Supercars: Shane van Gisbergen’s Newcastle 500 revenge after controversial disqualification
Still fuming from his controversial overnight disqualification, Shane van Gisbergen exacted his revenge in Newcastle on Sunday.
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Mess with the Red Bull and get the horns.
Still fuming from his controversial overnight disqualification, Shane van Gisbergen wasted no time returning Triple Eight to the top of the podium with a dominant driving display in Newcastle on Sunday.
The reigning Supercars champion led Chaz Mostert and David Reynolds to the checkered flag after climbing from the third row of the grid for a second-straight day.
In a thrilling finish to the opening round in Newcastle, van Gisbergen chased down an ailing Mostert on old tyres – completing a pass with less than five minutes to run on the time-affected race.
Race 2 was not without its own controversy however, with van Gisbergen’s move on Mostert called into question given he nudged the Walkinshaw Andretti United driver during the pass at turn seven.
“The contact, it was a little bit cheeky,” Mostert said.
“I don’t mind rubbing (while) racing but when you get a clear pass from it, it’s a little bit cheeky.”
For his part, a heated van Gisbergen simply responded: “I did all my talking on the track”.
The Kiwi superstar arrived at the track to news he had been stripped of his Saturday race victory following a protest by Ford rivals Tickford and Walkinshaw Andretti United.
Stewards deliberated overnight after Triple Eight was alleged to have installed an illegal cooling system in both van Gisbergen and teammate Broc Feeney’s Chevrolet Camaros.
Tickford and WAU took note of the breach on the broadcast and filed protests at the end of Saturday’s race.
By qualifying on Sunday, van Gisbergen and Feeney had both been disqualified and the Monster Energy Mustang of Cam Waters was elevated to race winner, with Mostert and Brodie Kostecki rounding out the new-look podium.
Triple Eight team manager Mark Dutton believed he had received verbal confirmation from Supercars Head of Motorsport Adrian Burgess that the cooling system was right for racing, though the latter maintained that was not the case.
“Did I say the words, ‘Do I have approval for this’? No I didn’t,” Dutton said.
“The fact the HOM saw the box installed in the car, said it was a good idea, you can probably understand why I thought that was (fine).”
Triple Eight later confirmed it would appeal the ruling, with a decision expected to be handed down during the week.
“Ultimately they have the right to appeal which they’re doing and if I was in their shoes I would appeal as well,” Tickford team principal Tim Edwards said.
“The stewards have made a decision that they think it’s (a) very clear (breach). Maybe they (Triple Eight) have some angle that I don’t see, but the rules are very clear.”
The early drama threatened to overshadow Sunday’s race, which loomed as the perfect chance for Ford to strike another blow on its manufacturer rivals.
Reynolds put his Penrite Racing Mustang on pole for the 16th time in his career, making it a Ford front-row lockout with Mostert lining up alongside him.
Van Gisbergen, as he had done a day earlier, began the race on the third row of the grid.
Tickford rookie Declan Fraser spun into a concrete barrier down the main straight after turning into Macauley Jones, forcing a race delay on the opening lap as the crane was called to fix the damage.
The race restarted and a trio of Mustangs bolted out the gate, with Mostert leading Reynolds and Cam Waters.
Halfway through the race Mostert and Waters entered into a familiar battle for the race lead.
But as Waters filled the mirrors of Mostert’s Mustang he clipped a corner and bent the left-hand steering arm, forcing him to pit a lap later.
Tickford took a hammer to the steering arm in an attempt to fix the issue but Waters’ hopes of back-to-back race victories was ultimately ruined as a result.
It piled further pain onto Tickford, who had started the day with Waters being awarded the Saturday race victory but ended with just one car, Thomas Randle, going through unscathed.
Earlier, James Courtney’s day was finished when he hit the wall during the Top Ten Shootout.
After Waters fell away it was van Gisbergen who emerged as the main contender.
And the Kiwi superstar chewed up an eight second gap over the final 10 laps to catch Mostert at the death, who was limping home on older tyres.
Lights out for Race 2 and there is drama for Fraser and Jones!
— Supercars (@supercars) March 12, 2023
The race has been red flagged with damage to the pit wall #RepcoSC#Supercarspic.twitter.com/0T9TZUkuLU
FORD GRAB FRONT-ROW LOCKOUT AS FALLOUT FROM SVG’S DQ CONTINUES
It’s a Ford front-row lockout for Sunday’s race in Newcastle after David Reynolds put his No. 26 Penrite Racing Mustang on pole with a blistering time in the Top Ten Shootout.
