Jamie Whincup – Car #88
Qualifying Race 2 – 12th (Fastest Time: 01:19.8657)
Top 10 Shootout – N/A
Race 2 – Seventh (Fastest Time: 1:40:18.0104)
Championship – Third (234 points)
“It was a tough weekend overall. We made up some spots today after a poor qualifying run and are happy about that but we should have been a lot better. The car wasn’t quick enough, and we made a bit of an error in the pits, which affected the results and probably could have placed us at least a couple of spots higher salvage fifth from 12th. Once again, a bit sweet and sour.”
Shane van Gisbergen – Car #97
Qualifying Race 2 – 10th (Fastest Time: 01:19:82421)
Top 10 Shootout – Second (Fastest Time: 1:19:9263)
Race 2 – Third (Fastest Time: 1:39:55.5304)
Championship – Second (258 points)
“We made some big gains with the car, we found a little something for the shootout which really helped and then for the race the car was much better than yesterday. I knew if we were going to contend for the win, we had to get through the first two laps in the front which we didn’t manage to do but it was an awesome little tussle, however we just didn’t have the pace today. The race itself there was a lot going on but Shippy kept me up to date and kept me focused on what I needed to do but at the end I just didn’t get close enough to pass him.”
1750: Nail bitter right down to the final seconds!
What a battle! Shane brings home P3 and Jamie P7. Well done, team, we survived the heat but it’s a long year ahead! #RedBullHolden #VASC
— Red Bull Holden (@redbullholden) March 3, 2019
1700: 20 laps to go, eyes stay forward!
1630: What a mess outside the garage! Thank goodness the pit crew didn’t get caught up in the mayhem.
Did you guys blink? We didn’t! Epic racing to kick this off. #RedBullHolden #VASC https://t.co/N2Bvark25S
— Red Bull Holden (@redbullholden) March 3, 2019
1520: Race start delayed – drivers are keen to keep it cool.
1315: What an effort by SVG and the crew – long shot from P10 through to front row start for Race 2!
We’re at the halfway mark and Shane is still sitting in P1. There’s tough competition to come! #RedBullHolden #VASC pic.twitter.com/MZM9vtJlpq
— Red Bull Holden (@redbullholden) March 3, 2019
1255: SVG sets a time of 1:19.9263
1245: First up on the track for shootout – SVG.
1110: Anyone else want to be a fly on the wall in debrief?
J-DUB — P12 – 01:19.8657
SVG — P10 – 01:19.8242
It seems the third sector is not a happy hunting ground for our guys today. Both Shane and Jamie made mistakes on their first fliers of the last run which leaves SVG in P10, scraping into the shootout, and JW just missing out in P12. #RedBullHolden #VASC
— Red Bull Holden (@redbullholden) March 3, 2019
1030: Qualifying 2 starts right now.
0700: Another day, another race – let the bulls run and have some fun!
Sunday 3 March
Jamie Whincup – Car #88
Practice 4 – 13th (Fastest Time: 1:21:3310)
Top 10 Shootout – Second (Fastest Time: 1:20:2179)
Race 1 – Second
“We are rapt to be on the podium. With any podium position we will take it and run but we did get a little bit dusted at the same time by Car #17 so it’s sweet and sour. We have some work to do for tomorrow and moving forward for the following race meetings. I think with the change in the rules with the springs and our first attempt at it we did a really good job. I am looking forward to evolving now and making the cars faster for the following rounds.”
Shane van Gisbergen – Car #97
Practice 4 – Second (Fastest Time: 1:20:3178)
Top 10 Shootout – Fifth (Fastest Time: 1:20:3178)
Race 1 – Third
“It was freaking hot and we weren’t exactly quick enough as we would have liked. It did feel quite good in the car. The team worked hard on cooling in the car and it was a lot better than I thought it would be. My foot was hot and at one point it left like my right boot was coming undone but we decided not to change shoes during the pit stop. I was using my left foot to accelerate down the straights so I could give my right foot a break. We still need to do a little tuning for tomorrow with the car.”
1900: All in a day’s work – triumph over the heat and high fives all around!
J-DUB – Race 1 — Second
SVG – Race 1 — Third
1800:
🎙Cauchi to JW: “Are you all good in there, mate?”
JW to Cauchi: “Yeah… are you all good?” #gotyourbackbro#RedBullHolden #VASC
— Red Bull Holden (@redbullholden) March 2, 2019
1750: 40 laps into the race and we have found another driver – Air Con Man is keen as mad!
1730: Up… down and out we go!
Stop 1 of the season ✔ #RedBullHolden #VASC pic.twitter.com/klnOC6OcDZ
— Red Bull Holden (@redbullholden) March 2, 2019
1650: Bulls are off for Race 1 of 2019!
1620: 30 minutes before Race 1
1440: Down to the wire between the final three drivers of the shootout.
