1800 We caught up with the drivers post-race to see how they thought they went:
Jamie Whincup – Car #1
Practice 3 – Second (Fastest Time: 1:06.3157)
Qualifying – Sixth (Fastest Time: 1:06.0561)
Race 1 – Eighth
“We had good car pace today, it was just strategy that got us. Today the strategy was to stop early, but it wasn’t the right one. I did my best to get past Rick (Kelly), but he blocked well and we almost crashed at turn five. We were lucky to come away unscathed. We need to improve the car balance to do better in qualifying tomorrow. We’ve changed the car quite a bit from the last three rounds and just trying to nail that balance for qualifying is difficult. We didn’t quite get it right today, but we’ll use today’s info to get it right tomorrow.”
Shane van Gisbergen – Car #97
Practice 3 – Seventh (Fastest Time: 1:06.5420)
Qualifying – Fifth (Fastest Time: 1:06.1263)
Race 1 – Second
“Qualifying today was a one-lap shootout, the track was really good at the start of the session and everyone did their fastest lap on the first lap. We didn’t quite maximise it or get it right, so we ended up fifth. In the race, there was a bit of a gap to the leaders at the start and then we settled into the rhythm which was really good. It took a while for the car to come on and then it was really nice and we kept charging. We pitted about halfway and undercut (David) Reynolds which was awesome and then had some fun coming though the middle of the field. We couldn’t quite get Scotty (McLaughlin), everything just got hot and he was driving well, placing the car nicely but as soon as we caught up, the heat here just causes the tyres to overheat and everything got hot and I lost grip. We tried to have a tyre differential so we could have enough grip to pass him but it wasn’t to be.”
1740 Today’s race was heated! J-Dub’s strategy saw him pit early while SVG stuck it out longer. There was an intense battle through the field and SVG came out in front of J-Dub to chase down Scotty for P1. Unfortunately the track became too hot and he just couldn’t make it past.
1615 When the crew make a huddle, you know it’s go time. Let’s do this!
Crew huddle and we’re ready to race 🤙 #vasc #redbullholden pic.twitter.com/v1sNnChkZU
— Red Bull Holden (@redbullholden) June 16, 2018
1350 Qualifying has now wrapped up. The Porsche series were on track just before qualifying which meant the track was super HOT – more than normal which, isn’t exactly ideal. As a result, all of the fastest times were recorded early on and we didn’t get a fast lap in until late in the session. SVG came through with P5 and J-Dub in P6.
1250 But first… A drivers parade!
Cruising around the track in these beauties for our Darwin Driver Parade 😎 #vasc #redbullholden pic.twitter.com/Okf4ngibhL
— Red Bull Holden (@redbullholden) June 16, 2018
1145 Our final practice run of the weekend is complete. We had a lot of setup changes and hoping to bring out the best in qualifying today…
0940 Fresh from a super track walk on the main straight…
0900 Fantastic way to start the day with an autograph session in merchandise alley
Starting the day with an autograph session 🤙 #vasc #redbullholden pic.twitter.com/YmXeUQhEg1
— Red Bull Holden (@redbullholden) June 15, 2018
