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00:00The Clipsal 500 in Adelaide was the beginning of a new era in V8 supercars.
00:09It is a great unknown. The track's the same, all the bumps are still there, but all of the cars have changed.
00:17We've waited so long for the car of the future, well the future is here.
00:23Now, with four manufacturers lining up on the grid, the toughest touring car category in the world just got tougher.
00:30And Shane Van Giesbergen can't get off the grid. His feet are just burning him.
00:35Oh, here we are, he's got him, he's got him off. Alex went way too deep into the left hand wall and it slammed.
00:41The battle for points is now tighter than ever. Oh, Wing Cup has a big mistake. The team mates actually bump.
00:48Rick Kelly gets around severe damage to the other Jack Daniels.
00:52The expectation to succeed is now greater than ever.
00:56The greatest ever winning margin in a race at the Clipsal 500.
01:00Craig Lowndes drives into the history books.
01:03And that makes that winning feeling so much sweeter than ever before.
01:08Sunday is payday. The Holden VF Commodore and Techno Autosports get their first win.
01:15Great job, great job.
01:17The Gears is the Clipsal champion of 2013.
01:20This weekend we're at Simmons Plains for the Tasmania Microsoft Office 365.
01:26Where the brand new super sprint format sets up the next challenge in the 2013 championship.
01:31Oh, this is so dangerous.
01:33That is wild.
01:34Well, here we go.
01:35There's some bumping on the main straight.
01:37Oh, that's 260 kilometres an hour.
01:40Oh, that's a big moment for Tim Slade.
01:43That's going to end in tears.
01:44That's what it is.
01:45You can't do that in the braking area.
01:48There's only one place to see your V8 supercar racing live and free.
01:53And that's right here on 7.
01:55That would be Jamie Wicuff smoking it up.
01:58Oh, that'd be a beautiful driver.
02:00Well, it's an absolutely perfect day for the supercars to fire up again.
02:09What a Sunday afternoon we've got.
02:10We're at Simmons Plains just outside of Launceston in the north of the Apple Isle for day two
02:15of the Tasmania Microsoft Office 365.
02:18Hi, everyone.
02:19I'm Matt White.
02:20Welcome to the V8 Supercar Championship on 7 Sport.
02:23Today, it's races four and five of the series.
02:26Two 100 kilometre sprints and another change up for the teams and the drivers after yesterday's
02:3160-60 format taken out by the car behind me, the Lockwood Commodore of Fabian Coulthard.
02:36Now, the championship picture changed as well yesterday.
02:39Jamie Wincup now leads after finishing second behind Fabian.
02:43Craig Lowndes dropped from the top to third after a disastrous day.
02:47More on that in just a sec.
02:48And Mark Winterbottom moves into the top ten after a podium finish yesterday.
02:52So, Neil Crompton, Mark Scaife alongside me as always.
02:54Crompo, three races into this series already and it's a season of change already.
02:58Yeah, three races and three different winners, Matty.
03:01And good afternoon to you.
03:02When you look at Lowndes, Van Gisbergen and now Fabian Coulthard actually winning races,
03:06it breaks the stranglehold that we became accustomed to last year between Triple Eight and Ford Performance Racing.
03:11That's a great thing for our business.
03:13As far as yesterday's concerned, well, the 60-60 Super Sprint format.
03:17Nothing like the level of chaos that we thought for those on the dirty side of the road, Mark Scaife.
03:21I really love the spectacle of everybody bunched together.
03:24It was like the big sprint car show you see on the weekend with all the cars bunched up.
03:27Great sound, great colour, great spectacle.
03:29Yeah, and as you said, I thought there was a lot less drama than we expected.
03:32The way that the guys lined up, they haven't done it since go-kart days.
03:36And the restart, we were predicting lots of drama.
03:39It ended up being very, very well done.
03:41Let's have a look at the highlights because there were six different teams in the top eight positions.
03:46As you said, it's mixed the order up, car of the future.
03:49And it was a very, very equal start for Winkup and Fabian Coulthard.
03:53They got through turn one and turn two.
03:55There's some drama back there.
03:56That was Ingle out in the grass as he approached there.
03:59Kremer into the back of Delberto.
04:01And a very big moment for the championship with Van Gisbergen bumping Lowndes wide at turn six.
04:07Lowndes then goes into speedway mode.
04:10He then spun by himself with a punctured right rear tyre.
04:14And that put Lowndes out.
04:16Now, have a look at this.
04:17Controversial wheels spinning in the pit.
04:20He got a pit lane penalty.
04:21More on that in a second.
04:23So Lowndes, big championship changer for him yesterday.
04:26That's Holdsworth off.
04:28Then the Mercedes decided they'd run into each other again at turn four.
04:32And have a look at this moment for Fabian Coulthard.
04:34It went on, obviously, to win the whole day.
04:36But that was a big moment at turn six.
04:38Very wide.
04:39Dave Reynolds off the road at turn four.
04:41And got away with it.
04:42Ended up staying on the black stuff enough to not put himself out.
04:45Now, this was also controversial.
04:48Jason Bright and Garth Tander.
04:50Bumping Jewel on the way out of turn four.
04:52Then a bump on the straight.
04:54We'll take you on board now with Will Davison.
04:56Have a look at this.
04:58So that's the bump as they come out.
05:00Then that's Garth escorting Bright off the road.
05:03There was plenty of investigation and drama about that last night.
05:06So the first half winner was Jamie Winkup.
05:10A very, very good drive.
05:11And I don't know about you, Neil.
05:13I thought that his performance in the first one was very strong.
05:16He was knocked off in the next.
05:18Look at this restart.
