LIVE DIARY: PHILLIP ISLAND

Sunday 17th April

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

 

RACE WRAP –

Jamie Whincup – Car #88 Qualifying 2 – SECOND (Fastest Lap: 1:30.7741) Race 2 –  FOURTHShane van Gisbergen – Car #97 Qualifying 2 – SIXTH (Fastest Lap: 1:30.9374) Race 2 –  10th

Jamie Whincup – Car #88 “I was racing for the win. I didn’t want to run second, I knew we had to do something out of the usual to get the win. I had a go around the outside at turn one, it wasn’t as gentlemanly as I would have thought, I didn’t break any rules, but it was certainly a bit harder than I expected. The safety car was a massive opportunity, I was just pushing very hard getting on the straight, then I got a big understeer and it sent me off the track and we lost two spots. At the end of the day, it’s disappointing to not get on the podium, but we can hold our heads high. We were going for the win, we weren’t circulating for second place, no one is here to see that.” Shane van Gisbergen – Car #97 “It was interesting, we pitted to drop ourselves back and make it up in the last pit stop. I was trucking along alright but I was getting held up. Then I copped a hit from the inside and whacked the right rear. I was pretty bent and wounded, but we struggled along. During the safety car we pitted just because otherwise we would have been a sitting duck and it was quite exciting fighting through there at the end on the good tyres. We had good speed as always, just bad luck getting that hit.” 1:20pm – J-Dub getting his hands dirty giving car #88 a spruce up before this afternoon’s 200km race. There’s no “i” in team here at RBRA.

12:20pm – JW will start at the front of the grid ahead of race two in P2. SVG in P6. The bulls are ready to charge!

10:55am – FUN FACT – Triple Eight Race Engineering will be celebrating their 400th V8SC race today. Time to put the Red Bulls on ice and get ready to par-tay!

10:40am – The question of the weekend: how many people can touch type? This is the kind of conversational gold that goes on during the drivers’ blackout periods before on-track sessions between shouts of pain on the physio table.

9:02am – Sun is shining today at the track (must be Phillip Island making up for yesterday’s weather).

8:42am – Don’t forget to head on down to the True Colour Track Walk this morning to meet the drivers and see the bulls.

7:48am – Nothing like a good session of pit stop practice to wake you up on a cold Sunday morning. Right, when’s breakfast?

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Saturday 16th April

Race Wrap –

Jamie Whincup – Car #88 Practice 3 – THIRD (Fastest Lap: 1:31.6902) Qualifying 1 – FOURTH (Fastest Lap: 1:30.6668) Race 1 –  SECONDShane van Gisbergen – Car #97 Practice 3 – SECOND (Fastest Lap: 1:31.5457) Qualifying 1 – FIFTH (Fastest Lap: 1:30.6936) Race 1 –  FOURTH

Jamie Whincup – Car #88 “Always happy when we make the podium. I would have liked to have had a bit more pace and challenge car #33 for the win, but they were superior today and they have been quick down here for the last few years. They were really on the pace today and they deserve the win. We will take second place and we will go back and tune the car up. The car wasn’t as good as last time we were here in November 2015, so that’s disappointing as we always like to move forward. But we will tune up tonight and see how we go. The track was great and the remote controlled geese kept coming out at turn four. It was a good race and we’re happy the weather held off.” Shane van Gisbergen – Car #97 “It wasn’t as good as we thought we would be after qualifying. The car was really good on the old tyres, we didn’t quite maximise the potential of the new tyres. Fifth wasn’t too bad to sit, but one came through from the back and one fell off, then we ended up where we started again. The car is pretty good, but the front runners are very quick. We will work on our high speed stuff overnight, it’s hard to keep the car on the track, it is really fast but that also makes it hard to drive. If we can make it easier to control it will be easier on tyres ahead of tomorrow’s race.” 3.41pm – Watching some great racing on track by the DVS drivers!

