LIVE DIARY: PERTH

Sunday 8th May

Shane van Gisbergen – Car #97 Qualifying Race 2 – Sixth (Fastest Lap: 0:55.1925) Race 2 – Fourth Championship –  Fifth (803 points) Jamie Whincup – Car #88 Qualifying Race 2 – Eighth (Fastest Lap: 0:55.2558) Race 2 – 11th Championship – Second (852 points)

Shane van Gisbergen – Car #97 “I had a great start and a good first lap after qualifying sixth. The first part of the race was ok, we ran longer than some and shorter than others, I just raced those around me. Looking at the graph board, people were doing lots of different things, it looked like a crazy race to keep track of. I enjoyed having a variety of strategies, I had a great car across both races, you have got to be happy to walk away with a third and a fourth. The last few years for me at the Barbagallo track hadn’t been great, it’s not me here, it has been the car, so now I have a good car I can fight it out. I am looking forward to Winton, it’s a new challenge and a new surface. We have had one of the fastest cars at every race we have been to, so combined with the new track there, I think we are on to a winner.” Jamie Whincup – Car #88 “Obviously, it is really disappointing. We just didn’t have any pace whatsoever. We got a good start, which gave us the best opportunity for a good run, but when you have got no pace there is nothing you can do about it. The strategy was to pit early, just so we didn’t stack, but that didn’t kill us, we just should have performed much better. We are a little confused at the moment as to what’s going on, but that’s what next week is for. I felt that I pushed as hard as I could, I battled as hard as I could, but not qualifying well did make it hard from the get go.”

11:57am – Wishing everyone around the globe who’s taking part in the Wings For Life World Run tonight the best of luck. Tune in to the live stream right here from 9:00pm AEST.

11:10am – Well, that’s qualy done. We’re just impressed we stayed dry! Jamie will start this afternoon’s race from P8 with Shane straight in front in P6.

9:35am – Great time out on the grid for the True Colour Track Walk. Thanks to those who came, it was great to see you all.

8:15am – Happy Mothers Day to all the mums out there! You guys are pretty spectacular, you even let us share in your special day and let us race on it!

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Saturday 7th May

RACE WRAP –

Shane van Gisbergen – Car #97 Practice 3 – EIGHTH (Fastest Lap: 1:04.0101) Qualifying Race 1 – FOURTH (Fastest Lap: 1:00.0021) Race 1 – SECONDJamie Whincup – Car #88 Practice 3 – 14th (Fastest Lap: 1:04.4424) Qualifying Race 1 – SIXTH (Fastest Lap: 1:00.3752) Race 1 – THIRD

Shane van Gisbergen – Car #97 “The race was good at the start in the wet, we had really good speed and got to the front quickly. I pitted, then I’m not sure what ended up happening, everyone was in a line and the first one to pit was Craig. No one else followed and we decided to go to the end, it might have just been a bit too long in the end. But, we are stoked, a one-two-three for the team is just excellent, we split the strategies and it couldn’t have worked better. Hopefully, tomorrow’s weather won’t be as mixed.”Jamie Whincup – Car #88 “The weather has been crazy all weekend and this race was no different. Obviously a massive win for the team, one- two-three, you never take that for granted. It is very special and a huge congratulations to everyone. My day was good, my car wasn’t particularly fast, but it hung onto its tyres well and I was there at the end. I couldn’t believe it when I saw car #888 coming through the pack with 10 laps to go. But, it is always a gamble, if it had rained again it just wouldn’t have worked well, but, if it stayed dry like it did, that was the best strategy. We were playing the long game and were certainly in full force today.”

1:20pm  – SPOTTED – JDub looking like a hood and touching the goods.

12:10pm – Qualy was another washout, but we still managed to make top 10. SVG P4, JW P6.

10:59am – Practice session down. Visibility was poor and getting grip was key, SVG took P8 with JW in P14.

9:14am – Don’t be fooled by the photo below. Perth has taken Melbourne’s title of the city with “four seasons in one day”. It’s going to be an interesting one for weather today.

8:41am – SPOTTED – Dutto on the roof of the transporter. Why? We don’t know.