05:19This is what I was talking about a few moments ago.
05:21Cars all literally line astern and side by side the pole man.
05:25And the guy that mastered the first half, Jamie Winkup,
05:28is the guy that takes the cue and jumps away.
05:30It was much, much cleaner through this first sequence of turns
05:34other than for Scott Pye in the Ecol entry.
05:36And he fired down the grass here.
05:37Here's the replay of what happened to him.
05:39He toured the gravel.
05:40Fortunately, he popped out the other side and didn't make contact.
05:43Now, Fabian Coulthard, they made his car better.
05:45But conversely, a change to Winkup's car made it a little slower
05:48in the second half of the race.
05:49And have a look at this.
05:50It's on again.
05:51This is round two.
05:52Bright and Tanda.
05:53They bump each other.
05:54This is Will Davison right up behind.
05:56He actually pushed Bright by Tanda.
05:58Now, have a look at the braking.
06:00Tanda's down the outside.
06:01There's four cars.
06:02Van Gisburgh had also joined that battle.
06:04Tanda and Davison did basically half a lap alongside each other.
06:09Davison over the rise on the outside.
06:11Gets away with it.
06:12They get around the next corner.
06:14He doesn't push Garth off.
06:16Garth runs him wide at turn three.
06:18What a great exchange.
06:19And this was the reason for a late safety car.
06:22Murrow Engel in the weeds at turn four.
06:25A little bit of drama at the restart.
06:27Fabian Coulthard got a very, very good jump.
06:29There was some investigation about that yesterday.
06:32And Fabian went on to what was a very, very mature drive.
06:37Great win for Brad Jones Racing.
06:39He won three races at the Grand Prix at Albert Park.
06:42Three non-championship races.
06:43But that's Fabian's first win in 189 championship race starts.
06:49So one, two, three was Coulthard, Winkup and Winterbottom.
06:52Jamie Winkup's been on the podium in every race so far this season.
06:55Position eight there for young Scott McLaughlin.
06:58That is three straight top tens for the 19-year-old mid-pack.
07:02Personal best effort for David Wall for Wilson Security Racing.
07:05Michael Caruso, the leading Nissan in 16th.
07:08And as you saw, Scotty Pye left with some pretty serious damage to the front of car 80.
07:12The back end.
07:13Two DNFs belong to Morrow Engel and Todd Kelly.
07:16But the big story, of course, was Craig Lowndes.
07:19Last of the finishers.
07:20Now there was a hearing into the contact with Shane Van Gisbeg.
07:23And also the wheel spinning incident in pit lane last night.
07:26Lowndes was furious and actually walked out of that hearing for the first time in his career.
07:30Let's check in with Lowndes.
07:31He's with Mark Larkin.
07:32Craig, I understand you weren't particularly happy in the hearing last night.
07:36Oh, well, look, there's one of those things that, you know, they've made a judgement.
07:39We've got to abide by it.
07:40You know, I don't agree with it.
07:42But, well, that's motor racing.
07:43You know what it's all about.
07:44You take the good with the bad sometimes.
07:46So, we'll get on with motor racing.
07:48You know, they've deemed it, you know, 6% my fault.
07:51And, of course, you know, we'll cop it on the chin and we'll see what happens.
07:55Well, Jason Bright, you might be looking for some time in the boxing ring with Garth Tander after yesterday.
07:59Oh, sounds like you can't punch anyway, according to Fabian.
08:03But, no, I mean, yeah, it was a good battle.
08:06But, you know, our rules state that, you know, you've got to leave racing room.
08:10And I felt as though he was doing a fair bit of blocking down the hairpin.
08:13And then, you know, coming off, you know, correctly drove me off the road.
08:16So, you know, it's certainly not what we're told in the driver's briefing, you know, about leaving racing room and encouraging passing.
08:23You know, but, you know, that's why he wants to play.
08:26We'll see how it goes when he's the one wanting to come through.
08:28Good luck today.
08:29Yeah, cheers.
08:30Hey, it's a good thing that Daniel Geel's in town, the world boxing champion,
08:33because he's going to get some workouts around here.
08:35There's a lot of angst about, isn't there?
08:37Well, Lowndes, as you said, never in the history of his involvement in this game
08:41as he walked out of a judicial hearing.
08:43So he bowled out halfway through it.
08:44He was off his brain.
08:45So he and Van Gisbergen, that was average.
08:48The other one, the Tander one, there's no doubt that Tander pushed right off the road.
08:52He should have been penalised for that.
08:53All right.
08:54Well, it is back on again today.
08:55We've got a beautiful day to do it here at Simmons Plains.
08:57Such wonderful history at this circuit.
08:59The 41st year that this has hosted a championship event.
09:03Just take a look at that.
09:0424 degrees, mostly sunny.
09:06A big program.
09:07We've got the Aussie racing cars and the Australian super bikes to tackle this track.
09:11And of course, two qualifying sessions and two races for the V8 supercars.
09:15Don't go anywhere.
09:16Qualifying is coming up right after this on Sevensport.
09:19Well, here's another point of difference at this event at Simmons Plains.
09:37Back to back qualifying sessions for both races.
09:41Races four and five later on this afternoon.
09:43But they have to do both qualifying sessions here back to back 15 minutes each.
09:48So, two pole positions up for grabs.
09:51Can Craig Lowndes turn it around today?
09:53Never seen him so angry as he was yesterday and deservedly so
09:59because he lost his championship lead that he had for the first time in 15 years.
10:03This is where we're at.
10:04Tasmania, Simmons Plains.
10:05The 41st time that this circuit has hosted a championship event.
10:092,400 metres of racetrack, Matty.
