The Virgin Australia Supercars Championship returns to Hidden Valley for the second week in a row, following Jamie Whincup’s Darwin Triple Crown victory just days ago.
Ahead of this weekend’s CoreStaff Darwin Supersprint, motorsport.org.au looks at some of the key Supercars news between rounds.
Early bird gets the worm
With the Northern Territory state election and Saturday night’s AFL match taking place in Darwin on Saturday, there has been a change to the regular Supercars schedule.
It will be an early start for crews on Saturday morning with the first practice session running from 8:20am ACST, before qualifying gets underway at 11.30am. Just over three hours later, all track action will be wrapped up, with teams to begin preparing for Sunday.
Another difference between this weekend’s round and the BetEasy Darwin Triple Crown will be the addition of a special support category made up of local competitors, with the category to have a race on both days, as well as a practice and qualifying session on Saturday morning.
Whincup targeting another record
Before Supercars ran the first of two rounds in Darwin last weekend, Jamie Whincup had his eyes set on another record to add to his already impressive list of achievements – the most race wins at Hidden Valley Raceway.
Having entered the Triple Crown on six wins already, Whincup was just two behind the current holder in Mark Skaife, who enjoyed an incredible career of his own.
After winning the final race of the BetEasy Darwin Triple Crown, the 2017 Supercars Champion moved into second place alongside his endurance co-driver Craig Lowndes on seven each, but he still has the opportunity to surpass Skaife this weekend.
Needing just one win to equal the record, Whincup will have three opportunities to achieve the feat during the round, and in a season where a variety of drivers have been winning races, anything is possible.
BetEasy Darwin Triple Crown Results
Race 13
Pole: Scott McLaughlin
Winner: Anton De Pasquale
Runner-Up: James Courtney
Third: Scott Pye
Race 14
Pole: Scott McLaughlin
Winner: Scott McLaughlin
Runner-Up: Jamie Whincup
Third: Fabian Coulthard
Race 15
Pole: Scott McLaughlin
Winner: Jamie Whincup
Runner-Up: Scott McLaughlin
Third: Shane van Gisbergen
Championship Top 10
Scott McLaughlin – 1024 points
Jamie Whincup – 923
Chaz Mostert – 814
Shane van Gisbergen – 753
David Reynolds – 736
Cameron Waters – 733
Mark Winterbottom – 706
Nick Percat – 705
Fabian Coulthard – 682
Lee Holdsworth – 675
The Grid
#2 Holden Commodore ZB – Bryce Fullwood
#3 Holden Commodore ZB – Macauley Jones
#4 Holden Commodore ZB – Jack Smith
#5 Ford Mustang – Lee Holdsworth
#6 Ford Mustang – Cameron Waters
#7 Ford Mustang – Andre Heimgartner
#8 Holden Commodore ZB – Nick Percat
#9 Holden Commodore ZB – David Reynolds
#12 Ford Mustang – Fabian Coulthard
#14 Holden Commodore ZB – Todd Hazelwood
#15 Ford Mustang – Rick Kelly
#17 Ford Mustang – Scott McLaughlin
#18 Holden Commodore ZB – Mark Winterbottom
#19 Holden Commodore ZB – Alex Davison
#20 Holden Commodore ZB – Scott Pye
#22 Holden Commodore ZB – Chris Pither
#25 Holden Commodore ZB – Chaz Mostert
#34 Holden Commodore ZB – Zane Goddard
#35 Holden Commodore ZB – Garry Jacobson
#44 Ford Mustang – James Courtney
#55 Ford Mustang – Jack Le Brocq
#88 Holden Commodore ZB – Jamie Whincup
#97 Holden Commodore ZB – Shane van Gisbergen
#99 Holden Commodore ZB – Anton De Pasquale
Supercars Schedule
Saturday 22 August
8:20-8:40am – Rookie-only practice
8:55-9:25am – Practice 1
10:05-10:35am – Practice 2
11:25-11:35am– Qualifying Part 1 Race 16
11:45-11:50am – Qualifying Part 2 Race 16
12:00-12:30pm – Top 15 Shootout Race 16
1:50-2:48pm – Race 16
Sunday 23 August
10:20-10:30am – Qualifying Race 17
10:35-10:45am – Qualifying Race 18
12:00-12:58pm – Race 17
2:25-3:23pm – Race 18
(All times are marked as local Australian Central Standard Time)
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