December 2011
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Whincup’s title secured in dramatic style
XXXX Gold’s own Jamie Whincup is now a three-time V8 Supercar champion, after securing the 2011 title at a dramatic Sydney Telstra 500.
Whincup did enough with an eighth place in the final race of the season, although there were some nervy times as a drying track and the threat of rain kept teams guessing, with Whincup buried in the pack and vulnerable for most of the day. With Craig Lowndes...
November 2011
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Sydney set for showdown
It’s only been on the calendar for three years but already the Sydney Telstra 500 set on the streets of Homebush has made a big impression on V8 Supercars, setting a new standard for season finale events.
It’s not only the challenging street circuit around the former Olympic precinct that makes it such an exciting weekend, but also how the surrounding facilities are utilised to put on an event...
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Whincup smiling in Sandown sunshine
If Melbourne’s weather was a V8 Supercar driver, it would be an inconsistent competitor that would run away with the race one day and dwell at the back of the pack the next. So it was that Sandown produced two completely different sets of conditions for the racing at the Norton 360 Sandown Challenge – torrential rain one day, beautiful sunshine the next.
Saturday’s race was one of those classic...
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Sandown the place to be in Victoria this weekend
They call Sandown “the race on Melbourne’s doorstep” – far enough, too, sitting just half-hour’s drive southeast of the CBD, easily accessible by train as well as car. And it’s not hard to see why Sandown is so popular with Victorians and the big number of fans who travel from interstate to attend the event.
You see, Sandown has what many race-tracks wish they had – that great combination of...
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Whincup unstoppable in Tassie
XXXX Gold’s own Jamie Whincup took another step closer to the V8 Supercars title at Symmons Plains in Tasmania, winning both races to increase his points lead to 194 points with two events (four races) remaining.
It was a near faultless display from Whincup, who won on Saturday from pole and fought back from third on the grid on Sunday to sail into a lead he would never let go of. It was the...
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Tasty treats awaits at the Apple Isle
Tasmanians biggest sporting event, the Falken Tasmania Challenge at Symmons Plains, faced the chopping block earlier this year, as V8 Supercars and the Tasmanian state government squabbled over finances and other matters. Thankfully that’s all resolved, so this visit to Tassie won’t be a sad farewell but a celebration of a great little race-track in one of Australia’s nicest corners and a mighty...
October 2011
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Whincup and Winterbottom share GC spoils
Mark Winterbottom and co-driver Richard Lyons may have claimed the Armor All Gold Coast 600 with Ford Performance Racing’s first win of the season on Sunday, but Jamie Whincup had the best reason to party on a weekend that could prove decisive in the title race.
Carrying a 100-point deficit to teammate Craig Lowndes following Bathurst, XXXX GOLD’s own Whincup left Surfers Paradise with a...
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Party time on the Gold Coast
Bathurst has been run and won – and what a race it was! Now V8 Supercars launches into the run home, starting with the popular race around the streets of Surfers Paradise, the Armor All Gold Coast 600.
The open wheelers may be gone, leaving the V8 Supercars to headline the event for third year running, but Surfers Paradise still throws one hell of a party.
It may not be to the same size and...
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Tander and Percat claim epic Bathurst win
Garth Tander held off a last gasp challenge from Craig Lowndes to claim his third Bathurst 1000 victory, in what many are describing as one of the best Bathurst finishes ever.
Lowndes appeared set to gobble up Tander in the closing few laps; rapidly closing in and seemingly certain to pass as Tander struggled for grip. But Tander held on for his third Bathurst crown and co-driver Nick Percat’s...
September 2011
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The greatest spectacle in racing
This is what V8 Supercars fans live for – the Bathurst 1000 on that one Sunday in October. Whether you’re one of the lucky few making the trek to Mount Panorama to view trackside, or whether you’re planting yourself on the couch for the six hours-plus it takes for V8 Supercars’ finest to complete the 1000km, this is a special event to be enjoyed by all revheads.
