Supercars 17 - Oran Park R17-18

We're just about to get into our Endurance segments of the series but, before we do, we take a detour to a non-standard track, Oran Park.  This great course is but a memory as it was decommissioned for housing development (I would have suggested New Hampshire first).  However, it was a highlight on the schedule for V8 Supercars back as recently as the mid 2000s.  The only course to feature a bridge cross-over, it sports two sets of varied elevation esses along with several other "gotchas".

Race 1:

Gurton lead us off the line for Race 1.

I was immediately shot out into the dog leg by Mostert for no perceivable reason.

Where I got stuck in the wall and sat in the pits for over three laps.  A great start to the race.

I wouldn't be the only casualty on lap one as Van Gisbergen and Will Davidson ran off together on the back side of the course.

Webster was holding things together for a little while but got caught out by his nemesis, turn 6

At the front, Gurton Buster was passed by Whincup.  From there, he took his time as there was no pressure from behind.

I was being less patient once I got back on the track.

Eventually, GB took back the lead and had clean track ahead.

Webster continued to try and grapple with big torque off slow corners.  That's not how you get on pit road, Zack.

While passing Pye, I got tapped and racked repeatedly coming off of turn 12.

He took me right into the wall.

And killed me.  Not that I was going to gain many positions anyway.  What's another couple points lost?

Bear was coming to pit road where he saw Webster having a casual conversation with a race official.

When he did pull in, Mostert came flying up from behind and smashed the hell out of him.  I guess he wanted the entire Smith collection.

Buster had a near miss towards the end of the race as he slung by one of the Payce cars.

But he caught it just before rolling into turn two.

It wasn't all trouble-free as Perkins tagged him with a couple to go.

But nothing could stop the indomitable snow man.

Race 2:

The second round started with roles reversed.  Although in this case, I was squeezed between the 97 of Shane van Gisbergen and Fabian Coulthard.

Again, Gizzy was left hurting along with Winterbottom.

Pye and Bright also suffered from lap one calamity.

With a chance at the front of the field, I was pushing hard while also getting a little pay back.

But my tires were paying for it and I lost it over the second esses.

But I wasn't alone in the off-roading.  Buster barely went wide off of two several laps in.  It was enough to allow him to lose the lead.

Other humans were also getting worn tires.  Zack Webster was making better strides in Race 2 but would lose it in the same exact spot.

Finally, Gurton would pull a pass for first...

...but oddly lost it coming off of the bridge turn.

 

I was coming fast but also got knocked around thanks to Courtney.

After a mandatory stop, GB was back at it but a few places down.

And thanks to my earlier stop, I was right there.

With laps winding down, renewed pressure and first place up the road, Buster stopped playing nice with traffic that was really holding him up.

Although he did make clean passes and started pulling away again.

Half a track away, Bear was getting slammed by David Wall for no reason.

After running a conservative, yet prosperous race, Smith was dumped dead in the tires.

Back at the front, Buster plowed over the esses and lost it.

Again the gap closed shut as Will Davidson slipped by.

Shortly after, the position seesawed and we were running two and three.

Whincup was losing speed and the rainbow ride was able to sneak up the inside, clearing before the last set of turns.

But at twelve, things were still really close.

Whincup then nosed up the inside and set Buster around.

A blatant attack that left the two humans knocking together.

A lap later, I caught the Red Bull car and showed less compassion for defensive driving.

As I made tracks, Gurton was making a mad dash to reclaim his lost spots with only a couple laps remaining.

While it was already a tall order to get back to first it wasn't impossible.  That's when he got into Lowndes at two.

While he didn't spin out, he lost serious momentum and now had to contend with Webster.  The situation was desperate.

Everyone kept their cool and Buster made it by clean.

He then moved up to third and had Whincup in his sites.

That's when the red curtain descended and he let Jamie Whincup have a bowl of steamy vengeance.

Once wasn't enough and he slapped him again into the outside wall as the 1 car recovered.  This time, he was hurt badly and lost several spots.

He even managed to hold off Craig Lowndes to the line to take an unlikely second.  I meanwhile celebrated by wrecking since I was overdue.  For both a wreck and a win, even if it was unlikely and gift wrapped.

We now head to Sandown.  So you better take care if Gordan Lightfoot finds you snoopin' around his back stairs.