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Friday 6th May

RACE WRAP –

Shane van Gisbergen – Car #97 Practice 1 – Seventh (Fastest Lap: 0:56.8085) Practice 2 – 17th (Fastest Lap: 0:57.0166)Jamie Whincup – Car #88 Practice 1 – Eighth (Fastest Lap: 0:56.8728) Practice 2 – 22nd (Fastest Lap: 0:57.1605)

Shane van Gisbergen – Car #97 “It was a pretty average day, I didn’t really get a good run in at all. It feels ok on old tyres, but we really don’t have much idea of where we are after today’s practice. The weather obviously played a massive part, it ruined our last run. We didn’t go early enough in the session to get a feel. The car is running well, but we will just have to wait and see what happens tomorrow.”Jamie Whincup – Car #88 “I don’t think anyone has a clear picture as to where they are at. The tyres drop off so fast, you only get a couple of runs and you make little changes on the car. The tyres are changing so much you don’t know if it’s the tyres or the car, everything just keeps changing. We had a small electrical issue which interrupted the last part of our practice session, which made us late for our good tyre run, then it rained. It was unavoidable, it was just the electrical issue that put us behind. A positive is that we got a few corners in to feel the balance of the car ahead of tomorrow.”

3:40pm – Done and dusted for practice today. SVG P17, JW P22. It was a wet one!

2:00pm – Practice one saw SVG in P7 and JW P8. SVG made a dive into the sandpit early on, with 97 getting down and dirty, but it didn’t stop him from climbing into the top 10.

9:23am – RBRA OVERHEARD – JDub on a wet track – “It’s pretty rough as it is, but when you add water it’s going to be extra slippery. Hopefully none of us end up in the sand.”

8:43am – A drizzly start to the morning in Perth, not exactly what we were expecting. We are on track today at 12pm WST for a 60 min practice session.

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Thursday 5th May

3:25pm – JDub and SVG chat to our friends at O’Brien head of the weekend. Check it out below.

 

12:59pm – Forrest Place, you’ve been great for the annual autograph session. What a turn out! But it’s off to the track we go now.

11:00am – The results are in and Triple Eight teammate Lowndesy is the king of the RC track… kind of! If we’re going by default and counting laps that only covered one quarter of the circuit then he definitely won. JDub and SVG are claiming sabotage though after this happened…

Find out exactly how the race rolled out right here.

9:30am – Off to the picturesque Elizabeth Quay we go for the biggest race of the drivers’ lives. Stay tuned…

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Wednesday 4th May

3:34pm – SVG gives us the low down on the Barbagallo track.

12:11pm – What’s the most challenging part of Barbagallo race way Jamie? “The turn six bowl.  You enter the corner in fifth gear, brake hard and back third.  The car really loads up at the mid corner and give you a great feeling when you get it right.”

10.23am – FUN FACT – No team has more Barbagallo poles than Triple Eight – 12 in total.

8:58am – The first of the crew have left the building, bound for Perth. The Triple Eight Team move nearly 40 people each and every race round. That’s a whole heap of flights and accommodation!

Tuesday 3rd May

2:47pm – SPOTTED – RD on a boat. He is competing in the Top of the Gulf Regatta in Pattaya. RD and crew have claimed three of the four race wins so far, with two events still to come!

12:04pm – Don’t miss out on seeing your favourite drivers (hint: it’s JDub and SVG!)

10:30am – RBRA OVERHEARD – JW on Barbagallo – Since the facility upgrades, the Barbagallo event is one of the most enjoyable on the calendar. While Tassie has its hairpin, Barbagallo has its bowl, which is equally as critical to go fast and just as challenging to get right.

9:18am – The cars may be Perth bound, but there is still plenty to do in the workshop. All hands are on deck to build our new ride car to make sure it’s ready for hot laps!

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Monday 2nd May

9:54am – We’ve just checked in with Wazza and he is well over the half way mark, ready for Wednesdays arrival time.

8:14am – So with a public holiday in QLD today we are just itching to head over to Perth. At least we will be well rested heading into the race weekend.

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Sunday 1st May

4:00pm: RBRA OVERHEARD – JDub on Perth’s attractions – “If you have a spare few hours, a drive down to the wine country in Margaret River is fantastic, if not a run around the city lake then lunch at one of the great cafes at Subiaco.”

11:02am – Pinch and a punch for the first day of a month! Is it just us or has this year gone CRAZY fast? #itwillbebathurstsoon

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Perth SuperSprint – Barbagallo Raceway

Circuit length: 2.42km

Circuit direction: Clockwise

Average speed: 157km/h

Maximum speed: 252km/h

 

2015

	JW	SVG
Qualifying 1	21st	5th
Qualifying 2	2nd	18th
Qualifying 3	4th	9th
Race 1	15th	4th
Race 2	2nd	24th
Race 3	19th	14th

 

CURRENT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS  –

 

1^st –  Jamie Whincup, 651 points

2^nd – Scott McLaughlin, 636 points

3^rd – Mark Winterbottom, 627 points

4^th – Craig Lowndes, 615 points

5^th – Will Davison, 558 points

6th – Shane van Gisbergen, 545

 

1^st – RBRA, 1196 points

2^nd –HRT, 1003 points

3^rd – PRA, 994 points

4^th –  GRM,  990 points

5th – Nismo, 865 points