Castrol EDGE Australia eNewsletter - Vol 3, Issue 15

VOLUME 3 - ISSUE 15

it’s our best oil yet... www.castroledge.com.au

8th AUGUST 2013

TEAM EDGE RACE REVIEW: V8 Supercars – Ipswich 360 Castrol-backed teams have completed a mixed weekend at Queensland Raceway with Pepsi Max Crew FPR drivers Will Davison and Mark Winterbottom maintaining their solid championship positions. Davison and Winterbottom finished second and third in the final race of the weekend behind FPR young gun Chaz Mostert who claimed his first V8 Supercars race win with FPR customer outfit Dick Johnson Racing.

“I’ve got mixed emotions. Obviously pole was great and the last race was a massive improvement but I am a little surprised by the lack of speed in the first half of the race,” said Davison. “That

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aside, it was a big improvement over the earlier race and we got a good result so it was a solid if not unspectacular race for me. Obviously all the crew are really happy and it is great that we’ve had all four of our cars up front across the weekend.”

Winterbottom also put in a fighting drive to claim a podium finish after a turn one incident almost ruined his day in the 60/60 Super Sprint race on Saturday.

Castrol-backed Nissan Motorsport drivers Rick and Todd Kelly claimed ninth and 10th place in a solid comeback drive during the final race of the Coates Hire Ipswich 360. Nissan teammate

James Moffat took another top-10 result for Nissan Motorsport at Queensland Raceway on Saturday, storming through to finish 10th in the opening V8 Supercars race at the Ipswich circuit.

Castrol-backed Supercheap Auto Racing’s Russell Ingall suffered some bad luck in Races 23 and 24 of the V8 Supercars Championship at the Coates Hire Ipswich 360. After finishing 26th in Race 23 Ingall’s campaign took a severe turn for the worse in the first corner when he tangled with another competitor; the contact caused steering damage to the SCAR Commodore and forced Ingall into an early retirement.

2013 V8 Supercar Standings

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Pos

Driver

Points

1

Jamie Whincup

1803

2

Craig Lowndes

1674

3

Will Davison

1592

4

Mark Winterbottom

1561

5

Fabian Coulthard

1493

6

Jason Bright

1471

7

Shane Van Gisbergen

1440

8

Garth Tander

1438

9

James Courtney

1427

10

Jonathon Webb

1204

11

Scott McLaughlin

1188

12

David Reynolds

1038

13

Rick Kelly

1033

14

Alex Davison

960

15

James Moffat

947

16

Tony D’Alberto

859

17

Alexandre Premat

815

18

Russell Ingall

783

19

Chaz Mostert

724

20

Dean Fiore

724

21

Tim Slade

723

22

Michael Caruso

717

23

David Wall

675

24

Todd Kelly

650

25

Tim Blanchard

603

26

Scott Pye

588

V8 PREDICTOR: Frosty marches to win There were two additional winners from the Coates Hire Ipswich 360 with Mark Winterbottom collecting more points for the weekend than any V8 Supercar driver and ‘djr4ever’ with the most points in the Castrol EDGE V8 Predictor.

Winterbottom’s weekend win is his second consecutive as the Pepsi Max Crew FPR Falcon looks to fight its way back into championship contention.

After four consecutive weeks on top of the Castrol EDGE V8 Predictor

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standings, a rusty round for Dark Knight Racing has seen them slip back to sixth with DaveTE50 taking over as current points leader. Round 8 of the V8 Supercars Championship in Ipswich saw djr4ever amass 64 points with a prediction accuracy of 56%. For that djr4ever wins an awesome merchandise pack including Castrol Racing and Speedcafe t-shirts, hoodies, retro caps, bar runners and plenty more goodies.

Its never too late to sign-up for the V8 Predictor with great round-by-round

prizes on offer as well as the major prize.

Castrol EDGE’s four experts for the inaugural Castrol EDGE V8 Predictor – Russell Ingall (V8 Supercars champion), Oliver Gavin (2012 American Le Mans Series GT Champion), James O’Connor (Wallabies rugby superstar) and the Speedcafe.com team remained the same in their expert league. However a round winning 40 points from the Speedcafe.com Team slipped back has

