Last weekend, the V8 Supercar circus descended on the sun kissed city of Townsville, considered by many as the unofficial capital of North Queensland. The destination was Reid Park, a couple of kilometres south of the Townsville CBD. Primarily consisting of public roads, the 2.86 kilometre circuit has become a favourite for fans and drivers alike since its inception in 2009.
The V8 Supercars hit the track for the first time at 10.30am on Friday morning; however it wasn’t the usual suspects behind the wheel. Ahead of the upcoming endurance races, “Practise 0” was a chance for the co-drivers to come to grips with the new “Car of the Future” chassis. Veteran V8 Supercar pilot and current Carrera Cup competitor, Steven Richards, topped the time sheets for Ford Performance Racing. Practise 1 prompted most of the regular drivers to climb back into their respective machines for another 30 minute assault on the Reid Park circuit, which saw a shaken up field headed by Alex Davison’s Jeld-Wen-backed Falcon. The newly dubbed “Norton Hornets” led the way in practise two, while David Reynolds returned FPR to the top of the time-sheets in practise three with the fastest time of the day on the baked Townsville asphalt.
As the sun rose over Castle Hill on Saturday morning, crowds flocked to the spectacular Reid Park circuit to watch their hero’s do battle in the opening 200 kilometre leg of the event. Shane van Gisbergen blitzed the field in the first qualifying session for Tekno Autosport, while championship leader Jamie Whincup was in unfamiliar territory, failing to reserve a place in the top-10 shootout. Ford’s Will Davison held provisional pole for a significant portion of the shootout, before van Gisbergen wrung the neck of his VIP Petfoods backed VF Commodore and set a blistering 1.12.51, two tenths clear of his closest rival. The young Kiwi would lead the field away ahead of Will Davison and Lockwood Racing’s Fabian Coulthard.
As the green lights unleashed 28 angry V8 Supercars, the scorching Queensland sun tortured the drivers with cabins temperatures pushing 50 degrees. Will Davison led the field into turn 1; however he was promptly reeled in by van Gisbergen, who had his Tekno Autosport Commodore harmoniously interacting with the streets of Reid Park. Craig Lowndes quickly emerged as a contender for the win, as the veteran picked his way through the field in the only car to start the race on the significantly faster soft compound tyre. By lap 9, Lowndes had taken the lead having started back in 11th position, and it appeared that Red Bull Racing Australia’s gamble would pay dividends. With van Gisbergen penalised for a pit-lane infringement by his Tekno Autosport crew, a grandstand finish was on the cards with the FPR duo of Will Davison and Mark Winterbottom ferociously hunting down Lowndes throughout the final 38 laps. An 18 second gap was vaporised in a matter of moments, and the FPR pilots steered their Falcons to an almighty one-two finish. The only sour note in a spectacular victory was damage to Davison’s race winning entry after the 32 year-old thumped the concrete wall while performing a celebratory burnout in front of his adoring Ford fans.
As the burning sun once again rose over Cleveland Bay on Sunday, another spectacular day of racing awaited for the tens of thousands of race fans who once again marched to the Reid Park circuit. Mark Winterbottom put his FPR Falcon on pole position after a red flag interrupted session saw a mad scramble for track position in the dying moments. It was an ominous sign for the rest of the field given the team’s dominant display throughout the previous afternoon. Winterbottom jumped GRM rookie Scott McLaughlin off the line, and set about constructing another victory for the factory-backed Ford team. However, an early safety car saw the race take a completely different complexion as compared to the previous day. Holden Racing Team brought the Commodores of Garth Tander and James Courtney into the pits for a switch to the softer compound rubber, which would sacrifice track position for greater speed throughout the rest of the race. Consequently, the HRT duo picked their way through the field and assumed the lead from Winterbottom, who was stuck on the slower rubber having not pitted during the safety car intervention. The pair delighted the thousands of Holden fans who had suffered through the previous day, with Tander leading Courtney across the line in a one-two finish and the team’s first victory since the 2011 Bathurst 1000.
The slightly overshadowed performances of Shane van Gisbergen and Russell Ingall during Sunday’s race cannot be underestimated. Van Gisbergen started the race from 21st on the grid, and was spun at the first corner on the opening lap. Not to be deterred, the Kiwi stormed through the field and nabbed the final podium position for his Tekno Autosport team. Similarly, Russell Ingall put on a vintage display, with “The Enforcer” improving 21 positions throughout second and final 200 kilometre leg to seize a top 5 finish for Walkinshaw Racing. In contrast, it was a difficult weekend for championship leader Jamie Whincup, who had his ascendancy in the standings cut to just 111 points after struggling with the balance of his #1 Red Bull Racing Australia Commodore throughout the weekend.
As the sun set on another flawless day in North Queensland, 147,000 fans witnessed another spectacular edition of the Sucrogen Townsville 400, and they can only hope that V8 Supercar management will extend the life of an event which brings so much to their economy and satisfies the region’s burning appetite for racing. The V8 Supercar circus will now travel a couple of hundred kilometres south for the Coates Hire Ipswich 360, which commences on the 26th of July.
Images: Zimbio, Speedcafe, Holden Racing Teamhttp://instagram.com/v8supercars#
