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SHANE van Gisbergen was fast in practice, faster in qualifying and fastest when it counted - relive all the thrills and spills of the V8 Supercars race here:
Gold Coast 600
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THE RACE: SHANE van Gisbergen was fast in practice, faster in qualifying and fastest when it counted on the streets of Surfers Paradise.
The Kiwi piloted the Tekno Autosports Holden Commodore to victory in Race 1 of the Castrol Edge Gold Coast 600 after co-driver Jonathon provided a solid start to a race that was not without incident.
Holding off championship leader Jamie Whincup, van Gisbergen claimed the chequered flag to climb into third place for the championship, edging out Craig Lowndes who encountered steering problems late in the race.
He said while the win was sweet it didn’t go all the way to healing his Bathurst wounds when stalling the car in pit lane late in the race cost them any shot at what to be a likely win.
“It makes up for some it, but next year I’ve got to go back and try again,” he said.
“Today was great, Jonathon did a great job.”
But the excitement in the last few laps was the race for third.
Supercheap Auto Racing’s Tim Slade held third place, however Ford Pepsi Max Crew driver Mark Winterbottom was finishing full of running.
Winterbottom edged ahead on the line to grab third place by 0.0021 sec and deny Slade’s co-driver Tony D’Alberto his first podium finish in 189 race starts.
But marshals deemed a touch from behind at the last turn was illegal and relegated him to fourth.
D’Alberto was the happiest man on the Gold Coast.
“Finally,” he bellowed when told of the decision. “That was a bit naughty of Frosty and it is good to get it back.
“It has been a long time coming.”
Slade was clearly suffering heat stress immediately after race after his cool seat ran out of dry ice and he had no drink left and was unable to front a post-race press conference and he did his best to recover in an ice bath.
While there was barely a brush with the barriers during the four practice sessions, the concrete jungle bit back.
First, Greg Murphy was nudged from behind and spun into the tyres without having passed the start/finish line for the first time and then David Reynolds came to grief at the end of the back straight mid-race.
Reynolds, third fastest in Friday’s practice, clipped a clipped a tyre bundle and damaged the right front end and put the matter beyond doubt by going straight into the wall at the end of the straight because of the unresponsive steering.
“The car wasn’t the best and I was trying to make time,” Reynolds said. “We’ll come back and try again tomorrow.
Whether it was a sign of what is to come next season or simply strategy on race day, Volvo co-driver Greg Ritter qualified the No. 34 Valvoline Racing GRM car and then drove the lion’s share of the laps, consigning Swede Robert Dahlgren to spectator for much of the race.
The first race of the V8 Ute Series finished under safety car after a spate of heavy crashes.
Defending champion Ryal Harris, who crashed during practice on Friday and was seventh in the championship leading into the race, took the win from and Jesse Dixon and David Sieders.
The Gold Coast driver made the most at the start to find clear air and there was no looking back.
“It’s always a bit of a light win when you win that way, but we had plenty of pace and we were starting to pull away so I was pretty confident in car speed,” he said.
The conclusion of the Porsche Carrera Cup season could not be any closer with one point separating first and second heading into the final two races to decide the 2014 champion.
Steve Richards’ second-place finish in Race 1 allowed him to leapfrog Warren Luff who managed just sixth. Richards (864 points) now leads the series from Luff (863) and in what could well be a changing of the guard Craig Baird, who has won the last five Carrera Cups, is third with 836 points.
Stephen Grove’s 13th place finish in Race 1 was enough for him to wrap up the Elite Class.
The first of three Porsche Carrera Cup races produced a win to David Russell.
In Race 2 of the Aussie Racing Cars, Trent Young held off Townsville driver Hayden Stephensen by 0.3104 sec
5PM: TEKNO Autosports Shane van Gisbergen has won the first V8 Supercars race of the Castrol EDGE Gold Coast 600.
van Gisbergen was in the lead for the past 10 laps with favourites Jamie Whincup and Mark Winterbottom at his heels the entire way.
It’s a great result for the 25-year-old who will be hoping for similar success in the final race tomorrow afternoon.
V8 Supercars Race 31:
1st: Shane van Gisbergen.
2nd: Jamie Whincup.
3rd: Mark Winterbottom.
4th: Tim Slade.
5th: Michael Caruso.
4.45PM: GARTH Tander has dropped back through the field in the final 12 laps after suffering a tyre problem.
The Holden Racing Team driver hit the problem around a sharp bend at a Main Beach part of the track.
Shane van Gisbergen is holding the lead with Tim Slade, Jamie Whincup and Mark Winterbottom close behind.
