2021 Supercars and Supports

[Everso Biggyballies]

Bottom post of the previous page:

Well I stuffed up ..... had to go out and did not have my watch on. Got delayed and then looked at my phone to check the time, realised the race was about to start.... so got home and ended up watching it about half an hour behind live so couldnt log in here. Got caught out by it being still day light when it is getting late.

I thought the arly SC had screwed those who started on the soft when everyone pitted early, especially when others seemed to make them last. So much for the track being a night mare on tyres. It seems the super soft they were using for the first time tonight I think, handle the track better than the ordinary softs. Of course it worked out at the end with the RBs re-using the SS tyres they took off.

Some great dicing at the end for the whole top ten and a bit sorry to see the two Erebus guys fade at the end as the track got more and more wet. It could not have been that far from cars having to stop again for wet rubber.

Have to give it to SVG, a masterclass in the conditions to come back from a double stack delay and not getting the early benefit from the SS, to come through at the end.

I think the 1-2 finish for RBR will have tied up the Team Championship in their favour. I think the drivers title is technically / mathematically not over yet, but in reality it is.

All in all I hate to say it but another dramatic race at Eastern Creek. (SMP if you must)
Who would have thought that.

Tomorrow is the day they were saying was going to be really wet.

Edit: Just looked at the drivers points and a good finish tomorrow will I think tie up the drivers title for SVG. He now leads by 349 with 450 on the table


Results: Race 29, Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight

Pos Num Team/Sponsor Driver Car Diff
1 97 Red Bull Ampol Racing Team Shane van Gisbergen Holden Commodore ZB
2 88 Red Bull Ampol Racing Team Jamie Whincup Holden Commodore ZB +1.110
3 6 Monster Energy Racing Cameron Waters Ford Mustang GT +5.179
4 11 Shell V-Power Racing Team Anton De Pasquale Ford Mustang GT +5.570
5 25 Mobil 1 Appliances Online Chaz Mostert Holden Commodore ZB +6.076
6 20 DEWALT Racing Scott Pye Holden Commodore ZB +6.203
7 9 Erebus Motorsport William Brown Holden Commodore ZB +7.609
8 99 Erebus Boost Mobile Racing Brodie Kostecki Holden Commodore ZB +8.879
9 17 Shell V-Power Racing Team Will Davison Ford Mustang GT +10.961
10 8 R&J Batteries Nick Percat Holden Commodore ZB +13.152
11 5 Truck Assist Racing Jack Le Brocq Ford Mustang GT +15.677
12 18 IRWIN Racing Mark Winterbottom Holden Commodore ZB +18.575
13 3 CoolDrive Racing Tim Slade Ford Mustang GT +21.852
14 14 Dunlop Super Dealer Racing Todd Hazelwood Holden Commodore ZB +25.734
15 7 NED Whisky Racing Andre Heimgartner Ford Mustang GT +26.246
16 4 SCT Logistics Jack Smith Holden Commodore ZB +28.284
17 26 Penrite Racing David Reynolds Ford Mustang GT +30.804
18 34 UNIT Racing Jake Kostecki Holden Commodore ZB +33.065
19 35 Yellow Cover Racing Zane Goddard Holden Commodore ZB +34.744
20 44 Boost Mobile Racing James Courtney Ford Mustang GT +41.536
21 19 Local Legends Fabian Coulthard Holden Commodore ZB +1:12.972
22 22 PremiAir Hire Garry Jacobson Holden Commodore ZB +1:13.521
23 2 Mobil 1 Middy’s Racing Bryce Fullwood Holden Commodore ZB +1:26.135
NC 96 Coca-Cola Racing Macauley Jones Holden Commodore ZB


Drivers’ championship
1&2 seems sorted but 3-6 is all a bit tight.

Pos Driver Pts
1 Shane van Gisbergen 2828
2 Jamie Whincup 2479
3 Will Davison 2233
4 Chaz Mostert 2194
5 Cameron Waters 2093
6 Anton De Pasquale 2075
7 Nick Percat 1804
8 William Brown 1748


Teams’ championship
Again 1&2 sorted but 3&4 plus 5&6 are still tight.