Pole, Lap and Race Winners

Weekend points

Weekend Result

Driver

POLE POSITION

DAVISON, Will andWHINCUP, Jamie

FASTEST LAP

WINTERBOTTOM, Mark and MCLAUGHLIN, Scott

RACE WINNER

MCLAUGHLIN, Scott andWHINCUP, Jamie andMOSTERT, Chaz

Global leaderboard

Weekend Result

Driver

Points

Rank

Team Name

Points

1

WINTERBOTTOM, Mark

224

1

DaveTE50

308

2

MCLAUGHLIN, Scott

222

2

paradice

301

3

DAVISON, Will

216

3

Tafs’R’Us

300

4

WHINCUP, Jamie

212

4

TyTek Race Engineering

299

5

COULTHARD, Fabian

202

5

Kiwichik racing

298

5

BRIGHT, Jason

202

6

Dark Knight Racing

295

6

LOWNDES, Craig

194

7

nickellen.24

293

7

MOSTERT, Chaz

192

8

TurboR1

292

8

COURTNEY, James

184

9

BlueOvalRulz

288

9

DAVISON, Alex

146

10

Hispania Racing Team

287

seen us fight right back into content for the coveted Expert crown. Oliver Gavin maintains his lead in the Expert field over rugby star James O’Connor while Russell Ingall gained some ground as he sits in fourth.

10

REYNOLDS, David

140

11

RHFF46

287

11

TANDER, Garth

136

12

WFD Motorsport

285

12

VAN GISBERGEN, Shane

130

13

Squigz

281

13

KELLY, Rick

128

14

xr5

280

14

SLADE, Tim

126

15

Fire and Ice

280

15

MOFFAT, James

122

16

Raid Photography

280

Using the same software as the popular ‘Grand Prix Predictor’ that international website Autosport.com uses for its Formula 1 tipping competition, V8 Supercars can now put their knowledge to the test with the Castrol EDGE V8 Predictor in 2013. The major prize for the ultimate winner is a trip for two to the 2014 Clipsal 500 – including a hot lap of the track.

16

D’ALBERTO, Tony

106

17

Foxmotorsport

279

17

WEBB, Jonathon

100

18

Brauny

279

18

WALL, David

94

19

FIORE, Dean

94

hammer head eagle eye thrust

278

18 19

KELLY, Todd

93

20

Ford 4eva

278

20

PREMAT, Alexandre

90

21

ENGEL, Maro

84

Expert Leaderboard

22

CARUSO, Michael

80

Rank

Team Name

Points

23

INGALL, Russell

72

1

Oliver Gavin

254

24

BLANCHARD, Tim

70

2

James O’Connor

237

25

PYE, Scott

53

3

Speedcafe.com Team

232

26

HOLDSWORTH, Lee

34

4

Russell Ingall

130

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Seb Ogier masters Finnish forests Castrol-backed Volkswagen Motorsport driver Sebastien Ogier is well on target to winning this year’s World Rally Championship with a controlled victory at the Neste Oil Rally Finland. It’s the Volkswagen driver’s fifth win of the season and 12th of his career victory and he is now 90 clear in the title fight.

The Frenchman finish 36.6sec ahead of Thierry Neuville with the fellow Castrolbacked Qatar Ford Fiesta RS of Norway’s Mads Ostberg another 21 secs back, after an enthralling duel which was only decided when Ostberg went off the road in the penultimate stage.

“I had a dream about winning here,” said Ogier, who is just the fifth non-Nordic driver to win this classic event. “A lot of points for the championship and victory in Finland make it a perfect weekend. We pushed when we had to and backed off when necessary to save the tyres and the car,” said an emotional Ogier, who

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ensured that for the third consecutive year the rally was won by a non-Finn after 53 wins for the host country in the previous 60 editions.

Neuville and Ostberg were locked together all day. The advantage swung to and fro and they started the second pass through the awesome Ouninpohja stage split by one-tenth of a second. But when Ostberg went off the road avoiding a huge rock, the battle was decided.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” said Neuville. “We did a great job. Yesterday we lost time with a puncture but otherwise it was a smooth, clean run.

Before the rally I couldn’t have imagined this result was possible.”

Mikko Hirvonen came into the event with high expectations and a fourth place finish would be seen as a disappointment to him and the fanatical Finnish fans. Kris

Meeke was on course for fifth in another DS3 after a fine debut in the car, but the Briton rolled out in the penultimate test.

There was also late disappointment for Jarkko Nikara, who retired his Mini John Cooper Works from sixth with a broken front right shock absorber.

In WRC2 Jari Ketomaa took the win and also finished seventh outright after a successful debut for the new Fiesta R5. Former F1 pilot Robert Kubica was second with Kiwi Hayden Paddon rounding out the podium.

“We wanted to try and match out times against Esapekka Lappi and I think we’ve done ourselves justice on his home turf,” he said. We’re not back at 100 per cent yet, that’ll take more time because I’ve been away for a long time, but at long last we have a result on the board. Hopefully this is the start of more to come.”