10:12Seven turns around here.
10:14Lap record is held by Rick Kelly.
10:15Did that back in 2009, that 51-4.
10:17Pretty hard on brakes around here.
10:19Number two on the tour.
10:20Relatively easy on tyres, funnily enough.
10:22And you'd think that it would hurt the right rear a lot more.
10:25Qualifying will make reference to those three sectors.
10:2760 years of international high-level motorsport celebrated here in Tasmania.
10:32You've got a great history.
10:33Just down the road, Longford opened in 1953.
10:35It was the host of the Australian Grand Prix venue.
10:38Stan Jones won it in 59 in a Maserati.
10:41Bruce McLaren in 1965.
10:44Tasman series touring car racing.
10:46So it's great for the V8 supercars to be down here for the Microsoft Office 365 to continue high-quality motor racing in this part of the world.
10:59Cars look great lined up there, don't they?
11:01We talked about this in Adelaide, boys.
11:0428 brand-new, beautiful cars.
11:07Anywhere between $400,000-$500,000 worth of investment in each of them.
11:11Holden and the Falcon look very similar in their external bodywork to last time.
11:14What's happening there, Jason?
11:15Green light, green light.
11:17They're very, very different.
11:19With the addition of the Nissan and the Benz, there's a lot of interest here in the paddock at the moment.
11:23A lot of fans really enjoying having an up-close look at those cars, and there they are, the Erebus Motorsport V8s.
11:32So if you miss yesterday, Jamie Winkup claimed pole position, the 39th of his career.
11:37That puts him equal third on the all-time list with Alan Moffitt.
11:41So if he gets one more here, he'll go into outright third.
11:45If he gets both on offer today, he will equal Mark Scaife in second.
11:51Got a long way to go to catch the lead of 57 poles for Peter Brock's career.
11:56So 15-minute session this is.
11:59Flat out, go for it.
12:00Which is pretty frantic.
12:01So that's five minutes shy of where we've been previously in qualifying.
12:05And yesterday in qualifying for race number three in the first sector,
12:09we saw the fastest ever time achieved in qualifying here.
12:12The brake stability of the cars up in the hairpin looks very, very good,
12:15and that'll be a big part of that story.
12:17And as we mentioned earlier today, David Wall, car 21, Wilson Security Racing,
12:22comes off the back now of his best career performance.
12:25It's one spot outside the top ten.
12:27So a good run for Wall-E.
12:31The circuit, tough on brakes, as you said.
12:33Crompo, big on top-end speed.
12:35And there'll be some sad stories out of this, guys.
12:40Getting a clear lap, we've already said, on such a short circuit like Simmons Plains.
12:44And getting a clear lap is all important.
12:46We saw on Friday there were 19 cars within .5 per second.
12:51This guy yesterday did a very good job in the session before qualifying.
12:54In fact, he was seventh.
12:56And his qualifying performance wasn't good enough.
12:59He ended up, he would have done.
13:01The time that he did in practice sport would have put him ninth in qualifying.
13:04So he needs to do a better job today.
13:06And as I said, there will be some drama unfold based on having the best lap he could possibly do,
13:11not interrupted by another competitor.
13:13Craig Lowndes, Car Triple Eight, Red Bull Racing Australia.
13:18Coming in that rotation where he plucked the tyre off down at Turn 2.
13:22When he went to grab first gear, he was just pounding away at the lever looking for a gear.
13:26And he damaged the trans-axle and the gearbox in the car.
13:30So last night as I was leaving the circuit, they were changing the entire rear unit.
13:34And look at them all just trying to farm some space out there at the moment.
13:37This is the really big story here.
13:39And you've got Engel doing 40 kilometres an hour here in the bends.
13:43And here comes David Wall at 270 kilometres an hour.
13:46And so that's the stuff that you've got to manage very carefully.
13:50Oh, big slide.
13:52Locked the rear brakes.
13:54Tire management this weekend is important.
13:5724 tyres, Dunlop soft tyres, six sets of them.
14:01And with qualifying yesterday and the two-part race followed by these two qualifying sessions today
14:07in two 100 kilometre races up and down the field.
14:10Different people have got different levels of tyre stock available.
14:16So the time sheets line up with Garth Tander at the top.
14:2052 flat.
14:21Now Courtney, 52 dead flat.
14:2452.0000.
14:28And the time set yesterday by Wincup to grab the pole was a 51.10.
14:33As we join Lee Holdsworth.
14:35This is the run to turn six.
14:38The boys are saying generally last night that they're getting deeper into the hairpin this year.
14:46Quite a number of people talking about just not being totally satisfied with brake balance at the moment.
14:51It excites the rear of the car a little more than they'd like late in the stop.
14:56And that'll be a combination of learning the new brake system on the car.
14:59And also a completely different architecture of the rear suspension on the car.
15:03And the way the car lurches forward or pitches when you put your foot on the brake pedal.
15:06All those things take time to learn and understand.
15:09If you think about our previous cars, we had nearly 20 years of learning to unlock the secrets to get the most out of them.
15:15And so far we're talking about 70, 80 days or 90 days of experience with these cars.
15:21So there's still a lot to come.
15:25So Fabian Coulthard, 51.76, leads the way from Winterbottom.
15:30Courtney, Scott Pye, good job.
15:32David Wall, another good job.
15:33Delberto, Tander, Fiore, Holdsworth and McLachlan.
15:36That's the top ten.
15:38Winterbottom now on the fastest second sector.
15:4135.6 at this point.
15:46And he was a little bit unlucky yesterday not to jump to the top.
15:51He hit it on a very good lap to beat Winkup.
