V8s: Davison and Salo end TeamVodafone’s winning streak

This was originally posted here on Richard’s F1!

Will Davison and Mika Salo took out race 2 today at the ArmorAll Gold Coast 600, ending Team Vodafone’s 11 race winning streak and giving Ford Performance Racing its first win since May.

The duo’s off sequence strategy with an early pit stop due to a flat spot worked out in their favour and eventually won them the race.

The TeamVodafone pair in Jamie Whincup and Sebastien Bourdais came in second and Winterbottom and Power bookended the podium for FPR in third.

Davison came back from a prematurely ending run yesterday to complete an accident-free run to the top of the podium.  Things weren’t boding well for Davison initially, with the Falcon locking up on only the third lap, but the run was salvaged when the car pitted during the safety car’s appearance during lap 13.  Subsequently, Will’s co-driver Mika Salo completed a longer run than most – 56 laps – but that, and taking advantage of the safety car worked in FPR’s favour.  Davison was pleased with the result:

“It is fantastic to get another win as it feels like so long since my last one. I actually had to fight much harder than I thought as Tim (Slade) came out in front of me after the last stop which I hadn’t thought of. Once I got past him I had to press on but also try and conserve my tyres which thankfully I had the car to do it with really easily.

"We were under a lot of pressure and Mika did such an amazing job so I am really happy for him that we finally got our win here. I let us down yesterday but we made up for it today.”

Mika Salo echoed his co-driver’s comments.

“It’s great. I got a surfboard last year so now we’ve got the first place one to take home too. Yesterday was bad luck, it was good to bounce back today.

Whincup's performance was quite similar to last year where the pair also collected a win and a second place after two pole positions.  Co-driver Bourdais was awarded the Dan Wheldon memorial trophy again this year for his efforts.

In fourth place came the Lucky 7 Racing Ford of Tim Slade and David Brabham who competed solidly throughout the race.  Their early pitting saw them take the lead with a fifth of the race to go however their pace wasn’t quite enough to hold the more competitive rivals off.  A good result regardless for the pair.

"We lead for quite a few laps and really that was all to do with the strategy that Wes (McDougall, engineer) and Luke came up with and Brabs' performance that put me in that position. All I had to do was pretty much drive it to the end”

“Overall I'm really happy and I think we were third overall on points for the weekend. Fourth and fifth is great especially on a weekend like this where there are so many elements thrown at you." said Slade.

Garth Tander and Ryan Briscoe finished in 5th, in the same position as on Saturday, but coming up from 12th on the grid.

There were 5 safety car periods in this debris-ridden weekend however after the sensational starts on Saturday the internationals did well to not have any major issues getting off the line.  20 of the 25 starters finished.

Whincup now leads the Championship with an even greater margin, making it difficult for FPR rival Winterbottom in the next few rounds. Winterbottom is now over 200 points behind the leader in the Championship.

Check out a video of the whole hot weekend here!

2012 V8 Supercars ArmorAll Gold Coast 600 – Race 2 Results (102 laps):

	Driver		Entry / Team	Result
1.	Will Davison / Mika Salo		Ford Performance Racing	2:16:06.9161
2.	Jamie Whincup / Sébastien Bourdais		Triple 8 Racing	+ 0.5023
3.	Mark Winterbottom / Will Power		Ford Performance Racing	+ 2.1931
4.	Tim Slade / David Brabham		Stone Brothers Racing	+ 4.7583
5.	Garth Tander / Ryan Briscoe		Holden Racing Team	+ 6.7205
6.	Craig Lowndes / Richard Lyons		Triple 8 Racing	+ 9.9402
7.	Russell Ingall / Peter Dumbreck		Walkinshaw Racing	+ 11.4888
8.	Lee Holdsworth / Simon Pagenaud		Stone Brothers Racing	+ 11.6066
9.	Shane van Gisbergen / Jeroen Bleekemolen		Stone Brothers Racing	+ 12.6979
10.	Fabian Coulthard / Nicolas Minassian		Brad Jones Racing	+ 12.8490
11.	Rick Kelly / Graham Rahal		Kelly Racing	+ 13.8741
12.	Steven Johnson / Max Papis		Dick Johnson Racing	+ 13.9017
13.	David Reynolds / Nick Heidfeld		Ford Performance Racing	+ 14.5725
14.	Jonathon Webb / Marc Lieb		Tekno Autosports	+ 17.0130
15.	David Wall / Jamie Campbell-Walter		Brad Jones Racing	+ 18.0038
16.	Taz Douglas / Mike Conway.		Dumbrell Motorsport	+ 21.3784
17.	James Courtney / Darren Turner		Holden Racing Team	+ 1:15.4242
18.	Steve Owen / Boris Said		Dick Johnson Racing	+ 1 lap
19.	Dean Fiore / Gianni Morbidelli		Dick Johnson Racing	+ 11 laps
20.	Greg Murphy / Justin Wilson		Kelly Racing	+ 14 laps
	NOT CLASSIFIED
DNF.	Tim Blanchard / Marco Andretti		Kelly Racing	69 laps
DNF.	Michael Caruso / James Hinchcliffe		Garry Rogers Motorsport	34 laps
DNF.	Jason Bright / Stephane Sarrazin		Brad Jones Racing	18 laps
DNF.	James Moffat / Peter Kox		Dick Johnson Racing	0 laps
DNS.	Michael Patrizi / Lucas di Grassi		Tekno Autosports	Withdrew
WD.	Tony D’Alberto / Vitantonio Liuzzi		Tony D’Alberto Racing	Withdrew
WD.	Karl Reindler / Franck Montagny		Kelly Racing	Withdrew
WD.	Greg Ritter / Ricky Taylor		Garry Rogers Motorsport	Withdrew

