Speedcafe.com Race Guide - Phillip Island 300

Phillip Island 300, May 18-20, 2012

Down, not out Lowndes looks to bounce back from WA drama

Tech Preview Bagman, stats

and more!

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Races 10/11 - Philip Island I Introduction

PHILIP ISLAND EDITOR: Stefan Bartholomaeus DESIGN: Kirstie Fuentes SALES/MARKETING: Leisa Emberson IMAGES: Alexandre Premat Brad Jones Racing Ford Performance Racing Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Motorsport Michael Patrizi Stone Brothers Racing Taz Douglas TeamVodafone Tony D’Alberto Racing VIP Petfoods Racing Wilson Security Racing PARTNERS: Armor All, Bisley Workwear, Castrol EDGE, IRWIN Tools, Lucky 7, Money Choice, Norton by Symantec, Coates Hire, Orrcon Steel, Pirtek, Toshiba, Vodafone

Counting the contenders If the 2012 V8 Supercars Championship is going to be anything more than a three horse race, the challengers are going to have to step up pretty soon.

Jamie Whincup, Will Davison and Mark Winterbottom have dominated the year so far, sharing the nine race victories between them.

Just four events into the season may seem too early to be ruling out the likes of former champions Craig Lowndes and Garth Tander, but the form so far has been ominous at best.

Fourth-placed Craig Lowndes currently sits in excess of a full event’s worth of points behind team-mate Whincup in the standings. Perhaps more pertinently, Lowndes is yet to finish ahead of Whincup in a single race this year.

Like Lowndes, Tander has scored two pole positions, but incidents at Symmons Plains, Hamilton and Barbagallo have taken their toll on his points tally.

History indicates that this weekend could be the one where either Lowndes or Tander break the Whincup-DavisonWinterbottom stranglehold.

The duo have enjoyed their fare share of recent success at Phillip Island, taking two L&H 500 victories each over the last four years.

A bit more of that ‘island magic’ will go a long way towards kick-starting either drivers’ title campaign.

Green means go!

Stefan Bartholomaeus

Journalist, Speedcafe.com Editor, Speedcafe Race Guides

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French V8 Supercars rookie Alexandre Premat met the penguins on Phillip Island recently, paying homage to the official charity of this weekend’s event, the Penguin Foundation.

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Races 10/11 - Philip Island I Cover Story

Down, not o Lowndes looks to bounce back from WA drama Craig Lowndes heads to Phillip Island this weekend on a hat-trick of victories at the Victorian circuit.

The popular veteran will face a different challenge this year however, as the event moves away from the 500km race format

that saw Lowndes take the 2010 and 2011 wins alongside co-driver Mark Skaife.

Having scored just one podium finish so far this season, a victory would provide Lowndes’ 2012 championship assault with a much needed boost.

Although fourth in the championship after nine races, Lowndes is more than a full event’s worth of points adrift of his TeamVodafone team-mate Jamie Whincup.

Lowndes spoke to Speedcafe.com’s Grant Rowley about Phillip Island’s new format,

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out the controversial Safety Car at Barbagallo and the championship equation ahead of this weekend’s event.

for everybody this year. Is it a significantly different mindset that the team takes into the event now that it’s not an enduro?

SPEEDCAFE: Phillip Island has been a happy hunting ground for you over the last couple of years, but it’s a different format

LOWNDES: Yeah, for sure. It’s a different challenge now. I think strategy wise we’ve now got to think about maximising track

position and trying to outsmart everyone else. In some ways that sounds no different to an endurance race, but there have got to be quick, sharp decisions, and the car itself has to be set-up a little differently as well.

Continue on page 9 >>

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Races 10/11 - Philip Island I Cover Story >> Continuation from page 7

They’re shorter stints, so you’re maximising the tyre in a different way. Fuel consumption probably won’t be as big a concern either, so it is a different mindset. I think it’s fantastic that we go there now and race flat out. It’s one of my top two or three favourite circuits to race on - it’s a great place.

SPEEDCAFE: All the drivers seem to rate Phillip Island pretty highly, so not having to share your car with a co-driver (outside of the nominated co-driver practice session on Friday) must be a positive as well!

LOWNDES: Oh for sure. It means you can set the car up to suit exactly what you want to get out of it, where in the past it may have been a bit of a compromise between yourself and your co-driver.

SPEEDCAFE: Weather is always a big factor at Phillip Island, but we haven’t seen a really cold and wet one there for a while...

LOWNDES: A cold and wet weekend is certainly not that pleasant down at Phillip Island. The wind coming off back straight can certainly get pretty strong. The wind makes life a lot harder to set the car up, because if it continues to change it means you’re continually chasing the balance. It’s something that does come up every year down there, so we’ll be keeping a close eye on it as always.

SPEEDCAFE: Championship wise things aren’t looking to bad for you in fourth. You were

obviously compromised a bit in the last race at Barbagallo by the Safety Car. Is it still frustrating looking back on that two weeks on?

LOWNDES: I think myself, Stone Brothers and a few others are still a bit disappointed by what happened, and also what went on after it as well. It’s something that I’m sure will come up in the Drivers’ Briefing at Phillip Island because we really don’t want it happening again.

I doubt it’ll change the outcome of the championship, but it did take us out of the race, and we don’t want to have races artificially changed in that way. We set ourselves up fairly well in that race, and were pretty confident that we could have at least had a podium finish.

SPEEDCAFE: What is your mindset regarding the championship at the moment? You’re almost 300 points behind the leader, which is a whole event’s worth of points, but do you still consider yourself to be right in this championship?