15:53And that's Van Giesbergen off the road at the end of the main straight.
15:56So Winterbottom goes to number one with a 51.6.
15:59There's Lowndes off the road at turn one.
16:01Lowndes' car was really unsettled crossing the control line.
16:05Heading up towards turn two.
16:08Just before we saw Shane Van Giesbergen go off.
16:11I just caught a glimpse of Lowndes grabbing the brake.
16:14This big puff of smoke.
16:16So I'm not surprised that he found the side of the circuit.
16:19Here comes Winkup.
16:20So Winterbottom's time to beat 51.6.
16:23Winkup does a 51.5 and betters it.
16:27And it's possible that what we're seeing at the moment is quite a number of people will have a run on their best used set.
16:33To get a feel for the track condition.
16:35Try and get an understanding of what things they may or may not want to change.
16:38Because what you can't afford to do here at the moment, Matt, is put a brand new or green set of tyres on the car.
16:43Go and pull the trigger and find that the day's changed or the track's changed so much that the balance is terrible.
16:49Then you burn off a set of tyres and here's the replay.
16:51VIP pet food Shane Van Giesbergen, the Tecno Auto sports car.
16:55Grab the brake and then picks the throttle up and surfs it out the other side.
16:59Of course, it makes that tyre set absolutely filthy.
17:01Yeah, and funnily enough, Neil, there was a bit of a mix of new and used tyres that went out at the start of his session.
17:07Both Lowndes and Winkup went out and did one lap on a set of tyres, cleaned them up.
17:11They've obviously put those aside for race tyres and Lowndes was on a green set of tyres when he disappeared off there.
17:17So most of the cars now heading into pit lane about halfway through this qualifying session.
17:23So we will take a break and rejoin in this fight for pole position for race four with Jamie Winkup leading the way.
17:34Back here at Simmons Plains in qualifying to see Craig Lowndes at the completion of a flying lap.
17:39Jason Bright has set the quickest time up to here now, 51.5.
17:43Lowndes is looking really good and he goes to the top with a 51.3.
17:48That's a clean lap in perfect conditions.
17:51Most of the cars were in pit lane.
17:53So car AAA took advantage of that.
17:56But having already taken a little bite out of that tyre set.
17:59So at the 51.39, it kind of indicates that Craig probably has a little bit left on the table there.
18:04Because you know that the ideal time to do it is when the tyres are absolutely brand new.
18:10Here's Scotty McLaughlin.
18:11He was studying data last night into the evening.
18:13He wasn't totally satisfied with the balance of the car.
18:16They think there was a problem with the shock absorber which they were running up on the shock dyno in the truck last night.
18:21Because the balance went away drastically.
18:23P4 for him now, 51.5.
18:25But he's done a great job in his opening account in the main game.
18:31Scott McLaughlin.
18:33Winner as Matt detailed earlier in the AGP non-championship events.
18:37So Tanda position 8, 51.6.
18:40As we go back to McLaughlin.
18:45So he's about two tenths off the leading time.
18:49He's not afraid to take a big dive here in qualifying or racing.
18:54His 19-year-old is setting the V8 supercar world alight in his rookie season.
18:59We'll have a quick break and we'll see who grabs pole for race four.
19:09You haven't missed a beat because nothing's changed on the timesheets.
19:13Craig Lowndes still leads the way, 51.3.
19:16Now pit lane has been released of all of these cars.
19:19They've just come out.
19:20Wincup is trying to find some space.
19:23With all 28 cars are roughly thereof on the circuit right now.
19:26And all he's finding is traffic.
19:29And he found Todd Kelly right at the wrong spot when he got to the braking area at turn 6 then.
19:34And he's already transported four or five cars on this lap.
19:38So Lowndes is the target at the moment.
19:4051.3.9.
19:41Jason Bright, 51.5.1.
19:43Tanda's in the pit.
19:44Then Wincup fourth.
19:45Great shot.
19:48McLaughlin, Winterbottom, Coulthard.
19:49Yesterday's winner Courtney Delberto inside the 10.
19:52And then David Reynolds at the Botlow entry.
19:53We just saw a glimpse of him.
19:54Now off to a better start at the first intermediate for Jamie Wincover.
19:58He's still got the same problem, Crompo.
20:00He's got more traffic in front of him.
20:01Not quite as bad this time because they're up to speed though Matt.
20:04So they're on with it now.
20:06When it's a real drama is when they're dawdling.
20:08Because you're never 100% sure.
20:10Despite the discussions and the drivers briefing and whatever you do in the paddock as you wander up and down.
20:15You're never 100% sure what everyone's going to do.
20:17So two 100ths of a second was the difference at the second sector for Jamie Wincup as he tries to close in on his teammates.
20:24Leading time at 51.3.
20:26And that puts Wincup to the top.
20:28It is a 51.3.
20:29But a 51.3.4.
20:31As David Wall slides into the top 10 as well.
20:34And that would have affected the last part of that lap a little bit.
20:37So again, Lowndes probably with a 51.3.9.
20:40There's a couple of tenths there if he did a really good lap.
20:43Bright's on the best first sector now.
20:45And Wincup a little bit at the end of the main straight of turn six.
20:50Affected in the last sector of his best lap.
20:53And Coulthard's just gone to position three.
20:55The teammate to this man.
20:56The team VOC entry of Jason Bright fourth.
20:58Two very fast sector splits.
21:00Two green boxes showing on the bottom right hand corner of your screen.
21:04Turns six and seven.
21:05We're looking at the stability of the car here.
21:07It doesn't look bad for Bright.
21:08Is this an improvement?
21:09Yes.
