It wasn’t supposed to be a competition… But what did you expect to happen?!
When we put the three Triple Eight drivers together with some of Townsville’s keenest runners for the final training session ahead of the Townsville 400, Jamie Whincup naturally saw it as a chance to cross the finish line first at the top of Castle Hill. Not that there was even a finish line in sight!
Shane van Gisbergen, having landed back in Brisbane from the US where he was racing at Watkins Glen, just yesterday, and TeamVortex’s Craig Lowndes decided to keep the intensity at a slightly more sensible level. Conserving energy for the weekend’s two 200km races seems like a much better plan anyway.
Now feeling fit and ready to hit the ground running (just kidding, we won’t do that to you again, boys), the drivers will kick off one of the best weekends in motorsport tomorrow with two practice sessions. Don’t forget that the event is live across both FOX SPORTS and Ten this weekend, so tune in and catch the action.
Jamie Whincup
“It was great to jog up to the top of Castle Hill this morning and get the blood pumping ahead of the weekend. Townsville is basically another home event for us which we like to make sure we represent well for. Townsville is one of the only tracks we go to that’s a hybrid circuit, so it’s a street circuit but it’s got some really cool racing corners because they started with a clean sheet of paper through the parkland, so it’s a place we enjoy.”
Shane van Gisbergen
“The 360 degree view of Townsville from the top of Castle Hill made the run this morning well worth it. My race win at Townsville 400 last year doesn’t come into play this weekend but it’s good to know we can get the job done here. I always love street circuits and the big kerbs which means every lap tests the limit of the car. It’s an awesome event, a great track, I’m looking forward to it!”
Craig Lowndes
“I paced myself on the run this morning to take in the incredible views from Castle Hill and have a chat to a few of the local runners. There’s no doubt that Townsville is one of the toughest tracks mentally, physically and mechanically on the car. It’s one of two tracks that I haven’t had a win at which we’d really love to rectify that this year. We’re equal sixth in the championship at the moment so our aim is to try to get back into the top five.”