LOWNDES: Oh for sure. I think anything is still possible. We still have a lot of races to go before Homebush, but every weekend that goes by it’s obviously getting harder if we’re falling further away. What went on in Western Australia certainly didn’t help that cause, because we’ve got to maximise every opportunity to still stay in that championship hunt.

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Races 10/11 - Philip Island I Circuit Info

Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit Location: Phillip Island, Victoria Length: 4.45 kilometres Direction: Anti-clockwise Average speed: 174km/h Maximum speed: 290km/h Fastest Point: Front Straight Slowest Point: Turn 5

Circuit Description Originally designed in 1956, the Phillip Island circuit was re-born for the 1989 Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

The fast and flowing venue has been basically unchanged and hosts two international motorcycle events (MotoGP and World Superbikes) and a full program of national events each year. The circuit hosted V8 Supercars’ 500km pre-Bathurst endurance race between 2008 and 2011, before moving to a new format this year.

V8 Supercars Qualifying Lap Record: Craig Lowndes, Holden Commodore VT, 1m32.0713s, 2000

V8 Supercars Race Lap Record: Craig Lowndes, Holden Commodore VT, 1m33.4389s, 1999

Event Format:

Friday Practice: 2 x 30 min (lower 50% of the Championship) Practice: 2 x 20 min practice (all drivers) Saturday Practice 1 x 30 min Qualifying: 1 x 20 min Race - 1 x 140km Sunday Practice 1 x 30 min Qualifying: 1 x 20 min Race – 1 x 200km

Tyre Format: Only the hard tyre will be used this weekend due to the sustained high loadings seen at the Phillip Island circuit.

Six new sets of the hard tyres will be allocated per car.

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Races 10/11 - Philip Island I Tech Preview

TECH PREVIEW with

CAMPBELL LITTLE

The biggest factor to look out for every year at Phillip Island is the weather.

Wind and track temperature both change the behaviour of the car significantly. Even last year we saw in the limited time between the two sprint races the temperature dropped 10 degrees or so and your set-up just goes out the window.

Phillip Island is a high degradation circuit tyre wise, but we’re doing shorter stints than we’ve done in the past. We were having to run 34 laps with the 120 litre tank under the 500km format, but with the sprint tank we’re looking at more like 21 laps.

It’s a similar situation if the wind goes from a northwesterly to a south-easterly or something like that. That’s the biggest challenge, dealing with those two factors.

Last year we didn’t see the degradation kicking in until the last seven laps or so of the stints. The track temperature should be a lot cooler this year as well, so even though the circuit is by nature quite hard on tyres, we’re not expecting it to be a major issue.

Rain could also play a part this weekend, but the predictions have improved significantly since last week. Where we are down there the radar isn’t very good, so really you just have to wait for it to come and see what happens.

Strategy The race format still dictates one stop Saturday and two stops Sunday, but they’re quite big fuel windows so it won’t be so much of a fuel race as we’ve seen at several events this year.

Unlike what we’ve been seeing at the mixed tyre events, what you might find is that when people are dicing, the first person in won’t necessarily be the winner. If someone is holding you up and you can stay out and do a lap or two in clean-air then it could pay off for you.

Qualifying Traditionally there’s only a very small window for the

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drivers to get a time down on each set of tyres in qualifying. On the first lap the tyres often aren’t up to temperature, and by the end of the second the rear tyres are past their best. There’s only really time for two runs of two laps, so it is tight for everybody.

Practice With the addition of the Practice 0 session for co-drivers this weekend, there’ll be a total of three sessions run before the top drivers in the championship actually get to turn laps.

The co-driver sessions are really just for those guys to get comfortable in the cars, there’s nothing to be gained there for us in terms of set-up work. The lower 50 percent sessions however can be very helpful. You often see those guys right up there in the next two sessions.

As ever, the quality of your practice running will be determined by tyres. They’ve kindly allowed us to use a

set from our test bank for Practice 0, but giving your codriver a set of green tyres is probably not ideal!

It would have been great to have been able to keep our hard tyres from the Grand Prix, because we had two sets that had done just two laps each, but they were taken by V8 Supercars and destroyed after the event.

The cars that haven’t finished all the races so far this year should be up the front in those early sessions due to having tyres left-over. Most of us will be delving into our tyres from last year, so it’s really just guess work during practice. You can see what your car is going to be like at the end of a stint, but you can’t see what it’s going to be like for qualifying.

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Races 10/11 - Philip Island I Did you know

DID YOU

KNOW

?

F

ord Performance Racing may not lead the V8 Supercars Drivers’ Championship heading into Phillip Island, but they are well on their way to breaking one of their own team records – and it’s only May! With a clean sweep of the three races at the Tradingpost Perth Challenge at Barbagallo, FPR has now won seven of the nine championship races held so far this season.

That is a winning rate of 77% and is just one race win short of equalling FPR’s best season of 2008, when the team took eight race wins for the year.

Will Davison has collected five race wins in 2012, while Mark Winterbottom has taken two.

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f there are any drivers that can be called the ‘form’ men of V8 Supercar racing at Phillip Island, there is no doubt Jamie Whincup and Garth Tander are among them.

With seven race wins between them over the last five years, the duo has achieved remarkably consistent results at the seaside Victorian venue.

From 2007 onwards, Whincup has

The Phillip Island event may no longer feature an endurance race, but it will have an endurance ‘flavour’.

A 30-minute practice session on Friday morning will be limited to additional drivers (i.e. endurance co-drivers), giving them some track time prior to the big Sandown and Bathurst races later in the year.

