Australia Grand Prix Fast Facts
- There have been 18 drivers in total who’ve won V8 Supercar races at Albert Park over the years. Can you name two of them? We can! Craig and Jamie have each won two apiece in 2009 and 2011 respectively.
- They just love changing things up for this event. This year sees the AGP debut of double-file rolling race starts and restarts, plus double points for the last race. The first three races are worth 75 points each for the win, while 150 points go to the winner of the fourth and final.
- We’ll be getting out the cake, candles and party poppers for Craig this weekend as race one will be his 50th start at the Victorian circuit.
- The drivers are certainly earning their keep this weekend as not only are they fulfilling their usual duties of being plain awesome, they’re also taking part in the Ultimate Speed Comparison alongside Mick Doohan and David Coulthard. Oh, and we’re roping Richo in for it as well when he’s not whizzing about in a Porsche.
- Little bit of trivia for you – just one driver has won the AGP event and the V8 Supercars championship in the same season. It happened in 2011 and his name is Jamie Whincup.
Red Bull Racing Australia at the AGP
| CRAIG | JAMIE | |
| Qualifying | 4th | 5th |
| Race 1 | 4th | 5th |
| Race 2 | 3rd | 25th |
| Race 3 | EXC* | EXC* |
| Race 4 | 2nd | 6th |
| Overall | 6th | 12th |
*Eight cars were excluded from race three last year for breaching ignition timing regulations – not that the difference gave any enhanced performance in the slightest.
What the drivers have to say
Lowndesy: “It’s always great to race alongside Formula 1 and I’m really looking forward to seeing how Daniel Ricciardo goes this weekend in the Red Bull car.
“As for us, we obviously had a really positive weekend at Clipsal and we’re feeling really good coming into the Grand Prix. We all really enjoy Albert Park as a circuit, but the atmosphere is always awesome too – we’re lucky to get to be a part of it.
“This year I’m also the V8 ambassador for the event too, which has been great – it’s an honour to be representing V8 Supercars on the world stage.”
J-Dub: “Melbourne always has an awesome atmosphere around Grand Prix time. Albert Park is a great track to race on and we’ll definitely be fighting back after a difficult start to the season in Adelaide.
“Restarts are a big topic of conversation at the moment so all eyes will be on the double-file rolling starts this weekend. Saying that though, everyone predicted carnage before every rolling restart last year and most of the time it was fine. Like always it will pay to start up the front. I am not sure why the point system reflects that the last race is twice as important than any other with double points up for grabs but I suppose it means you need your best performance on the final day to go well.
“If the F1 boys have a spare five minutes to have a chat I will certainly take it but the last thing I want to do is get in the way of their preparation for the season opener. The best thing they can do in Melbourne is to push hard on track and do us supporters proud!”
Tweet tweet!
Join us on Twitter as Lowndesy takes over the keyboard this Wednesday, from 12.30pm to 1.00pm AEDT. Got a burning question to ask the five-time Bathurst 1000 champ? Join the conversation by tweeting @redbullracingau using #redbullracingau and #V8SC.