2013 WRC Standings

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Pos

Driver

Points

1

Sebastien Ogier

181

2=

Jari-Matti Latvala

91

2=

Thierry Neuville

91

4

Mikko Hirvonen

73

5

Dani Sordo

69

6

Sebastien Loeb

68

7

Mads Ostberg

65

8

Evgeny Novikov

39

9

Martin Prokop

37

10

Nasser Al-Attiyah

30

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Castrol-backed Rea wins at Silverstone Northern Irishman Jonathan Rea held his nerve in damp conditions to record his first victory of the World Superbike Championship season at Silverstone.

The Castrol-backed Pata Honda man made the most of a strong start from the front row and while his rivals faltered as rain fell on the Northamptonshire circuit, he kept his cool to claim a comfortable win.

Poleman Eugene Laverty endured a topsy turvy ride but he managed to come home in second despite dropping to eighth during the race. Fixi Suzuki’s Leon Camier produced his best performance of the season to secure third. Championship leader Sylvain Guintoli salvaged fourth which extended his advantage over Tom Sykes who could only finish in a lowly 11th spot.

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Laverty and Rea blasted of the line with the Aprilia leading into the first complex.

Loris Baz followed while Camier dropped to 10th from seventh on the grid. The Kawasaki’s were strong from the off and Sykes moved past team mate Baz and then Rea before grabbing the lead on lap four. But the race order was to be turned upside down as more rain fell on the circuit. Sykes began to slide down the order with his bike struggling for grip.This gave Rea the lead from The rain may have affected the majority of the field but it didn’t disrupt Rea as he took the win. Baz faded in the latter stages and it seemed Camier would come home in second but for a last

gasp effort from Laverty. The polesitter, who had dropped to eighth, fought back in the dying laps to pass Camier on the final lap for second spot. Guintoli also passed Baz to finish fourth ahead of Cluzel, Haslam, Ayrton Badovini, Marco Melandri and Chaz Davies. Frenchman Loris Baz picked up his second career World Superbike Championship victory as heavy rain brought a premature end to race two at Silverstone

2013 WSBK Standings Pos

Rider

Points

1

Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia)

262

2

Tom Sykes (Kawasaki)

249

3

Eugene Laverty (Aprilia)

226

4

Marco Melandri (BMW)

221

5

Chaz Davies (BMW)

180

6

Loris Baz (Kawasaki)

180

7

Jonathan Rea (Honda)

176

8

Michel Fabrizio (Aprilia)

138

9

Leon Camier (Suzuki)

114

10

Jules Cluzel (Suzuki)

113

Castrol EDGE BMW claims podium finish in Moscow Castrol EDGE BMW Team RBM’s Augusto Farfus finished third as the DTM made its debut at the “Moscow Raceway” to claim BMW Motorsport’s first podium finish since the race in Spielberg. Farfus started from third in the Castrol EDGE BMW M3 DTM and successfully defended this position over the final few laps, fending off the attention of Adrien Tambay (Audi), who was on far fresher tyres. The podium was the fifth of Farfus’ DTM career and marked the seventh time a BMW driver had been on the podium in the 2013 season. Victory went to Audi driver Mike Rockenfeller.

Joey Hand also put on an impressive display in his BMW M3 DTM, fighting back from 15th on the grid to come home

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seventh. Therefore, both BMW Team RBM drivers finished in the points. Eighth went to Dirk Werner in the SAMSUNG BMW M3 DTM. The sixth race of the season was less successful for Bruno Spengler, Werner’s team-mate at BMW Team Schnitzer. Starting from fourth, the defending champion’s BMW Bank M3 DTM was hit in the rear by Miguel Molina (Audi) at the start of the third lap. The resulting spin saw Spengler drop to the back of the field. He was able to complete the race, but could do no better than 19th and leaves a DTM weekend emptyhanded for the first time since the fourth race of the 2012 season in Spielberg.

It was also a disappointing afternoon for Marco Wittmann (Ice-Watch BMW M3 DTM) in 15th, Timo Glock (DEUTSCHE POST BMW M3 DTM) in 16th, Martin Tomczyk (BMW M Performance Parts M3 DTM) in 17th and Andy Priaulx (Crowne Plaza Hotels BMW M3 DTM) in 20th. Rockenfeller continues to lead the Drivers’ Championship after his victory in Moscow. He now has 94 points to his

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name, 27 more than Spengler. Farfus moved into fifth on 48 points. In the Manufacturers’ Championship, BMW was able to defend its lead and now has 217 points.

2013 DTM Standings Pos

Driver

Points

1

Mike Rockenfeller

94

2

Bruno Spengler

67

3

Gary Paffett

57

4

Christian Vietoris

56

5

Augusto Farfus Jr.

