randle was in trouble again but this time only receiving a bad sportsmanship flag for exceeding track limits.

James Courtney was next in line for a bad sportsmanship flag for exceeding track limits.

In a surprise on the last lap Anton de Pasquale passed Broc Feeney for 3rd place. Broc Feeney had no time to make it up. Anton de Pasquale took the podium finish in 3rd. Andre Heimgartner had finished 10.4 seconds earlier in 2nd place with Shane Van Gisbergen taking the chequered flag 5.5 clear of him.

It was a spectacular finish for SVG and I’m so glad I was at the track on that day!

Results for Race 19

1st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Andre Heimgartner – Brad Jones Racing
3rd Anton de Pasquale – Shell V Power Racing Team

Brodie Kostecki still leads the championship by 41 points over his teammate Will Brown. Shane Van Gisbergen is only 54 points off the championship lead and Broc Feeney is 4th with 57 points off the championship lead. With 5 events remaining the championship title could be any of these great drivers.

The next event is the OTR Supersprint at the Bend on 18 – 20 August 2023.

Supercars

Betr Darwin Triple Crown 2023

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of the 16- 18 of June was the Betr Darwin Triple Crown.

Being in the Northern Territory the weather for this event is always hot and sunny with temperatures of 30 to 35 degrees ambient, which makes the in-car temperatures 40 degrees plus. The Triple Crown is always held in the middle of winter because any other time of the year would be way too hot putting the drivers at risk.

The opening date of the Hidden Valley Raceway was 1986 but Supercars didn’t venture north until 1998.

The track is 2.8km with 14 turns and the event is made up of three races (thus, the name “Triple Crown”) of 35 laps each.

Fox Sports presenter, Riana Crehan was absent from her usual role on this weekend because she and husband Will Davison are expecting the birth of their first child (any minute).

Hidden Valley Raceway always makes me think of this freaky fact; It was here that Craig Lowndes won his 100th race back in 2015 on his team Triple Eight on their 888th race in his car which was numbered 888.

The event kicked off according to schedule and the results of the pre-race sessions follow:

  • Broc Feeney was fastest in Practice 1
  • Anton de Pasquale was fastest in Practice 2
  • Cameron Waters was fastest in Qualifying

In Race 13 Cameron Waters started on pole position for the first time this year and the 20th time in his career. Alongside him in the number 2 position was Broc Feeney.

At the start of the race Cameron Waters got the jump and led into turn 1 for the first of 35 laps. Mark Winterbottom who started 3rd on the grid moved up to 2nd place when Broc Feeney ran wide at turn 1.

The opening stages were fairly chaotic because everybody was trying make gains from back in the field.

Jack le Brocq also ran wide on approach to turn 1 and dropped all the way down to 12th place.

Declan Fraser went into the garage on the opening lap after he sustained damage in the mayhem.

James Courtney got turned around by Andre Heimgartner at turn 14 on lap 2, sending him to the back of the pack.

Shortly after David Reynolds had a big lockup at turn 1 and went off the track. He hit the pits on lap 3 to change the front left tyre.

While the drivers behind were battling for places inside the top 10, Cameron Waters was out front leading the race until lap 5. When he was coming down the main straight he came over the radio to his team and said “My car is on fire!”. His race engineer Sam Potter ordered him, “get out mate!” so Waters pulled over and jumped from the driver’s seat. He grabbed the fire extinguisher from the Fire Marshall and put the flames out himself!

The lead was now in the hands of the sport veteran, Mark Winterbottom.

The safety car was deployed to remove Cameron Waters Monster Energy ‘Flaming’ Ford Mustang from the tack.

Meanwhile, the majority of the field chose to take their pit stops while the safety car was out. The pit lane was extremely busy.

Restart was on lap 11 and soon enough the cars back in the pack were jostling for positions again, while the leaders maintained track position.

Jack Smith went off the track at turn 1. Scott Pye made connection with someone or something and had torn the right rear wheel guard. The tyre was now rubbing on the dangling piece of guard. His team instructed him to keep going and they’ll let him know if it gets dangerous.

On Lap 16 the safety car was deployed for the second time due to a grass fire.

It took a few laps under the safety car before the race went back to green.

As the cars returned to their battle Chaz Mostert was able to take advantage and gained 3 spots moving up to 8th place.

The leaders kept in place but Mark Winterbottom was under huge pressure from Broc Feeney only 0.449 seconds behind. Will Davison in 3rd place was over a second behind Feeney.