And things are heating up very...
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Veterans storm Island again
It was a case of déjà vu at Phillip Island for the 2011 L&H 500, as Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife stormed to their second consecutive victory at the event – their third consecutive win when paired together at the endurance events.
The win moves Lowndes closer to teammate Jamie Whincup in the points standings, but Whincup limited the damage with second place, as pole-man Will Davison and...
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Endurance time!
The ‘Season of Endurance’ is here! Co-drivers and longer races enter the championship equation as we head into three of the most exciting and eagerly anticipated events on the calendar, including the one and only Bathurst 1000.
But first we start with the L&H 500 at Phillip Island on September 16 to 18, held on the legendary grand prix track, which most drivers rate as one of the best...
August 2011
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Title race on!
Craig Lowndes is rarely without that famous smile of his. After his clean sweep of all three races at the Coates Hire Ipswich 300, his smile was as beaming as ever.
Lowndes moved to within 98 points of teammate Jamie Whincup in the points after a flawless weekend at Queensland Raceway, claiming his first win of the season on Saturday, going on to add the second and third in very quick...
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Triple the fun and double the trouble at QR
Wanna really put V8 Supercars teams and drivers under the pump? Then stage two races back-to-back with a 15-minute window between them. That’ll test them!
The typical 120km Saturday race has been split into two for the Coates Hire Ipswich 300 (19-21 August). So Races 16 and 17 of the 2011 championship will be 70km sprints, each over 22 laps of the 3.12km Queensland Raceway. And once the last...
July 2011
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XXXX Townsville Colour
Townsville needed its time in the sun. The year has been a shocker for Queensland’s unofficial northern capital. At first there was the floods, then cyclone Yasi, more floods and then bitter blow of the Cowboys loosing match winner Johnathan Thurston in a cruel twist to the final State Of Origin clash.
Just for a moment Thurston’s knee ligament damage was jettisoned from the headlines. ...
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Townsville set to rock – on and off track
After only two seasons on the V8 Supercars calendar, the Sucrogen Townsville 400 has already made a big impression and ranks amongst the best events for drivers and fans alike.
The circuit that lies just south of Townsville’s city centre differs somewhat from traditional street circuits, in that 70 per cent of the track is made up of constructed roads through Reid Park. But, like other street...
June 2011
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The Giz shines bright in Darwin
A weekend crowd of 48,360 soaked in the sun and partied long into the night at Hidden Valley, witnessing Shane van Gisbergen and Ford’s second win of the season, INXS rocking the top end and, arguably, the craziest finish to a race this season.
While the southern states freeze, Darwin turned on the sunshine as those in attendance basked in the glorious rays, refreshed by the occasional cool...
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Living the Good Life up North
Fun in the sun up north As the eastern seaboard and southern states freeze through one of the coldest starts to winter, V8 Supercars drivers, teams and the like are left counting down the days until they board their flights to Darwin for the SKYCITY Triple Crown – an escape from the wintery blues. It’s not only Darwin’s dry season climate that makes Hidden Valley such a popular event, but also the...
May 2011
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Whincup extends comfort zone
Jamie Whincup and Jason Bright continued their winning ways from Bargbagallo three weeks ago, sharing a win apiece at Winton over the weekend. The win and second place – the same haul he collected in Western Australia – means XXXX GOLD ambassador Whincup extends his Championship lead to a whopping 262 points after 11 races. As those behind battle ferociously to get in the top ten, Whincup seems to...
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Old school action at Winton
It’s 50 years since the first race meeting was staged at Winton Motor Raceway. And the popular track that lies next to Benella in the north of Victoria, about two and a half hours from Melbourne, has seen some great touring car action over those years. Who could forget Tony Longhurst trying to thump Paul Morris following a clash in 1994, for starters? Winton remains immensely popular with fans;...