48

6

Robert Wickens

45

7

Mattias Ekström

38

8

Marco Wittmann

33

9

Dirk Werner

26

10

Joey Hand

26

11

Daniel Juncadella

20

12

Jamie Green

18

13

Timo Glock

15

Castrol-backed ŠKODA’s Jan Kopecký takes fourth ERC win of the season Jan Kopecký and Pavel Dresler put in a superb performance to take their fourth victory of the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) season at the Sibiu Rally in Romania. This latest success has extended the Castrol-backed ŠKODA pairing’s lead at the top of the overall standings and gives them an excellent opportunity to win the Championship.

“That was a really tough race – the course is demanding and the temperatures are high. With lots of loose stones around, there is a high risk of puncture. Yet we were able to overcome all that and secure another ERC victory for ŠKODA this year.

It’s fantastic,” said Kopecký. “I would also like to thank my co-driver Pavel and the entire team, because in these conditions

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everyone has to give 100 per cent.”

In the first outing in Romania, the team once again produced a convincing display in the ŠKODA Fabia S 2000.

After a careful start spent establishing a 15.4-second gap between them and Frenchman Francois Delecour over the first day, Kopecký and Dresler continued to extend their lead in the second half of the rally. The Czech team avoided making any mistakes on the extremely difficult gravel dirt roads, which are also littered with large rocks. Cheered on by thousands of fans engrossed in the action, they were able to win ten of the thirteen stages. One stage was cancelled due to safety concerns.

The triumph in Romania was the ŠKODA duo’s fourth in the ERC this season, after victories in Austria, the Canary Islands and the Azores; the Czech team also had a second place finish on Corsica. This represents a perfect start to the second half of the season for Kopecký, who has now extended his lead at the top of the

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Driver’s Championship. The Sibiu Rally was the first of six ERC events taking place in the second half of the season; the best four results will go towards the final standings.

The ERC’s next stop is in the Czech Republic for the Barum Rally, which will be taking place from the 30 August to 1 September. ŠKODA’s Kopecký and Dresler will have home advantage in what will be the stand out race of their season. Kopecký commented: “Although the pressure on us will be incredibly high, we’re looking forward to our home rally.”

Molly Taylor remains on track to become the first European Ladies Champion after gathering maximum points in Sibiu Rally Romania. The Sydneysider had a challenging weekend in the event which is well known as a car breaker. Based around Sibiu, 215km north-west of the Romanian capital of Bucharest, the rough and dusty roads and high temperatures made the weekend very tough out on the forest stages.

2013 ERC Standings Pos

Driver

Points

1

Jan KOPECKY (CZE)

185

2

Craig BREEN (IRL)

114

3

Bryan BOUFFIER (FRA)

99

4

Francois DELECOUR (FRA)

75

5

Jari KETOMAA (FIN)

39

ARU CEO Bill Pulver takes a ride in a V8 Supercar at Sydney Motorsport Park Entering the third season of their Performance Partnership with Australian Rugby Union, Castrol Australia today confirmed it’s excitement and commitment as naming rights partners of the prestigious Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship for the 2013 season. Now in its second year The Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship is tipped to be the most exciting yet.

Castrol Marketing Director Diana Hall said: “We believe The Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship is the best of the best – we have the top three teams in the world plus the emerging force that is Argentina. Castrol EDGE is our flagship brand, engineered to deliver strength under pressure and what better

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analogy could you get than through one of Australia’s premier sporting codes – Rugby. Castrol EDGE is built so strong that it is able to withstand the most extreme impact and pressure an engine goes through – pretty much like what the Rugby players go through in every game.”

To demonstrate the company’s passion and excitement around the sponsorship, Castrol created a unique event in Sydney today, inviting ARU CEO Bill Pulver for a hot lap with a Castrol-backed V8 Supercar team and their star driver Will Davison. Speaking after his hot lap in the Castrol-backed V8 Supercar, ARU CEO Bill Pulver said both the hot lap and Castrol’s support of the Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship was fantastic.

“I want to thank Castrol EDGE because I have just fulfilled a childhood dream having done a hot lap with Will Davison

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in a V8 Supercar today,” Mr Pulver said. “It was an incredibly enjoyable but intense experience and was absolutely fantastic. To watch an elite athlete like Will Davison and how he drives that car around - I’m sitting in the passenger seat terrified and holding on for my dear life and he is in complete control with perfect balance - they are very special athletes.

We are most grateful for the wonderful partnership with Castrol EDGE. Sponsors are a very important part of Australian Rugby and Castrol has been a terrific partner over the years and I really hope the relationship continues for a long time.”

As well as being the naming rights partner of The Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship, Castrol will feature prominently on ground and ball signage and will be working closely with the Qantas Wallabies on some exciting new activations and performance projects.

The much anticipated 2013 Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship kicks off on Saturday 17 August at ANZ Stadium in Sydney when the Qantas Wallabies face up against arch rivals the All Blacks.

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