Broc Feeney pushed hard but in the end, Mark Winterbottom was able to prevail and win the opening race at Darwin.

This has broken a 7 year winless streak for Mark Winterbottom. His last win was Perth 2016.

It was fantastic to see!

Results for Race 13

1st Mark Winterbottom – Team 18
2nd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Racing
3rd Will Davison – Shell V-Power Racing Team

In Race 14 Broc Feeney earned pole position. Alongside him was Andre Heimgartner.

Generated by pixel @ 2023-06-18T23:36:11.103002

Broc Feeney got the jump off the start and led into turn 1 for the first of 35 laps. Meanwhile, Shane Van Gisbergen gained 1 spot and moved into 3rd place.

Matt Payne and Declan Fraser made contact and went off the track at turn 7. It dropped them back to 25th and 26th place.

Both cars headed to the pits for repairs. Not long after Matt Payne was able to rejoin the race but Declan Fraser was not so lucky. It took a while for his car to be repaired losing several laps.

Otherwise, the opening stages were relatively clean.

The first car to take an unforced pit was Jack Smith on lap 5.

Around this stage of the race Brodie Kostecki had lost 2 spots from his starting position of 4th.  Jack le Brocq went off the track at turn 7 losing a number of places. At the front end Broc Feeney had carved a 1.225 second lead over Andre Heimgartner with Shane Van Gisbergen in pursuit.

Scott Pye pitted on lap 9 from 12th place.

James Golding was battling with Brodie Kostecki for positions 5th and 6th and they put on a great show.

Will Brown was the first of the front runners to pit along with Macauley Jones.

In the middle of the race Nick Percat pitted from 14th position. When he came back out he was in 20th place.

The leading three drivers stayed locked in and edged away from the rest of the pack.

After David Reynolds took his pit stop he was issued a 5 second time penalty for a pit lane merging breach.

Broc Feeney was the first of the two Red Bull cars to take the mandatory stop on lap 20.  He returned to the track in 4th place. There was a strategy in this. Andre Heimgartner had already pitted and was now out of the leading three cars. Shane Van Gisbergen who was in second place now received the lead from teammate Feeney. Also, the leading 3 cars were yet to pit; Shane Van Gisbergen, Bryce Fullwood and Cameron Waters. Once they did Broc Feeney would automatically resume the lead.

On lap 29 Will Davison had gone into the garage with a bent right front steering arm. This took him out of the top 10.

Broc Feeney resumed the lead and soon had a 2 second gap over Shane Van Gisbergen in second place.

With 3 laps to go Broc Feeney would have felt he had the race win in the bag.

Broc Feeney drove faultlessly the remaining laps and crossed the line 1.4 seconds ahead of his illustrious teammate Shane Van Gisbergen. Andre Heimgartner followed another 1.8 seconds later to take 3rd place.

A great one / two finish for the Red Bull Ampol Racing team.

Results for Race 14

1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing
3rd Andre Heimgartner – Brad Jones Racing

In Race 15 Jack le Brocq started on pole position and once again alongside him was Andre Heimgartner.

As they took off Jack le Brocq led the field through turn 1 for the first of 35 laps.

Scott Pye was hit from behind and had pretty substantial damage on the right rear corner. Brodie Kostecki also had issues on the first lap, receiving steering damage on the right side.

Todd Hazelwood put in a challenge to Shane Van Gisbergen for 8 place but he couldn’t get the pass executed for a while. It wasn’t long before Shane Van Gisbergen took back 8th.

After repairs to the steering arm Brodie Kostecki re-joined the race but was 3 laps down and running last.

Scott Pye also had to take his pit early to remove flapping rear bumper for the second time that weekend. He returned to the track in 25th place.

David Reynolds came into the pits for his compulsory stop on lap 10.

In the middle of the race Declan Fraser made connection with another competitor and received a 15 second time penalty

Broc Feeney and Will Brown running 3rd and 4th pitted at the same time on lap 17.

The race leaders Jack le Brocq and Andre Heimgartner took their pit stops on the next lap.

Towards the end of the race Matt Payne got turned around by Jack Smith at turn 6 sending him to the back of the pack.

With three laps to go Jack le Brocq had managed to hold the number one spot and carve a 1.8 second lead over Andre Heimgartner in 2nd place. They were both well ahead of the rest of the pack.

Heimgartner pushed hard to close the gap but at no stage seemed a threat to le Brocq.