The date change of Winton from August to November prompted the session to be included at Phillip Island.

finished in the top three in eight of nine races at Phillip Island, only missing out in the 2010 L&H 500 when his car failed while strongly placed.

In that time, Whincup has also never qualified outside the top four – even in the years of the 500-kilometre endurance race where his various codrivers’ results helped dictate his grid position.

Whincup’s Phillip Island qualifying average since 2007 sits at an amazing 2.14. In the case of Tander, the Holden Racing Team pilot’s good record at Phillip Island stretches back even longer than Whincup’s. He has finished in the top four in 14 of the last 16 races from 2003 onwards; with nine of those being top-three race finishes.

Races 10/11 - Philip Island I Did you know

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Alex Prémat (Fujitsu Racing/GRM) is the only driver in the Phillip Island 300 field to have never raced at the circuit, however there’s a range of drivers making their first solo V8 Supercar appearance at the track.

With just one ‘sprint’ event held at Phillip Island since 2007, 2012 is the first ‘solo’ start at Phillip Island for five drivers in the 28-strong field.

Those drivers are: Karl Reindler (Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing), James Moffat (Team Norton DJR), Jonathon Webb (Tekno Autosports), David Wall (Wilson Security Racing) and Taz Douglas (Team iSelect).

Supercheap Auto Racing’s Russell Ingall will line up for his 209th Australian Touring Car Championship/V8 Supercars Championship event start at Phillip Island.

He draws level with former series champion Glenn Seton for fourth on the all-time list of event starts in

ATCC/V8SC history.

Only John Bowe (225), Mark Skaife (220) and Peter Brock (212) have started more events than Ingall.

From the 208 events in which he has competed, Ingall has lined up for an amazing 484 individual races.

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THE BAGMAN’S SAY...

Jamie Whincup heads to Phillip Island as the championship leader, and has a strong record at the Victorian venue, finishing eight of the last nine races here in the top three. Victories have proven hard to come by however, with just two career Phillip Island race wins. The 2012 season so far has been a very similar story, with Whincup finishing eight of the nine races in the top three but winning just twice. Expect him to go head-tohead with FPR once again this weekend.

Team-mate Craig Lowndes has won in both of the last two years at Phillip Island, but may struggle to add to that tally with the move away from the endurance format.

Base: Banyo, Queensland Car: Holden Commodore VEII Chassis: Triple Eight Race Engineering Engines: KRE Team principal: Roland Dane

#1 Jamie Whincup Team: TeamVodafone Born: 6 February 1983 V8SC debut: Queensland, 2002 Starts: 254 Wins: 54 Career Highlights: 2008, 2009 & 2011 V8 Supercars Champion, 1st 2006, 2007 & 2008 Bathurst 1000, 2002 Australian Formula Ford Champion

#888 Craig Lowndes Team: TeamVodafone Born: 21 June 1974 V8SC debut: Calder Park, 1996 Starts: 450 Wins: 82 Career Highlights: 1996, 1998 & 1999 V8 Supercars Champion, 1st 1996, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010 Bathurst 1000, 1993 Australian Formula Ford Champion

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Races 10/11 - Philip Island I Driver Profiles

Walkinshaw Racing THE BAGMAN’S SAY...

Expect Garth Tander to be a thorn in the side of the HRT/FPR juggernaut this weekend. Although not the kindest on its tyres, the lead HRT entry was among the fastest here last year, recovering from a pitlane start to challenge for victory. Tander also won here in HRT VE Commodores machinery in both 2008 and 2009.

HRT’s 2012 form has been up-and-down to date, with Tander’s generally strong qualifying performances hamstrung by incidents at Symmons, Hamilton and Barbagallo. It’s been largely podium or bust for Tander so far, but more champagne should be on the cards here.

Base: Clayton, Victoria Car: Holden Commodore VEII Chassis: Walkinshaw Racing Engines: Walkinshaw Racing Team principal: Steve Hallam

#2 Garth Tander Team: Toll Holden Racing Team Born: 31 March 1977 V8SC debut: Phillip Island, 1998 Starts: 419 Wins: 50 Career Highlights: 2007 V8 Supercars Champion, 1st 2000, 2009 & 2011 Bathurst 1000, 1997 Australian Formula Ford Champion

#22 James Courtney Team: Toll Holden Racing Team Born: 29 June 1980 V8SC debut: Sandown, 2005 Starts: 198 Wins: 9 Career Highlights: 2010 V8 Supercars Champion, 2001 British Formula Ford Champion, 2002 Jaguar F1 test driver, 2000 British Formula Ford Champion

#66 Russell Ingall Team: Supercheap Auto Racing Born: 24 February 1964 V8SC debut: Eastern Creek, 1996 Starts: 484 Wins: 27 Career Highlights: 2005 V8 Supercars Champion, 1st 1995 & 1997 Bathurst 1000,1st 1998 Sandown 500 & 1999 Queensland 500, 1993 British Formula Ford Champion

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Races 10/11 - Philip Island I Driver Profiles

Stone Brothers Racing Base: Yatla, Queensland Car: Ford Falcon FG Chassis: Stone Brothers Racing Engines: Stone Brothers Racing Team principal: Ross Stone

THE BAGMAN’S SAY...

