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Motorsports writer, photographer and sometimes podcaster on Hit The Apex Podcast. Catch me on Twitter @Doctor46th and @HitTheApexMedia.
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It was another race for the ages, with Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander delivering one last victory for Holden in the legendary marque’s final Bathurst 1000 as a manufacturer in the Supercars championship.
Cameron Waters smashed the Bathurst lap record to put his Tickord Mustang on pole for long-awaited 2020 Bathurst 1000, but thunderstorms are forecast to dispute the race. Join The Roar for a live blog and race updates from 10:45am (AEDT).
Amongst the devastation and uncertainties which 2020 has conjured, it was almost forgotten that at the conclusion of the Supercars championship season, an iconic marque would pull the curtain on the Australian touring car scene.
Cold and unfamiliar conditions met Formula One upon its return to the Nürburgring, as Lewis Hamilton won the Eifel Grand Prix to equal the record of 91-wins set by Michael Schumacher.
The Bend Motorsport Park for the second week running hosted a round of the Supercars championship and significantly it was the penultimate of the truncated 2020 season.
Lewis Hamilton will start from pole in tonight’s Russian Grand Prix in an attempt to equal Michael Schumacher’s record 91 victories in Formula One. Join The Roar for a live blog and race updates from 9:10pm (AEST).
After a much-deserved break for the Supercars championship following four consecutive weeks of racing, the category got back into full flight in South Australia and The Bend Motorsport Park.
A chaotic first ever Formula One grand prix at Mugello saw Lewis Hamilton take his 90th career win from teammate Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull’s Alex Albon, amid two red flag stoppages and almost half the field out of the race.
Ferrari suffered one of its worst results on home soil at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, as both Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc failed to reach the chequered flag in a season where the Scuderia’s struggle continues to get worse.
The announcement that the Italian Grand Prix at Monza would be the last for Williams Racing deputy team principal Claire Williams was a shock to many, as it would also be the final race for the famous family in Formula One.
Supercars reaches the end of its four consecutive weekends of racing, as another round at the Reid Park street circuit in Townsville sees out a chunk of the 2020 championship.
Lewis Hamilton will lead the first Mercedes front-row lockout at Monza since 2016 when he starts from pole for tonight’s Formula One Italian Grand Prix. Join The Roar for a live blog and race updates from 11:10pm (AEST).
When it comes to being ruthless with their driver line-up, Red Bull Racing have been the best in Formula One since they first entered the sport in 2005.
From the Top End of Australia in Darwin, to just over 2,500km south-east to Townsville in the north of Queensland, the rollercoaster that is the Supercars championship in 2020 continued to roll on.
Lewis Hamilton will start the 2020 Formula One Belgian Grand Prix from pole ahead of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas, while Aussie Daniel Ricciardo will line up fourth. Join The Roar for a live blog and race updates from 11:10pm (AEST).
Four events in four weeks for the Supercars championship has meant we’re back to racing only seven days after the Darwin Triple Crown at the very same Hidden Valley Raceway in Australia’s Top End.
It had been a month since the second Sydney SuperSprint and so much had changed in and around the Supercars championship, among the continual impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Polesitter Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas will form an all-Mercedes front row for tonight’s Spanish Grand Prix, but the German team thinks Max Verstappen is favourite to win back-to-back races. Follow The Roar for live race updates and a blog of the race at 11:10pm (AEST).
As the Australian sporting landscape feels the impact of COVID-19’s second coming, the situation with the Supercars championship continues to be a fluid one ahead of the next round in the country’s Top End.
Formula One is never devoid of controversy and regardless how much we wax lyrical about the spirit of game and competition, there is always going to be pushing of boundaries.
Indeed its been a coming of age period for Waters, though for him to actually be a title contender – I think Tickford have to deliver a consistent enough car to be winning races on genuine race pace like Shell V-Power and Red Bull.
Supercars Bathurst 1000 talking points
Yes Micko, the original Peter Brock Trophy that was given to McLaughlin and Prémat last year, was returned pre-race by Scotty during the ceremony with the national anthem and what not.
Supercars Bathurst 1000 talking points
Makes sense Jacko, so perhaps just call them GMs. Maybe not Chrysler though as Spruce says.
Supercars Bathurst 1000 talking points
Would it be safe to say that both drivers get a replica mini trophy? Or something along those lines? I’m sure I’ve seen it before 😂
Supercars Bathurst 1000 talking points
It’s a good question Micko. Going off the situation the Ford teams found themselves in back in 2015 when they retracted manufacturer support, the car itself was still referred to as the Ford Falcon. Ford Performance Racing though had to rename itself as Prodrive and the cars didn’t have any Ford branding on them.
I’m sure it’ll be a similar scenario for the current Holden teams, in that we’ll still be calling the Holden Commodore what it is in 2021, but I’m not 100% sure.
Supercars Bathurst 1000 talking points
Thanks Damo,
SVG definitely stamped his authority as the best wet weather driver on the Supercars grid. It was such a mega stint and yes, defined the win.
Agreeing with Spruce, it has been reported in the IndyCar press for a while now that Penske will run a fourth car in 2021 which will be for Scotty. All that remains now is just the press release hey. Can’t wait to see how he fares at St Petersburg this weekend.
Supercars Bathurst 1000 talking points
When it comes to hard racing and not giving an inch, I don’t think you can go past SVG and Tander. Shane has been runner up on two occasions since he’s been with Red Bull, including last year so a win surely will be written in his future at The Mountain.
Supercars The Bend SuperSprint talking points Week 2
The Grand Prix is likely to happen later in the year, so it would be a significant waste of resources if the infrastructure was put up for Supercars, disassembled and then put up again for F1 months later.