21:1051.24 for Bright.
21:12Just a whisker slower than the best time achieved yesterday.
21:15Jason Bright's last pole position came in 2009 at Phillip Island.
21:20Fabian Coulthard, his teammate, is putting down a good time as well.
21:24He is quick as to the second sector.
21:26Two minutes to get back around mate.
21:27And Will Davison is quick as well.
21:29So Lowndes is getting fumbled by traffic and you can hear him offering up a bit of frustration at the moment.
21:34Coulthard quick to the second intermediate.
21:36Let's see what this delivers for the fast Peewee.
21:39And he goes to P1 on a 51.23.
21:42So it's right on here at the top at the moment.
21:44So Coulthard's the fast man.
21:46BJR on one and two.
21:47Coulthard and then Bright.
21:49Followed by the Red Bull cars of Winkup and Lowndes.
21:52Here's Bright by way of response.
21:53Two green boxes for Team VOC.
21:55He's got Rick Kelly in front of him but that shouldn't bother him.
21:58Team VOC crosses the line and Jason Bright now goes to the top.
22:02Eclipses his teammate Bradley Jones Racing.
22:05We're doing handstands.
22:07It's a big rooster tail on the final turn for the Techno Autosports entry of Jonathan Webb.
22:14That's pretty much the same number that was achieved yesterday by Jamie Winkup.
22:18And there's the boys in the bunker at Brad Jones Racing.
22:21So grins from ear to ear.
22:23Winkup's in pit lane.
22:25Mark Winterbottom with a minute and 15 to go.
22:28So Bright, Coulthard, BJR front row at the moment.
22:32Winkup's in pit lane as you said.
22:34Lowndes, Winterbottom, Davison, Tandem, McLaughlin, Courtney, Fiore.
22:38That's the top ten.
22:39Winterbottom's on a good lap but it won't be good enough because it's a 35-4-6
22:44which is one and a half tenths away from Bright's second sector.
22:49So let's just have a look what he finishes here.
22:51He's currently fifth.
22:52He may jump onto the second row.
22:54To Malone.
22:56No.
22:57No better.
22:5851-42.
22:59Not quick enough in that last sector.
23:01Too much sliding.
23:02Here's Tander.
23:03He's down in eighth at the moment.
23:05He's about four tenths away.
23:07Is there an improvement?
23:08There is on this lap to position four.
23:10A 51-3.
23:11It is tied at the top.
23:12It's .03 between the teammates Bright and Coulthard.
23:16Winkup to the garage as you said.
23:18Tander and then Lowndes.
23:19Here's McLaughlin.
23:20He's currently seventh on a 51-4.
23:23The 19-year-old.
23:24Reigning New Zealand Super Touring Champion.
23:27A hot man in the development series last year.
23:30He's got his big chance this year on the main stage.
23:33Feeds it a gear to get it stopped.
23:36It's sliding a lot through the last complex.
23:38He almost runs out of road.
23:40He does move up but he only moves to position six.
23:43Very good job up in front of Winnebottom.
23:46Out of Bright.
23:47No.
23:48Dalberto sorry off the road at turn two.
23:53So Jason Bright 51.19 at the top of the list.
23:58Gets pole position for the first time in four years.
24:01And Brad Jones Racing unless Will Davison on this flying lap can do something.
24:07Bradley Jones Racing will lock out the front row for the first time in their V8 supercar history.
24:14Taking five minutes out of that qualifying session has put even more pressure into it hasn't it?
24:19Really liven things up and gee you've got to get it right.
24:22You've got to find your moment.
24:23No.
24:24So no gain.
24:25They're very very close the two boys from FPR.
24:281-4-2, 1-4-7 and there are the teammates.
24:31Team BOC Lockwood Racing Bright and Coulthard.
24:34Bright's got a pole.
24:35What a special day for Brad Jones Racing.
24:38Jason Bright and Fabian there on the front row.
24:40Wing Cup and Tander the second row.
24:42That's a personal best for Scotty McLaughlin.
24:44He's been top 10 in every qualifying session and race since he started this season.
24:49And also a personal best for Dean Fiore who will start inside the top 10.
24:54Down the back of the pack.
24:55Reynolds in 21st.
24:56James Moffitt in 24th.
24:58And Tim Blanchard and Johnny Reid will make up the rear of the grid.
25:01So that's qualifying done for race four.
25:04But now they've got to back up and do another qualifying session.
25:07As Mauro Engelscar is waving hello to us from the front straight there.
25:11Another qualifying session still to come.
25:13Jason Bright celebrates his first pole position in four years.
25:26The first Armourall pole position winner of today goes to Jason Bright.
25:31He's banked some cash and claimed his 11th career pole position.
25:36The first since Phillip Island in 2009 and the first time that BJR will lock out the front row.
25:421500 bucks.
25:44He said that'll pay for the pram that he bought recently.
25:49New father with partner Lucy.
25:51Last October, little baby Lennox.
25:53So there's a lot to be proud of and a lot to celebrate at BJR and Jason Bright and Fabian Coulthard.
26:03But now what they've got to do is forget all that.
26:05Do it again.
26:06Do it all again.
26:07They're qualifying now for race five.
26:08So quite unusual to have back to back qualifying sessions before the races.
26:17But it's an unusual weekend at the Tasmania Microsoft Office 365.
26:21Yesterday's 60-60 super sprint format taken out by Fabian.
26:25Pet exit is now open.
26:27And the roll continues.
26:29So Red Bull will lead the way.
26:31They've had a little break.
26:32Enough time to work on the cars.
26:34And to think about strategy.
26:36And if you're car 14 and car 8, you wouldn't be changing much.