Alongside Garth Tander, Shane van Gisbergen and Lee Holdsworth appear the only others with any chance of jagging a victory this weekend. While Holdsworth is in his first season with SBR, the form of the SP Tools Falcon at Phillip Island last September almost saw it take the big prize. Also working in the Kiwi’s favour will be in the fact that Phillip Island is the first circuit on this year’s calendar with which he worked alongside Dave Stuart last year. Qualifying inconsistency was car #9’s biggest weakness last year, while so far in 2012 Van Gisbergen and Tander are the only drivers outside of FPR and TeamVodafone to boast single-digit qualifying averages.

#4 Lee Holdsworth Team: IRWIN Racing Born: 2 February 1983.

V8SC debut: Sandown, 2004 Starts: 206 Wins: 2 Career Highlights: 1st 2010 V8 Supercars Race 26 (Sydney), 1st 2007 V8 Supercars Round 8 (Oran Park), 3rd 2009 Bathurst 1000, 7th 2010 V8 Supercars Championship

#9 Shane van Gisbergen Team: SP Tools Racing Born: 9 May 1989 V8SC deubt: Oran Park, 2007 Starts: 143 Wins: 2 Career Highlights: 1st 2011 ITM400 Hamilton (Race 6), 1st 2011 Skycity Triple Crown (Race 12), 2005/06 NZ FFord Champion, 2nd 2006/07 Toyota Racing Series

#47 Tim Slade Team: Lucky 7 Racing Born: 3 August 1985 V8SC debut: Adelaide, 2009 Starts: 88 Wins: 0 Career Highlights: 2nd 2005 Australian Formula Ford Championship, 7th 2008 V8 Supercars Development Series, 9th 2011 V8 Supercars Championship

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Races 10/11 - Philip Island I Driver Profiles

Ford Performance Racing

THE BAGMAN’S SAY...

Ford Performance Racing may have won just two races in its history at Phillip Island, but previous form has repeatedly proven irrelevant to the Ford factory squad this year.

Davison and Winterbottom have won seven of the season’s nine races held so far between them, and have scored one-two finishes at three of the four circuits visited.

Car #6 was clearly the faster of the two here last year, but don’t expect that to necessarily carry-over either.

Reynolds is arguably the most interesting of the trio, with The Bottle-O backed driver more than capable of scoring a maiden podium, if not a win, this weekend.

Base: Campbelfield, Victoria Car: Ford Falcon FG Chassis: Ford Performance Racing Engines: Ford Performance Racing Team principal: Tim Edwards

#5 Mark Winterbottom Team: Orrcon Steel FPR Born: 20 May 1981 V8SC debut: Sandown, 2003 Starts: 253 Wins: 19 Career Highlights: 1st 2006 Sandown 500, 1st 2003 V8 Supercars Development Series, 2nd 2008 V8 Supercars Championship, 2nd 2002 Australian Formula Ford Championship

#6 Will Davison Team: Tradingpost FPR Born: 30 August 1982 V8SC debut: Winton, 2004 Starts: 203 Wins: 11 Career Highlights: 1st 2009 Bathurst 1000, 1st 2009 Phillip Island 500, 2nd 2009 V8 Supercars Championship, 2001 Australian Formula Ford Champion

#55 David Reynolds Team: The Bottle-O Racing Born: July 1985.

V8SC debut: Sandown, 2007 Starts: 58 Wins: 0 Career Highlights: 2007 Australian Carrera Cup Champion, 2004 Australian Formula Ford Champion, 4th 2008 V8 Supercars Development Series

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Races 10/11 - Philip Island I Driver Profiles

Kelly Racing Base: Braeside, Victoria Car: Holden Commodore VEII Chassis: Kelly Racing Engines: Kelly Racing Team principals: Rick and Todd Kelly

#7 Todd Kelly

THE BAGMAN’S SAY...

The four Kelly Racing entries may again struggle to see the top 10 this weekend unless the predicted wet weather intervenes.

While Rick and Todd Kelly sit 10th and 11th in the standings respectively, the team has seen just one top 10 qualifying performance from its four cars combined so far this year. That’s a less than flattering rate of one in 36!

As tyre conservation has also been far from a strength in recent years, a dry weekend could be a long one for this team.

Team: Jack Daniel’s Racing Born: 9 October 1979 V8SC debut: Eastern Creek, 1999 Starts: 365 Wins: 19 Career Highlights: 1st 2005 Bathurst 1000, 1st 2003 Sandown 500, 2nd 1998 Australian Drivers’ Championship, 2nd 2006 Bathurst 1000, 2nd 2006 Bathurst 1000

#11 Karl Reindler Team: Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing Born: 18 April 1985 V8SC debut: Bathurst, 2008 Starts: 65 Wins: 0 Career Highlights: 2004 Australian F3 Champion, 8th 2008 V8 Supercars Development Series, 3rd 2006 A1GP Shanghai Feature Race

Races 10/11 - Philip Island I Driver Profiles

#15 Rick Kelly Team: Jack Daniel’s Racing Born: 7 January 1983 V8SC debut: Queensland, 2001 Starts: 306 Wins: 12 Career Highlights: 2006 V8 Supercars Champion, 1st 2003 & 2004 Bathurst 1000 , 2001 Australian Drivers’ Champion, 2nd 2000 Australian Formula Ford Championship

#51 Greg Murphy Team: Pepsi Max Crew Born: 23 August 1972 V8SC debut: Calder, 1997 Starts: 421 Wins: 28 Career Highlights: 1st 1996, 1999, 2003 & 2004 Bathurst 1000, 1st 1996 & 1997 Sandown 500, 1st 2003 Bathurst 24 Hour, 2nd 2002 & 2003 V8 Supercars Championship

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Races 10/11 - Philip Island I Driver Profiles

Brad Jones Racing Base: Albury, Victoria Car: Holden Commodore VEII Chassis: Walkinshaw Racing Engines: Noonan Race Engines Team principals: Brad and Kim Jones

THE BAGMAN’S SAY...

