V8 Supercars News & Results 2009 - Round 12 Results: Phillip Island, Victoria

[JoeT]

Non-Competition Round
Sprint Gas V8 Supercar Manufacturers Challenge
Melbourne F1 GP

V8 Supercars Australia
29 March 2009
www.v8supercars.com.au

Ford has wrestled the Manufacturers title from Holden at the Australian Grand Prix, winning all three races of the 2009 Sprint Gas V8 Supercar Manufacturers Challenge this weekend.

TeamVodafone driver Craig Lowndes won Race Three this afternoon (Sunday) with a 9.5 second lead over Ford Performance Racing’s Mark Winterbottom.

And a last minute steering drama for Holden Racing Team’s Will Davison allowed Supercheap Auto Racing’s Russell Ingall to overtake him for third place.

From pole position, Winterbottom again had a great start but lost the lead to Lowndes at Turn 15 on lap three.

Lowndes admitted his starts had not been good all weekend, but said that fresh tyres helped turn his fortunes around.

“I didn’t take too many risks,” he said.

“If I had pressure in front or behind, who knows what could have happened but we lucky enough to get the gap and we just ran it straight.”

Frosty, who won yesterday’s race and finished second overall in the Challenge, said he had no chance of a good fight against Lowndes because he was on old tyres.

“We put on old tyres on that were quite old but we still made changes and learnt a lot,” Winterbottom said.

Davison, who finished third overall in the Challenge, described how he nearly DNFed Race Three.

“Something broke in the front of the car or it lost the power steering and I went flying across the 11-12 chicane,” he explained.

“I was about to bring it in to the pits but I looked on the big screen and saw the pack was a fair way back so I just muscled it around for the last lap and got passed on the last corner by Russell.”

Unlike Race Two, there was a decent amount of passing in Race Three and it was all pretty clean.

A battle between Holden Racing Team’s Garth Tander and Wilson Security Racing's Fabian Coulthard lasted for much of the race while Jim Beam Racing’s Steve Johnson and SP Tools driver Shane Van Gisbergen got involved in their own rumble at the end of the race.


Manufacturers Challenge Top 10

Craig Lowndes, FG Falcon
Mark Winterbottom, FG Falcon
Will Davison, VE Commodore
Steven Johnson, FG Falcon
Jason Richards, VE Commodore
Shane Van Gisbergen, FG Falcon
Jamie Whincup, FG Falcon
Fabian Coulthard, FG Falcon
Paul Dumbrell, VE Commodore
Todd Kelly, VE Commodore


Manufacturers Challenge Points

Ford 1856
Holden 1574

You can view the V8 Supercars Championship Series on your computer
Click here for Telstra Bigpond's free internet race coverage

[JoeT]

Challenge Leaves V8 Fraternity Cold

V8 Supercars Australia
30 March 2009
www.v8supercars.com.au

While many drivers joined a chorus of calls for their appearance at the Australian Grand Prix to be made worth it by making it a Championship event, team owner Garry Rogers believes it is too late for V8 Supercars Australia to make demands on the Australian Grand Prix Corporation.

Last weekend, the V8 Supercars held another non-Championship event – the 2009 Sprint Gas V8 Supercar Manufacturers Challenge – at the Australian Grand Prix.

The Challenge was introduced last year after the V8s had a one-year hiatus from the hugely popular Formula One event, but Rogers said the arrangements for V8 Supercars at the event were still far from adequate.

“It’s totally unsatisfactory the way the whole thing is run, but the fact is we have agreed to go,” Rogers reasoned.

“Everybody knew what it was like when they agreed to go back and it’s a bit late now to be crying wolf.

“It should have been done prior to going back to the Grand Prix.”

Besides the Grand Prix being screened on Channel 10 – a rival to official V8 Supercars broadcaster Channel 7 – there are a number of other reasons why the V8 Supercar appearance is not a Championship event.

One factor is the lack of a dedicated Supercar pit lane area, with teams currently using the area in front of the Formula One garages during V8 sessions.

This means that there are no provisions for tyre changes, which under V8 Supercar rules are mandatory for every race.

A dedicated pitlane would be required for the event to become a Championship round, as this is needed for teams to make repairs if a car was extensively damaged.

Lee Holdsworth, who drives for Garry Rogers, told BigPond Sport that the pit lane was incredibly busy during V8 sessions to the point of possibly being unsafe.

Rogers agreed that the facilities were not satisfactory for the V8 Supercars.

“It certainly is very crowded, but that should have been resolved before we agreed to go back,” he said.

“We should have said ‘look, we want to come and race here… but we need to have proper recognition of our sport and to do that we need such and such requirements’.”

Rogers said the Australian Grand Prix was great for both Victoria and Australia.

“And it should be commended that the government is pushing it along,” he said.

“But I think our category is very popular and a lot of people would like to see our cars there for a Championship round.”

It is believed that V8 Supercars Australia, which has a very healthy relationship with the Grand Prix Corporation, has not yet approached organisers requesting a dedicated pitlane.

And in the current economic climate, it is unlikely that the Corporation would spend money on extra facilities when the current ones are sufficient for the current V8 format at the Grand Prix.

Rogers said despite the event being a non-Championship round, his team was still happy to attend last weekend and that it took the event seriously despite his team’s cars appearing to be seriously off the pace.

He referred to the team’s effort to get the spare car ready for Michael Caruso after his brand new Commodore was damaged at the Clipsal 500.

“The car was put together out of a whole lot of bits so we could turn up; we didn’t not want to turn up,” he said.

But Rogers said the car was simply not fast enough and that Holdsworth’s car had rear suspension problems.

Rogers said his cars started the races from pitlane to minimise problems for the team, Caruso and other V8 Supercar drivers on the track and that it was not a protest against the Challenge being a non-Championship event.

He described his team as “probably one of the hardest racers out there” and declared that had Caruso or Holdsworth qualified on pole, “we would have been up there all gung-ho”.

Since the V8s have been back at the Albert Park circuit, teams have received many concessions they did not previously receive, including having their V8 accreditation recognised, being able to sell merchandise and parking their transporters in the paddock.

And no one is denying that V8 Supercars appearing at the Grand Prix is extremely lucrative for teams and their sponsors because they are reaching a huge demographic which would not normally attend a V8 Supercar round.

[JoeT]

VESA Confirms Qualifying Changes

V8 Supercars Australia
6 April 2009
www.v8supercars.com.au

V8 Supercars Australia (VESA) has changed the qualifying format in time for the Hamilton 400 to give fans two distinct and stand-alone race days on an event weekend.

VESA had initially rolled out rule changes for the 2009 season where a single qualifying session determined a driver’s grid position for both races on a dual-race weekend.

But feedback received from drivers, teams and V8 Supercar fans after the Clipsal 500 demonstrated strong support for an individual qualifying session for each race.

Starting at the Hamilton 400 in New Zealand next week, a 20-minute qualifying session will be held on Sunday morning at all two-race weekends.

The original format of two qualifying sessions totaling 35 minutes followed by a Top 10 Shootout will be retained in the lead up to the Saturday races, while on Sundays the shorter (20-minute) session will set a new grid for race two.

The VESA Board ratified the Sunday qualifying session during a teleconference last Friday, April 3 and VESA Chief Executive Officer, Cameron Levick, announced the changes today (Monday).

“The board decided that in order to further focus on two races of equal standing that a stand-alone qualifying session would make for a more distinct separation,” Levick said.

“The emphasis is on the great achievement of winning a race which is always the intent.”

Levick said VESA’s focus was on the best entertainment it could offer for spectators at the track and television viewers.

“It’s all about adding spice and variety to the racing,” he said.

“With each race being equal in points and having individual podiums it is a great way to give every opportunity to any driver to stand on the podium.

“Qualifying well is still important and that won’t change.”

Jim Beam Racing owner **** Johnson was one of the many people involved in V8 Supercars who was critical of the single qualifying session for a race weekend.

Johnson has applauded VESA’s decision to add the extra qualifying session.

“Obviously it’s going to recognise both events and it just takes the pressure off the first qualifying session,” he said.

“I think that’s pretty fair.

“At the end of that day, I was in a mind where I believed there was every chance of naming a driver as the Champion prior to Bathurst, which I believe would have been detrimental to our sport.”

Johnson believed the initial format favoured those who qualified well.

“In saying that, there’s every chance (drivers James Courtney and Steve Johnson) could come out and qualify in the top three or four in the next few events,” he said.

In other V8 Supercar news, Levick also announced regulations that will apply to the new ‘soft’ compound tyre to be introduced at the Winton event in early May.