26:43Probably not.
26:44The thing that'll change this time, Matt, is that the number of tyres that guys have got available.
26:49And how they use them in this session.
26:51So they'll go out and warm the cars.
26:53And then throw their last remaining green soft compound tyres for the final qualifying session of the weekend.
27:02And again, tyre management will play a big part in who's got the best tyre quality.
27:07And the way that we just saw that session unfold, the guys from BJR did a very, very good job late in the session to finish on the front row.
27:16So problems here for Russell Ingle not getting out on time.
27:20But the reason they're sacrificing time, Bryce Seals, down there in the front right-hand corner,
27:24is they're making big adjustments to that car to get it to rusty satisfaction.
27:27Larco?
27:28Yeah, just to add to your comments here, Skate, you're getting surprised.
27:30Surprising a vast majority of the guys in here have gone out on green tyres.
27:33Just managed to manage their tyres to allow that to happen.
27:36And still have a set of greens sitting here.
27:38So this is going to be on from the outset.
27:40So if you start the weekend with your 24 brand spanking, shiny new, dark, super soft tyres.
27:46There they are.
27:48Some of the boys chose to sacrifice a set either on Friday in practice 3,
27:53or perhaps Saturday morning practice 4, then you use at least a set in qualifying yesterday.
27:59And perhaps in some cases I know that a set, or certainly a set, but maybe two sets went in the race,
28:04because some people actually saddled up with new tyres in both halves yesterday.
28:08And then another one just a moment ago in qualifying four.
28:11And IMAS takes you to one set now for this particular session.
28:16However, some people will have played that game very differently.
28:19Charlie Schwerkold on the right.
28:21He runs Alex Davison in the fourth of the FPR cars,
28:23and Simon McNamara holding motorsport on the left.
28:26Meantime, out on the track, everybody's playing peak hour traffic games again.
28:30Trying to find a gap.
28:33Get yourself somewhere between 50, maybe 100 metres.
28:37They are actually genuinely getting better at this game.
28:40It was again talked about a lot at the drivers briefing earlier in the weekend about how this is done.
28:44The unofficial code between the drivers.
28:47When the lights are on, I'm on my queue lap.
28:49Please give me some space and try and position your car so that you're not on the racing line.
28:54It's easier said than done.
28:56What happens is you're engaged in roll bar adjustments,
29:00getting a feel for your car on the radio, talking.
29:02And we've spoken before about the limited vision rearward in these cars.
29:06Actually, if anything, got a little bit trickier this year.
29:09For example, the profile and shape of the Holden rear wing is quite different to the way it's been before.
29:14And I've had several drivers talk to me about the fact that they've really got to have their eyes up
29:18when it comes to looking rearward.
29:20And in fact, they need assistance from the pits if there is traffic around.
29:24So Wincup off to a good start here.
29:26The opening account 52-2 for Will Davison.
29:29Scott Pye immediately jumps over that.
29:30But Wincup's got a couple of good looking numbers to his name in the first two sectors.
29:35He's taken advantage of being out of pit lane first and using that track space.
29:43So 51-6 for Wincup.
29:46Bright's only now just coming out as well.
29:48So they were fiddling with that car a little.
29:50Winterbottom, two green boxes.
29:51And Brighty moves on to pole position number 11.
29:54Long time between drinks back to Phillip Island in 2009 for his pole.
29:58So at your point a moment ago about having to saddle up and do it again,
30:02there's no time to even bask in that glory as Winterbottom punches a 51-4.
30:06And normally the Scaifey knows because he's generated so many of them in his career.
30:10It's nice to stop and think about what you did in qualifying
30:13because it takes such a mental and physical task.
30:15It might be 51 seconds of your life.
30:17But boy, the boys wind themselves into a serious frenzy to do it.
30:21It is one of the most challenging things to do.
30:24And the level of commitment.
30:26Oh, big slide there from Wincup.
30:28That has cost him.
30:29He was going to be easily the fastest in a rotation.
30:32I don't know whether that's...
30:34Premar.
30:35Yeah, it's Premar.
30:36So he's turned around a very fast spot.
30:38I think it would be very hard not to have it.
30:40He's damaged the left-hand front corner.
30:42But it's interesting to see if there was a bit more to play with that
30:45because he can't spin there when it's so fast without doing a lot of damage.
30:49Winterbottom, meanwhile, has popped to the top with a 51-4-9.
30:53And he will make it.
30:55He does.
30:5651-4-2.
30:57Goes slightly faster.
30:58Wincup.
30:59Big mistake.
31:00So he would have gone to the top.
31:02He had the best second sector of the field at this point.
31:05And a massive slide.
31:06We were looking at him at turn six when it was right out sideways.
31:10Speedway action for Wincup.
31:12And that's currently fifth position.
31:15I just wonder if he would have seen Alex Premar facing the wrong way there
31:20and thought, I have to adjust here or I'm going to slam straight into him.
31:23Or being caught on the radio because, you know,
31:25we're having such a short lap with such a high risk.
31:27Here's the replay that will help tell...
31:28Oh, there you go.
31:29Oh, he was helping to the task.
31:30That's just ridiculous.
31:33Oh, he's lucky not to find the wall out there.
31:38So that was Dean Fiore.
31:40Oh.
31:41And then subsequently to avoid being tagged.
31:43That Wincup there.
31:44That's the bit that we saw.
31:46So it wasn't just his slide.
31:48I think you're right, Matt.
31:49I reckon he saw up in the top left-hand corner of the windscreen
31:54would have been a reversed Alex Premar.
31:57D'Alberto on a good lap now.
32:00Which is not what you're expecting to see.