Pos Car(s) Team Pts
1 88 97 Triple Eight Race Engineering 5307
2 11 17 (100) Dick Johnson Racing 4308
3 6 44 Tickford Racing 3548
4 2 25 Walkinshaw Andretti United 3463
5 9 99 Erebus Motorsport 3278
6 8 14 Brad Jones Racing 3137
7 18 20 Team 18 3075
8 7 26 Kelly Grove Racing 2674

[Everso Biggyballies]

It is certainly raining hard at the track this morning!

[Everso Biggyballies]

Well as promised it has been. very wet all day and everything has been affected. We had qualifying earlier and yes there were surprises a plenty and a stranger on ole after the shootout, along with many names missing.

Rather than relate all the stories here are the qualy results.....

Results: Qualifying for Race 30, Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight
(first 10 to the shootout)

Pos Num Team/Sponsor Driver Car Fastest lap Split
1 7 NED Whisky Racing Andre Heimgartner Ford Mustang GT 1:45.0822
2 97 Red Bull Ampol Racing Team Shane van Gisbergen Holden Commodore ZB 1:45.1380 0:00.0558
3 14 Cub Cadet Mowers Todd Hazelwood Holden Commodore ZB 1:45.1554 0:00.0732
4 19 Local Legends Fabian Coulthard Holden Commodore ZB 1:45.3967 0:00.3145
5 8 R&J Batteries Nick Percat Holden Commodore ZB 1:45.4163 0:00.3341
6 3 CoolDrive Racing Tim Slade Ford Mustang GT 1:45.4693 0:00.3871
7 88 Red Bull Ampol Racing Team Jamie Whincup Holden Commodore ZB 1:45.5737 0:00.4915
8 25 Mobil 1 Appliances Online Chaz Mostert Holden Commodore ZB 1:45.5891 0:00.5069
9 6 Monster Energy Racing Cameron Waters Ford Mustang GT 1:45.8592 0:00.7770
10 26 Penrite Racing David Reynolds Ford Mustang GT 1:45.8823 0:00.8001

11 17 Shell V-Power Racing Team Will Davison Ford Mustang GT 1:45.9746 0:00.8924
12 96 Coca-Cola Racing Macauley Jones Holden Commodore ZB 1:46.1121 0:01.0299
13 44 Boost Mobile Racing James Courtney Ford Mustang GT 1:46.1403 0:01.0581
14 5 Truck Assist Racing Jack Le Brocq Ford Mustang GT 1:46.3762 0:01.2940
15 20 DEWALT Racing Scott Pye Holden Commodore ZB 1:46.4434 0:01.3612
16 9 Erebus Motorsport William Brown Holden Commodore ZB 1:46.4612 0:01.3790
17 11 Shell V-Power Racing Team Anton De Pasquale Ford Mustang GT 1:46.5654 0:01.4832
18 18 IRWIN Racing Mark Winterbottom Holden Commodore ZB 1:46.5917 0:01.5095
19 99 Erebus Boost Mobile Racing Brodie Kostecki Holden Commodore ZB 1:46.9238 0:01.8416
20 2 Mobil 1 Middy’s Racing Bryce Fullwood Holden Commodore ZB 1:47.1097 0:02.0275
21 34 UNIT Racing Jake Kostecki Holden Commodore ZB 1:47.4326 0:02.3504
22 35 Yellow Cover Racing Zane Goddard Holden Commodore ZB 1:47.5376 0:02.4554
23 22 Team SYDNEY Garry Jacobson Holden Commodore ZB 1:48.3816 0:03.2994
24 4 SCT Logistics Jack Smith Holden Commodore ZB 1:56.0017 0:10.9195

Some big names missing the shootout, including the SMP qualifying King, ADP. Davo also along with the two Erebus guys. JW had a crash but had already done a time so qualified.

So we had a shootout for the top ten positions.

Nick Percat qualified on pole for Race 30 Championship leader Shane van Gisbergen to join him on the front row.


