Pepsi Max Crew Ford drivers Chaz Mostert and Mark Winterbottom have claimed honours in Races 10 and 11 of the V8 Supercars Championship at the Navara NP300 Winton SuperSprint today, Winterbottom closing to within nine points of the championship lead.
Mostert qualified on pole position for Race 10 and led the race from lights to flag, leading home Winterbottom and the Nissan of Michael Caruso.
In Race 11, Winterbottom beat Mostert off the start line, while Rick Kelly (Jack Daniel’s Nissan Altima) also jumped ahead of Mostert, and chased Winterbottom all the way to the end.
Further back in the pack, there was plenty of action in the first corner with Holden Racing Team driver James Courtney colliding with his team-mate Garth Tander.
Courtney was penalised for the contact with Tander, who retired from the race with damage.
Cameron Waters (Ford FG Falcon) extended his lead in the Dunlop Series with a victory over Andrew Jones and Paul Dumbrell (both driving Holden VE Commodores) in a race that also featured plenty of mid-pack action, with several cars colliding on the opening lap. The worst affected of those was Macauley Jones, who was eliminated from proceedings with steering damage.
In the ENZED Touring Car Masters, John Bowe made history by recording Holden’s first-ever pole position in the category, and then backed up by winning both races ahead of Gavin Bullas and Glenn Seton.
After qualifying on pole position for the Australian Sports Racer Series, Roger I’Anson was relegated to the rear of the grid for electing to change a damaged tyre. In Race 1, he stormed through the field to take a fine win with a dramatic last-lap pass on Mark Laucke, but in Race 2 he stalled on the grid and had to fight his way back once again; after another entertaining dice with Laucke, he ultimately finished second behind Aaron Steer.
Eight-time Kerrick Sports Sedan Champion Tony Ricciardello (Alfa Romeo GTV) qualified on pole position but in the opening race, it was Thomas Randle (Saab 9-3) who took the win after beating Ricciardello off the rolling start.
Ricciardello spun while trying to chase down Randle, elevating Steven Tamasi (Holden Calibra) to second place.
After a rapid start in which he briefly moved up to second, Jack Perkins was an unfortunate retirement with mechanical problems in the John Gourlay-owned Audi A4.
Tomorrow’s final day of the Winton V8 SuperSprint sees more action for all of the categories, highlighted by Race 12 of the V8 Supercars Championship which is 67 laps, and will include pit stops and a combination of hard and soft tyres.
The fine weather is forecast to continue, producing ideal viewing conditions for spectators. Tomorrow will feature the True Colour Track Walk, where all spectators will be able to walk onto the track and get up close to their favourite V8 drivers.
Race Schedule – Sunday, 17 May
08:20-08:40 – KERRICK Sports Sedans Race 2 (10 laps)
08:55-09:55 – True Colour Track Walk
10:10-10:40 – Dunlop Series Race 2 (18 laps)
10:55-11:10 – V8 Supercars Championship Practice 4 (15 min)
11:20-11:40 – ENZED Touring Car Masters Race 3 (10 laps)
11:55-12:15 – V8 Supercars Championship Race 12 Qualifying (20 min)
12:30-13:00 – Dunlop Series Race 3 (18 laps)
13:45-15:30 – V8 Supercars Championship Race 12 (67 laps)
16:00-16:20 – KERRICK Sports Sedans Race 3 (10 laps)
16:30-16:50 – Sports Racers Race 3 (10 laps)