32:02And when the tyres are in good condition here,
32:04coming off turn six, third gear,
32:07basically you're flat with a short shift to fourth,
32:09which you can then hold the throttle 100% flat,
32:12but you're really on the delicate edge.
32:14The car's sliding as you do it.
32:16So what you're not expecting is to have to use
32:18a little bit of discretion for a car width
32:20to avoid a car parked on the outside
32:22because you see the boys fully committed.
32:24There is no road left out there.
32:26100% Jonathan Webb only just missed him.
32:28Shane Van Gisbergen has gone into position six.
32:31Jason Bright again leads the list with 51.4.
32:36And it's the flip side to what we're talking about
32:38for the guys like Bright and Coulthard.
32:41They have to put the celebrations behind them.
32:43The guys who had a bad run in that previous qualifying session
32:47now have to forget about the hard luck story
32:51and concentrate on fixing it.
32:53Van Gisbergen's a good case in point.
32:55He finished 14.
33:00And now he's up inside the top 10.
33:02Hey boys, listen to this.
33:07Okay, that's me holding the microphone down near the exhaust
33:10of one of the Erebus AMG cars.
33:13Now we've talked about this over the course of the weekend.
33:16They've got them idled right up.
33:17Typically a V8 supercar engine will idle.
33:19You know, 1,600, 1,700 RPM.
33:21You don't want it to stall when you're on the brakes.
33:23There's some issues that I'll let Scafie explain
33:25that mean these guys have got to idle them right up around 3,000.
33:29And you couple that to the flat plane crank that they're using,
33:31everyone standing above me here in the grandstands
33:33are quite amazed to hear these cars that idle as you just did.
33:37Yeah, the engine node is discernibly different
33:40and the drivability issues they've got at the moment,
33:42they've got to run the idle up.
33:44So that's hurting them with the hairpin.
33:46Lee Holdsworth currently 12th.
33:48He's the highest placed of the E63 AMG Mercedes-Benz cars.
33:52Can Jason Bright make it back-to-back pole positions here at Simmons Plains?
33:57He leads the list.
33:58Most of the field in a pit lane.
34:00So we'll grab a break, bring you back.
34:01The Tasmania Microsoft Office 365 on 7.
34:061, 2, 3, 4.
34:09Here they come for the final few minutes of this qualifying session
34:13for race 5 today.
34:15Already Jason Bright has claimed pole position for race 4
34:18and he's on target to do two in a day.
34:21He leads the list from Mark Winterbottom, Jonathan Webb, Will Davison,
34:25Scotty McLaughlin fifth, Courtney, Van Gisburgh
34:29and Wing Cup eighth.
34:30Then it's Coulthard and Lowndes make up your ten.
34:32Gee, it's congested out there.
34:34Lowndes actually cycled up and got started on a queue lap
34:38and then very quickly aborted it when he could see a lot of traffic.
34:41Saw him a moment ago just warming up.
34:43Here's Todd Kelly.
34:44Spent a bit of time with him last night.
34:46Engine change for both he and James Moffat.
34:49Timing chain drama which then became an oil pump drama
34:52that chewed up a lot of metal, flicked off a belt
34:55and then clearly then you have an oil pressure problem for both Moffat
34:58and for Todd.
35:00With the assistance of pilot colleague Tony Smith
35:03they're flying bits backwards and forwards across Bass Strait.
35:06But their bottom line is they're out of spare engines at the moment there.
35:09And we've got a race meeting next weekend.
35:11So for Nissan Motorsport they've got to be very careful now to get through the end of this weekend
35:16and then regroup for next week for the Jack Daniels and for the Norton cars.
35:20And we just saw Todd go to 15th with that lap.
35:22But Neil was explaining Todd's dramas from yesterday.
35:26So Todd Kelly now up into 15th.
35:28Lee Holdsworth the fastest of the Mercedes E63s.
35:32He's in 12th still.
35:34But this session, that was a big slide wasn't it?
35:36Yeah, Lowndes had the thing really cranked up just on the gear change point.
35:40It was good enough for position 3 though.
35:4151-4 for Craig.
35:43Inside Red Bull Racing Australia.
35:45Bright, Winterbottom, Lowndes.
35:47Winkup is down in 9th.
35:49And here he is on the run to turn 4 in the hairpin.
35:52You can just tell that he's pushed that car very deep under brakes.
35:55They're getting up to 850, 900 degrees.
35:58Front brake temperatures in that stop.
36:00It's the second hardest on our tour of 14 venues, Simmons Plains.
36:05It's been the first real genuine brake test we've had all year.
36:08And McLaughlin, 51-34 for Fujitsu Racing.
36:13What a great start to his campaign this year.
36:16Deep Fiore also, great job.
36:18He's in fifth with a 51-4-9.
36:20So McLaughlin, Bright, Winterbottom, Lowndes.
36:22Reynolds now goes into fourth.
36:24That's great effort there from Dave Reynolds.
36:27Van Gisbergen is quick as well.
36:29So too is Jason Bright.
36:31Green boxes popping up everywhere.
36:33Bright to complete this lap.
36:35He'll stay in second.
36:37In fact, he'll drop to third because Winterbottom goes to first.
36:40Will Davidson joins the party as well.
36:42Now Fabian Coulthard at the top at 51.27.
36:45Two minutes to go, Matty.
36:47So it's going to be all action here as they all climb over each other.
36:51Wind Cup's down in 14th, but his sector split looks very impressive.
36:55So keep an eye out for the reigning champ.
36:57Coulthard, Winterbottom, Courtney's your three at the moment.
37:00Already McLaughlin, who was P1, his fourth.