Chaz Mostert set the hot pace when he burned the early runners by seven-tenths, and looked poised to hold onto pole until Reynolds romped home with the final run of the shootout.
It’s Reynolds’ 16th career pole position and first since Gold Coast last season.
The PremiAir Racing Camaro of James Golding continued to surprise, with the Gold Coaster landing third on the grid for Sunday’s race alongside the Monster Mustang of Cam Waters.
Reigning Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen will start from the third row for the second day in a row and will have the other PremiAir driver, Tim Slade, for company.
Van Gisbergen earlier had his Saturday race victory disqualified under protest, with Triple Eight set to challenge the ruling through the week.
Meanwhile, James Courtney’s race status is under threat after the No. 5 Tickford Racing Mustang found the wall at turn seven in the shootout.
Red Bull driver Broc Feeney had reported oil on the track at turn seven, where an Aussie Racing Cars crash occurred only an hour earlier.
And it was there that Courtney lost control and found the wall, with fluid leaking out under the car.
Tickford team principal Tim Edwards said Courtney’s chances of returning in time for Race 2 at 3.20pm would come down to the availability of spare parts.
It’s the first major crash of the Gen3 era after all cars got through Saturday’s race unscathed.
“I don’t know how these cars crash,” Courtney said.
“We’re the first ones to try (a hasty repair job). We’ll get it back (to the garage) and have a look.
“It’s disappointing. All that hard work, we had good pace this morning, (made the) top 10 yesterday and yeah, it’s just disappointing that happened.”
TOP TEN SHOOTOUT RESULTS
D. Reynolds (Grove) 1:12.081
C. Mostert (Walkinshaw) 1:12.087
J. Golding (PremiAir) 1:12.190
C. Waters (Tickford) 1:12.295
S. van Gisbergen (Triple Eight) 1:12.348
T. Slade (PremiAir) 1:12.626
B. Feeney (Triple Eight) 1:12.740
J. Le Brocq (Matt Stone) 1:12.958
T. Hazelwood (Blanchard) 1:13.103
J. Courtney (Tickford) DNF
SUPERCARS CHAMP DISQUALIFIED FROM R1 AS FORD GO ONE-TWO ON GRID
Shane van Gisbergen and Broc Feeney have been disqualified from Race 1 of the Supercars Championship.
Triple Eight now has 60 minutes to lodge an intent to appeal, which the team is expected to do.
If the team does notify intent to appeal, it will then have 72 hours to formally lodge an appeal.
For now, Cam Waters has been elevated into the race leader ahead of Chaz Mostert, with Brodie Kostecki moving onto the podium.
Triple Eight team manager Mark Dutton confirmed the team had lodged an appeal.
Dutton argued he had shown the cooling system set-up to Head of Motorsport Adrian Burgess on Thursday and Burgess had told him it was “a good idea”.
“On Thursday I grabbed the HOM, went to the car and we went through the cooling of the car … went through the reasons for it,” Dutton said on the Fox Sports broadcast.
“This was quite an in-depth conversation at which point everything was fine.
“Did I say the words, ‘Do I have approval for this’? No, I didn’t.
“The fact that the HOM saw the box installed in the car, said it was a good idea, you can probably understand why I thought that was (fine).”
In the official stewards ruling, Burgess acknowledged Dutton’s statement however disagreed with the proposition he had given Triple Eight approval to use it in the race.
Tickford Racing team principal Tim Edwards said the “rules are very clear”.
“For us there’s nothing great about the rule, it’s black and white,” he said.
“It’s a very clear rule – we’ve had no issues with driver comfort and temperature issues at all.
“Unfortunately the rules are very clear about where you can put the cooling mediums in the car.
“Ultimately they have the right to appeal which they’re doing and if I was in their shoes I would appeal as well.
“The stewards have made a decision that they think it’s very clear. Maybe they (Triple Eight) have some angle that I don’t see, but the rules are very clear.”
WAU director Ryan Walkinshaw echoed Edwards’ sentiments.
“It’s a big call but it’s the right call,” he said.
“At the end of the day the rules are pretty clear. (Triple Eight) knew what they were doing.
