Chaz Mostert wins for DJR in Ipswich finale

Chaz Mostert claimed his first V8 Supercar victory in the final race of the Coates Hire Ipswich 360 this afternoon. The Dick Johnson Racing pilot put in a sterling drive to guide his Wilson Security Falcon to a stunning victory for the ailing team.

In damp conditions, Mostert had the benefit of starting on the drier, outside line. He capitalised on this advantage, jumping pole-sitter Will Davison off the line and leading the field into turn 1. He then put in a mature drive beyond his years to resist any threats to his maiden V8 Supercar victory.

After 32 arduous laps of the 3.12 kilometre circuit, Mostert took the chequered flag two seconds ahead of fellow Ford pilot Will Davison, who recovered from an off-track excursion in the opening stages. In a spectacular result for Ford Performance Racing, Mark Winterbottom steered the second Pepsi Max crew entry to the final podium position after setting the 8th fastest time in qualifying.

Scott McLaughlin appeared to be on track to challenge Mostert in closing stages, however on the 23rd lap, the GRM pilot was struck down by a puncture in his left-front tyre. Any chance of a second consecutive victory quickly vanished, and the 20 year-old ended up in 20th position.

David Reynolds secured fourth position in his FPR prepared Bottle-O Racing Falcon, narrowly ahead of Lockwood Racing’s Fabian Coulthard, who rounded out the top 5 from 12th on the grid.

Red Bull Racing’s Craig Lowndes salvaged a critical 6th placed finish after another average qualifying sessions saw him start the race from 10th. Team BOC’s Jason Bright was next to cross the line with an improvement of 4 positions throughout the race, while Tim Slade navigated his Heavy Haulage Australia backed AMG Mercedes to 8th. The Kelly brothers rescued Nissan Motorsport’s disappointing showing throughout the weekend, with Rick and Todd finishing 9th and 10th respectively.

Drama was never far away during the short 100 kilometre event. The engine in Tim Blanchard’s DJR Falcon blew on the straight before turn 3 on the 5th lap of the race. Chaos ensued as the field slid on the oil under braking on the following lap, with second-placed Will Davison, Lee Holdsworth and Jonathon Webb the victims.

Left front punctures were also a regular occurrence during the second half of the event. The Holden Racing team duo of Garth Tander and James Courtney suffered the same fate as McLaughlin, with a deflated HRT camp forced to reflect on their 21st and 23rd positions respectively. Ford Performance Racing’s engineers were also left scratching their heads as Alex Davison’s Jeld-Wen Falcon limped into pit-lane with an identical problem.

Crucially in the championship standings, reigning series champion, Jamie Whincup, also suffered a left front puncture. The Red Bull Racing Australia pilot entered his pit box on numerous occasions as his mechanics desperately repaired the front end of his wounded Commodore. He finished the race in 25th position, and was lapped three times by the eventual winner in Chaz Mostert.

An incident at turn 1 on the opening lap raised the eyebrows of the officiating stewards at race control, with Scott Pye under investigation following a lunge up the inside of Russell Ingall which also sent GRM’s Alex Premat off the track. Pye steered his ekol Racing Commodore to 19th, while Russell Ingall was forced to retire after suffering extensive front end damage from the accident. Alex Premat also sustained damage to his Fujitsu-backed Commodore; however he remained circulating and finished 26th.

Tim Slade had mixed fortunes throughout the 32 lap event. In the early laps, the Erebus Motorsport pilot was as high as 2nd; however he soon left the track in the slippery conditions. Slade managed to salvage 8th position at the chequered flag after a mistake-free second half of the race. Lee Holdsworth’s fortunes took a turn for the better, as although he too left the track in the opening stages, the Irwin Racing pilot managed to finish the race in 18th position. Rookie Maro Engel crossed the line 17th in the third Erebus Motorsport Mercedes.

Tekno Autosport continued to struggle in the final leg of the Ipswich 360, with Shane van Gisbergen and Jonathon Webb struggling to find pace in their respective VF Commodores. Van Gisbergen scrapped his way to 11th place, while Jonathon Webb managed 14th position after setting the eighteenth fastest time in the earlier qualifying session.

Even after his misfortune in the final sprint race, Jamie Whincup retains the championship lead over his team mate, Craig Lowndes. The reigning champion’s margin, however, has been cut to just 129 points following the 24th race of the season. Will Davison continues to lock down third position over Mark Winterbottom, while the BJR duo of Fabian Coulthard and Jason Bright sit 5th and 6th respectively.

The V8 Supercar circus now travels south to Victoria for the Winton 360 commencing on the 23rd of August.