J-DUB — P2 – 1:20.2179
SVG — P5 – 01:20.3178
But unexpected visitors in the garage were way more exciting!
These blokes got a different kind of pole position for the shootout 😎
Thanks for dropping by @DHughesy and @StevePriceMedia #RedBullHolden #VASC pic.twitter.com/0bJrMYdMGs
— Red Bull Holden (@redbullholden) March 2, 2019
1315: Time to chill out and keep cool – less than an hour to go before Top 10 shoot out.
11:20: What a final practice – SVG set the pace early!
J-DUB — P13 – 01:21.3310
SVG — P2 – 01:20.3178
That session finishes on a red flag. What a massive crash for car 21, we’re glad McCauley is out of the car. SVG finishes in P2 and Jamie, who didn’t run any green tyres, in P13. #RedBullHolden #VASC pic.twitter.com/wz8fIwWbD4
— Red Bull Holden (@redbullholden) March 2, 2019
1030: Bulls in preparation for practice 4 – let’s see what they’ve got!
0700: Action packed day ahead – full speed ahead!
Saturday 2 March, 2019
Jamie Whincup – Car #88
Practice 2 – Second (Fastest Time: 1:20:5415)
Practice 3 – Third (Fastest Time: 1:20:1923)
Qualifying Race 1 – Second (Fastest Time: 1:19.6483)
“I’m happy with the result. Coming in from the test day and yesterday, I didn’t think it was possible, but the engineers did a great job. They’ve kept tuning the car and moving forward all day, just making it better and better which definitely made us competitive. We pushed hard in the qualifying session, we are up the front and starting second last for the shootout. I’m very happy but tomorrow is pay day and we need to focus on that.”
Shane van Gisbergen – Car #97
Practice 2 – Third (Fastest Time: 1:20:5454)
Practice 3 – 12th (Fastest Time: 1:20:9535)
Qualifying Race 1 – Seventh (Fastest Time: 1:19.8946)
“It’s freaking hot and just tough. The car is getting a little better and we are in the shootout so it’s an opportunity for us to have another practice to work it out but it’s just hot. We will go through the data tonight and try to work out what we are lacking as we still have a couple of things lacking and a few things to find. The best preparation for tomorrow will be getting in the ice bath just before the race!”
1825: Right, time for business! Let’s see what these bulls can do in qualifying for race 1.
1530: Practice 3 complete.
JDUB — P3 – 01:20.1923
SVG — P12 – 01:20.9535
All done for practice 3 – JW takes P3 and SVG sits P12 after some experiementing. There are still gains to found and we’ve got some time before qualy to find them 👊🏼 #RedBullHolden #VASC
— Red Bull Holden (@redbullholden) March 1, 2019
1450: Buckle up for the final practice before Qualifying.
1210: Better run around the paddock for the bulls this practice.
J-DUB — P2 – 01:20.5415
SVG — P3 – 01:20.5454
1150: Seems like the red flags have vanished from yesterday.
1140: P2 is under way.
1005: Almost like kindergarten trying to get a quick snap of the Class of 2019 in this heat – Say Cheese!
0940: Secret squirrel busy happening with the team plotting a plan of attack for Day 2.
0700: Ain’t nothing going to break our stride. Another morning of preparations before the drivers head out for Practice 2 at 1140.
Friday 01 March, 2019
2015: We finally had a chance to chat to the guys to see how their days went, here’s what they said:
Shane van Gisbergen – Car #97
Practice 1: P7- 1:21.5180
“It’s really hot out there. It’s torture so we did short runs today which was good. Our cars however are not so good. We have a lot of work to do. I think there is potential and we are closer than we were at Phillip Island as we have learnt a lot from the test. We need to focus tonight to try and put something together for the two practices tomorrow and come up with a good plan for both cars. We’re not quite there yet.”
Jamie Whincup – Car #88
Practice 1: P13 – 01:21.8903
“It was a really poor day for us. We needed to maximise all practice sessions after a poor test day in Phillip Island but unfortunately we just couldn’t get simple things right; the car couldn’t change gears and the roll bars were all over the place as well. Unfortunately we are at a round where we really need to maximise as much information as we can. We lost 30 mins in the first practice session without gaining any momentum. It’s very disappointing but the only thing we can do now is regroup, hit the reset button and try to make sure tomorrow and Saturday are better days.”
Practice ✅
SVG – 1.21.5180
JDUB – 1.21.8903#redbullholden #VASC— Red Bull Holden (@redbullholden) February 28, 2019
1730: Bulls hit the track running for Practice 1.
1425: Team getting their briefing.
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10:45: Shout out to all our T8M8s who came out to meet the drivers!
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09:15: Sounds of cars around the track anticipation is building!
0800: Morning exercise with pit crew anyone?
0700: Ready or not for 2019 – Start your engines!