It will also be used at Symmons Plains in Tasmania, Hidden Valley (Northern Territory), Ipswich (Queensland), Sandown (Victoria) and Barbagallo in Western Australia.

Each team will be given four brand new Dunlop SP Sport Maxx Sprint tyres at select events.

Teams will be required to use all four tyres at the same time in one of the two races on each of those weekends.

“Again this is designed to mix up races, have faster cars, slower cars and improve the spectacle,” Levick said.

“The more passing, strategy and excitement we have in our racing the better.”

The SP Sport Maxx Sprint tyre will be recognisable by a distinctive yellow marking on the wall of the tyre.

[JoeT]

V8 Supercars Round 2 Results,
Qualifying, Top Ten Shootout & Race 1
Hamilton 400, New Zealand

V8 Supercars Australia
18 April 2009
www.v8supercars.com.au

TeamVodafone driver Jamie Whincup has triumphed over the Hamilton track in New Zealand and continued his perfect points haul of the 2009 season today.

His Race One win was a far cry from last year’s inaugural Hamilton event when he failed to get even one point after his car was damaged beyond repair in qualifying.

In the 200 kilometre race today, Whincup started from the front row of the grid and then overtook Ford Performance Racing’s Mark Winterbottom at Turn Six on the first lap.

He not only smashed his personal result, but also cracked a voodoo which has plagued Ford since its only New Zealand race win in 2004.

Winterbottom retained second spot for the remainder of the race and Garry Rogers Motorsport’s Lee Holdsworth finished the race third.

Whincup, who now has 450 Championship points under his belt, admitted he pushed his #1 Falcon to the point of losing the coveted first place.

“I was just pushing 110 per cent,” he said.

“I almost nudged the wall a couple of times… it was fantastic to win the first event.”

There was a smattering of crashes and panel rubbing throughout the race.

But the biggest incident was in the dying moments of the race when Marcus Marshall slammed into a tyre bundle at the Tarua Chicane, moving the bundle on to the track.

Marshall was frighteningly launched through the chicane and then limped the #77 Falcon back to pit lane as the Nissan GT-R Safety Car was deployed.

But the front of Marshall’s car was so badly damaged that it stopped on the entry, blocking pit lane and officials were forced to push the car out of the way.

With the tyre bundle removed, Whincup went on to break the lap record Holden Racing Team’s Garth Tander set at the track last year on the next two laps.

“To do a record it’s obviously a good car, and the lack of tyres in the chicane helped,” Whincup said.

“You could pretty much straight-line the chicane.”

But the 2008 Champ was cynical about the Safety Car deployment only minutes before the end of the 59-lap race.

“I was waiting for it, I must admit,” he said.

“I was looking for a chip packet or something to blow across the track.

“It was a good one this time, it was a legit one.

“The tyres were in the middle of the track so it was fair enough, but it was always going to come.”

Winterbottom had a good start, but his Falcon was suffering a few issues and he had a longer than necessary pit stop.

“I should take up drag racing, I’m good until the corners, aren’t I?” he laughed.

“On lap one I knew we were in trouble when he (Whincup) just went past.

“But there’s no use tangling on lap one to hold him out when you are struggling a bit anyway.”

Holdsworth started the race from sixth place and admitted he nearly took out teammate Michael Caruso on the start.

Caruso started in fourth but bogged down his start and Holdsworth was able to capitalise on the mistake.

“We kept our race pace while everyone else fell off,” he said.

Wilson Security Racing driver Fabian Coulthard was the first Kiwi to cross the finish line, clawing his way back from his starting position of 21st to finished sixth.

Stone Brothers Racing’s Shane Van Gisbergen was the next Kiwi to cross the line in ninth, but he was handed a 28 second penalty for contact with Autobarn Racing’s Paul Dumbrell early in the race and got relegated back to 17th.


Saturday: Qualifying

Pos Car Entrant Driver Vehicle Laps Fastest Lap Fastest Lap Time Gap
1 1 Team Vodafone Jamie Whincup Ford Falcon FG 12 11 1:23.6232
2 5 Ford Performance Racing Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon FG 16 16 1:23.6730 0:00.0498
3 888 Team Vodafone Craig Lowndes Ford Falcon FG 8 7 1:23.8543 0:00.2311
4 17 Jim Beam Racing Steven Johnson Ford Falcon FG 15 14 1:23.8551 0:00.2319
5 2 Toll Holden Racing Team Garth Tander Holden Commodore VE 12 10 1:23.9327 0:00.3095
6 15 Jack Daniels Racing Rick Kelly Holden Commodore VE 12 12 1:24.0438 0:00.4206
7 7 Jack Daniel's Racing Todd Kelly Holden Commodore VE 12 9 1:24.1021 0:00.4789
8 18 Jim Beam Racing James Courtney Ford Falcon FG 14 12 1:24.1192 0:00.4960
9 33 Garry Rogers Motorsport Lee Holdsworth Holden Commodore VE 16 14 1:24.1704 0:00.5472
10 34 Garry Rogers Motorsport Michael Caruso Holden Commodore VE 17 17 1:24.1777 0:00.5545
11 9 SP Tools Racing Shane Van Gisbergen Ford Falcon FG 16 14 1:24.2719 0:00.6487
12 22 Toll Holden Racing Team Will Davison Holden Commodore VE 16 16 1:24.2794 0:00.6562
13 11 Dodo Racing Team Jack Perkins Holden Commodore VE 18 15 1:24.3279 0:00.7047
14 10 Autobarn Racing Paul Dumbrell Holden Commodore VE 16 16 1:24.3472 0:00.7240
15 77 Team Intaracing Marcus Marshall Ford Falcon BF 17 15 1:24.4468 0:00.8236
16 4 Irwin Racing Alex Davison Ford Falcon FG 17 16 1:24.5732 0:00.9500
17 51 Sprint Gas Racing Greg Murphy Holden Commodore VE 13 7 1:24.7332 0:01.1100
18 39 Supercheap Auto Racing Russell Ingall Holden Commodore VE 17 12 1:24.7985 0:01.1753
19 25 Fujitsu Racing Jason Bright Ford Falcon BF 11 11 1:34.2732 0:10.6500
20 8 Team BOC Jason Richards Holden Commodore VE 9 9 1:35.3031 0:11.6799
21 111 Wilson Security Racing Fabian Coulthard Ford Falcon FG 8 2 1:24.7554 0:01.1322
22 6 Ford Performance Racing Steven Richards Ford Falcon FG 11 7 1:24.9339 0:01.3107
23 24 Bunderberg Red Racing Team David Reynolds Holden Commodore VE 10 10 1:24.9360 0:01.3128
24 3 Sprint Gas Racing Jason Bargwanna Holden Commodore VE 12 8 1:24.9723 0:01.3491
25 67 Supercheap Auto Racing Tim Slade Holden Commodore VE 11 8 1:25.0216 0:01.3984
26 333 Wilson Security Racing Michael Patrizi Ford Falcon BF 11 8 1:25.1275 0:01.5043
27 14 WOW Racing Cameron McConville Holden Commodore VE 3 2 1:25.6558 0:02.0326
28 021 Team Kiwi Racing Dean Fiore Holden Commodore VE 9 7 1:25.9853 0:02.3621
29 16 Hi-Tec Oils Racing Dale Wood Holden Commodore VE 11 9 1:26.1629 0:02.5397
EXC 55 the Bottle-O Racing Team Tony D'Alberto Holden Commodore VE


Saturday: Top 10 Shootout

Pos Car Entrant Driver Vehicle Laps Fastest Lap Fastest Lap Time Gap
1 5 Ford Performance Racing Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon FG 1 1 1:23.8053
2 1 Team Vodafone Jamie Whincup Ford Falcon FG 1 1 1:23.8060 0:00.0007
3 17 Jim Beam Racing Steven Johnson Ford Falcon FG 1 1 1:24.0691 0:00.2638
4 34 Garry Rogers Motorsport Michael Caruso Holden Commodore VE 1 1 1:24.0801 0:00.2748
5 2 Toll Holden Racing Team Garth Tander Holden Commodore VE 1 1 1:24.0862 0:00.2809
6 33 Garry Rogers Motorsport Lee Holdsworth Holden Commodore VE 1 1 1:24.1885 0:00.3832
7 888 Team Vodafone Craig Lowndes Ford Falcon FG 1 1 1:24.3101 0:00.5048
8 18 Jim Beam Racing James Courtney Ford Falcon FG 1 1 1:24.4742 0:00.6689
9 15 Jack Daniels Racing Rick Kelly Holden Commodore VE 1 1 1:24.5275 0:00.7222
10 7 Jack Daniel's Racing Todd Kelly Holden Commodore VE 1 1 1:24.5789 0:00.7736