Jason Bright’s tough season appeared to turn a significant corner last time out at Barbagallo, with the Team BOC Commodore driver scoring his first top five qualifying and race results of the season.

Qualifying was the scene of the biggest turnaround, with his Race 7 front-row start a full 21 places better than car #8’s season average to that point!

Although Phillip Island has handed Bright tough results for the last two seasons, it hasn’t been all bad for the team, with a podium (for Jason Richards and Andrew Jones) coming just two years ago.

Bright and his continually impressive team-mate Fabian Coulthard should both be pushing the top 10 this weekend.

#8 Jason Bright Team: Team BOC Born: 7 March 1973 V8SC debut: Symmons Plains, 1997 Starts: 392 Wins: 30 Career Highlights: 1st 1998 Bathurst 1000, 1995 Australian Formula Ford Champion, 1997 Australian Drivers’ Champion, 1st 2006 Sandown 500

#14 Fabian Coulthard Team: Lockwood Racing Born: 28 July 1982 V8SC debut: Oran Park, 2004 Starts: 165 Wins: 0 Career Highlights: 2005 Australian Carrera Cup Champion, 2001 NZ Formula Ford Champion, 3rd 2004 Australian Carrera Cup, 4th 2000 NZ Formula Ford Championship

#21 David Wall Team: Wilson Security Racing Born: 1 January 1983 V8SC debut: Phillip Island, 2009 Starts: 15 Wins: 0 Career Highlights: 2009 & 2010 Australian GT Champion, 3rd 2007 Australian GT Championship, 11th 2011 V8 Supercars Development Series

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Races 10/11 - Philip Island I Driver Profiles

THE BAGMAN’S SAY...

Dick Johnson Racing

Phillip Island was the scene of Dick Johnson Racing’s downturn in form last year, as the team endured one of the worst weekends of its long history.

Despite having shown promising signs on the streets of Hamilton, the team also struggled last time out at Barbagallo, where a 10th place in Race 3 for Steven Johnson was the four-car squad’s only top 10 finish of the weekend.

The points battle between Johnson and Steve Owen is arguably the most interesting topic here, while qualifying continues to be a major issue for both Dean Fiore and James Moffat.

Base: Yatla, Queensland Car: Ford Falcon FG Chassis: Triple Eight Race Engineering Engines: InnoV8 (Roger Higgins) Team principal: Dick Johnson

#12 Dean Fiore

Team: Jim Beam Racing Born: 1 December 1983 V8SC debut: Adelaide, 2009 Starts: 89 Wins: 0 Career Highlights: 2nd 2008 Australian Carrera Cup Championship, 4th 2005 Australian Formula Ford Championship, 5th 2007 Australian Carrera Cup Championship

#17 Steven Johnson Team: Jim Beam Racing Born: 6 September 1974 V8SC debut: Oran Park, 1994 Starts: 394 Wins: 3 Career Highlights: 1st 2001 Queensland 500, 1st 2001 Canberra 400, 5th 2001 V8 Supercars Championship, 6th 2009 V8 Supercars Championship

Races 10/11 - Philip Island I Driver Profiles

#18 James Moffat Team: Team Norton DJR Born: 18 June 1984 V8SC debut: Phillip Island, 2010 Starts: 39 Wins: 0 Career Highlights: 2nd 2009 V8 Development Series, 3rd 2008 Australian Carrera Cup Championship, 3rd 2007 Australian Formula Ford Championship

#49 Steve Owen Team: VIP Petfoods Racing Born: 18 December 1974 V8SC debut: Bathurst, 1999 Starts: 143 Wins: 1 Career Highlights: 1st 2008 & 2010 V8 Supercars Development Series, 1st 2010 V8 Supercars Race 20 (Gold Coast), 2nd 1999 Australian Formula Ford Championship

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Races 10/11 - Philip Island I Driver Profiles

Tekno Autosports

THE BAGMAN’S SAY...

Michael Patrizi underlined the importance of qualifying after his unexpected fifth place finish last time out at Barbagallo. The West Aussie’s Race 9 campaign had been helped by the appearance of the Safety Car, but a pair of top 10 qualifying efforts on Saturday morning had undoubtedly set-up a productive day.

Patrizi has more V8 Supercars experience at Phillip Island than almost any other circuit due to its previous status as an endurance round, which will also work in his favour.

Both Patrizi and Webb have proven they can display top 10 pace, but doing it consistently is often the hardest part.

Base: Stapylton, Queensland Car: Holden Commodore VEII Chassis: Triple Eight Race Engineering Engines: KRE Team principal: Jonathon Webb

#19 Jonathon Webb Team: Tekno Autosports Born: 10 December 1983 V8SC debut: Sandown, 2006 Starts: 70 Wins: 1 Career Highlights: 1st 2009 V8 Supercars Development Series, 3rd 2005 Australian Carrera Cup Championship, 2010 V8 Supercars Race 26 winner

#91 Michael Patrizi Team: Tekno Autosports Born: 4 May 1984 V8SC debut: Adelaide, 2008 Starts: 39 Wins: 0 Career Highlights: 2nd 2005 Formula BMW Asia,, 8th 2006 Formula BMW UK, 18th 2007 Formula 3 Euroseries, 6th 2011 Australian Carrera Cup Championship

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Races 10/11 - Philip Island I Driver Profiles

Garry Rogers Motorsport

THE BAGMAN’S SAY...