Given how there was no biosecurity or Covid-safe plan in place this year, the safest thing to do was to cancel altogether.
Supercars The Bend SuperSprint talking points Week 2
Yes Micko, Waters has been quite impressive this year. It is good to see him take over as the leader of Tickford, especially after Mostert left and also Winterbottom the year before. He and Will Davison at Bathurst are going to be real dark horses!
Supercars The Bend SuperSprint talking points Week 2
I’m lead to believe that it would be towards the end of February and yeah the 12 Hour GT race would not take place in 2021. So much uncertainty around that and even if the F1 will go ahead here in March. Everything could end up happening later in the year.
Supercars The Bend SuperSprint talking points Week 2
Yeah it’ll be nice to see both McLaughlin and Whincup go all out for Bathurst. I always have to point out the hoodoo that Whincup seems to have with the 1000 over the last few years. He hasn’t had a podium there since 2013, which is lean for a four-time winner of the Great Race.
Sprint races will certainly be something different at Bathurst and I look forward to seeing it happen (if it is confirmed) for early next year.
As for Scotty’s replacement at DJR Team Penske? I’ve always considered Anton De Pasquale as a strong bet and I do believe that there has always been interest in him from Penske. Who knows how that line-up looks in 2021.
Supercars The Bend SuperSprint talking points Week 2
Anton De Pasquale has been on Penske’s radar for a while now as heir apparent to McLaughlin’s seat.
Supercars The Bend SuperSprint talking points
Indeed Jacko, that was a bit of a desperado move from SVG on Heimgartner. Much like what we saw from Whincup and McLaughlin earlier in the weekend. 😂
No specific details yet about the tyre rules for Bathurst, but I’d assume it would be as it is every year for The Great Race.
Supercars The Bend SuperSprint talking points
Yes Damo, as Scott has said all along it would be great to not have to worry about the championship come Bathurst. For him and his team I guess, there will be the redemption narrative at The Mountain – to show that they can win without the controversies that engulfed their success last year.
Supercars The Bend SuperSprint talking points
Leclerc went into the barriers at Monza only a couple of weeks ago which red flagged that race.
Madness at Mugello: Hamilton delivers crushing championship blow to Bottas
Anytime there is serious damage to the barriers, the safest thing they can do is red flag the race and completely eliminate the risk to marshals on track. In the end it did take a while for them to recover the Racing Point, on which they had to extinguish a fire on too.
Definitely a dramatic race, which Hamilton after two false starts got it right and frustration saw Bottas unnerved.
Madness at Mugello: Hamilton delivers crushing championship blow to Bottas
Hmm well, Ross Brawn actually came out after Spa and said that Sainz must be feeling a little nervous about the decision to go to Ferrari. However, even though there will be pain – I’m sure in the long run he sees the benefit of driving for Ferrari. Even though I would’ve personally like to have seen him stay at McLaren!
Why we've got to accept a Ferrari rebuild
Yeah Ben, most of us have been in agreement at how Maurizio’s sacking really hurt the team. He was a proper man manager as we saw with Seb and could put the foot down. Though now they’ve placed their eggs into the Binotto basket, so it has to pay dividends and they’re saying the right things here for how they want to break that vicious cycle you speak of. Hopefully as a fan you can endure some more, if it means they enter the next era of technical regulations as the team to beat.
Why we've got to accept a Ferrari rebuild
Yeah it is sad when you look at it that way Dexter. But I’m of the belief that if it means the legacy lives on and the Williams name can succeed again – then we must accept this new world of F1 and how the ticket to a team is having these big firms backing them.
Though as you say as well, there are those great memories to look back upon and hey yeah, we were too young to see Jones win in 1980 but we still have that appreciation for that achievement.
The time was right for the Williams family to step away
Yes Dexter, which is why BMW then went and bought Sauber – which as well didn’t last too long.
The time was right for the Williams family to step away
Yeah Micko, I feel that Tickford are really building towards Bathurst. Top-5 in the championship seems guaranteed for Waters if he continues performing as he is and that combination with Davison for the 1000 is a very exciting one.
Supercars Townsville SuperSprint talking points Week 2
Thanks Jacko. Yeah, I didn’t read too much into Shane’s move at the time but obviously it has caused a bit of a stir amongst the two teams. He is certainly one of the most hardest racers out there! The stewards didn’t take note of it either, but hey it might have added more fuel into this rivalry as we head towards the end of the championship?
Certainly Hazelwood would have been the pick if the Safety Car didn’t intervene when it did and it good to see him and BJR buoyed by more solid results.
Supercars Townsville SuperSprint talking points Week 2
Supercars are currently trying to investigate a pre-Bathurst test day or co-driver only practice sessions across the two Bend weekends. As far as overseas drivers is concerned, there was Alex Prémat who was due to co-drive at Tickford – but as we’re aware about current international travel restrictions, he cannot come over. Will Davison has actually been confirmed as his replacement and will co-drive the Monster Energy Mustang.
Supercars Townsville SuperSprint talking points
I went to The Bend last year and was impressed to see such a huge facility. And yeah they’ve got a Rydges Hotel on-site too.
Supercars Townsville SuperSprint talking points
Dwayne, that is a very good question and it’ll ultimately come down to whether the category wants to be road relevant also. If so, I reckon we’ll still have a similar chassis to Gen3 for coupé body-types – but under the hood we’ll need some kind of hybrid power-train with energy recovery technology. By decade’s end, that technology should be more widespread in the mainstream automotive industry, thus cost a fraction of what it does now to develop.
More hybrid engine race cars are inevitable and I mean that in the most positive way possible. We will still get epic racing no matter what, as long as the chassis regulations stay how they are.
Supercars Bathurst 1000 talking points