Welcome to FOX SPORTS’ live coverage of Friday’s action from Supercars Darwin Triple Crown.
Reigning champion and championship leader Scott McLaughlin heads into Darwin as the favourite to become the first man to win the elusive Triple Crown, which has evaded everyone else since its inception in 2009.
In order to win the Triple Crown, a driver must win both races and the Top 10 Shootout but given nine drivers have won the last 11 races at Hidden Valley, it has become a near-impossible weekend to predict.
Only McLaughlin and David Reynolds have won more than once in that 11-race stretch and both will be amongst the favourites again this weekend.
Elsewhere, Jamie Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen are looking to trigger a Red Bull Holden revival this season in the face of the dominance of the Ford Mustang.
Jamie Whincup admitted he and his team have been “confused” by their lack of speed this season.
Now two completed rounds behind championship leader Scott McLaughlin on the points table, Whincup is stuck in a winless drought unseen in his days with Triple Eight.
Shell V-Power Racing Fords share 15 of the season’s 18 race wins – 13 for McLaughlin, two for Fabian Coulthard – and have taken 12 poles.
Live stream the 2019 Century Batteries Ipswich SuperSprint on KAYO SPORTS. Every practice, qualifying & race live & anytime in HD. Get your 14 day free trial >
Whincup, meanwhile, is winless after 18 races in 2019. In fact, he hasn’t tasted victory since last season’s Sandown 500, marking a 24-race winless streak – his worst such streak since joining Triple Eight in 2006.
Teammate Shane van Gisbergen has won races at Tasmania and last time out in soggy Townsville. That day, in chaotic conditions, it was the series’ most successful driver who pushed hardest, yet came up with a big fat zero and a bent Commodore.
In slippery conditions, Whincup had worked his way from 12th to fifth by Lap 15 before making a rare error that left his team “surprised”.
Rare error: Whincup pushed hard in the wet but Townsville bit, and bit hard.Source: Getty Images
Year on year, there are few silver linings for Whincup. Post-Townsville 12 months ago, he was 451 points off the pace, albeit having reaped nine podiums including three wins. In 2019, he’s 640 points behind with just six podiums to his name.
One of those podiums came on the Saturday at Townsville, proving Whincup still has pace, but the ability to unlock it on a consistent basis is where it’s hurting most.
In 2019, Whincup’s average qualifying position is 7.9. To this point last year, it was 4.3. Eight times this season, he has failed to qualify in the top 10.
Thursday’s test at Queensland Raceway – with Whincup also spending time at the wheel of van Gisbergen’s car – was crucial for the team to try and unlock the secrets as to why things aren’t going to plan.
Whincup hits the wall
1:29
“There’s a few things, four or five things have really confused us over the last four or five months,” Whincup said.
“We didn’t have as much clarity as we would have liked, but we got a lot more clarity with a few things today.
“With the limited test days the category has got, every one is vital.
“We’ve been hanging for this day for a long time to really validate some things we’ve been trying at race meetings and have a lot better understanding for a lot of set-up things in the car.”
The Red Bull Holden brains trust is desperate to keep Whincup on top consistently.Source: News Regional Media
Whincup and Lowndes won three Bathurst 1000s on the trot over a decade ago, and come enduro time, few would bet against the pair to bring the magic back in 2019.
Admitting teams are “massively deprived” of testing, Thursday’s long day at Queensland Raceway was more a chance for the team to find Whincup the best possible package. That meant Lowndes had few laps behind the wheel, but Whincup stressed his veteran co-driver-turned-broadcaster will click regardless.
“There was some serious learning going on,” Whincup said.
“We would have loved to have given Lowndesy more laps, but our program was massive.
“We got through a lot, so it’s a compromise of doing a lot of learning with the car or giving Craig more laps.
“The best thing for Lowndesy in the enduros is to give him the best car.”
IMPRESSIVE F1 rookie Lando Norris has urged Lewis Hamilton to “stick around” in the sport until McLaren are competing at the front again so that the two British drivers can race each other.
Norris and Hamilton are both enjoying superb seasons; the McLaren youngster has made a dazzling start to his career, while Hamilton is on course for a sixth world title and nearing Michael Schumacher’s records.
But although McLaren have made huge improvements in F1 2019, Norris believes he won’t be able to battle Hamilton wheel-to-wheel for at least another two years – and the world champion’s current contract at Mercedes expires at the end of next season.
Live stream the 2019 FIA Formula One German GP on KAYO SPORTS. Every practice, qualifying & race live & anytime in HD. Get your 14 day free trial >
Hamilton has spoken of a desire to continue, most recently at Silverstone.
“That’s something I would like, to be able to fight against Lewis,” Norris told Sky Sports News.
“A five-time world champion, possibly six this year.
“But it’s a good two years before we’re having a chance to fight them.
