2015 V8 Supercars Winton Supersprint – day 3
After the very busy day 2 of Winton SuperSprint event of the 2015 V8 Supercar championship, comes day 3 with 1 practice, 1 qualifying session and one race. The main race of the event was 200 kilometers a 67 laps race on almost perfect weather conditions which suited all drivers. However, first the practice session:
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The results were interesting since the drivers who were successful so far didn’t achieve best times. It was team tactics since the drivers which are considered for podium finishes wanted to save the tires and not run full force on practice sessions. So the drivers who didn’t had successful weekend so far, used the practice session to drive in full. That’s why the list is little different than day before although Chaz Mostert and Michael Caruso had good times, which was expected. However, the qualifying session was whole different story with all drivers pushing hard for best starting positions. Ford tandem (Mostert and Winterbottom) proved to be in great form this season and continuing successful weekend scored pole position for Mostert and second for Winterbottom. Michael Caruso (Nissan) and Will Davis (Mercedes) were fourth and fifth. Jamie Whincup was all the way on the bottom of the grid on 22nd place which was disappointing for him and his team. Here are the results:
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The main race started with regulart start and no incidents or accidents form the drivers. Since it was the 200 kilometers race and not the short sprint race, everybody relied on the speed and tactics other than on pure speed and aggressive driving. The Ford duo easily lead the pack with Mostert on the first place and Winterbottom close behind. Soon Mostert gain comfortable lead but one mistake cost him his win. In a right hand turn, just before the start/finish straight, the rear wheels of his blue Falcon went across white line and dirt and he lost control of the car and hit the barrier with his rear end. Mostert was not hurt but his chances of winning this event and climbing on championship ladder was ruined.
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After that accident, safety car went out and everybody used that period for pits and consolidation of the line up. The second part of the race was marked by Winterbottom safe but fast driving. He nursed car to the finish line and won the Race 12 of 2015 V8 Supercars series and gain lead in overall championship standings. Second was Fabian Coulthard with good result for him and third was experienced Craig Lowdens in Holden. Jamie Whincup from 22nd place managed to climb up to 10th position which could be considered a success but for him is still bad result. Here are the full results and next race is in month time from now: