V8s: Lowndes takes Pole at 2012 Coates Hire Ipswich 300

Bouncing back from engine problems in practice this morning, Craig Lowndes has scored pole position for Race 16 at the Coates Hire Ispwich 300 with a record breaking lap.  Check out the initial post of Richard’s F1 here!

An engine change allowed Lowndes to take his fourth pole of the season after sitting out the final practice.  Whincup was less than two tenths behind his team mate for a TeamVodafone front line and FPR took out the second row; Winterbottom and Davison in third and fourth respectively.  Coulthard, Van Gisbergen, Reynolds, Ingall, Caruso and Holdsworth made up the rest of the top ten. 

David Reynolds had done quite well and sat at the top of the grid until the final green tyre runs, but like IRWIN Ford, weren’t able to hold onto pole position.  Lowndes’s time came in the dying minutes of qualifying, and Winterbottom completed his last lap after the chequered flag.

Villeneuve is giving himself a little bit of a challenge in his bid to do better this race, but he avoided the bottom spot by pipping David Wall by a few thousandths (31 thousandths, to be exact!) of a second.  

Race 16 will take place at Queensland Raceway in a couple of hours time, 16:05 EST. 

Stay tuned for more race reports!

	Driver		Entry / Team	Result
1.	Craig Lowndes		Team Vodafone / Triple 8 Racing	1:09:2218
2.	Jamie Whincup		Team Vodafone / Triple 8 Racing	1:09:3795
3.	Mark Winterbottom		Orrcon Steel / Ford Performance Racing	1:09:5060
4.	Will Davison		Trading Post / Ford Performance Racing	1:09:5676
5.	Fabian Coulthard		Lockwood Racing / Brad Jones Racing	1:09:6480
6.	Shane van Gisbergen		SP Tools / Stone Brothers Racing	1:09:6865
7.	David Reynolds		The Bottle-O Racing Team / Rod Nash	1:09:7106
8.	Russell Ingall		Supercheap Auto / Walkinshaw Racing	1:09:7174
9.	Michael Caruso		Fujitsu Racing / Garry Rogers Motorsport	1:09:7293
10.	Lee Holdsworth		Irwin Racing / Stone Brothers Racing	1:09:7338
11.	Dean Fiore		Jim Beam Racing / Dick Johnson Racing	1:09:7339
12.	Tony D’Alberto		HIFLEX / Tony D’Alberto Racing	1:09:7632
13.	James Moffat		Team Norton / Dick Johnson Racing	1:09:7645
14.	Jason Bright		Team BOC / Brad Jones Racing	1:09:8001
15.	Tim Slade		Lucky 7 Racing / Stone Brothers Racing	1:09:8280
16.	Steven Johnson		Jim Beam Racing / Dick Johnson Racing	1:09:8508
17.	Rick Kelly		Jack Daniel’s / Kelly Racing	1:09:8619
18.	Garth Tander		TOLL / Holden Racing Team	1:09:8652
19.	Alexandre Prémat		Fujitsu Racing / Garry Rogers Motorsport	1:09:8722
20.	Steve Owen		VIP Petfoods / Dick Johnson Racing	1:09:8783
21.	James Courtney		TOLL / Holden Racing Team	1:09:8846
22.	Jonathon Webb		Tekno Autosports	1:09:8924
23.	Michael Patrizi		Tekno Autosports	1:09:9696
24.	Todd Kelly		Jack Daniel’s / Kelly Racing	1:10:0071
25.	Taz Douglas		Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport	1:10:0932
26.	Karl Reindler		Fair Dinkum Sheds / Kelly Racing	1:10:3348
27.	Jacques Villeneuve		Pepsi Max Crew / Kelly Racing	1:10:7275
28.	David Wall		Wilson Security / Brad Jones Racing	1:10:7306

Yassmin Abdel-Magied RichardsF1.com (Awesomeness-Accredited) Journalist [Images via Speedcafe]

V8s: 2012 Coates Hire Ipswich 300 Preview

Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome back from a little V8 break to the eighth round of the series, the Coates Hire Ipswich 300!

In keeping with the Sunshine State vibe, we travel down the coast to South East Queensland and will spend the weekend at Queensland Raceway, the lovely Paperclip circuit and – at the time of writing – blisteringly cold temperatures!

Well, weather talk aside, let’s see what is in store for us this weekend… (Read more at the original post on Richard’s F1!)