Michael Caruso put in a top performance at Barbagallo, dragging a pair of top 10 finishes from a car seemingly incapable of seeing the top 15 on one-lap pace.

The GRM Commodores traditionally haven’t suited the fast and flowing nature of Phillip Island however, so Caruso looks set to face another tough task here.

Alexandre Premat’s rookie season meanwhile has not built on the promise shown in the opening two events. Qualifying was a real struggle at Barbagallo, while early incidents in the races put paid to much in the way of results. It’s unlikely to get easier this weekend.

Base: Knoxfield, Victoria Car: Holden Commodore VEII Chassis: Garry Rogers Motorsport Engines: Walkinshaw Racing Team principal: Garry Rogers

#33 Alexandre Premat Team: Fujitsu Racing GRM Born: 5 April 1982 V8SC debut: Adelaide, 2012 Starts: 9 Wins: 0 Career Highlights: 2008 Le Mans Series Champion, 1st 2005-06 A1 GP Series (Team France), 1st 2004 Macau Grand Prix, 1st 2004 Masters of F3

#34 Michael Caruso Team: Fujitsu Racing GRM Born: 25 May 1983 V8SC debut: Bathurst, 2006 Starts: 129 Wins: 1 Career Highlights: 2003 Australian Formula 3 Champion, 3rd 2009 Bathurst 1000, 1st 2009 V8 Supercars Race 10 (Hidden Valley), 2nd 2007 V8 Supercars Development Series

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Races 10/11 - Philip Island I Driver Profiles

Tony D’Alberto Racing Base: Knoxfield, Victoria Car: Ford Falcon FG Chassis: Ford Performance Racing Engines: Ford Performance Racing Team principal: Al D’Alberto

THE BAGMAN’S SAY...

Tony D’Alberto’s form remains amongst the hardest to predict in the championship, with the #3 Falcon showing much less track-to-track consistency than the three factory-prepared FPR chassis.

A genuine top 10 contender in Hamilton, D’Alberto struggled to break out of the 20s in either qualifying or the races at Barbagallo.

The former Development Series Champion has turned plenty of laps at Phillip Island over the years, but is yet to race there in a Ford after being struck down by chicken pox on the eve of the 2011 L&H 500.

#3 Tony D’Alberto Team: Team Hiflex Born: 9 December 1985 V8SC debut: Sandown, 2005 Starts: 131 Wins: 0 Career Highlights: 1st 2007 V8 Supercars Development Series, 6th 2007 Bathurst 1000, 5th 2005 V8 Supercars Development Series, 9th 2011 Bathurst 1000

Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport Base: Nunawading, Victoria Car: Holden Commodore VEII Chassis: Triple Eight Race Engineering Engines: KRE Team principal: Lucas Dumbrell

THE BAGMAN’S SAY...

Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport’s Symmons Plains form sadly remains an anomaly following another tough weekend last time out at Barbagallo.

The Tradingpost Perth Challenge weekend was the leanest resultswise for this small outfit since its Adelaide disaster, and saw the iSelect Commodore visit the circuit’s famous sand traps more than once.

Phillip Island is one of only two circuits that Douglas has previously raced on as part of the V8 Supercars Championship. Solid top 20 race results should certainly be achievable.

#30 Taz Douglas Team: Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport Born: 11 February 1985 V8SC debut: Phillip Island, 2009 Starts: 14 Wins: 0 Career Highlights: 1st 2010 V8 Supercars Development Series Sandown Race 2, 8th 2007 Australian Formula Ford Championship, 9th 2009 V8 Supercars Development Series