Jack le Brocq crossed the line 1.3 seconds clear of Andre Heimgartner. It was a further 8.4 seconds before Broc Feeney crossed the line to come in 3rd.

It was a spectacular finish especially for the young Broc Feeney who managed a podium place in all three races of the Darwin Triple Crown; 2nd,1st and then 3rd. It earned him a win for the entire round.

Results for Race 15

1st Jack le Brocq – Matt Stone Racing
2nd Andre Heimgartner – Brad Jones Racing
3rd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing

Brodie Kostecki still leads the championship but only by 59 points over his teammate Will Brown and 91 points over Broc Feeney.

It still keeps Erebus in the lead of the teams championship by 222 points over the Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.

There are 7 events remaining in the 2023 Supercars championship season.

The next event is the NTI Townsville 500 starting on July 7th 2023.  I just can’t wait!!!!!

Supercars

Ned Whiskey Tasmania Supersprint 2023

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Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!

On the weekend of May 20 – 21, 2023 was the Ned Whiskey Tasmania Supersprint held at the Symmons Plain Raceway.

The raceway was first opened in March 1960. After the closure of the Longford Road circuit Symmons Plains quickly established its own reputation as Tasmania’s home of Motor Racing. The track is 2.4 km with 7 turns and must be one of the shorter tracks used in the Supercars Championship.

The Tasmania Supersprint was round 4 of the championship. Brodie Kostecki came into the round with a 100 point lead over Chaz Mostert in 2nd place.

It is the 50th time that the Supercars have visited. The track seems to be favoured by Triple Eight. They have won 25 out of the last 36 races in Tasmania.

Both Andre Heimgartner and Nick Percat had milestones. It was Andre Heimgartner’s 100th round start in Supercars and Nick Percat started his 300th race in Supercars.

In the pre-Race sessions:

  • Brodie Kostecki was fastest in Practice 1
  • Brodie Kostecki was fastest in Practice 2
  • Will Brown was fastest in Qualifying

In Race 10 Will Brown started on pole position with Jack le Brocq alongside him.

At the start of the race Will Brown got the jump and led into turn 1 for the first of 42 laps. The opening lap was relatively clean until James Courtney went into the wall at turn 6.

Coming out of turn 4 on the following lap Cameron Waters made contact with Brodie Kostecki which put him in the wall. Then Broc Feeney made contact with Chaz Mostert spinning him around. Scott Pye gave Broc Feeney a nudge and put damage on car 88 but he was able to keep going.

The result of the chaos had Chaz Mostert and Brodie Kostecki heading to the pits for repairs. As it turned out Chaz Mostert was not able to re-join the race.

James Courtney was another casualty from the turn 4 incident. A few laps later he went into the garage to replace a bent steering arm.

Will Brown was still leading with 1.8 seconds over Cameron Waters.

Shane Van Gisbergen was up 3 places from his grid start position and now in 6th.

It wasn’t long before Cameron Waters showed how much he wanted the win. He did the fastest lap of the race clocking in at 51.67 seconds.

Shane Van Gisbergen also showed his desire for a podium finish and got up the inside of Cameron Hill for 4th position.

The first car to pit in this race was Scott Pye on lap 14. He came in from 21st position and returned to the track in 22nd.

Mid-field Will Davison got up the inside of David Reynolds exchanging 15th and 16th place.

In the middle of the race James Golding pitted and David Reynolds followed him in. Andre Heimgartner and Cameron Waters then pitted from 3rd and 4th position.

Race leader, Will Brown made his pit stop on lap 23. He returned to the track in 5th place giving  Shane Van Gisbergen the number 1 spot. At this stage there were still 8 cars to pit.

Shane Van Gisbergen pitted on lap 27 from the lead of the race.

After Jack Smith took his pit stop he was investigated for an infringement. He was issued a 15 second time penalty post-race finish.

Now there were only 3 cars yet to pit; Todd Hazelwood, Matt Payne and Broc Feeney. Once they did Will Brown assumed the lead of the race.

Towards the end of the race Will Brown was still in the lead with 1.3 seconds over Andre Heimgartner. It was another 1.1 seconds back to Cameron Waters in 3rd.

Once Todd Hazelwood had pitted on lap 30 he re-joined in 15th place.

After this it was a sprint to the checkered flag.

Shane Van Gisbergen was in 4th position with fresher tyres for the sprint to the finish line but he was 8.2 seconds off the lead and 5.8 seconds away from Cameron Waters in 3rd place.