[VIDEO] 'It's killed the tyre' Tander drops from P3 #V8SC http://t.co/NpCsISVyO0
— V8Supercars Official (@v8supercars) October 25, 20144.30PM: It’s down to the final 30 laps of the first V8 Supercars race of the GC600 weekend and the race could still be ancones.
Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen, Mark Winterbottom, Michael Caruso and Jamie Whincup are all jostling for first place.
3.50PM: HUGE damage to David Reynold’s Bottleo Racing Team car after he collided with a chicane on the GC600 track.
The crash means it's the end of racing for the team today, with David Reynolds telling Channel Seven he’s disappointed and hopes tomorrow will be a better day.
As of lap 57 Jamie Whincup is in the lead with mark Winterbottom not far behind.
3.30PM: MINIMAL co-driver laps are completed and the big names the fans are here to see are expected to get behind the wheels any minute now.
Meanwhile it has been announced that no action will be taken over an earlier crash that ended the day’s racing for James Courtney and co-driver Greg Murphy.
Great effort by the boys. We're back out, 18 laps down. #V8SC pic.twitter.com/LW9oJpI1kh
— Team JELD-WEN (@TeamJELDWEN) October 25, 20143.15PM: IT WAS supposed to be a celebration for V8 Supercars veteran Greg Murphy.
Just hours before Race 1 of the Gold Coast 600 his Holden Racing Team presented him with a cake to mark his 200th race start in a career that started at Calder Park way back in 1997.
Murphy talked about marking the occasion the only way he knew how “by winning a race today, nothing less”.
But just seconds after the green flag Murphy was tapped from behind and put into the wall, not even reaching the starting line.
GOLD COAST 600 — EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
“I can’t believe it,” co-driver Murphy called down the team radio line.
Meanwhile, James Courtney sat in the pits knowing he would have to wait until tomorrow for a chance to sit behind the wheel.
The incident continued the team’s Gold Coast 600 hoodoo after and crash in Race 1 and suspension failure in Race 2 last year turned their weekend into a nightmare.
Courtney blamed himself.
“It’s definitely not what we wanted. “It started with me putting us back there this morning,” he said in reference to qualifying where the best he could manage was 14th.
3PM: HOLDEN’S James Courtney and co-driver Greg Murphy’s car is out of action after a fender-bender in the first seconds of the race.
The Holden Racing Team has confirmed their car’s rear suspension was broken in the crash.
James Courtney tweeted saying the sport he loves can be “cruel” and he will keep fans updated on their replacement car.
Sorry guys but that's us for the day..... How cruel this sport we love can be to us at times. I'll try keep you guys posted with car #2
— James Courtney (@jcourtney) October 25, 20142.45PM: JUST 5 seconds into the race and the first crash has stopped Greg Murphy and David Russell in their tracks.
It is believed the car in front stalled causing the smash up in the first seconds of the race.
Murphy is co-driver for James Courtney who said he was disappointed with the setback.
“We should have been in the top 10 and not even in the position we were in,” he told Channel Seven.
[VIDEO] Courtney 'I feel for Murph...the poor little fella' #V8SC http://t.co/2lbxz76oR1
— V8Supercars Official (@v8supercars) October 25, 20142.40PM: THE first V8 Supercars race of the Gold Coast 600 is underway and with 102 laps to go around Surfers Paradise’s hazardous track anything could happen.
Rolling updates throughout the race.
1:30PM: SHANE van Gisbergen has put his Tekno Autosports team on pole position after posting the fastest time in the Gold Coast 600 Top 10 Shootout.
Van Gisbergen clocked a hot lap of 1min 11.3242 sec to edge out Volvo driver Scott McLaughlin (1:11.3995) to make it an all-Kiwi front row of the grid.
“I knew it just had to be done in the first sector, and that’s where (the car) was good,” van Gisbergen said.
“I just had to get enough tyre temperature because it’s so hard get it up for that first lap. But yeah, awesome job and to be on pole is really cool.”
Super Cheap Auto Racing’s Tim Slade (1:11.5226) and Holden Racing Team’s Garth Tander (1:11.5323) are on the second row of the grid.
Red Bull Racing had a forgettable Shootout with Jamie Whincup brushing the wall twice to be fifth on the grid and Craig Lowndes being relegated to last of the top 10 for using too much kerb.
Ford Performance Racing’s Mark Winterbottom missed the Top 10 Shootout, as did James Courtney, who was second fastest after Friday’s practice sessions, and Bathurst winner Chaz Mostert.
Winterbottom, who damaged his car in the chicane on the back straight and battled steering problems, was more than 5 sec off the pace in 11th, Courtney grazed a wall to be back in 14th and Mostert was back in 19th nursing a damaged vehicle.