35

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36

Races 10/11 - Philip Island I Race Stats

Championship Standings Pos

Driver

1

Jamie Whincup

Team

2

Will Davison

3

Mark Winterbottom

4

Craig Lowndes

5

Lee Holdsworth

6

Shane Van Gisbergen

7

Fabian Coulthard

9

Tim Slade

9

Garth Tander

10

Rick Kelly

11

Michael Caruso

12

Todd Kelly

13

Steven Johnson

14

James Courtney

15

Russell Ingall

16

Jason Bright

17

Michael Patrizi

18

Dean Fiore

19

David Reynolds

20

Steve Owen

21

Tony D’Alberto

22

Jonathon Webb

23

Alexandre Premat

24

Taz Douglas

25

Karl Reindler

25

James Moffat

26

David Wall

28

Greg Murphy

29

David Russell

Car

Pts

TeamVodafone

Holden Commodore VE

1095

Trading Post FPR

Ford Falcon FG

1066

Orrcon Steel FPR

Ford Falcon FG

935

TeamVodafone

Holden Commodore VE

779

IRWIN Racing

Ford Falcon FG

737

SP Tools Racing

Ford Falcon FG

695

Lockwood Racing

Holden Commodore VE

694

Lucky 7 Racing

Ford Falcon FG

681

Holden Racing Team

Holden Commodore VE

618

Jack Daniel’s Racing

Holden Commodore VE

571

Fujitsu Racing GRM

Holden Commodore VE

516

Jack Daniel’s Racing

Holden Commodore VE

507

Jim Beam Racing

Ford Falcon FG

494

Holden Racing Team

Holden Commodore VE

470

Supercheap Auto Racing

Holden Commodore VE

464

Team BOC

Holden Commodore VE

453

Tekno Autosports

Holden Commodore VE

426

Jim Beam Racing

Ford Falcon FG

421

Wilson Security Racing

Holden Commodore VE

414

VIP Petfoods Racing

Ford Falcon FG

402

Tony D’Alberto Racing

Ford Falcon FG

359

Tekno Autosport

Holden Commodore VE

334

Fujitsu Racing GRM

Holden Commodore VE

330

Team iSelect

Holden Commodore VE

300

Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing Holden Commodore VE

288

Team Norton DJR

Ford Falcon FG

270

Wilson Security Racing

Holden Commodore VE

253

Pepsi Max Crew

Holden Commodore VE

219

Pepsi Max Crew

Holden Commodore VE

42

Races 10/11 - Philip Island I Race Stats

2012 SEASON STATISTICS Race Wins

Fastest Laps

Will Davison 5, Jamie Whincup 2, Mark

Mark Winterbottom 3, Jamie Whincup 2,

Winterbottom 2

Garth Tander 2, Craig Lowndes 1, James Courtney 1

Pole Positions Jamie Whincup 3, Craig Lowndes 2,

Podiums

Garth Tander 2, Mark Winterbottom 1,

Will Davison 8, Jamie Whincup 8, Mark

Will Davison 1

Winterbottom 6, Garth Tander 3, Shane van Gisbergen 1, Craig Lowndes 1

Results overview

Qualifying Results Race Results

#

Driver

Best Worst Average

Best Worst Average

1

Jamie Whincup

1

5

3.0

1

4

2.2

2

Garth Tander

1

20

6.4

3

28

12.9

3

Tony D’Alberto

6

23

15.7

8

28

18.1

4

Lee Holdsworth

4

15

10.0

4

21

8.6

5

Mark Winterbottom

1

10

4.1

1

23

5.3

6

Will Davison

1

9

3.9

1

25

4.2

7

Todd Kelly

11

21

16.3

8

23

15.6

8

Jason Bright

2

27

17.9

4

28

15.3

9

Shane van Gisbergen

2

14

8.3

2

22

10.1

11 Karl Reindler

25

28

26.6

17

25

21.7

12 Dean Fiore

11

26

20.0

15

22

17.3

14 Fabian Coulthard

6

17

11.2

4

16

9.1

15 Rick Kelly

5

15

12.8

5

20

13.1

17 Steven Johnson

7

24

15.0

10

21

14.8

18 James Moffat

9

20

14.9

14

28

21.4

19 Jonathon Webb

4

23

11.8

9

27

18.3

21 David Wall

22

28

26.3

18

28

23.1

22 James Courtney

8

28

15.0

5

26

15.1

30 Taz Douglas

8

27

22.1

12

27

21.9

33 Alexandre Premat

11

28

22.1

13

28

20.4

34 Michael Caruso

10

22

18.1

7

25

14.2

47 Tim Slade

6

20

12.1

4

15

9.0

49 Steve Owen

5

23

16.0

6

28

17.9

51 Greg Murphy

17

27

22.4

11

27

17.8

55 David Reynolds

3

11

6.3

6

26

15.9

66 Russell Ingall

16

28

21.1

10

25

15.6

91 Michael Patrizi

9

28

19.6

5

27

16.3

888 Craig Lowndes

1

16

6.1

3

28

7.2

37

38

Races 10/11 - Philip Island I Race Stats

Past Phillip Island Race Winners Year

Driver Team

Car

2011

Craig Lowndes/Mark Skaife

Holden Commodore VE II

2010

Craig Lowndes/Mark Skaife

2009

Jamie Whincup

Jamie Whincup

2009

Garth Tander/Will Davison

TeamVodafone

TeamVodafone

Holden Commodore VE II

TeamVodafone

Ford Falcon FG

TeamVodafone

Holden Racing Team

Ford Falcon FG

Holden Commodore VE2008

2008

Garth Tander/Mark Skaife

Holden Racing Team

Holden Commodore VE

2007

Todd Kelly

Holden Racing Team

Holden Commodore VE

Garth Tander

Toll HSV Dealer Team

Holden Commodore VE

Garth Tander

Toll HSV Dealer Team

Holden Commodore VE

2006

Mark Winterbottom

Ford Performance Racing

Ford Falcon BA

Todd Kelly

Holden Racing Team

Holden Commodore VZ

Todd Kelly

Holden Racing Team

Holden Commodore VZ

2005

Marcos Ambrose

Stone Brothers Racing

Ford Falcon BA

Marcos Ambrose

Stone Brothers Racing

Ford Falcon BA

Craig Lowndes

Triple Eight Race Engineering

Ford Falcon BA

2003

Craig Lowndes

Ford Performance Racing

Ford Falcon BA

2002

Mark Skaife

Holden Racing Team

Holden Commodore VX