37:03Big lockup.
37:04Fujitsu car on the run to turn two.
37:08Webb's gone to sixth.
37:10The Darrell Lee entry.
37:11He was a bit concerned about his straight line speed last night.
37:14Here's Wind Cup.
37:15He'll definitely move up the list up to second.
37:18So they just can't get hold of 51.27.
37:22It belongs to Fabian Coulthard.
37:24Wouldn't that be something?
37:26A race win and a pole both first on the same weekend.
37:30It's not done with yet.
37:32A minute 15 to go.
37:33Look at them all charging across the line.
37:35But they can't rattle the timesheets.
37:43Courtney to fourth.
37:44That's a good job.
37:4551.34.
37:46So Coulthard, Wind Cup, Winterbottom, Courtney, McLaughlin, Davison, Webb, Wright, Van Giesburg and Reynolds.
37:52Lowndes come into this race meeting.
37:55The leader of the series.
37:56Shocking day yesterday and he's 11th for the start of this one.
38:00Remember that we may not see that next burst of speed for some.
38:04Depending on their tyre management.
38:07Here we go.
38:08Winterbottom.
38:09Two green boxes.
38:10Because some people didn't have a second set to go to.
38:12So Winterbottom though looks strong to complete this lap.
38:15Turn six then seven.
38:16No space on the right side of the car.
38:18Yes!
38:19Goes to the top for Ford fans.
38:2151.20 Mark Winterbottom.
38:23Great job.
38:24Six one hundredths of a second is the difference between first and second.
38:29With just under 20 seconds remaining.
38:32That was a very, very good lap of Mark Winterbottom there.
38:36He struggled in that last second yesterday.
38:38It was three or four times.
38:40We thought he would go to the top of the timesheets.
38:42But he finished that lap very well.
38:44So Winterbottom for FPR on the front row.
38:48Bright's on a lap.
38:50So we saw him cycling up.
38:52So keep an eye out for this.
38:53Here comes Bright in the back straight at turn five.
38:55This is 270 kilometres an hour.
38:58He's already got a pole to his credit.
39:00He's two tenths down.
39:02He's a board at the lap.
39:03That's all right mate.
39:04You'll be able to pay half of that pram off at least today.
39:17Just rub it in, hey?
39:19So time's done.
39:23And Ford Performance Racing strike back through Mark Winterbottom.
39:26Another pole position at this circuit.
39:29He's had a couple before this.
39:31So that's three for Winterbottom at Simmons Plains.
39:34Jamie Winkup on the second row of the grid.
39:36Look at Scott McLaughlin fifth now.
39:38And Jason Bright will start race five from inside the top ten
39:42after starting race four from pole position.
39:44So Lowndes just outside the ten.
39:46Lee Holdsworth the best of the Benz boys.
39:50And Todd Kelly heading from 21st.
39:52Three Nissans there.
39:55But this one belongs to Mark Winterbottom.
39:57His signature move in a qualifying session.
40:00Waits to the death.
40:01And knocks him off.
40:03He's like a sniper.
40:0451.2.
40:08And Frosty will start on pole for the second and final race of the afternoon.
40:13So two 100km races still heading our way here in Tassie.
40:18Stay with us.
40:19We'll be back after this.
40:21So it's the first pole position of the season for Mark Winterbottom.
40:31The first Ford driver to start from the front this year.
40:35And it also means that we've now had four different pole sitters for the five races so far.
40:40Frosty's only won one race here back in 2010.
40:45Can he add to that tally today in race five?
40:48He's with Mark Beretta.
40:51Mark Winterbottom, you've been threatening to grab a pole here and you just sprung it on them last minute.
40:55Nice.
40:56It's good.
40:57Yeah, really good to be on pole.
40:59The two legs there.
41:00I guess I'm seventh in the first one.
41:02So you come in, you're a little bit angry and probably drive it a little bit harder in that second one.
41:06And to get poles a good thing.
41:08Good for the team.
41:09And I think we've got some good speed.
41:11So if we can get in front, who knows what's going to happen.
41:13So, yeah, it's good to be on pole.
41:15A great effort, Frosty.
41:16Well done. Enjoy it.
41:17Let's go. Thanks, mate.
41:18Down here with Jason Bright.
41:19Firstly, congratulations on P1 in the first qualifying.
41:22Let's talk about that first, mate.
41:23This team, both cars, very strong.
41:25They are, mate.
41:26You know, we've been strong since the Eastern Creek Test, you know.
41:29So it's good to see both cars starting on the front row.
41:32Shame we didn't do it again for the second one.
41:34I just couldn't get that last sector on that last run.
41:37But, you know, cars are strong.
41:38We had great race pace yesterday.
41:40But, you know, qualifying let me down.
41:42You know, so I've got a bit of work to do in the second one.
41:44But hopefully we can get a good result in the first one.
41:46All right.
41:47Well done, mate. Good luck today. Cheers.
41:49Yeah, what a day for Jason Bright.
41:51So, Mark Winterbottom joins Bright.
41:53Jamie Winkup and Shane Van Gisbergen as the pole sitters so far.
41:57This season, though, we'll all get together and regroup
42:00and get prepared for the two races this afternoon.
42:04The job of the day, though, this young man, Scott McLaughlin,
42:0719 years of age, another career personal best qualifier.
42:10He will start race five from fifth.
42:12He's only done six races in his young career.
42:15This year, he's been top ten in every qualifying session,
42:18every race so far.
42:20After the break, we'll go racing here at the Tasmania Microsoft Office 365.
42:25Shine bright like a diamond. Shine bright like a diamond.
42:31Shine bright like a diamond.