Yassmin Abdel-Magied RichardsF1.com Journalist [Images via V8Supercars.com]

V8s: 3 Race Starts at GC600…Yet Whincup Wins Again

 

This was originally posted on Richard’s F1…check it out here!

On a hot and sticky day at the Gold Coast, the dynamic duo of Jamie Whincup and Sebastien Bourdais took the top spot on the podium today after an action filled race at the ArmorAll Gold Coast 600.  The TeamVodafone pair were joined by Jonathon Webb and the German Marc Leib for Tekno Autosports and Mark Winterbottom and Will Power for FPR in third.

The race took some time to start though, with the internationals having a little drama getting underway...requiring 2 restarts and a fair while to clean up, the concrete canyon lived up to its name!

James Hinchcliffe was a little slow off the mark for Garry Rogers Motorsport and was subsequently hit by Luizzi’s Irwin Ford which lead to Ricky Taylor’s Fujitsu Holden flip onto it’s head! Simon Pagenaud for Stone Brothers Racing also being involved meant that four cars were out before a single lap had been started. But that wasn’t all…

The restart saw Nicolas Minassian in the Holden Brad Jones Racing stall and Franck Montagny hitting the rear of the car.  Again, the red flags were given some unwanted air time.

The race finally got underway 50 minutes behind schedule, meaning the race was then timed to finish at one lap after 4.15pm, for a total of 79 laps.

The race was fought hard and fast with a number of different leaders throughout the afternoon.  FPR’s Mika Salo was the early leader however once Whincup swapped in, he lead the bright orange from the front for the last 44 laps.  Jamie talked after the race:

“What a crazy start to that race. I thought we’d never get into it and get the race going. We fought on and the Webb car was hooked up and hard to keep at bay.”

Indeed, Webb nipped at Whincup’s heels for about 20 laps, applying pressure to Jamie all the way to the end of the race.

Only 18 of the 28 starters finished, and there were three different safety car outings.  Mika Salo and Will Davison weren’t able to capitalise on Salo’s early lead after contact with a wall lost them their edge.

Mark Winterbottom, who came in third and is focusing on his bid for the Championship, praised his co-driver, local Will Power but will be looking to push for a win on Sunday.

“It was a good fight back and a tough race. Will (Power, co-driver), did a great job and I could attack at the end. We were coming but we needed a few more laps so we were just a bit short.”

Full results are below.

Let the racing continue!

2012 V8 Supercars ArmorAll Gold Coast 600 – Race 1 Results (79 laps*):

	Driver		Entry / Team	Result
1.	Jamie Whincup / Sébastien Bourdais		Triple 8 Racing	1:45:10.0919
2.	Jonathon Webb / Marc Lieb		Tekno Autosports	+ 0.4647
3.	Mark Winterbottom / Will Power		Ford Performance Racing	+ 1.0893
4.	Garth Tander / Ryan Briscoe		Holden Racing Team	+ 12.2211
5.	Tim Slade / David Brabham		Stone Brothers Racing	+ 12.9548
6.	Craig Lowndes / Richard Lyons		Triple 8 Racing	+ 14.6256
7.	James Courtney / Darren Turner		Holden Racing Team	+ 17.1494
8.	Rick Kelly / Graham Rahal		Kelly Racing	+ 21.5720
9.	Russell Ingall / Peter Dumbreck		Walkinshaw Racing	+ 22.0760
10.	Shane van Gisbergen / Jeroen Bleekemolen		Stone Brothers Racing	+ 22.5905
11.	Michael Patrizi / Lucas di Grassi		Tekno Autosports	+ 23.7514
12.	Jason Bright / Stephane Sarrazin		Brad Jones Racing	+ 23.9662
13.	Greg Murphy / Justin Wilson		Kelly Racing	+ 25.1239
14.	Taz Douglas / Mike Conway.		Dumbrell Motorsport	+ 25.4685
15.	David Wall / Jamie Campbell-Walter		Brad Jones Racing	+ 55.0786
16.	Steven Johnson / Max Papis		Dick Johnson Racing	+ 1 lap
17.	Dean Fiore / Gianni Morbidelli		Dick Johnson Racing	+ 2 laps
18.	Will Davison / Mika Salo		Ford Performance Racing	+ 16 laps
	NOT CLASSIFIED
DNF.	David Reynolds / Nick Heidfeld		Ford Performance Racing	66 laps
DNF.	Steve Owen / Boris Said		Dick Johnson Racing	40 laps
DNF.	Tim Blanchard / Marco Andretti		Kelly Racing	19 laps
DNF.	James Moffat / Peter Tox		Dick Johnson Racing	18 laps
DNS.	Lee Holdsworth / Simon Pagenaud		Stone Brothers Racing	0 laps
DNS.	Tony D’Alberto / Vitantonio Liuzzi		Tony D’Alberto Racing	0 laps
DNS.	Fabian Coulthard / Nicolas Minassian		Brad Jones Racing	0 laps
DNS.	Michael Caruso / James Hinchcliffe		Garry Rogers Motorsport	0 laps
DNS.	Karl Reindler / Franck Montagny		Kelly Racing	0 laps
DNS.	Greg Ritter / Ricky Taylor		Garry Rogers Motorsport	0 laps