“I’m sure he’s probably going to stick around especially when he’s got chances of winning championships and making history. It’s something I would look forward to, being able to race him.”
When Lewis talks, Lando listens.Source: AP
Although Hamilton is currently racking up the wins at Mercedes, he also started his F1 career at McLaren and spoke glowingly about Norris during the British GP weekend.
Norris has twice qualified in the top six, leading teammate Carlos Sainz 7-3 in the head-to-heads, while he is currently ninth in the drivers’ standings.
“Lando’s progression is incredibly impressive,” said Hamilton.
“To be so young in such an early phase, he’s coming in and keeping a level head and delivering on weekends, also up against a driver who’s got more experience than him.”
Addressing Norris and fellow British rookie George Russell, Hamilton added: “I’m personally excited to continue to watch these two grow. I do hope that we get to do some racing together.”
Vettel rear-ends Verstappen
1:25
Sainz: McLaren haven’t cleared midfield
A fierce British GP battle with Renault has handed McLaren the “realisation” that they have not cleared the midfield yet, according to Sainz.
McLaren beat Renault, their engine suppliers, in the France-Austria double header and were even challenging Red Bull, but while Sainz finished sixth at Silverstone the French team were a lot closer.
Sainz finished sixth at Silverstone after starting a lowly 13th.Source: Getty Images
“The only thing that we know is that we haven’t cleared the midfield yet,” Sainz admitted to Sky F1.
“Many people wanted us to be already clear of the midfield, but we haven’t.
“We are still there with the Renaults, one race they will be quicker, one race we will be quicker. [At Silverstone] they were quicker.
“Austria and Paul Ricard were really good tracks, we were definitely fourth-fastest no problem. This last one was not a wake-up call, but a realisation that we haven’t cleared the midfield yet.
“We need to keep bringing little bits to the car to improve that low speed. It’s going to be interesting to see with the Renaults.”
“We’ve had a number of years’ experience here in very wet conditions recently with the old surface and have been able to run races,” Webb said after last year’s debacle.
“This year, with the new surface, is the first time we’ve encountered quite so much standing water in critical places on the track. So yes it’s a direct result of the track surface.”
The circuit was completely resurfaced again last month, and the work was praised by F1 drivers following the weekend’s action.
However, Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo conceded some sections of the track – that didn’t affect F1 drivers too much – will have MotoGP riders up in arms.
Crowds make their way towards the exits during last year’s MotoGP debacle at Silverstone.Source: AFP
The resurfacing couldn’t hide bumps into certain corners, with the standout the Turn 6 left-hander at Brooklands.
The work was carried out by West Midlands-based company Tarmac, with Italian track designers Dromo – responsible for work at other MotoGP venues – overseeing the upgrades.
Ever honest, Ricciardo conceded that riders will be “pretty angry” when they encounter the bumpy circuit on 23-25 August.
“It is still really bumpy in some areas. I don’t think the MotoGP guys will like Turn 6. They are going to kick up a fuss, [but] for us it is alright,” Ricciardo said at Silverstone.
“The rest seems pretty decent… the new surface is pretty good, it offers quite a bit of grip in some areas. Initially this morning it was quite slick and oily, but then it really rubbered in. So that will keep getting better through the weekend.”
Vinales takes out Dutch GP
1:33
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton added: “The new track surface is better on the straights, especially between Turn 4 and Turn 6 where it was pretty bad before. It’s still bumpy on the exit of Turn 7 and towards Copse, but after that it’s nice and smooth through Maggotts and Becketts and down the Hanger straight.”
It was later revealed that Dromo knew about the problematic Turn 6 bump, with a fix considered prior to the F1 event. However, with such a short turnaround between the resurface work and the F1 event, the plans were tossed out.
Dromo owner Jarno Zaffelli said FIM had inspected the surface the day after the F1 race, with remediation work planned.
However, Zaffelli said he “cannot blame” Tarmac for the bump, as the Brooklands section followed work on the Wellington Straight where Tarmac were still learning the ropes with the temperature-sensitive asphalt.
“I don’t think the MotoGP guys will like Turn 6. They are going to kick up a fuss.”Source: Getty Images
“We rebuilt up [the surface] in two layers,” Zaffelli told Motorsport.com.
“The first layer was regulated and was quite easy because it was a softer compound.
“When we did the wearing course, it was very difficult and very sensitive to temperature. As hard as you want the material, you need to have more stringent temperature control, and this is exactly what we had.
“The problem is that… we decided to start from the Wellington Straight. The reason being, the Wellington Straight gave the contractor 500, 600 metres to train with this kind of material that was never used in the UK, apart from the trial test we did before.
“But it is always difficult actually going into [and doing] the works. So Brooklands was the first corner of the first day of this new material.”
MotoGP recently secured a one-year extension to keep the race at Silverstone until at least 2021. Last week, F1 secured a new deal to keep their event at the circuit until 2024.