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Barbagallo puts on a show
Glorious sunshine and big crowds greeted the V8 Supercar fraternity upon their return to Barbagallo Raceway after a one-year absence. And the big West Aussie crowd witnessed a great weekend of racing across all categories; in addition to one of the most spectacular accidents we’ve seen in V8 Supercars in recent times. The footage of Steve Owen crashing into the back of Karl Reindler, causing a...
April 2011
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V8s make their return to WA
V8 Supercars returns to Barbagallo Raceway and Western Australia after a one-year hiatus with the Championship race spiced up following a dramatic weekend across the ditch in Hamilton. Not only does V8 Supercars have two new race winners in the form of Kelly Racing and Shane van Gisbergen, but also the Championship race has been tightened up substantially as the pack closes in on Jamie Whincup...
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Hamilton unearths a new Kiwi star
If the Hamilton V8 Supercar event needed a boost, it got it in 2011 with Kiwi youngster Shane van Gisbergen breaking through for his first race win, followed by one hell of a party straight after as Good Charlotte rocked the night. Big numbers of joyous Kiwis descended to Seddon Park, the international cricket ground that sits adjacent to the Hamilton street circuit, first to see ZZ Top perform...
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Hamilton Set to Rock
It’s proved popular with Australia audiences, now the Rock ‘N’ Race format heads across the Tasman as part the new-look ITM400 on the streets of Hamilton, New Zealand. And it’s a cracker of a line-up for the format’s Kiwi debut, with iconic rockers ZZ Top and punk rock favourites Good Charlotte set to rock Hamilton. ZZ Top will take to the stage situated at Seddon Park on Saturday night, playing...
March 2011
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Adelaide gets Wet N Wild
The Clipsal 500 produced yet another classic pair of races, with wet weather on Sunday failing to dampen the spirits of the 81,500-strong crowd who witnessed one of the great races on Adelaide’s city streets. The rain fell a matter of hours before Sunday’s race, turning the usual sea of red and blue in the main grandstand into a rainbow of colours from the jackets, ponchos and umbrellas used to...
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Clipsal Countdown
The countdown is on for the V8 Supercars to hit the track in anger for the first time in Oz this year. After the ripper opening to 2011 at the Yas V8 400 in Abu Dhabi, the series has long been back at home readying for the Clipsal 500 Adelaide. Clipsal is one of the biggest parties on the V8 Supercar calendar and there is never a dull moment over the four days.
The Fujitsu Series, Australian...
December 2010
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Sydney's Thrills & Spills
The Sydney Telstra 500 provided a thrilling finish to the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship with James Courtney emerging as victor. Sydney Olympic Park served as a stunning backdrop to the event where there were crashes, tears of joy and plenty of smiling faces.
Jamie Whincup was not one of those, who finished runner-up to Courtney, and neither were those who copped a whiff of the Eau de Engine...
November 2010
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Sydney's Grand Showdown
Wow, what a way to end a V8 Supercar season! It all ends at the Sydney Telstra 500 and it is guaranteed to be a beauty. On track the Championship goes down to the wire and there are more off track activities than you can poke a stick at.
It all starts with the Grand Final Breakfast on Thursday morning. Fans can attend at a cost of $85 plus ticket fees through Ticketek. Then on Friday the event...
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Sandown battle shapes Sydney showdown.
Events from the Norton 360 Sandown Challenge have set up a thrilling finish to the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship. There was something in the air at Sandown on the weekend that made an awesome weekend. The beautiful weather that Melbourne put on definitely helped, given those who usually attend the Sandown races in the dead of winter have their necks buried in their jackets to escape the chill. V8...
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Melbourne: Start Your Engines
Start your engines, Melbourne, for this weekend’s Norton 360 Sandown Challenge. Luckily there were no seriously damaged V8 Supercars at Tassie, particularly for Championship leaders Jamie Whincup and James Courtney. It’s nigh on impossible to get a buggered car up to Queensland, fixed, and back to Victoria in the space of less than a week. The northerners have set up camp in Melbourne for the week...