* Following the two separate startline accidents, the race distance was reduced from its scheduled 102 laps and instead time-limited to a one-hour, 45-minute minute race

Yassmin Abdel-Magied RichardsF1.com Journalist [Images via V8Supercars.com]

V8s: Whincup on Pole for GC600

This was originally posted on Richard’s F1…check it out here!

Jamie Whincup kept the momentum of his Bathurst win going, qualifying on pole for Saturday’s ArmorAll Gold Coast 600 race today. 

The last endurance weekend of the series saw Whincup, who is partnering with Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais clock in a fastest lap time of one minute and 11.8730 seconds.

The pair are joined on the front row by the Will Davison / Mika Salo duo for FPR.

Mark Winterbottom found himself frustratingly qualifying in sixth place, next to Jonathon Webb and the German Marc Lieb who was quick in the practice runs earlier. 

Reynolds, Tander and Lowndes are among the names that missed the top ten shootout and find themselves starting a little lower on the list.  The full results are below.

2012 V8 Supercars ArmorAll Gold Coast 600 – Race 1 Qualifying Result:

	Driver		Entry / Team	Top-10 Result
1.	Jamie Whincup / Sébastien Bourdais		Triple 8 Racing	1:11.6478
2.	Will Davison / Mika Salo		Ford Performance Racing	+ 0.2252
3.	Rick Kelly / Graham Rahal		Kelly Racing	+ 0.2363
4.	Michael Caruso / James Hinchcliffe		Garry Rogers Motorsport	+ 0.3103
5.	Jonathon Webb / Marc Lieb		Tekno Autosports	+ 0.3104
6.	Mark Winterbottom / Will Power		Ford Performance Racing	+ 0.3345
7.	Fabian Coulthard / Nicolas Minassian		Brad Jones Racing	+ 0.5422
8.	Tony D’Alberto / Vitantonio Liuzzi		Tony D’Alberto Racing	+ 0.5775
9.	James Courtney / Darren Turner		Holden Racing Team	+ 0.7883
10.	Shane van Gisbergen / Jeroen Bleekemolen		Stone Brothers Racing	+ 15.4123
	Driver		Entry / Team	Q1 Result
11.	Tim Slade / David Brabham		Stone Brothers Racing	1:11.8249
12.	David Reynolds / Nick Heidfeld		Ford Performance Racing	1:11.8434
13.	Craig Lowndes / Richard Lyons		Triple 8 Racing	1:11.8748
14.	Steve Owen / Boris Said		Dick Johnson Racing	1:11.8761
15.	Russell Ingall / Peter Dumbreck		Walkinshaw Racing	1:11.9226
16.	Lee Holdsworth / Simon Pagenaud		Stone Brothers Racing	1:12.0095
17.	James Moffat / Peter Tox		Dick Johnson Racing	1:12.0436
18.	Steven Johnson / Max Papis		Dick Johnson Racing	1:12.0519
19.	Michael Patrizi / Lucas di Grassi		Tekno Autosports	1:12.0682
20.	Greg Ritter / Ricky Taylor		Garry Rogers Motorsport	1:12.1432
21.	Jason Bright / Stephane Sarrazin		Brad Jones Racing	1:12.1475
22.	Greg Murphy / Justin Wilson		Kelly Racing	1:12.2718
23.	Karl Reindler / Franck Montagny		Kelly Racing	1:12.2786
24.	Garth Tander / Ryan Briscoe		Holden Racing Team	1:12.3608
25.	Tim Blanchard / Marco Andretti		Kelly Racing	1:12.4528
26.	Taz Douglas / Mike Conway		Dumbrell Motorsport	1:12.7148
27.	Dean Fiore / Gianni Morbidelli		Dick Johnson Racing	1:12.7304
28.	David Wall / Jamie Campbell-Walter		Brad Jones Racing	1:12.8859

Yassmin Abdel-Magied RichardsF1.com Journalist [Images via News Limited]

Frenchman Franck confirmed for GC600

Kelly Racing has today confirmed the French former Formula One driver Franck Montagny as the third driver in their international line up for the Gold Coast 600.

Read the rest of the piece here.

Ex-Formula 1 and IndyCar Driver confirm seats at the GC600

Another two drivers have been confirmed for the Gold Coast 600 in October, Finnish ex-Formula 1 driver Mika Salo for Ford Performance Racing and IndyCar’s star Graham Rahal joins Kelly Racing.

This was originally published on Richard’s F1…read more here.