Saturday: Race 1

Pos Car Entrant Driver Vehicle Laps Race Time Fastest Lap Fastest Time
1 1 Team Vodafone Jamie Whincup Ford Falcon FG 59 01:27:20.3645 58 1:24.4701
2 5 Ford Performance Racing Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon FG 59 01:27:21.9023 59 1:24.9650
3 33 Garry Rogers Motorsport Lee Holdsworth Holden Commodore VE 59 01:27:22.6768 37 1:24.8715
4 22 Toll Holden Racing Team Will Davison Holden Commodore VE 59 01:27:25.9300 27 1:24.8269
5 17 Jim Beam Racing Steven Johnson Ford Falcon FG 59 01:27:28.4542 5 1:25.1483
6 111 Wilson Security Racing Fabian Coulthard Ford Falcon FG 59 01:27:28.9387 28 1:24.9764
7 15 Jack Daniels Racing Rick Kelly Holden Commodore VE 59 01:27:30.2290 28 1:25.0983
8 7 Jack Daniel's Racing Todd Kelly Holden Commodore VE 59 01:27:31.9427 58 1:25.3600
9 4 Irwin Racing Alex Davison Ford Falcon FG 59 01:27:34.4832 16 1:25.6174
10 8 Team BOC Jason Richards Holden Commodore VE 59 01:27:35.7744 24 1:25.0651
11 2 Toll Holden Racing Team Garth Tander Holden Commodore VE 59 01:27:37.6439 43 1:25.1241
12 24 Bunderberg Red Racing Team David Reynolds Holden Commodore VE 59 01:27:37.9645 43 1:25.6956
13 18 Jim Beam Racing James Courtney Ford Falcon FG 59 01:27:38.4272 27 1:24.9248
14 333 Wilson Security Racing Michael Patrizi Ford Falcon BF 59 01:27:39.0823 18 1:25.7557
15 6 Ford Performance Racing Steven Richards Ford Falcon FG 59 01:27:39.9869 30 1:25.3804
16 14 WOW Racing Cameron McConville Holden Commodore VE 59 01:27:48.6368 24 1:25.8776
17 9 SP Tools Racing Shane Van Gisbergen Ford Falcon FG 59 01:28:00.1731 43 1:25.1091
18 10 Autobarn Racing Paul Dumbrell Holden Commodore VE 58 01:27:24.6535 57 1:25.3287
19 11 Dodo Racing Team Jack Perkins Holden Commodore VE 58 01:27:34.0324 27 1:25.7593
20 55 the Bottle-O Racing Team Tony D'Alberto Holden Commodore VE 58 01:27:40.9399 46 1:25.8156
21 25 Fujitsu Racing Jason Bright Ford Falcon BF 58 01:27:42.3196 22 1:26.0988
22 16 Hi-Tec Oils Racing Dale Wood Holden Commodore VE 58 01:27:44.9691 35 1:26.3680
23 39 Supercheap Auto Racing Russell Ingall Holden Commodore VE 58 01:28:30.0535 36 1:25.4444
24 888 Team Vodafone Craig Lowndes Ford Falcon FG 55 01:27:48.0523 29 1:24.9507
25 34 Garry Rogers Motorsport Michael Caruso Holden Commodore VE 52 01:27:56.9465 5 1:25.6429
DNF 021 Team Kiwi Racing Dean Fiore Holden Commodore VE 56 01:25:45.5086 40 1:26.1937
DNF 77 Team Intaracing Marcus Marshall Ford Falcon BF 53 01:20:23.3164 38 1:25.4682
DNF 3 Sprint Gas Racing Jason Bargwanna Holden Commodore VE 44 01:27:41.3639 37 1:26.2271
DNF 67 Supercheap Auto Racing Tim Slade Holden Commodore VE 17 27:44.6194 4 1:26.2498
DNF 51 Sprint Gas Racing Greg Murphy Holden Commodore VE 5 8:13.2940 4 1:26.1219

Jamie Whincup

You can view the V8 Supercars Championship Series on your computer
Click here for Telstra Bigpond's free internet race coverage

[JoeT]

V8 Supercars Round 2 Results,
Race 2 & Championship Points
Hamilton 400, New Zealand

V8 Supercars Australia
19 April 2009
www.v8supercars.com.au

TeamVodafone’s Jamie Whincup has well and truly beat the New Zealand curse for himself and Ford, winning Race Two of the Hamilton 400.

The 2008 Champ had already won Race One yesterday (Saturday) and continues his perfect points haul in the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship.

He was awarded the Mark Porter Trophy for winning Race Two.

Teammate Craig Lowndes continued a run of bad luck over the weekend, breaking his steering after hitting a tyre bundle in the chicane on lap 49.

For the second consecutive year, Wilson Security Racing’s Fabian Coulthard was the highest finishing Kiwi on home turf, crossing the line fifth in Race Two.

Jim Beam Racing’s Steve Johnson, who started from pole position for the first time since the 2001 Canberra round, had a good start but finished the race in third.

Junior’s teammate, James Courtney, fell back to third when Ford Performance Racing’s Steve Richards overtook him at Turn One of the first lap.

Whincup was in fourth when he was the first of the front runners to pit and with no one in front of him he was able to stretch his legs and get a comfortable lead.

A bad pit for Johnson put him back behind both Whincup and Courtney, while Richards fell to the back of the pack.

“We did have a bit of a slow stop and we have got to work a bit harder on fuel economy,” Johnson said.

“I think that’s what beat us at the end of the day.”

Courtney said his #18 Falcon got a short fill of fuel at the pit stop so he could try and catch Whincup.

“It shows that Triple Eight know what they are doing,” he praised.

Whincup is the man of the moment and now has 600 points to his name after only four Championship races in the 2009 season.

“Considering last year that I didn’t even start both races, to win both is amazing.

“The only real worry in the race was James on new tyres. He stopped a lot later than I did; if we had have got a Safety Car at the wrong time I would have been very vulnerable.”

The three day crowd attendance over the three days of the Hamilton 400 was 123,000.

In recognition of the event being held on Kiwi soil, the crowd heard both the Australian and New Zealand national anthems before Race Two and was treated to a traditional Maori dance.


Sunday: Qualifying

Pos Car Entrant Driver Vehicle Laps Fastest Lap Fastest Lap Time Gap
1 17 Jim Beam Racing Steven Johnson Ford Falcon FG 10 8 1:24.1606
2 18 Jim Beam Racing James Courtney Ford Falcon FG 10 7 1:24.2377 0:00.0771
3 6 Ford Performance Racing Steven Richards Ford Falcon FG 10 9 1:24.2430 0:00.0824
4 1 TeamVodafone Jamie Whincup Ford Falcon FG 7 2 1:24.2932 0:00.1326
5 34 Garry Rogers Motorsport Michael Caruso Holden Commodore VE 9 4 1:24.2962 0:00.1356
6 33 Garry Rogers Motorsport Lee Holdsworth Holden Commodore VE 8 4 1:24.3214 0:00.1608
7 9 SP Tools Racing Shane Van Gisbergen Ford Falcon FG 6 5 1:24.3568 0:00.1962
8 888 TeamVodafone Craig Lowndes Ford Falcon FG 9 8 1:24.3960 0:00.2354
9 111 Wilson Security Racing Fabian Coulthard Ford Falcon FG 9 3 1:24.4171 0:00.2565
10 5 Ford Performance Racing Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon FG 9 5 1:24.4447 0:00.2841
11 51 Sprint Gas Racing Greg Murphy Holden Commodore VE 9 8 1:24.4647 0:00.3041
12 39 Supercheap Auto Racing Russell Ingall Holden Commodore VE 10 8 1:24.4872 0:00.3266
13 15 Jack Daniels Racing Rick Kelly Holden Commodore VE 10 7 1:24.5692 0:00.4086
14 10 Team Autobarn Paul Dumbrell Holden Commodore VE 8 2 1:24.6161 0:00.4555
15 25 Fujitsu Racing Jason Bright Ford Falcon BF 8 4 1:24.6622 0:00.5016
16 55 the Bottle-O Racing Team Tony D'Alberto Holden Commodore VE 9 7 1:24.6660 0:00.5054
17 7 Jack Daniel's Racing Todd Kelly Holden Commodore VE 8 5 1:24.6824 0:00.5218
18 8 Team BOC Jason Richards Holden Commodore VE 9 5 1:24.7050 0:00.5444
19 2 Toll Holden Racing Team Garth Tander Holden Commodore VE 8 3 1:24.7090 0:00.5484
20 22 Toll Holden Racing Team Will Davison Holden Commodore VE 8 4 1:24.7151 0:00.5545
21 4 Irwin Racing Alex Davison Ford Falcon FG 9 7 1:24.7493 0:00.5887
22 24 Bundaberg Red Racing Team David Reynolds Holden Commodore VE 8 4 1:24.7671 0:00.6065
23 3 Sprint Gas Racing Jason Bargwanna Holden Commodore VE 9 8 1:24.8507 0:00.6901
24 11 Dodo Racing Team Jack Perkins Holden Commodore VE 10 7 1:24.8739 0:00.7133
25 333 Wilson Security Racing Michael Patrizi Ford Falcon BF 9 3 1:25.2186 0:01.0580
26 67 Supercheap Auto Racing Tim Slade Holden Commodore VE 7 7 1:25.4154 0:01.2548
27 16 Hi-Tec Oils Racing Dale Wood Holden Commodore VE 10 8 1:25.5536 0:01.3930
28 14 WOW Racing Cameron McConville Holden Commodore VE 9 7 1:25.6336 0:01.4730
29 77 Team Intaracing Marcus Marshall Ford Falcon BF 7 3 1:25.6799 0:01.5193
30 021 Team Kiwi Racing Dean Fiore Holden Commodore VE 9 4 1:26.0984 0:01.9378


Sunday: Race 2

Pos Car Entrant Driver Vehicle Laps Race Time Fastest Lap Fastest Time
1 1 TeamVodafone Jamie Whincup Ford Falcon FG 59 01:27:34.7215 45 1:24.5334
2 18 Jim Beam Racing James Courtney Ford Falcon FG 59 01:27:40.7534 34 1:24.4944
3 17 Jim Beam Racing Steven Johnson Ford Falcon FG 59 01:27:43.2754 6 1:25.0132
4 33 Garry Rogers Motorsport Lee Holdsworth Holden Commodore VE 59 01:27:43.9627 15 1:24.9864
5 111 Wilson Security Racing Fabian Coulthard Ford Falcon FG 59 01:27:46.4034 14 1:25.1187
6 34 Garry Rogers Motorsport Michael Caruso Holden Commodore VE 59 01:27:46.9920 8 1:25.1985
7 22 Toll Holden Racing Team Will Davison Holden Commodore VE 59 01:27:52.7761 26 1:25.0698
8 51 Sprint Gas Racing Greg Murphy Holden Commodore VE 59 01:27:56.0521 7 1:25.3826
9 2 Toll Holden Racing Team Garth Tander Holden Commodore VE 59 01:27:56.6073 26 1:25.1667
10 4 Irwin Racing Alex Davison Ford Falcon FG 59 01:28:03.3037 38 1:25.4208
11 24 Bundaberg Red Racing Team David Reynolds Holden Commodore VE 59 01:28:04.1491 35 1:25.3901
12 6 Ford Performance Racing Steven Richards Ford Falcon FG 59 01:28:05.3572 6 1:25.0693
13 333 Wilson Security Racing Michael Patrizi Ford Falcon BF 59 01:28:06.8262 8 1:25.4351
14 15 Jack Daniels Racing Rick Kelly Holden Commodore VE 59 01:28:07.8640 26 1:25.3166
15 9 SP Tools Racing Shane Van Gisbergen Ford Falcon FG 59 01:28:23.2628 25 1:24.8362
16 16 Hi-Tec Oils Racing Dale Wood Holden Commodore VE 59 01:28:23.7746 14 1:26.1109
17 11 Dodo Racing Team Jack Perkins Holden Commodore VE 59 01:28:41.6025 56 1:25.5895
18 25 Fujitsu Racing Jason Bright Ford Falcon BF 58 01:28:14.3424 37 1:25.4161
19 14 WOW Racing Cameron McConville Holden Commodore VE 58 01:28:24.1097 15 1:25.8756
20 021 Team Kiwi Racing Dean Fiore Holden Commodore VE 58 01:28:48.3828 43 1:26.8365
21 55 the Bottle-O Racing Team Tony D'Alberto Holden Commodore VE 55 01:28:28.1536 37 1:25.4680
22 8 Team BOC Jason Richards Holden Commodore VE 53 01:28:11.1874 13 1:25.5138
23 10 Team Autobarn Paul Dumbrell Holden Commodore VE 53 01:28:15.2507 17 1:25.6425
24 7 Jack Daniel's Racing Todd Kelly Holden Commodore VE 46 01:28:56.4768 10 1:25.7138
DNF 39 Supercheap Auto Racing Russell Ingall Holden Commodore VE 57 01:25:17.5583 26 1:25.3983
DNF 888 TeamVodafone Craig Lowndes Ford Falcon FG 49 01:14:01.7637 9 1:25.0309
DNF 77 Team Intaracing Marcus Marshall Ford Falcon BF 14 55:53.6758 6 1:26.2813
DNF 3 Sprint Gas Racing Jason Bargwanna Holden Commodore VE 11 18:44.2748 8 1:25.8033
DNF 5 Ford Performance Racing Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon FG


Championship Series - Driver Championship

Pos Driver Name Penalty Total
1 Jamie Whincup 0 600
2 Lee Holdsworth 0 498
3 Will Davison 0 483
4 Steven Johnson 0 462
5 Fabian Coulthard 0 354
6 Jason Richards 0 324
7 Rick Kelly 0 315
8 Garth Tander 0 285
9 Shane Van Gisbergen 0 282
10 James Courtney 10 272
11 Alex Davison 0 252
12 Jason Bright 0 234
13 Cameron McConville 0 231
14 Mark Winterbottom 0 228
15 Todd Kelly 0 219
16 Steven Richards 0 213
17 David Reynolds 0 207
18 Craig Lowndes 0 201
19 Paul Dumbrell 0 195
20 Michael Caruso 0 189
21 Greg Murphy 0 180
22 Michael Patrizi 0 177
23 Russell Ingall 10 176
24 Dale Wood 0 159
25 Dean Fiore 0 153
26 Tony D'Alberto 0 123
27 Jack Perkins 0 102
28 Marcus Marshall 0 63
29 Jason Bargwanna 0 45
30 Tim Slade 0 0

Jamie Whincup

You can view the V8 Supercars Championship Series on your computer
Click here for Telstra Bigpond's free internet race coverage

[JoeT]

Sydney Holds 500, Not 400

V8 Supercars Australia
19 April 2009
www.v8supercars.com.au

Australia’s largest city will be host to the biggest grand finale in V8 Supercar history after it was announced today (Sunday) that the Sydney 400 is now the Sydney 500, giving the massive event the prestige of being one of the longest single driver events in the Championship.

The event is the Grand Finale of the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series and will be raced through the streets of the Sydney Olympic Park Precinct at Homebush Bay. A first year crowd in excess of 150,000 spectators is expected to bring the precinct to life for a three-day spectacular.

V8 Supercars Australia will run 250km races on Saturday and Sunday of the December 4-6 event, matching the sports’ first event of the year, the record-breaking Clipsal 500 in Adelaide.

“We can now say that we are going to end the way we start the year, with a 500 kilometre weekend,” V8 Supercars Australia Chairman Tony Cochrane said.

“The Sydney Olympic Park precinct sits in the geographic heart of the city. It is the perfect location for an event of this scale and magnitude with its world class facilities and transport infrastructure.

“Sydney deserves to have the absolute best we can offer so we have decided to extend the total race distance to match that of our first event in Adelaide which is acclaimed around the world. What a way to bookend our season with two long distance races at either end of the year.”

The Clipsal 500 in March this year attracted a crowd of more than 270,000 people. It is considered one of the most physically demanding and exciting weekends on the yearly calendar. It won the 2008 Australian Tourism Award for the best Event or Festival and on four other occasions.

Mr Cochrane is confident the Sydney 500 will be even better.

“It is such a great facility and this will be the first time since the Olympics in 2000 that the whole site has been used for a single event. We can see no reason why we can’t put on Sydney’s biggest annual event each year.

“We have spared no expense to date to deliver Sydney this great event.”

The event was recently given the green light by the Federal Department for the Environment, Water and the Arts after the potential impacts of the event were considered.

“We underwent considerable planning to ensure no significant impact to the Sydney Olympic Park environment. We had some well respected environmental consultants on board to guide us through that process,” said Mr Cochrane.

“We have a huge group of professional people working behind the scenes to make this happen. We have spent a million dollars to date on engineering the track which is complete and we have tendered for all capital and site works.

“Along the way we have already generated dollars for the state economy and jobs.”

Mr Cochrane said that a major naming rights sponsor, all ticketing details and entertainment to perform on both Friday and Saturday nights within the precinct would all be announced in mid May.

“We are right on track. We have done extremely well in sponsorship terms and have filled almost all of the available categories,” he said.

“This is for more than a motor race. There will be major concerts, off-track events and we will utilise every single venue within the precinct for a raft of activities for everybody.

“No point in being shy – it is going to be massive,” said Cochrane.



Kiwis Do It Better

Briar Gunther
20 April 2009
www.v8supercars.com.au

The Hamilton 400 held last weekend has upstaged the hospitality provided to teams and fans at Australian circuits, according to the V8 Supercars Australia boss.

When asked whether Australian promoters could take a leaf out of the book of their New Zealand counterparts, V8 Supercars Australia Chief Executive Officer, Cameron Levick said there was “no question about that at all”.

“One of the things about coming to Hamilton that I've been blown away by is just how the council's behind it, the promoter's behind it, but the whole town is behind it and the place is buzzing,” he enthused.

“That for us means that the show that we put on is really appreciated by the whole community that we're part of when we come to do these things, so learning as to how we can do that in Australia is part of what we want to achieve.”

Wilson Security Racing owner Paul Cruickshank was more critical than Levick of the attitude from promoters at Australian circuits.

“These guys here do a fantastic job and my belief is some of the Australian circuit promoters should come over here and see how these guys treat us; what they try to do for the teams is very good,” he said.

“Everybody has got a can-do attitude and if there are any problems, boom, it gets fixed.

“It's not like in Australia where they pay you lip service and don't fix things; they actually get things done here, which makes me very proud because I'm a Kiwi.”

Levick said the V8 administration wanted fans to enjoy themselves at events.

“And people are walking around here having a great time,” he said.

“We want to pick whatever we can out of here to share with other promoters to try to put on a great event, like what we are going to try to do with the Townsville 400 in July and then of course the big one, the Sydney 500 in Sydney in December.”

Dean Calvert from the Hamilton 400 was pleased that many people had complimented the attitude of the employees, including security, at the track.

“At the end of the day we are about a quality event,” Calvert said.

“The most important thing is looking after our punters.”

Hamilton 400 crowd attendance figures
Friday - 37,210
Saturday - 41,500
Sunday - 43,198

[JoeT]

No Change For Sunday Qualifying

V8 Supercars Australia
23 April 2009
www.v8supercars.com.au

The format for the Sunday qualifying session at Winton will remain unchanged from the Hamilton 400 format.

V8 Supercars Australia Chief Executive Officer Cameron Levick says the 20-minute session introduced in New Zealand for the Sunday race will stay.

A qualifying session for the Sunday race on two race weekends was introduced following a driver backlash over the original format, where one qualifying session determined the starting grid for both races.

The Sunday session also recognises that race weekends are no longer referred to as rounds but events and each day is a race day in its own right.

But the trial 20-minute qualifying session at the Hamilton 400 was not without controversy.

The session was red-flagged and – because the clean-up of Supercheap Auto Racing’s Tim Slade took longer than five minutes – the clock was counted down with about two-and-a-half minutes to go.

TeamVodafone’s Jamie Whincup was very vocal about the format as the lap he was on that was certain to put him in pole position for the race was excluded because he finished it after the red flag was waved.

“Sunday qualifying received a fantastic response; it was great television,” says Levick.

“I’ve only heard a couple of noises, (from) one party in particular.”

Levick says the session will most likely be held earlier on Sunday at Winton and the five-minute red-flag allowance may be extended.

“The only other feedback is the scheduling thing, where it fits into the race schedule,” he says.

“I think you will see it further out from the race start than an hour (like at the Hamilton 400).

“The only other thing is that this five-minute time frame where we have to be back on track – that may be extended.

“So that two and a half minutes we missed in Hamilton we’d be able to get back on track.”

Levick says there is differing opinion about whether the clock should be restarted or counted down after that five-minute leeway.

“There are different views about whether that’s wrong or right as to whether we miss two-and-a-half minutes of great television or whether we’ve created two-and-a-half minutes of smash up derby,” he said.

“(But) we are not extending qualifying into 30 minutes or breaking it into two sessions or anything like that.”

One other thing that will be unchanged for Winton is the size of fuel tanks in V8 Supercars.

A rule was to come into effect for Winton forcing teams to change from the traditional 115-litre capacity fuel tank to a 75-litre one so that each car has to make a fuel stop during each race.

But it was decided that the short turnaround between the fly-away New Zealand event and Winton would put too much pressure on teams.

Teams will receive instructions on fuel stops for Winton.

“We had a shipping delay and we are sourcing them (the75-litre tanks) from one supplier so rather than put pressure on teams to get it done for Winton we have chosen to delay it,” he said.

“It seemed a straight forward thing to do.”

Sprint Gas Racing Team Manager, Jeff Grech, said the decision was a blessing because it would have taken roughly 16 man hours to change over the systems in each car.

“Thankfully they’ve realized the time constraints and it gives us a bit more of a breather.

“It means the team will make it to Winton with everything (in terms of car preparation) done,” he said.

[JoeT]

V8 Supercars Round 3 Results,
Qualifying, Top Ten Shootout & Race 5
Winton Raceway, Victoria

V8 Supercars Australia
2 May 2009
www.v8supercars.com.au

TeamVodafone driver Craig Lowndes won the first race at Winton Raceway today (Saturday), ending teammate Jamie Whincup’s perfect points haul.

Whincup finished in second, proving there is nothing that TeamVodafone can’t do at the moment.

It is the second one-two finish in five events for TeamVodafone – the last was in race three at Symmons Plains last year, but the drivers were in reverse.

Ford Performance Racing’s Steve Richards finished third this afternoon to make it a trifecta for Ford.

Today was the first ever race that the Dunlop Soft tyre was being used, and the tyre certainly served its purpose.

The 33-lap race was action-packed virtually from start to finish with plenty of passing and clashes.

And tyre strategy actually clinched the win for Lowndes.

While Whincup started on the Soft tyre and kept them on for the whole race, Lowndes changed from the normal Control tyre to the Soft one 11 laps after the start.

A Safety Car brought about by Jason Bargwanna’s #3 Sprint Gas Racing Commodore, which was bogged in a sand trap, played into the hands of Lowndes’ strategy.

On fresher tyres, Lowndes was able to easily pass a number of drivers after the restart as they struggled on older Soft tyres.

“We wanted two different strategies because we didn’t know which one was going to work and by the look of it both of them came up trumps for us,” Lowndes said.

“The car had great speed but at the same time we didn’t know how hard to push it early on to get the maximum speed out of it, but the drop off was going to be greater.

“For us the Safety Car actually worked in my favour because it brought both of the Valvoline cars and Jamie back to me and we had better tyre life at that point and we were able to get a gap and hold it.”

Whincup said despite the end to his perfect points haul, he was “very, very happy” with his result.

“I pitted on lap one (to take on fuel); I was praying for no Safety Car, but it did come and allowed these guys to catch up,” he said.

“(It is a) fantastic result for everyone at TeamVodafone.”

Richards, who also put the Soft tyres on later in the race rather than start on them, came seriously close to unseating Whincup of his second place.

“I was just trying to set myself up where I could have a crack on the exit of a corner and he made it too tough for me,” Richards explained.

“I was surprised actually; we did a run yesterday on the Sprint tyre and it went away quite rapidly towards the end and it didn’t do that today.”

Toll Holden Racing Team’s Garth Tander ended up with the most battered car after he was whacked no less than three times.

Wilson Security Racing’s Fabian Coulthard received a drive-through penalty for hitting Tander’s #2 Commodore, which spun him on the first lap.

Tander was spun again by Garry Rogers Motorsport’s Lee Holdsworth and he also came to grief with Supercheap Auto Racing’s Russell Ingall at the end of the race.

Despite the crash and bash, Tander was still able to finish the race in a commendable eighth position.


Saturday: Qualifying

Pos Car Entrant Driver Vehicle Laps Fastest Lap Fastest Lap Time Gap
1 888 TeamVodafone Craig Lowndes Ford Falcon FG 11 10 1:23.3646
2 6 Ford Performance Racing Steven Richards Ford Falcon FG 18 18 1:23.4261 0:00.0615
3 1 TeamVodafone Jamie Whincup Ford Falcon FG 12 10 1:23.4457 0:00.0811
4 33 Garry Rogers Motorsport Lee Holdsworth Holden Commodore VE 17 17 1:23.4474 0:00.0828
5 18 Jim Beam Racing James Courtney Ford Falcon FG 19 19 1:23.4825 0:00.1179
6 5 Ford Performance Racing Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon FG 14 14 1:23.5171 0:00.1525
7 111 Wilson Security Racing Fabian Coulthard Ford Falcon FG 16 16 1:23.5494 0:00.1848
8 34 Garry Rogers Motorsport Michael Caruso Holden Commodore VE 16 14 1:23.6167 0:00.2521
9 2 Toll Holden Racing Team Garth Tander Holden Commodore VE 15 12 1:23.7006 0:00.3360
10 7 Jack Daniel's Racing Todd Kelly Holden Commodore VE 21 19 1:23.7100 0:00.3454
11 15 Jack Daniels Racing Rick Kelly Holden Commodore VE 18 16 1:23.7797 0:00.4151
12 14 WOW Racing Cameron McConville Holden Commodore VE 18 17 1:23.8041 0:00.4395
13 17 Jim Beam Racing Steven Johnson Ford Falcon FG 18 17 1:23.8116 0:00.4470
14 39 Supercheap Auto Racing Russell Ingall Holden Commodore VE 16 16 1:23.8357 0:00.4711
15 8 Team BOC Jason Richards Holden Commodore VE 20 20 1:23.8737 0:00.5091
16 10 Team Autobarn Paul Dumbrell Holden Commodore VE 18 16 1:23.9062 0:00.5416
17 25 Fujitsu Racing Jason Bright Ford Falcon BF 20 18 1:23.9167 0:00.5521
18 11 Dodo Racing Team Jack Perkins Holden Commodore VE 19 18 1:24.0492 0:00.6846
19 24 Bundaberg Red Racing Team David Reynolds Holden Commodore VE 19 19 1:24.0550 0:00.6904
20 77 Team Intaracing Marcus Marshall Ford Falcon BF 18 13 1:24.1010 0:00.7364
21 55 The Bottle-O Racing Team Tony D'Alberto Holden Commodore VE 8 8 1:24.4634 0:01.0988
22 22 Toll Holden Racing Team Will Davison Holden Commodore VE 11 10 1:24.4739 0:01.1093
23 4 Irwin Racing Alex Davison Ford Falcon FG 9 9 1:24.5071 0:01.1425
24 51 Sprint Gas Racing Greg Murphy Holden Commodore VE 11 11 1:24.5288 0:01.1642
25 333 Wilson Security Racing Michael Patrizi Ford Falcon BF 11 11 1:24.5779 0:01.2133
26 67 Supercheap Auto Racing Tim Slade Holden Commodore VE 13 11 1:24.8011 0:01.4365
27 9 SP Tools Racing Shane Van Gisbergen Ford Falcon FG 4 4 1:24.8545 0:01.4899
28 16 Hi-Tec Oils Racing Dale Wood Holden Commodore VE 12 12 1:25.0177 0:01.6531
29 3 Sprint Gas Racing Jason Bargwanna Holden Commodore VE 4 3 1:25.5126 0:02.1480
30 021 Triple F Racing Dean Fiore Holden Commodore VE 12 12 1:25.7421 0:02.3775


Saturday: Top 10 Shootout

Pos Car Entrant Driver Vehicle Laps Fastest Lap Fastest Lap Time Gap
1 5 Ford Performance Racing Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon FG 1 1 1:23.0906
2 2 Toll Holden Racing Team Garth Tander Holden Commodore VE 1 1 1:23.1564 0:00.0658
3 888 TeamVodafone Craig Lowndes Ford Falcon FG 1 1 1:23.1677 0:00.0771
4 1 TeamVodafone Jamie Whincup Ford Falcon FG 1 1 1:23.4585 0:00.3679
5 111 Wilson Security Racing Fabian Coulthard Ford Falcon FG 1 1 1:23.4591 0:00.3685
6 34 Garry Rogers Motorsport Michael Caruso Holden Commodore VE 1 1 1:23.5985 0:00.5079
7 18 Jim Beam Racing James Courtney Ford Falcon FG 1 1 1:23.6198 0:00.5292
8 33 Garry Rogers Motorsport Lee Holdsworth Holden Commodore VE 1 1 1:23.6836 0:00.5930
9 7 Jack Daniel's Racing Todd Kelly Holden Commodore VE 1 1 1:23.7534 0:00.6628
10 6 Ford Performance Racing Steven Richards Ford Falcon FG 1 1 1:23.8460 0:00.7554


Saturday: Race 5

Pos Car Entrant Driver Vehicle Laps Race Time Fastest Lap Fastest Time
1 888 TeamVodafone Craig Lowndes Ford Falcon FG 33 49:26.6167 15 1:23.3174
2 1 TeamVodafone Jamie Whincup Ford Falcon FG 33 49:30.7838 4 1:24.0249
3 6 Ford Performance Racing Steven Richards Ford Falcon FG 33 49:31.0035 14 1:23.4203
4 15 Jack Daniels Racing Rick Kelly Holden Commodore VE 33 49:36.7001 4 1:23.8930
5 14 WOW Racing Cameron McConville Holden Commodore VE 33 49:37.2875 15 1:23.7309
6 9 SP Tools Racing Shane Van Gisbergen Ford Falcon FG 33 49:40.9352 6 1:23.2088
7 22 Toll Holden Racing Team Will Davison Holden Commodore VE 33 49:43.5075 10 1:23.9496
8 2 Toll Holden Racing Team Garth Tander Holden Commodore VE 33 49:43.5494 13 1:23.2003
9 39 Supercheap Auto Racing Russell Ingall Holden Commodore VE 33 49:43.5592 16 1:23.6392
10 34 Garry Rogers Motorsport Michael Caruso Holden Commodore VE 33 49:44.8156 5 1:23.3232
11 55 The Bottle-O Racing Team Tony D'Alberto Holden Commodore VE 33 49:47.2041 9 1:23.8049
12 17 Jim Beam Racing Steven Johnson Ford Falcon FG 33 49:47.8591 5 1:25.8423
13 8 Team BOC Jason Richards Holden Commodore VE 33 49:50.6939 11 1:23.7883
14 25 Fujitsu Racing Jason Bright Ford Falcon BF 33 49:52.7939 7 1:24.0665
15 111 Wilson Security Racing Fabian Coulthard Ford Falcon FG 33 49:54.0794 6 1:23.4133
16 10 Team Autobarn Paul Dumbrell Holden Commodore VE 33 49:54.3123 5 1:25.7250
17 77 Team Intaracing Marcus Marshall Ford Falcon BF 33 49:54.7551 14 1:26.1628
18 67 Supercheap Auto Racing Tim Slade Holden Commodore VE 33 49:55.7285 5 1:26.5304
19 11 Dodo Racing Team Jack Perkins Holden Commodore VE 33 50:02.1338 12 1:26.5632
20 24 Bundaberg Red Racing Team David Reynolds Holden Commodore VE 33 50:06.9468 5 1:26.1156
21 4 Irwin Racing Alex Davison Ford Falcon FG 32 49:28.6241 5 1:24.2268
22 51 Sprint Gas Racing Greg Murphy Holden Commodore VE 32 49:58.3265 6 1:26.3116
23 33 Garry Rogers Motorsport Lee Holdsworth Holden Commodore VE 32 50:04.3600 5 1:23.3724
24 16 Hi-Tec Oils Racing Dale Wood Holden Commodore VE 32 50:18.3948 4 1:26.7695
25 5 Ford Performance Racing Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon FG 32 50:26.2140 13 1:23.8156
26 3 Sprint Gas Racing Jason Bargwanna Holden Commodore VE 30 50:30.6323 11 1:24.3590
DNF 021 Triple F Racing Dean Fiore Holden Commodore VE 19 28:21.9518 9 1:27.7544
DNF 18 Jim Beam Racing James Courtney Ford Falcon FG 17 24:55.9878 5 1:23.2823
DNF 333 Wilson Security Racing Michael Patrizi Ford Falcon BF 6 9:43.3727 3 1:24.4779
DNF 7 Jack Daniel's Racing Todd Kelly Holden Commodore VE

Craig Lowndes

You can view the V8 Supercars Championship Series on your computer
Click here for Telstra Bigpond's free internet race coverage

[JoeT]

V8 Supercars Round 3 Results,
Qualifying & Race 6,
Plus Championship Points
Winton Raceway, Victoria

V8 Supercars Australia
3 May 2009
www.v8supercars.com.au

Thanks to a surprise strategy, TeamVodafone’s Craig Lowndes has come up trumps in race two at event three of the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship at Victoria’s Winton Raceway.