2:09pm – On the scene like a mean machine. With still over 2 hours until we hit the track we can’t help but take some time to admire our bulls!

1:50pm – JW starts P4 on the grid with teammate SVG behind him in P5. Race 1 kicks off at 4.30pm and is sure to be a cracker!

11:47am – Final practice session of the weekend is done with SVG sitting P2 and JW P3. Showers are happening on and off as we wait for qualy at 1:30pm.

10:47am – SVG was all smiles at today’s V8SC Autograph signing session. After two strong practice sessions yesterday and one more practice session to go today, SVG and car #97 are truely a dynamic duo.

8:03am – RBRA OVERHEARD – “Most of us love MotoGP, so when you race on a track that you have watched them race at, makes it a bit special. I also love that we can’t start the race engines until 9am so we don’t wake the penguins.”

7:00am – Ominous looking clouds in the sky above the Island today. With a day packed full of racing, we aren’t interested in the weather playing toying our emotions. A good Phillip Island is a dry Phillip Island, we still haven’t fully recovered from Clipsal Sunday. #stillhavingnightmares

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Friday 15th April

Race Wrap –

Shane van Gisbergen – Car #97 Practice 1 – SIXTH (Fastest Lap: 1:32.4855) Practice 2 – THIRD (Fastest Lap: 1:31.0564)Jamie Whincup – Car #88 Practice 1 – THIRD (Fastest Lap: 1:32.2778) Practice 2 – 19th (Fastest Lap: 1:31.7610)

Shane van Gisbergen – Car #97 “It was a good day. The first set of tyres were quite good, for an old set, we were pretty competitive. The second set of tyres gave us a bum steer, so we went back to the first set. It felt really good and I felt great in the car, it’s so sensitive around here for the aero and chassis, I think we are going well. There’s a big gap to the first place time, but the weekend is just beginning.”  Jamie Whincup – Car #88 “It was a tough day, we didn’t know what tyres everyone had and we didn’t use new tyres. I ran wide on my quick lap at the end there just to show what pace we had, but we will work through our programme, we have a bit of work to do overnight. The car feels good on the track, just some room for improvement. We are better than the performance we gave today, there is still plenty to work towards.”

3:23pm – Tyre talk with Haddo – Getting the track off the tyres in order to measure depth…..Wow…we thought you were just sitting there with a hair dryer! Makes sense…

3:00pm – Practice one results – JW in 3rd, SVG 6th.

2:00pm – Practice session one is underway. 60 miuntes of going around…and around…and around… #dizzy

11:20am – SPOTTED – SVG’s new helmet. Sleek!

9:52am – RBRA OVERHEARD – SVG on the most challenging part of the track – “Would have to be turn one for sure. We approach it at around 290k and it’s a fast slightly cambered right hander. So you hook in and hold your breath basically. It can also be very challenging when it’s windy. So that’s most days!! ”

7:11am – Erm….We are pretty sure the Phlllip Island track is in there…somewhere….

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Thursday 14th April

2:00pm – We just hit the track and are ready for set up. A little different getting to track on a Thursday afternoon!

10:32am – HOT TIP – Don’t forget there is free entry to the track tomorrow! GA entery tickets are on V8 Supercars, awesome!

8:11am – RBRA ASKED – Dutto, we’ve had a good run at Phillip Island in the past, what do you think contributes to our success?

Dutto – “Our drivers have always been a fan of the circuit, smooth, flowing, fast. These characteristics make Phillip Island very different to the circuits we have leading up to it. The teams ability to be able to confidently change the car, sometimes dramatically to what is needed without getting lost has been a real strength.”

Wednesday 13th April

3:55pm – Don’t miss catching up with J-Dub and SVG this weekend – plenty of opportunities!

12:01pm – It’s only just occurred to us that Mario isn’t here to feed us as he’s already Phillip Island-bound….Lucky we’ve got plenty of beef jerky from our mates at Local Legends!