Results: Top 10 Shootout for Race 30, Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight

Pos Num Team/Sponsor Driver Car Fastest lap Split
1 8 R&J Batteries Nick Percat Holden Commodore ZB 1:43.8601
2 97 Red Bull Ampol Racing Team Shane van Gisbergen Holden Commodore ZB 1:44.2694 0:00.4093
3 26 Penrite Racing David Reynolds Ford Mustang GT 1:44.3977 0:00.5376
4 3 CoolDrive Racing Tim Slade Ford Mustang GT 1:44.5474 0:00.6873
5 14 Cub Cadet Mowers Todd Hazelwood Holden Commodore ZB 1:44.5739 0:00.7138
6 19 Local Legends Fabian Coulthard Holden Commodore ZB 1:44.6272 0:00.7671
7 88 Red Bull Ampol Racing Team Jamie Whincup Holden Commodore ZB 1:44.7127 0:00.8526
8 7 NED Whisky Racing Andre Heimgartner Ford Mustang GT 1:45.4712 0:01.6111
9 6 Monster Energy Racing Cameron Waters Ford Mustang GT 1:45.9376 0:02.0775
10 25 Mobil 1 Appliances Online Chaz Mostert Holden Commodore ZB 1:45.9532 0:02.0931

[Everso Biggyballies]

There may be a bit of a delay in the start of the race..... during the Super 2 race in the lead up a multile car incident resulted in tyre wall damage which needed repairing, but they seem to be complete now and the cars are currently lined up on the grid.

The umbrellas are still out and if anything the rain might be harder now than earlier.

It is scheduled to start in a few moments so the start wont be long. Certainly the grid is starting to clear .

The SC is sitting at the front of the grid so I suspect it will be an SC led start.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Just a summary of SVG 's championship..... We all know he will win, just will it be today or will it go to Bathurst.

He currently I think is 449 points clear so he needs to leave here with a 300 point lead (I50 points for a win this afternoon., so if JW wins today, SVG can be within 49 points of him to take the title today. 150 points today for the win.

Bottom line is a half decent finish will do it for him. If JW has a bad day it is over for him.

Given the conditions anything is possible and even likely.

Just had word the start is delayed, No word of how long for.

[Everso Biggyballies]

OK w are about to get this show on the road..... the man with the green flag at the back is waving it......


And the SC leads them away.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Great start from the SC and he leads into T1 ..... he is pulling a gap on the field already.....
Lap 2 and the gap grows.

Plenty of weaving going on behind, im sure the Stewards will be keeping an eye on it.

Not sure of what his strategy he is on out front but we believe he will be first to pull into pitlane.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Into lap 4 and the field is still drawn out.... it did look like Percat was going to try the outside line to pass SC into T1 but having drawn almost alongside decided it wasnt on and pulled back into the slipstream

[Everso Biggyballies]

10% race distance done and the whole field is peeling into pitlane. Must be time for their first stops. Unusual to see everyone on the same strategy, pitting together.

Maybe the SC needed fuel!

Yes it has been red flagged with 59 to go. Race suspended.

Too much standing water. Cars are all lined up in the fast lane and drivers getting out.

Watch this space.

[Vassago]

Race called off. Fitting way for SVG to win the title with no racing at all.

[Everso Biggyballies]

About to post that the rain was getting harder and then the announcement came across that the race has been abandoned and wont be restarted.

So with that news SVG wins the 2021 Supercars Championship
It was never really in doubt, with the only consistent challenge coming from JW. Deserved though.... he was the class of the field most weekends.

It seems so long ago that SVG went from almost being a DNS at Sandown to race winner that day, with three broken ribs and a broken collarbone. A mighty performance. Back in March that was.

As I mentioned RBR tied up the Team award yesterday.

[Everso Biggyballies]

So, just Bathurst to go now. The Bathurst festival now just over a week from getting underway.

Discussion and race thread for that can be found here: viewtopic.php?f=93&t=17312

plenty of info already there.....

[Everso Biggyballies]

Percat was a bit peeved they called it off....

I think he has a point tbh.... the fact the drivers did not seem to be consulted over the conditions, not to mention that for once they got a decent turn up for the event today, and they got to see zero of the Supercars and suffered a pretty miserable day for no return.. Plus with all the work from Government level down to the teams that went into actually putting the meeting{s} together.

Anyway this is what he had to say.

Race 30 pole-sitter Nick Percat has voiced his frustration at the final leg of the Sydney Motorsport Park quadruple-header being abandoned due to wet conditions.

For the second time in 11 races across four successive Sydney events, red flags were deployed due to excessive rain – only this time, not a single racing lap was completed.

Percat did have the most to lose, given his stunning pole position now counts for very little, and he made no secret of his feelings towards the decision to call off the Sunday afternoon action.