Lowndes started the race from the second row of the grid on his used Dunlop SP Sport Maxx ‘Sprint’ tyres and an early-race Safety Car played beautifully into his hands.

However Lowndes' result is preliminary due to a technical issue.

Early in the race it looked as though Autobarn Racing’s Paul Dumbrell had picked the right strategy by saving his soft tyres for this weekend’s second race, but the Safety Car period – brought out to retrieve the stricken Garry Rogers Motorsport Commodore of Lee Holdsworth – cost him dearly.

Dumbrell’s Commodore wasn’t as strong on ‘hard’ tyres as Lowndes’ Falcon, the Ford Performance Racing Falcon of Mark Winterbottom (who finished second) and the Toll Holden Racing Team Commodore of Garth Tander (who claimed third).

Championship leader and the man who has dominated the series so far, TeamVodafone’s Jamie Whincup, finished a disappointing 13th after becoming a victim of major pitlane congestion during his pit stop.

The 66-lap race was punctuated by two major incidents with Holdsworth getting a scare on lap 19 when he found himself in Winton’s infield with his Commodore on fire, and the Safety Car was deployed to ensure Holdsworth was removed from harm's way.

The other incident followed soon after when the ensuing dash to the pits saw a traffic jam at the top end of pitlane.

Winterbottom was blocked when he was sandwiched between the two TeamVodafone cars. The FPR driver eventually got away, but not before pushing a set of Triple Eight tyres out of his way with his front spoiler.

Lowndes said the decision to reuse his soft option tyres was only made at the last minute, and he was grateful that the Safety Car was deployed at the right time for his strategy.

“We actually opted this morning to reuse our soft option tyre at the start of the race. We had to get to lap 20. We had good speed for 15 laps, but for the last five laps (on the soft tyres) Jamie and Frosty were starting to pull a gap,” Lowndes said.

He described the pitlane traffic jam as “chaos”, but said it seriously hurt his teammate’s chances in the race.

“It was a real shame for Jamie because we both had strong cars, but with the Safety Car everyone pitted and I overshot my marks… Jamie had to wait and I think Frosty got blocked in as well,” Lowndes said.

Though disappointed with the pitlane incident, Winterbottom was happy to finally turn his qualifying pace into a race podium.

“It was just great to finish a race,” he said.

“I was just trying to stay clear of the drama and get to the end. It was no good fighting the guys on softs early on because you saw yesterday that cars got turned around with guys just diving down the inside of them on softs.”

Frosty said he was confident that he could pass Lowndes in the pits had it not been for the traffic jam drama.

“Once the pit stop came up I thought I would jump him in the pits because our guys are usually pretty good in the pits, but I got boxed in,” Winterbottom explained.

“I came out behind Paul (Dumbrell) and Craig (Lowndes) and here (at Winton) it is all about track position.”

Tander was also happy to make another podium.

“Our speed at the start wasn’t good… after the stop the car was fantastic,” Tander said.

“I had to conserve some fuel at the end of the race, but I was happy to get third.”

The Toll HRT driver joked that his end of the pitlane was incident free.

“We didn’t have any problem with congestion up our end of the pits; it was great,” he smirked.

However, he was concerned that his bonnet may have flown open thanks to damage caused when he was involved in a mid-race incident with FPR’s Steven Richards and a back marker.

“It was flapping around and I thought ‘that’s all I need is for the bonnet to come up and I will have to go back into the pits’, but luckily it stayed down,” he said.

Whincup still holds a 114-point lead in the Championship from Toll HRT’s Will Davision.


Sunday: Qualifying

Pos Car Entrant Driver Vehicle Laps Fastest Lap Fastest Lap Time Gap
1 1 TeamVodafone Jamie Whincup Ford Falcon FG 8 7 1:23.1687
2 5 Ford Performance Racing Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon FG 11 10 1:23.4086 0:00.2399
3 888 TeamVodafone Craig Lowndes Ford Falcon FG 10 9 1:23.4127 0:00.2440
4 2 Toll Holden Racing Team Garth Tander Holden Commodore VE 9 9 1:23.4277 0:00.2590
5 10 Team Autobarn Paul Dumbrell Holden Commodore VE 12 11 1:23.7023 0:00.5336
6 111 Wilson Security Racing Fabian Coulthard Ford Falcon FG 10 9 1:23.7118 0:00.5431
7 33 Garry Rogers Motorsport Lee Holdsworth Holden Commodore VE 12 10 1:23.8328 0:00.6641
8 15 Jack Daniels Racing Rick Kelly Holden Commodore VE 11 10 1:23.8455 0:00.6768
9 22 Toll Holden Racing Team Will Davison Holden Commodore VE 12 9 1:23.8694 0:00.7007
10 18 Jim Beam Racing James Courtney Ford Falcon FG 12 11 1:23.9809 0:00.8122
11 9 SP Tools Racing Shane Van Gisbergen Ford Falcon FG 13 13 1:23.9873 0:00.8186
12 3 Sprint Gas Racing Jason Bargwanna Holden Commodore VE 12 12 1:23.9916 0:00.8229
13 34 Garry Rogers Motorsport Michael Caruso Holden Commodore VE 11 10 1:24.0331 0:00.8644
14 6 Ford Performance Racing Steven Richards Ford Falcon FG 12 11 1:24.0730 0:00.9043
15 24 Bundaberg Red Racing Team David Reynolds Holden Commodore VE 11 8 1:24.0970 0:00.9283
16 8 Team BOC Jason Richards Holden Commodore VE 13 10 1:24.1145 0:00.9458
17 7 Jack Daniel's Racing Todd Kelly Holden Commodore VE 12 10 1:24.1479 0:00.9792
18 17 Jim Beam Racing Steven Johnson Ford Falcon FG 11 8 1:24.1565 0:00.9878
19 14 WOW Racing Cameron McConville Holden Commodore VE 12 9 1:24.1752 0:01.0065
20 51 Sprint Gas Racing Greg Murphy Holden Commodore VE 12 10 1:24.2131 0:01.0444
21 39 Supercheap Auto Racing Russell Ingall Holden Commodore VE 11 9 1:24.2708 0:01.1021
22 25 Fujitsu Racing Jason Bright Ford Falcon BF 11 9 1:24.2764 0:01.1077
23 77 Team Intaracing Marcus Marshall Ford Falcon BF 10 10 1:24.3286 0:01.1599
24 4 Irwin Racing Alex Davison Ford Falcon FG 12 10 1:24.4635 0:01.2948
25 11 Dodo Racing Team Jack Perkins Holden Commodore VE 12 4 1:24.5052 0:01.3365
26 55 The Bottle-O Racing Team Tony D'Alberto Holden Commodore VE 11 11 1:24.5448 0:01.3761
27 67 Supercheap Auto Racing Tim Slade Holden Commodore VE 13 6 1:24.5607 0:01.3920
28 333 Wilson Security Racing Michael Patrizi Ford Falcon BF 11 10 1:24.6516 0:01.4829
29 16 Hi-Tec Oils Racing Dale Wood Holden Commodore VE 13 9 1:24.8786 0:01.7099
30 021 Triple F Racing Dean Fiore Holden Commodore VE 12 9 1:25.1948 0:02.0261