Race 1

Track: BAR Oran Park

Session: Practice

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	008	J Zolecki	1:02.435
2	013	T Nadz	1:02.644
3	888	C Lowndes	1:03.623
4	5	M Winterbottom	1:03.688
5	9	W Davison	1:03.722
6	1	J Whincup	1:03.802
7	8	J Bright	1:03.850
8	6	C Mostert	1:03.957
9	2	G Tander	1:03.978
10	97	S Van Gisbergen	1:04.069
11	55	D Reynolds	1:04.123
12	21	D Wood	1:04.129
13	16	S Pye	1:04.159
14	15	R Kelly	1:04.299
15	14	F Coulthard	1:04.364
16	33	S McLaughlin	1:04.433
17	222	N Percat	1:04.451
18	18	J Perkins	1:04.614
19	023	Z Webster	1:04.703
20	360	J Moffat	1:04.906
21	22	J Courtney	1:04.972
22	4	L Holdsworth	1:05.073
23	47	T Slade	1:05.139
24	23	R Ingall	1:05.170
25	17	D Wall	1:05.331
26	7	T Kelly	1:05.436
27	36	M Caruso	1:05.744
28	34	R Dahlgren	1:05.753
29	021	T Bear	1:06.510

Weather: Cloudy, 97 °F, North 10 mph

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	008	J Zolecki	1:02.113
2	888	C Lowndes	1:03.428
3	9	W Davison	1:03.492
4	013	T Nadz	1:03.498
5	5	M Winterbottom	1:03.784
6	97	S Van Gisbergen	1:03.819
7	14	F Coulthard	1:03.880
8	6	C Mostert	1:03.929
9	16	S Pye	1:03.932
10	1	J Whincup	1:03.986
11	18	J Perkins	1:04.210
12	2	G Tander	1:04.239
13	55	D Reynolds	1:04.240
14	21	D Wood	1:04.385
15	33	S McLaughlin	1:04.552
16	15	R Kelly	1:04.689
17	023	Z Webster	1:04.754
18	22	J Courtney	1:04.853
19	222	N Percat	1:05.163
20	4	L Holdsworth	1:05.205
21	23	R Ingall	1:05.270
22	17	D Wall	1:05.311
23	360	J Moffat	1:05.612
24	34	R Dahlgren	1:06.051
25	7	T Kelly	1:06.131
26	36	M Caruso	1:06.538
27	47	T Slade	1:08.507
28	8	J Bright	1:09.278
29	021	T Bear	--

Weather: Cloudy, 97 °F, Northwest 14 mph

Session: Happy Hour

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	008	J Zolecki	1:03.144
2	013	T Nadz	1:03.281
3	5	M Winterbottom	1:03.520
4	6	C Mostert	1:03.565
5	888	C Lowndes	1:03.690
6	21	D Wood	1:03.864
7	97	S Van Gisbergen	1:03.865
8	2	G Tander	1:03.877
9	8	J Bright	1:04.003
10	14	F Coulthard	1:04.249
11	1	J Whincup	1:04.342
12	9	W Davison	1:04.362
13	55	D Reynolds	1:04.433
14	16	S Pye	1:04.561
15	33	S McLaughlin	1:04.613
16	15	R Kelly	1:04.644
17	18	J Perkins	1:04.651
18	47	T Slade	1:04.835
19	4	L Holdsworth	1:04.877
20	7	T Kelly	1:04.901
21	222	N Percat	1:04.991
22	23	R Ingall	1:05.260
23	360	J Moffat	1:05.341
24	17	D Wall	1:05.415
25	22	J Courtney	1:05.586
26	34	R Dahlgren	1:05.710
27	36	M Caruso	1:05.986
28	023	Z Webster	1:06.571
29	021	T Bear	1:10.339

Weather: Cloudy, 84 °F, East 28 mph

Session: Race

OFFICIAL STANDINGS

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	1	008	J Zolecki	87.926	24	18*	185	Running
2	2	888	C Lowndes	-7.75	24	6	175	Running
3	7	14	F Coulthard	-13.74	24	0	165	Running
4	5	5	M Winterbottom	-14.73	24	0	160	Running
5	13	55	D Reynolds	-30.83	24	0	155	Running
6	14	21	D Wood	-35.43	24	0	150	Running
7	12	2	G Tander	-37.68	24	0	146	Running
8	15	33	S McLaughlin	-42.43	24	0	142	Running
9	19	222	N Percat	-42.72	24	0	138	Running
10	18	22	J Courtney	-52.19	24	0	134	Running
11	20	4	L Holdsworth	-53.06	24	0	130	Running
12	23	360	J Moffat	-56.33	24	0	127	Running
13	11	18	J Perkins	-1:03.24	24	0	124	Running
14	21	23	R Ingall	-1:05.11	24	0	121	Running
15	22	17	D Wall	-1:05.74	24	0	118	Running
16	24	34	R Dahlgren	-1:06.76	24	0	115	Running
17	27	47	T Slade	-1:07.46	24	0	112	Running
18	25	7	T Kelly	-1L	23	0	109	Running
19	8	6	C Mostert	-2L	22	0	106	Accident
20	29	021	T Bear	-2L	22	0	103	Running
21	9	16	S Pye	-4L	20	0	100	Accident
22	16	15	R Kelly	-4L	20	0	97	Retired
23	10	1	J Whincup	-10L	14	0	94	Accident
24	17	023	Z Webster	-11L	13	0	91	Accident
25	4	013	T Nadz	-14L	10	0	88	Accident
26	28	8	J Bright	-23L	1	0	85	Retired
27	26	36	M Caruso	-23L	1	0	82	Retired
28	3	9	W Davison	-24L	0	0	79	Accident
29	6	97	S Van Gisbergen	-24L	0	0	76	Retired

