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After 37 races in the V8 Supercar Championship, and around 6,650 kilometres of competitive racing, just one race remains in the 2014 season. Join The Roar for a live blog of the final 250 kilometres of the season from the Sydney 500 at 11:05am AEDT.
Yesterday’s two races summed up the 2014 championship nicely. In a day of unpredictability, in both weather conditions and qualifying, Jamie Whincup still came out on top, battled the elements, and won Race 36 and 37.
He coped with the pressure well to further stamp himself as the championship winner of 2014. At the end of today’s racing, Whincup will officially be handed his sixth title in the category.
Yesterday, he won both races, in the dominant fashion we have seen from him in the second half of the season. In Race 36 Whincup overtook Tim Slade with 12 laps to go to take his 13th win of the season.
He then made it 14 wins in dramatic fashion in Race 37 as he – and the rest of the field – survived a deluge of rain.
After taking the lead into the first corner of the race, Whincup would hold that positon and extend his lead, as a big weather pattern crossed over Homebush.
By the middle of the race it started to rain as the track became partially flooded by the deluge.
This made the teams pit for wet weather tyres and forced the officials to red flag the race and wait for the rain to clear.
While it didn’t clear fully towards the end of the race, for a restart, it did become clear enough for the drivers to get back out of the track.
This allowed the field to complete the required laps and make it a completed race.
Whincup, as the leader, would take the win as the field finished under the safety car on lap 24.
It would complete a fascinating days racing as teams and drivers struggled with the circuit and the conditions in Sydney.
Today they do it all again with a 250 kilometre race to finish the season. They will also have a top ten shootout to contend with before the race.
The weather could also become a factor with showers and thunderstorms forecasted again in Sydney.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology there is a “High (70%) chance of showers during this afternoon and early evening. Thunderstorm likely during this afternoon and early evening.”
If that happens, Shane Van Gisbergen becomes one of the favourites for the race. The New Zealander was one of the drivers of the day yesterday.
In Race 36 he went from 18th to 6th and finished second in Race 37. Had the conditions improved in Race 37, and they raced again, Van Gisbergen would have been one of the drivers to beat in the wet conditions.
If it rains tomorrow, and it is safe to drive in those conditions, Van Gisbergen will become a big contender.
The Holden driver is also battling for second in the championship and moved to third after yesterday’s races.
He is just 87 points behind Winterbottom for second and a good result could give him his best ever finish in the V8 Supercar Championship.
Someone else who is also looking for a good result today is Marcos Ambrose, who had a tough day yesterday. A crash in qualifying put him at the back of the grid for both races.
While he finished Race 36 and 37, in 20th and 21st respectively, Ambrose will be looking to move higher up the field today.
As this is his last race before he embarks on a full championship campaign, he will want as much experience and confidence as he can get before he starts the season next year.
Today is also the last race for Russell Ingall as a full time driver. He is unlikely to get a contract with any team for 2015 and his career in a full time capacity will be over.
Here’s hoping the enforcer has one more charge in him.
It could also be a significant day for Scott Pye, Nick Percat, Jack Perkins and Dale Wood. None of these drivers have a deal for 2015 in the main game. A good result today could sway teams to sign these drivers next year.
It is shaping up to be a big day in the V8 Supercars as teams finish 2014 and look ahead to 2015.
Join The Roar for all the action of the final race of the season.
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