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Championship Wide Open
The Falken Tasmania Challenge picked up where the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship left off, with plenty of action at the tight Symmons Plains circuit. Championship hopes were raised and dashed, rain on Sunday threw some normally outside chances on to the podium and there was even a blue in pitlane. If this wasn’t hairy enough, drivers and crew members were a more bristly bunch than usual in support...
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Get Ready For a Tasmanian Treat
Teams are still recovering from the crash and bash fest on the Gold Coast a couple of weeks ago as the Championship heads into the third-last event of 2010 at Symmons Plains Raceway. The V8 Supercars jump on the freight ferry to get across Bass Straight for the Falken Tasmania Challenge, which takes place from November 12-14.
There’s not as much entertainment going on at Symmons Plains Raceway...
October 2010
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J-Dub prevails in nail biter
A swag of surfboards trophies were handed out as the event that was the 2010 Armor All Gold Coast 600 was declared a success. Mother Nature kept the rain in check and instead streamed sun over the 170,000-odd well behaved crowd that turned out for the three day event around the streets of Surfers Paradise. There were still remnants of the old Indy event including the crash and bash fest thanks to...
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Rock 'N' Race on the Goldie
V8 Supercars is affectionately known as the ‘circus’, and it is taking the whole shebang to this weekend’s Armor All Gold Coast 600. Don’t expect any to see any lions parading down pit straight but we’re sure the Miss V8 Supercars girls will be more than adequate compensation!
After last year’s debacle where the A1GP category was a no-show, event organisers have got creative to add an...
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History rewritten at Bathurst
The last campfire has been doused and the last XXXX Gold has been downed but the memories of the 2010 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 will forever stick in the minds of those who attended. As usual, this year’s Great Race at Mount Panorama did not disappoint with plenty of action both on and off the track.
Craig Lowndes has instilled himself as one of the legends when he beat Greg Murphy’s...
September 2010
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Bathurst: Where anything's possible
The rules have changed at this year’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 and the Great Race is really anyone’s game. Throw in the new regulation banning regular main game drivers from pairing up at this year’s race on top of the usual assortment of obstacles between two drivers and the Peter Brock Trophy and it is incredibly difficult to pick a winner.
Who better to ask about the key to Bathurst...
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Mixed results at the Island
So much rain had pelted down on the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit precinct in the lead up to the L&H 500 that the grass areas were incredibly spongy. While it was almost smooth sailing on the asphalted track, there were concerns the fans would not be so lucky. It was bad enough that any person who tried to walk on it sunk about an inch into the ground so circuit organisers took the...
August 2010
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Enduro Countdown
The countdown is on with less than a month to go for the L&H 500 and with no racing since July, excitement is reaching fever-pitch. Like the other V8 Supercar drivers, Jamie Whincup can’t wait to jump back in his TeamVodafone Commodore. “I haven’t been in the car since Townsville,” he said. TeamVodafone will hold a full-blown test day next week for the drivers to get back into the swing of...
July 2010
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XXXX GOLD Ambassador driver's dominate Townsville
The Sucrogen Townsville 400, and our very own XXXX Gold Driver Ambassadors, provided a thrilling climax to the first half of the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship. Jamie Whincup looked set to dominate the entire weekend on Sunday morning when he put his TeamVodafone rocket on pole after winning the Saturday race. But the brake line busted on J-Dub’s car early in the race and thanks to a perfect...
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Frosty hittin' form up North.
The Sucrogen Townsville 400 is the last chance to get your V8 Supercar fix before it goes into nine weeks of hibernation. All of the teams will be vying to finish the first half of the 2010 season on a good note at Townsville, which will provide some exciting racing for the fans. Ford Performance Racing had pretty much been written off in the lead up to Darwin but after Mark Winterbottom won the...