“The track condition was not much different to what we drove in the shootout, to be honest,” the Brad Jones Racing star said

“I think Supercars need to have a rethink on how they judge the track conditions because that’s now two races in a row where it’s wet and they’ve declared it when I don’t think it needed to be declared.

“Like, we didn’t even need to have the wipers going full bore, I had mine on intermediate – there wasn’t enough rain around and it just kind of was drizzle all day, so it’s pretty frustrating.”

Percat added it was a major shame for the fans who had braved the conditions awaiting a 64-lap spectacle.

“This weekend we actually had a really good crowd there at Sydney Motorsport Park, which is hard enough as it is, and then to do that to them after they have sat out there in the rain all day is not ideal,” he said.

“Supercars and NSW Government and everyone behind the scenes worked so hard to get us to be able to race these four rounds… maybe we need to put as much effort into making sure we actually complete the races.

“I think they might have got spooked watching Super2 and that crash, but honestly it’s a bunch of kids who are fresh out of go-karts, so it’s not a fair comparison.

“Not once did I get asked by anyone of any sort of officialdom how the track was.”

There were some positives to take away from the day though, having blitzed the field in the Top 10 Shootout to be more than four tenths clear of nearest rival Shane van Gisbergen, who clinched the drivers’ championship.

“Any time you get pole in a Supercar, it’s been a good day,” said Percat.

“I guess the frustrating part is the margin we had in the wet conditions was quite good, it’s not like we just snuck in pole by a hundredth.

“But awesome to get a pole position, and like I’ve said the whole time, wanting to end my time with BJR on a high so I feel like we are kind of doing that.

[theracer120]

I'm surprised they didn't at least attempt to get it going, it can't have been much worse then a couple weeks ago when they got past 50% and I think it's been at least a decade since they cancelled a race due to weather without doing any green flag running. At least they aren't awarding points

[Everso Biggyballies]

Max sends SVG a congrats message.

Max Verstappen has congratulated Red Bull stablemate Shane van Gisbergen on clinching the 2021 Repco Supercars Championship title. Max and SVG became mates at the 2017 AGP, when Max showed interest in the V8's (pic below)
He also made mention of the pedal layout on the V8, asking SVG if the braking was all left foot (as it is in F1) SVG responded with a "No mate I heel and toe". I remember Max had a dumb look on his face and responded with a WTF is heel and toe?
SVG then had to explain and demonstrate what 'heel and toe' was to a bemused Max. Max made reference to it in his congrats message

For those that dont know what it is, a quick video lesson of what it is and why do it....

“Hi mate, I just wanted to of course congratulate you on your championship,” said tMax.
“I mean, you’ve absolutely been dominating this year, and it’s been great to see you doing so well, and you’re a great guy, you’re quick – in real life and on the simulator – you save fuel like no one else, so, your lovely right-foot braking…

“But, anyway mate, you really dominated it and I’m really happy for you and I hope you really enjoy it.

“Well done.”

[Everso Biggyballies]

Jones confirmed for 2022 Supercars seat at BJR

With this confirmation today that Macca Jones is continuing with BJR leaves just one seat left to be confirmed now..... that of the #7 Heimgartner vacated seat at what will be Grove Racing for next year with the total Grove takeover of what was/is Kelly Grove Racing. That seat is pencilled in to be for Kiwi hotshot Matthew Payne but is subject to him being given a Supercars Super licence dispensation, which seems likely to happen (my opinion). Yes he made a mess of the red flagged final race in the washed out result, but he was one of many caught out by the conditions after the final restart. It was his first time ever in the car, let alone being in the car in the soaking wet. His performances up to then were quite impressive other than messing up his first ever Super 2 start. To start your first race in a category on the front row as an 18 year old, having already only hours before set the fastest time in the Bathurst 2nd driver practice when he filled in for Luke Youlden in the #26 Penrite Mustang. The guy has a future. As long as he does not make a mess of his Super 2 appearance at Bathurst I see no issues.

Getting back to Jones, there was no real danger that the seat was going to go elsewhere short of someone turning up with a big budget, but to be fair he has showed a decent improvement this year, particularly in qualifying, with a number of top half qualy results. He just needs to carry that over to race performances. A sad statistic but the only time he has finished higher than he qualified this year is when he has started lower than 24th on the grid!

So yeah, a busy silly season is now all but done.