Marcos Ambrose

Stone Brothers Racing

Ford Falcon AU

2001

Mark Skaife

Holden Racing Team

Holden Commodore VX

Mark Skaife

Holden Racing Team

Holden Commodore VX

2000

Craig Baird

Stone Brothers Racing

Ford Falcon AU

Craig Lowndes

Holden Racing Team

Holden Commodore VT

1999

Craig Lowndes

Holden Racing Team

Holden Commodore VT

Mark Skaife

Holden Racing Team

Holden Commodore VT

Mark Skaife

Holden Racing Team

Holden Commodore VT

1998

Russell Ingall

Castrol Perkins Racing

Holden Commodore VS

Craig Lowndes

Holden Racing Team

Holden Commodore VS

Mark Skaife

Holden Racing Team

Holden Commodore VS

1997

Larry Perkins

Castrol Perkins Racing

Holden Commodore VS

Russell Ingall

Castrol Perkins Racing

Holden Commodore VS

Glenn Seton

Glenn Seton Racing

Ford Falcon EL

1996

Glenn Seton

Glenn Seton Racing

Ford Falcon EF

Larry Perkins

Castrol Perkins Racing

Holden Commodore VR

Craig Lowndes

Holden Racing Team

Holden Commodore VR

1995

Glenn Seton

Glenn Seton Racing

Ford Falcon EF

Peter Brock

Holden Racing Team

Holden Commodore VR

1994

Glenn Seton

Glenn Seton Racing

Ford Falcon EB

Glenn Seton

Glenn Seton Racing

Ford Falcon EB

1993

Glenn Seton

Glenn Seton Racing

Ford Falcon EB

Glenn Seton

Glenn Seton Racing

Ford Falcon EB

1990

Dick Johnson

Dick Johnson Racing

Ford Sierra RS500

1977

Allan Grice

Craven Mild Racing

Holden Torana A9X

1976

Colin Bond

Holden Dealer Team

Holden Torana L34

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40

Races 10/11 - Philip Island I Race Stats

Past ATCC/V8SC Champions Year

Driver Team

Car

2011

Jamie Whincup

Triple Eight Race Engineering

Holden Commodore VE

2010

James Courtney

Dick Johnson Racing

Ford Falcon FG

2009

Jamie Whincup

Triple Eight Race Engineering

Ford Falcon FG

2008

Jamie Whincup

Triple Eight Race Engineering

Ford Falcon BF

2007

Garth Tander

Toll HSV Dealer Team

Holden Commodore VE

2006

Rick Kelly

Toll HSV Dealer Team

Holden Commodore VZ

2005

Russell Ingall

Stone Brothers Racing

Ford Falcon BA

2004

Marcos Ambrose

Stone Brothers Racing

Ford Falcon BA

2003

Marcos Ambrose

Stone Brothers Racing

Ford Falcon BA

2002

Mark Skaife

Holden Racing Team

Holden Commodore VX

2001

Mark Skaife

Holden Racing Team

Holden Commodore VX

2000

Mark Skaife

Holden Racing Team

Holden Commodore VT

1999

Craig Lowndes

Holden Racing Team

Holden Commodore VS/VT

1998

Craig Lowndes

Holden Racing Team

Holden Commodore VS/VT

1997

Glenn Seton

Glenn Seton Racing

Ford Falcon EL

1996

Craig Lowndes

Holden Racing Team

Holden Commodore VR

1995

John Bowe

Dick Johnson Racing

Ford Falcon EF

1994

Mark Skaife

Gibson Motor Sport

Holden Commodore VP

1993

Glenn Seton

Glenn Seton Racing

Ford Falcon EB

1992

Mark Skaife

Winfield Team Nissan

Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R

1991

Jim Richards

Gibson Motor Sport

Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R

1990

Jim Richards

Gibson Motor Sport

Nissan Skyline HR31 GTS-R, R32 GT-R

1989

Dick Johnson

Dick Johnson Racing

Ford Sierra RS500

1988

Dick Johnson

Dick Johnson Racing

Ford Sierra RS500

1987

Jim Richards

JPS Team BMW

BMW M3 E30

1986

Robbie Francevic

Volvo Dealer Team

Volvo 240T

1985

Jim Richards

JPS Team BMW

BMW 635CSi

1984

Dick Johnson

Dick Johnson Racing

Ford Falcon XE

1983

Allan Moffat

Peter Stuyvesant Racing

Mazda RX-7

1982

Dick Johnson

Dick Johnson Racing

Ford Falcon XD

1981

Dick Johnson

Dick Johnson Racing

Ford Falcon XD

1980

Peter Brock

Marlboro Holden Dealer Team

Holden Commodore VB

1979

Bob Morris

Ron Hodgson Channel 7 Racing

Holden Torana LX SS A9X

1978

Peter Brock

Marlboro Holden Dealer Team

Holden Torana LX SS A9X

1977

Allan Moffat

Moffat Ford Dealers

Ford Falcon XB GT, XC

1976

Allan Moffat

Allan Moffat Racing

Ford Falcon XB GT

1975

Colin Bond

Marlboro Holden Dealer Team

Holden Torana LH SL/R 5000 L34

1974

Peter Brock

Marlboro Holden Dealer Team

Holden Torana LJ GTR XU-1, LH SL/R 5000

1973

Allan Moffat

Ford Motor Company

Ford Falcon XY GTHO Phase III

1972

Bob Jane

Bob Jane Racing Team

Chevrolet Camaro ZL-1

1971

Bob Jane

Bob Jane Racing Team

Chevrolet Camaro ZL-1

1970

Norm Beechey

Shell Racing Team

Holden Monaro HT GTS350

1969

Ian Geoghegan

Mustang Team

Ford Mustang

1968

Ian Geoghegan

Mustang Team

Ford Mustang

1967

Ian Geoghegan

Mustang Team

Ford Mustang

1966

Ian Geoghegan

Total Team

Ford Mustang

1965

Norm Beechey

Neptune Racing Team

Ford Mustang

1964

Ian Geoghegan

Total Team

Ford Cortina GT

1963

Bob Jane

Bob Jane

Jaguar 3.8 Litre Mk II

1962

Bob Jane

Bob Jane

Jaguar 3.8 Litre Mk II

1961

Bill Pitt

Bill Pitt

Jaguar 3.4 Litre

1960

David McKay

David McKay

Jaguar 3.4 Litre

Races 10/11 - Philip Island I Event Schedule

Schedule of Events

41