June 2010
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J-Dub back on top at Hidden Valley
There’s always plenty of rabble rousing at Darwin and this year’s edition was no different. Outside of the racing – and sometimes even during it – at Hidden Valley’s Skycity Triple Crown, there was plenty of fun to be had. It was great to see Mark Winterbottom bounce back from a couple of shocking events, scooping pole position for the 120km Saturday race and then winning it. The most surprising...
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V8s set to fire up the Top End
The saying goes that there’s no rest for the wicked but this also applies to V8 Supercar drivers. It’s been a long time between drinks - five weeks to be exact – since the last V8 event, but this was only because the Perth races were cancelled. But while you’ve been sitting on the couch of a weekend knocking back a few cans of XXXX Gold, some of the drivers headed to Perth even though there were...
May 2010
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V8s crown a new leader
The V8 Supercar event at Winton Motor Raceway saw a potential new champion emerge along with some ripper racing on the soft tyres. For the first time Bathurst 2008, TeamVodafone’s Jamie Whincup is not leading the Championship. Instead, thanks to another two race wins on the soft tyres, Jim Beam Racing’s James Courtney now currently has the honour of leading the Championship.
Whincup’s teammate...
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V8s head south for a cool change
V8 Supercars’ Victorian teams are keen to keep up their end of the bargain in the battle of the states for the sixth event of the 2010 Championship. The Queensland versus Victoria battle resumes at the other end of Australia at Winton Motor Raceway after James Courtney won both races at the Paperclip – his test track - earlier this month. Garth Tander from the Melbourne-based Toll Holden Racing...
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Ford Vs Holden...The battle begins
Jim Beam Racing’s James Courtney was in a cheeky mood at Event Five of the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship at Queensland Raceway as he joked that his next tactic in his quest to beat the TeamVodafone Commodores was “to run into the side of them”.
Pic: The battle for the 2010 championship is wide open after mixed results at Ipswicj
Credit: Justin Deeley
Mainstream media and many punters were...
April 2010
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V8s go soft in QLD heat
At the upcoming Ipswich 300 the V8 Supercars will race entirely on the softer compound tyres for the first time ever. V8 Supercars introduced the softer Dunlop tyres, officially called Super Maxx Sprint tyres, last year for six events where drivers used one set over the course of the weekend. But this year the Queensland and Winton races, which are back to back, will be run solely on the soft...
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J-Dub tears apart the field in NZ
TeamVodafone’s Jamie Whincup and his rocketship Commodore blasted the competition at the ITM400 Hamilton, racking up another two victories for the 2010 V8 season. The XXXX Gold Driver Ambassador now has six wins from eight races to his name and is the only driver to hit a four digit figure in the Championship points standings, leaving the rest of the field for dust.
Pic: J-Dub & GT battled...
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Murphy's battle on home turf
It’s that time of year again when our Kiwi friends across the Tasman get to watch the V8 Supercars live in action. This year’s ITM400 Hamilton marks the third running of the V8 races at the 3.4 kilometre street circuit but the Red versus Blue battle has visited New Zealand since 2001, when it was ran at Pukekohe Raceway.
Not since 2005 has a New Zealand-born V8 Supercar driver won on home turf...
March 2010
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GT's magic in Melbourne
Continuing his excellent form from the Clipsal 500 Adelaide, Toll Holden Racing Team’s Garth Tander took outright honours at the 2010 BRC IMPCO V8 Supercar Challenge. Initially it looked like the weekend would belong to TeamVodafone’s Jamie Whincup after he posted the quickest time in the sole qualifying session at Albert Park, but it was Tander who managed the fastest time in the Top 10...
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V8s Cruisin' into Melbourne
No Championship points are on offer, but the 2010 BRC IMPCO V8 Supercar GP Challenge will still pit driver against driver, team against team and manufacturer against manufacturer. Taking place at the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne’s Albert Park from March 25-28, the three-race event is a chance for the V8 field to take a bit of a breather Championship-wise and also have some fun. But with the...