Caution Flags: 0 (0 laps)

Lead Changes: 1 (2 drivers)

Weather: Cloudy, 83 °F, East 22 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 3x

AI Strength: 95%

PENALTIES

LAP

#

INFRACTION

PENALTY

Race 2

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	008	J Zolecki	1:02.304
2	1	J Whincup	1:03.379
3	9	W Davison	1:03.417
4	6	C Mostert	1:03.654
5	97	S Van Gisbergen	1:03.727
6	888	C Lowndes	1:03.767
7	5	M Winterbottom	1:03.771
8	14	F Coulthard	1:03.848
9	8	J Bright	1:03.986
10	013	T Nadz	1:03.992
11	2	G Tander	1:04.135
12	21	D Wood	1:04.533
13	15	R Kelly	1:04.534
14	47	T Slade	1:04.628
15	55	D Reynolds	1:04.676
16	33	S McLaughlin	1:04.713
17	16	S Pye	1:04.838
18	360	J Moffat	1:04.856
19	222	N Percat	1:04.972
20	4	L Holdsworth	1:05.039
21	18	J Perkins	1:05.051
22	23	R Ingall	1:05.294
23	22	J Courtney	1:05.306
24	7	T Kelly	1:05.629
25	34	R Dahlgren	1:05.791
26	17	D Wall	1:05.855
27	36	M Caruso	1:05.901
28	023	Z Webster	1:06.278
29	021	T Bear	--

Weather: Cloudy, 93 °F, North 19 mph

Session: Race

OFFICIAL STANDINGS

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	10	013	T Nadz	87.468	24	2	180	Running
2	1	008	J Zolecki	-8.57	24	6	175	Running
3	6	888	C Lowndes	-8.85	24	0	165	Running
4	3	9	W Davison	-9.81	24	0	160	Running
5	11	2	G Tander	-15.32	24	0	155	Running
6	12	21	D Wood	-17.76	24	0	150	Running
7	13	15	R Kelly	-20.51	24	0	146	Running
8	16	33	S McLaughlin	-29.13	24	0	142	Running
9	15	55	D Reynolds	-29.77	24	0	138	Running
10	2	1	J Whincup	-33.62	24	16*	144	Running
11	18	360	J Moffat	-41.46	24	0	130	Running
12	4	6	C Mostert	-44.01	24	0	127	Running
13	20	4	L Holdsworth	-50.08	24	0	124	Running
14	21	18	J Perkins	-50.39	24	0	121	Running
15	14	47	T Slade	-52.42	24	0	118	Running
16	24	7	T Kelly	-53.84	24	0	115	Running
17	7	5	M Winterbottom	-56.61	24	0	112	Running
18	25	34	R Dahlgren	-1:00.46	24	0	109	Running
19	27	36	M Caruso	-1:03.79	24	0	106	Running
20	23	22	J Courtney	-1:05.20	24	0	103	Running
21	17	16	S Pye	-1:05.54	24	0	100	Running
22	28	023	Z Webster	-1L	23	0	97	Running
23	26	17	D Wall	-1L	23	0	94	Running
24	22	23	R Ingall	-6L	18	0	91	Accident
25	29	021	T Bear	-10L	14	0	88	Accident
26	19	222	N Percat	-13L	11	0	85	Accident
27	9	8	J Bright	-13L	11	0	82	Accident
28	5	97	S Van Gisbergen	-24L	0	0	79	Accident
29	8	14	F Coulthard	-24L	0	0	76	Retired

Caution Flags: 0 (0 laps)

Lead Changes: 2 (3 drivers)

Weather: Cloudy, 92 °F, Northeast 19 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 3x

AI Strength: 95%

PENALTIES

LAP

#

INFRACTION

PENALTY