“They had an unfair advantage in the race.”
Triple Eight released a statement on Sunday morning claiming it was granted permission by the HOM.
“Triple Eight is disappointed in the decision handed down by Motorsport Australia resulting in the disqualification of both Red Bull Ampol Racing cars from Race 1 of the Newcastle 500 and we have lodged notices of our intention to appeal for both cars,” the statement read.
“The team sought permission from the Supercars Head of Motorsport prior to Race 1 of the Supercars Championship, which was granted, and we acted upon this permission. This was not a performance enhancement method, but a driver safety tool.
“Our team ethos is to race hard and fair every time we hit the track and our full focus is on today’s race in Newcastle.”
David Reynolds has taken provisional pole as the good news keeps coming for Ford on Sunday at Newcastle.
The Grove Racing veteran dialled in the fastest lap of the weekend with a 1:11.487 to cross the line quickest ahead of the Monster Mustang of Cam Waters, making it a Ford one-two.
PremiAir driver James Golding was a surprise third-fastest ahead of Shane van Gisbergen, who earlier had his Saturday race victory taken off him after an overnight protest.
Tim Slade continued his strong qualifying form from Saturday to run fifth, ahead of Chaz Mostert, Todd Hazelwood, James Courtney, Jack Le Brocq and Broc Feeney.
For the second-straight day both Shell V-Power Mustangs missed the Top Ten Shootout, with Will Davison landing in 11th by just four one-hundredths of a second.
The Top Ten Shootout begins 12.35pm AEDT.
RESULTS
1. D. Reynolds
2. C. Waters
3. J. Golding
4. S. van Gisbergen
5. T. Slade
6. C. Mostert
7. T. Hazelwood
8. J. Courtney
9. J. Le Brocq
10. B. Feeney
FANS FEAR SUPERCARS TITLE RACE OVER AFTER ONE RACE
Fans are already abandoning hope of a genuine title challenger to Shane van Gisbergen and Triple Eight after the back-to-back Supercars champion romped home in record time at Newcastle on Saturday.
Social media was flooded with fears of another SVG procession after van Gisbergen led teammate Broc Feeney to the checkered flag in the season opener, with Tickford’s Cam Waters conceding the Red Bulls were simply “too good”.
Late last season van Gisbergen put the world on notice by declaring he would wait to re-sign with Triple Eight until after he had sampled the Gen3 supercars.
Vocal in his desire to be properly challenged after a historically dominant 2022 campaign, the Kiwi superstar said it was too early to know whether that challenge would come this year.
“It’s never easy – I don’t really know the answer to that yet,” he said.
Asked if he was enjoying himself in the new car, van Gisbergen pleaded the fifth: “I’ll pass on that one”.
New era of Supercars. Gen 3. Chevrolet Camaro replacing the Holden Commodore. Same old story.
— Kobe Lambeth (@KobeLambeth) March 11, 2023
We're still living in a world with everyone chasing Shane van Gisbergen. #RepcoSC
It's just the first race, but thought the car would level the playing field. I was comparing it to NASCAR's NextGen car where it did level the competition. However, Van Gisbergen is clearly a master in Supercars. His talent is rivaled by no one in the field.
— JJ (@TomcatNASCAR_2) March 11, 2023
His silence on the Gen3 topic is about the only headache for Triple Eight at the moment.
The reigning champion team got its strategy absolutely right and van Gisbergen put on a clinic in tyre nursing and race pace.
That despite the three-time Supercars champion conceding he still did not feel fully comfortable behind the wheel of his Gen3 Chevrolet Camaro.
“All I can think about is understeer and oversteer today and trying to get better for tomorrow,” he said.
“I don’t want to reflect yet because tomorrow could be completely different. I have to make my car better for tomorrow.”
Another 95 laps and 250km will greet drivers on Sunday – but with a high chance of rain, the race plan could look drastically different to the one which Triple Eight rode to success in the season opener.
“We’ve had zero (time) with the new wet (tyres) this year so it’s going to be a challenge for sure,” van Gisbergen said.
Waters refused to entertain the possibility of another dominant Red Bull season after the opening race, promising a more potent Mustang for Sunday.
“I don’t think the car was in its best window just because we’ve been chasing it so much,” he said.
“It was great today to get it a bit nicer for sure, but we need to put our heads together overnight and massage it a bit more.”
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