In the final Will Brown was still holding the lead over Andre Heimgartner. Shane Van Gisbergen was obviously not satisfied with 4th and managed to finally get past Cameron Waters to steal 3rd place.

Results for Race 10:

1st Will Brown – Erebus Motorsport
2nd Andre Heimgartner – Brad Jones Racing
3rd Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing

In Race 11 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position, alongside him was Broc Feeney.

At the start of the race Brodie Kostecki pushed Broc Feeney wide at turn. Will Brown used the opportunity to go up to 2nd place while Broc Feeney was displaced back to 4th.

The opening lap was relatively clean until turn 6 when Shane Van Gisbergen went into tyre wall after a bump from David Reynolds. Shane Van Gisbergen managed to get the car out but had to head straight to the pits. The damage was worse than first thought. The damage would take so much time to repair he wasn’t able to return to the race. Luckily he was able to participate in the final race of the weekend.

Shortly after Will Brown took the lead off his teammate Brodie Kostecki.

The top 5 cars were packed close to each other and anything could happen to change the results.

Aggressions seemed to be increasing and Declan Fraser received a 15 second time penalty for a driving infringement.

Meanwhile, Will Davison clocked the fastest lap at 52.011 seconds.

The first car to pit (aside from Shane Van Gisbergen) was Mark Winterbottom on lap 13. Noone else followed him in.

By the middle of the race the top 13 cars had still not visited pits. It seemed they all were afraid to give up their positions.

Once Brodie Kostecki and Will Brown had pitted there was a 35 second gap between the two.

Towards the end of the end of the race Broc Feeney was in the lead with 0.721 seconds over the championship leader Brodie Kostecki. It was a further 1.4 seconds back to Will Brown in 3rd.

In the final laps the gap between the top 3 cars became even tighter.

Broc Feeney was looking solid out front even though they were right on his tail. The drivers behind were really  battling for the minor places.

On the last lap Broc Feeney was in cruise mode with a confident lead of 2 seconds.

He kept his hard-earned lead to finish line ahead of Brodie Kostecki and Will Brown.

As he crossed the line Broc Feeney announced over the radio, “Team Sunday is back!”.

Results for Race 11:

1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing

2nd Brodie Kostecki – Erebus Motorsport

3rd Will Brown – Erebus Motorsport

In Race 12 Brodie Kostecki started on pole position with Will Brown alongside him.

As they took off Will Brown got the jump and led into turns 1 and 2 for the first of 42 laps. Andre Heimgartner went off the track at turn 1 and so did Anton de Pasquale.

While the 2 Erebus Camaro’s were commanding proceedings everybody else was trying to play catch up. Further back in the field the 2 Penrite Racing cars were battling for positions outside the top 10 in 14th and 16th place.

At the second last corner Declan Fraser got turned around by Jack Smith.

Things went smoothly until lap 9 when Andre Heimgartner gave James Courtney a bump and they both went off into the gravel.

On lap 10 Broc Feeney managed to get up the inside of Jack le Brocq for 3rd place. Will Brown and his teammate Brodie Kostecki were still holding the number 1 and 2 spots.

The first car to pit in this race was Nick Percat on lap 12 from the back of the pack and had a loose brake pedal as a secondary issue. Shane Van Gisbergen also pitted. He was in 18th and when he came back out on the track was in 23rd place.

By the middle of the race Shane Van Gisbergen had worked his way up through the field and was able to take 11th place from Jack le Brocq. At this stage there were 9 cars yet to take their stops.

Will Brown pitted on lap 24 which left Broc Feeney in control of the race.

Towards the end of the race Will Brown had a 5.5 second lead over Broc Feeney. It was only 0.633 seconds back to Shane Van Gisbergen who had now worked his way into 3rd place.

Matt Payne’s car had suffered damage earlier and the tyre was rubbing on the front bumper. It was too close to the end of the race so he kept going to the finish line.

At the front of the pack Will Brown still kept his lead and finished with a 4 second gap over Broc Feeney and Brodie Kostecki.

Another spectacular finish for Erebus to end the weekend.

Results for Race 12:

1st Will Brown – Erebus Motorsport
2nd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
3rd Brodie Kostecki – Erebus Motorsport

Brodie Kostecki still leads the championship by 87 points over Will Brown. Erebus are also leading the teams’ championship by 276 points over the Red Bull Ampol Racing team.

There are only 8 rounds to go in the 2023 Supercars season. The next event is the Betr Darwin Triple Crown on June 16th to 18th 2023.

Looking forward to it already!