Sunday: Race 6

Pos Car Entrant Driver Vehicle Laps Race Time Fastest Lap Fastest Time
1 888 TeamVodafone Craig Lowndes Ford Falcon FG 66 01:37:06.3464 4 1:24.3051
2 5 Ford Performance Racing Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon FG 66 01:37:08.8584 9 1:25.5616
3 2 Toll Holden Racing Team Garth Tander Holden Commodore VE 66 01:37:25.4171 40 1:25.8598
4 10 Team Autobarn Paul Dumbrell Holden Commodore VE 66 01:37:27.1034 11 1:23.9858
5 22 Toll Holden Racing Team Will Davison Holden Commodore VE 66 01:37:27.4586 40 1:25.8416
6 18 Jim Beam Racing James Courtney Ford Falcon FG 66 01:37:30.4986 40 1:26.0116
7 15 Jack Daniels Racing Rick Kelly Holden Commodore VE 66 01:37:51.2141 7 1:26.2352
8 24 Bundaberg Red Racing Team David Reynolds Holden Commodore VE 66 01:37:51.4618 46 1:23.3718
9 77 Team Intaracing Marcus Marshall Ford Falcon BF 66 01:37:51.9506 46 1:22.9813
10 3 Sprint Gas Racing Jason Bargwanna Holden Commodore VE 66 01:37:52.0011 9 1:26.4344
11 39 Supercheap Auto Racing Russell Ingall Holden Commodore VE 66 01:37:53.6787 11 1:26.5322
12 9 SP Tools Racing Shane Van Gisbergen Ford Falcon FG 66 01:37:54.5742 4 1:26.3332
13 1 TeamVodafone Jamie Whincup Ford Falcon FG 66 01:37:55.0629 2 1:25.0074
14 55 The Bottle-O Racing Team Tony D'Alberto Holden Commodore VE 66 01:38:04.3891 44 1:26.6670
15 4 Irwin Racing Alex Davison Ford Falcon FG 66 01:38:09.1815 40 1:26.4051
16 6 Ford Performance Racing Steven Richards Ford Falcon FG 66 01:38:11.3143 55 1:24.1300
17 67 Supercheap Auto Racing Tim Slade Holden Commodore VE 66 01:38:13.1759 31 1:25.2098
18 16 Hi-Tec Oils Racing Dale Wood Holden Commodore VE 66 01:38:13.3654 43 1:24.2803
19 11 Dodo Racing Team Jack Perkins Holden Commodore VE 66 01:38:17.9999 46 1:24.2074
20 51 Sprint Gas Racing Greg Murphy Holden Commodore VE 66 01:38:19.9710 4 1:25.3887
21 17 Jim Beam Racing Steven Johnson Ford Falcon FG 66 01:38:23.9222 7 1:25.3303
22 333 Wilson Security Racing Michael Patrizi Ford Falcon BF 66 01:38:25.3822 32 1:26.6327
23 14 WOW Racing Cameron McConville Holden Commodore VE 66 01:38:43.5772 38 1:26.5322
24 7 Jack Daniel's Racing Todd Kelly Holden Commodore VE 65 01:37:16.4928 54 1:24.8627
25 021 Triple F Racing Dean Fiore Holden Commodore VE 65 01:37:33.6170 49 1:25.1455
26 8 Team BOC Jason Richards Holden Commodore VE 65 01:37:55.5802 48 1:25.4456
27 34 Garry Rogers Motorsport Michael Caruso Holden Commodore VE 60 01:38:14.3890 8 1:26.3436
DNF 111 Wilson Security Racing Fabian Coulthard Ford Falcon FG 46 01:08:42.1565 9 1:26.3369
DNF 33 Garry Rogers Motorsport Lee Holdsworth Holden Commodore VE 18 26:07.7908 9 1:26.3114
DNF 25 Fujitsu Racing Jason Bright Ford Falcon BF 11 16:08.2791 9 1:26.5916


Championship Series - Driver Championship

Pos Driver Name Penalty Total
1 Jamie Whincup 0 804
2 Will Davison 0 690
3 Steven Johnson 0 573
4 Lee Holdsworth 0 534
5 Rick Kelly 0 531
6 Garth Tander 0 504
7 Craig Lowndes 0 501
8 Shane Van Gisbergen 0 453
9 Jason Richards 0 417
10 Fabian Coulthard 0 414
11 Steven Richards 0 399
12 Mark Winterbottom 0 396
13 Cameron McConville 0 378
14 James Courtney 10 374
15 Paul Dumbrell 0 372
16 Alex Davison 0 354
17 David Reynolds 0 342
18 Russell Ingall 10 332
19 Jason Bright 0 297
20 Michael Caruso 0 291
21 Greg Murphy 0 264
22 Tony D'Alberto 0 258
23 Todd Kelly 0 252
24 Dale Wood 0 243
25 Michael Patrizi 0 216
26 Marcus Marshall 0 201
27 Jack Perkins 0 198
28 Dean Fiore 0 183
29 Jason Bargwanna 0 150
30 Tim Slade 0 105

Craig Lowndes

You can view the V8 Supercars Championship Series on your computer
Click here for Telstra Bigpond's free internet race coverage

[JoeT]

Sydney 500 Has Everything: Skaife

Briar Gunther
14 May 2009
www.v8supercars.com.au

Mark Skaife says the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship’s conclusion – the Sydney 500 – will provide plenty of exciting racing for fans.

The Channel 7 commentator has been contracted by Integrated Events Delivery Management, which is developing the Sydney 500, to help design the street circuit.

He has spent up to six days onsite and was part of an analysis of simulating and engineering the track.

While the circuit appears to be a series of straights and corners that form a rough square, Skaife said it would be far from pedestrian.

“You can’t just look at a schematic on 2D and look at a rectangular or square shape, it doesn’t bode well for what the real design is like,” he said.

“When you go onsite and you see the rises and falls and the width, we have got it just fantastic.

“It’s got dips, road cambers and a lot of different road surfaces, so it’s shaping up as a really good race track.

The Sydney 500 will be launched in a spectacular fashion at Martin Place this Saturday, May 16, and Skaife is pencilled in to attend.

About half of the V8 Supercar drivers will also attend the launch along with other celebrities.

There is a heap of free entertainment for the whole family between 10am and 3pm including the Potbelleez, who will perform a number of their hit songs at the launch.

The Potbelleez are currently the only confirmed group to play at the Sydney 500, but the rest of the acts – for the Friday and Saturday night concerts – will be revealed at the launch.

And if that’s not enough incentive for fans to head to the launch, then discounted tickets should provide the clincher.

Anyone who buys a grandstand ticket at the launch will receive a 10 per cent discount.

All remaining tickets will go on sale to the general public for full price from 9am, Monday May 18 through Ticketek.

The Sydney 500 will race through the streets of the Sydney Olympic Park precinct at Homebush Bay for the first time ever on December 4 to 6.

[JoeT]

Holden Boss Wants More Brands

Auto Action
22 May 2009
www.wheelsmag.com.au

Holden boss Mark Reuss has warned that V8 Supercars must open its doors to other manufacturers or risk the long-term future of the Australia's premier motor racing category.

In an exclusive interview with Wheels, Reuss warned of the dangers of complacency by V8 Supercars Australia and that the only way forward was throw the doors open to other car manufacturers.

“I think the current two-brand format is a very dangerous business model and I’ve told them that,” Reuss said. “I’ve been around motorsports my whole life and I’ve seen this kind of thing be really, really good and then all of a sudden ‘kablam!’ The whole thing implodes and there’s no one interested anymore, it’s lost relevance, the racecars aren’t anything like you can buy.”

Reuss was appointed Holden’s chairman and managing director in February 2008 and has been keeping a close eye on the local racing scene. He reiterated his company’s commitment to V8 Supercar racing, but stressed that more manufacturers needed to be enticed into the sport.

Click here to continue article

GMI's Official 2009 V8 Supercars News & Results Thread
Tom Walkinshaw Says No To More Manufacturers (October 2008)

[rory]

remember when there were V8s going against minis. And ATCC was all good till turbos came in

[Aych Es Vee]

I think it would be good to allow any brand with a rwd, v8 sedan in their lineup into the competition.

.... BMW, Mercedes, Chrysler, Dodge, Cadillac

BUT .... Manufacturers arent allowed their own teams (as is the case now I believe?).

And rules for the competition to be predominantly Australian, with at least half the races of a season in Australia, in case things get really big.

[Revvhead]

Originally Posted by Aych Es Vee

I think it would be good to allow any brand with a rwd, v8 sedan in their lineup into the competition.

.... BMW, Mercedes, Chrysler, Dodge, Cadillac

BUT .... Manufacturers arent allowed their own teams (as is the case now I believe?).

I quite like this idea; open it up to any brand selling a large RWD V8 sedan in Australia, with limitations on forced induction, etc. What I wouldn't want to see is a RWD V8 Toyota Camry shelled car (for example). That would just turn it into NASCAR with more corners.

[Brenie]

The old homologation rules used to require a certain quantity of the vehicles sold in Oz to be able to qualify, they could also have a retail price limit maybe. The GTR arrival pretty well stuffed up touring car racing, leading to the V8 series, which I love, but realise that it probably will need to evolve to remain relevant to the average punter, the likes of the Godzillas and that ilk belong in sports car racing with the Porsches and Moslers etc..