The first race of the V8 Ute Series finished under safety car after a spate of heavy crashes.
Defending champion Ryal Harris, who crashed during practice on Friday and was seventh in the championship leading into the race, took the win from and Jesse Dixon and David Sieders.
The Gold Coast driver made the most at the start to find clear air and there was no looking back.
“It’s always a bit of a light win when you win that way, but we had plenty of pace and we were starting to pull away so I was pretty confident in car speed,” he said.
In Race 2 of the Aussie Racing Cars, Trent Young held off Townsville driver Hayden Stephensen by 0.3104 sec.
Top 10 Shootout, V8 Supercars Race 31 (1 lap)
1. (97) Shane van Gisbergen (Holden) 1m11.3242s
2. (33) Scott McLaughlin (Volvo) 1m11.3995s
3. (47) Tim Slade (Holden) 1m11.5226s
4. (2) Garth Tander (Holden) 1m11.5323s
5. (1) Jamie Whincup (Holden) 1m11.6563s
6. (55) David Reynolds (Ford) 1m11.7462s
7. (4) Lee Holdsworth (Erebus) 1m12.0822s
8. (222) Nick Percat (Holden) 1m12.2662s
9. (36) Michael Caruso (Nissan) 1m12.6237s
10. (888) Craig Lowndes (Holden) NTR
1PM: THE V8 Supercar GC600 Top Ten Shootout is done and Tekno Autosport’s Shane van Gisbergen will start the afternoon’s race in pole position.
The shootout was close, but in the end van Gisbergen held on to the top spot with Scott McLaughlin placed second.
Tim Slade will be P3, Garth Tander P4, Jamie Whincup P5, David Reynolds P6, Lee Holdsworth P7, Nick Percat P8, Michael Caruso P9 and Craig Lowndes P10.
The shootout was tense for many big name drivers, with Red Bull Racing’s Craig Lowndes taking the corners a little too aggressively and risking damage to his car and disqualification.
Lowndes was unable to complete the lap due to the damage and was placed in tenth pole.
Meanwhile Valvoline’s Scott McLaughlin had a few close calls with the 21-year-old driver narrowly missing walls around the Surfers Paradise track to gain his second pole position.
Today’s main event, the V8 Supercars race 31, will kick off at 2.40pm after the Porsche Carrera Cup.
12.45PM: The Top Ten Shootout is on with the 10 fastest drivers from the qualifying round battling it out to see who will have the best pole position in this afternoon’s race.
Who do you want to see in P1 position?
12PM: V8 Supercar qualifying has completed with Valvoline Racing’s Scott McLaughlin at top pole position ... for now.
P2 was Craig Lowndes and P3 Jamie Whincup, but the positions earned in the qualifier may not stick, with the Top Ten Shootout to come up in the next half an hour.
Ford’s Mark Winterbottom and Chaz Mostert and Holden’s James Courtney missed out on the Top Ten Shootout due to issues with their cars.
11.45AM: THE V8 Supercar qualifying session is midway through and so far Scott McLaughlin, Jamie Whincup, Shane Van Gisbergen, Tim Slade, Garth Tander, Nick Percat, James Courtney, Craig Lowndes and Chaz Mostert will make up the Top Ten Shootout.
Meanwhile Slade is reporting the rear of his Commodore is “sketchy” despite improvements being made to the car overnight.
Slade reporting the rear of the Commodore is "sketchy" despite making improvements to the car overnight #V8SC #GC600
— V8Supercars Official (@v8supercars) October 25, 2014EARLIER: THE fun and temperature is heating up in Surfers Paradise as the weekend crowds descend for the Castrol Edge GC600 today.
More than 180,000 fans are expected across the three-day event, which coincides with what could be one of the hottest October weekends on record.
The on-track fun kicked off this morning with a foot race around the beachside track, while the real action begins with V8 qualifying later this morning.
Gold Coast trams have been a popular way to get to the GC600 with all services packed to capacity as fans avoid the roads.
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has been in the pitlanes this morning and is expected to spend the day soaking up the atmosphere.
Aussie Racing Cars have completed their second race this morning, with a few spills and the safety car was forced to come on track after a minor three car crash.
Police had their hands full earlier this morning with a runaway inflatable car that found its way into the Broadwater, but so far have praised revellers for their behaviour around the track.
V8 Supercars will begin their qualifying at 11.35am, before the V8 Ute Racing series kicks off their first race at 12.10pm.
The V8 Supercar drivers will have a Top Ten Shootout at 12.40pm and will race at 2.40pm.
Bring it on!
Rolling updates on the action to come throughout the day.
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