10:11am – RBRA OVERHEARD – SVG on visiting the penguins – “Unfortunately I’ve never seen them at Phillip Island. It’s only ever really hotel -> track -> hotel on race weekends so not much chance for the touristy stuff. #notsohappyfeet

8:11am – BEHIND THE SCENES – 2015 BTS snaps from Phillip Island.

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Tuesday 12th April

5:11pm – RRBR OVERHEARD – SVG on Fox Sports chatting team mate competition – “Jamie has been pretty fast. He has out qualified me as much as I have out qualifyied him. The challenge has been good and we have been working well together. There’s alot of teams that are fast, if we can make our team better, we can fight it out together later.” #teamwork

4:45pm – If you haven’t already checked it out, the T8M8 Home Team Memberships are now available. Check it out HERE.

2:30pm – HEADS UP – Want to meet SVG and J-Dub? Check out the driver appearance times ahead of Phillip Island below.  Note: *All autograph sessions at the RBRA merchandise shop require a signing card, which can be picked up from the on-track store on the day of the session for a gold coin donation. All proceeds go to the Wings for Life Foundation.  

 

Date: Thursday 14^th April

Time: 5.00 – 6.00pm

Location: Autobarn, Cnr Narre Warren & Lauderdale Roads, Narra Warren

 

Date: Friday 15^th April

Time: 9.50 – 10.10am

Location: RBRA merchandise shop, on track

Note: Signing card required*

 

Date: Saturday 16^th April

Time: 10.00 – 10.30am

Location: Back of RBRA garage

 

Date: Saturday 16^th April

Time: 2.35-2.55pm

Location: RBRA merchandise shop, on track

Note: Signing card required*

 

Date: Sunday 17^th April

Time: 9.25 – 10.25am

Location: True Colour Track Walk, pit straight

 

12:00mid – The boys are tweeting! Head over our Twitter to get involved.

9:43am – RBRA OVERHEARD – Dutto on Phillip Island – “The track itself is one of the best in the country when you consider the smoothness and quality of the surface, it has to be to host MotoGP. Combine this with the truly spectacular setting of the track and the Bass Strait in the background, it is world class.”

8:12am – Catch Cauchi and Shippy on Twitter at 12pm today for 30 minutes as they answer all your questions (yes, ALL). Make sure to @redbullracingau #redbullracingau to join the conversation.

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Monday 11th April

5:27pm – The final cans of Red Bull are being packed into the truck ready for departure. We’ve counted how many are in there Wazzie! #handsoff #okwe’llshare

3:52pm – THROWBACK – When Lowndesy celebrated, hard, after last year’s Phillip Island.

2:13pm – RBRA OVERHEARD – J-Dub ahead of Phillip Island – “I am confident going into Phillip Island. We’ve got some pace which is great and the Phillip Island track has always been a favourite of mine. Let’s see how we go.”

1:30pm – Final touches on #97 happening. Just waiting for some fresh stickers.

8:10am  – FUN FACT – It’s J-Dub’s 11th season with Triple Eight, his 13th full-time in V8SC.

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PHILLIP ISLAND SUPER SPRINT– Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit

Circuit length: 4.45km
Circuit direction: Anti-Clockwise
Average speed: 175km/h
Maximum speed: 286km/h

2015

	JW	SVG
Qualifying 1	1st	6th
Qualifying 2	2nd	11th
Qualifying 3	3rd	9th
Race 1	2nd	4th
Race 2	1st	9th
Race 3	3rd	7th

 

Championship standings

1^st –  Will Davison, 417 points

2^nd – Craig Lowndes, 402 points

3^rd – Jamie Whincup, 393 points

4^th – Mark Winterbottom, 378 points

5^th – Garth Tander, 361 points

7th – Shane van Gisbergen, 347

 

1^st – RBRA, 740 points

2^nd –HRT, 724 points

3^rd – PRA, 658 points

4^th – Nismo, 589 points

5^th – GRM,  567 points