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The Circuit

2012 V8 SUPERCARS COATES HIRE IPSWICH 300

Date:	3-5 August 2012
Venue:	Queensland Raceway, Ipwich, Queensland
Lap Length:	3.12 km
Race Lap Record:	1:10.1637, Jamie Whincup (Holden Commodore VE II) – 2011

Event Schedule:	Free Practice Session 1	Fri 13:00-13:30
	Free Practice Session 2	Fri 14:10-14:30
	Free Practice Session 3	Fri 14:45-1505
	Free Practice Session 4	Sat 10:10-10:40
	Free Practice Session 5	Sun 10:05-10:35
	Race 1 Qualifying	Sat 13:25-13:45
	Race 1 (45 laps, 140km)	Sat 16:05-17:15
	Race 2 Qualifying	Sun 13:00-13:20
	Race 2 (65 laps, 200km)	Sun 15:35-17:15
2011 Winners:	Craig Lowndes (Holden Commodore VE 2)	2011 Race 1
	Craig Lowndes (Holden Commodore VE 2)	2011 Race 2
	Craig Lowndes (Holden Commodore VE 2)	2011 Race 3

Drive a few clicks west of Brisbane into Ipswich (if you’re feeling adventurous) and you will come across the lovely Queensland Raceway. 

If we are to be honest, it probably isn’t the most loved track of the season, dubbed the ‘Paperclip’ because of its relatively simple six turn design and lack of elevation.  Furthermore, the changing temperatures cause all manner of difficulties for the teams as the grip levels change throughout the day.  The track does have a new surface though, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out, especially in terms of tire wear.

It must be said: though it is fairly simple, there is usually relatively entertaining racing.  Turns 1, 3, 4 and 6 (most of the turns!) provide pretty good overtaking opportunities and a great spectacle.  The 3.12 km track averages about 162 km/hr speeds, with a top speed of about 255km/hr. Not too shabby.  Good spectator views are also a bonus.

11 of the 29 cars in the series do call this track home, so there is a small home crowd advantage…to almost a third of the cars.  Welcome to the ‘swich! 

Interesting fact? Queensland Raceway shares a precinct with the Willowbank Raceway dragstrip, home to the infamous Winternats!

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Rewinding to 2011

2011 was a clean sweep for Craig Lowndes, who took all three races quite easily in his Holden Commodore VE2 for TeamVodafone.  Tim Slade joined Craig on the podium in second place in the first race on Saturday and on Sunday.  Tim Slade was pipped out of second during Saturday’s Race 17 however by Jamie Whincup (who had taken the third spot in the previous race). 

Race 16 & 17 saw a return to the format of two 22 lap sprint races with a 15 minute pit lane service in between the two races. 

Check out the videos below for a few more highlights of the Saturday and Sunday races.

 

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Facts, Stats & Predictions

Well looking from a championship point of view, it will be interesting to see how the break affects the performance of the two heavyweights this season, FPR and Triple 8.  Between them, they have won the 15 races of the season so far… will anyone on the grid be able to challenge that?

The other big piece of news would be the return of former F1 World Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner Jacques Villeneuve to the circuit with Kelly Racing, replacing the injured Greg Murphy in the #51 Pepsi Max Crew Holden Commodore.  He will definitely be looking to improve on his Townsville performance. 

Jacques left Townsville with a DNF and a 24th place, however he should definitely be more comfortable with the car during this round considering the month off and seat time.   He is joined by three other drivers who will make their first starts in the series, Alex Premat (Fujitsu Racing GRM), David Wall (Wilson Security Racing) and Taz Douglas (Team iSelect).  We wish all the fellas the best of luck!

If you are looking for some heritage, look no further than the trio of Craig Lowndes, Russell Ingall and Garth Tander who have competed in every single V8 Supercar Race ever held at Queensland Raceway!  In fact Ingall has stood on the podium 18 times in the 29 races on the Ipswich track.  Respect!

The teams also have some great history, with Stone Brothers picking up 13 podium finishes since the V8s formally raced on the track, and their rivals Triple 8 picking up 12.  That being said, Triple 8 look in pretty good form for this weekend and their four previous consecutive wins only help that prediction.  FPR will have to bring their all to the track if they want to see the highest spots on the podium.

In all, it looks set to be an action-packed weekend – make sure you keep visiting RichardsF1.com for all of the latest news and analysis from Ipswich!

Yassmin Abdel-Magied RichardsF1.com (Awesomeness-Accredited) Journalist [Images via Ipswich V8 Supercars, Jim Beam Racing ]

Villeneuve: Back for More!

I am currently writing for Richard’s F1 as the V8 Correspondent and will post links to my articles here. 

Great news for Canadian driver Jacques Villeneuve who has now been confirmed as a driver for the next two V8 Supercar rounds. 

For more, check out the article on Richard’s F1.