Jump to content

2007 PlaceMakers V8 Supercars

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

New Zealand 2007 PlaceMakers V8 Supercars
Event Information
Round 3 of 14 in the 2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series
Date20–22 April 2007
LocationPukekohe, New Zealand
VenuePukekohe Park Raceway
WeatherFriday: Sunny
Saturday: Sunny
Sunday: Sunny, partly cloudy
Results
Race 1
Distance 43 laps 120 km
Pole position Mark Winterbottom
Ford Performance Racing
55.6704
Winner Garth Tander
HSV Dealer Team
43:46.0087
Race 2
Distance 43 laps 120 km
Winner Garth Tander
HSV Dealer Team
47:28.1385
Race 3
Distance 36 laps 100 km
Winner Rick Kelly
HSV Dealer Team
47:13.1552
Round Results
First 58 pts
Second 58 pts
Third 48 pts

The 2007 PlaceMakers V8 Supercars was the third round of the 2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series. It was held on the weekend of 20 to 22 April at Pukekohe Park Raceway in New Zealand and consisted of three races held over 400 kilometers. It also served as the first of two international events on the 2007 schedule, the other being the Desert 400 in Bahrain.

The HSV Dealer Team took a 1-2 victory with Rick Kelly winning on overall points ahead of Garth Tander, who had set the pace throughout the weekend. Conditions throughout the weekend were uncharacteristically consistent with no rain and little cloud cover.

This round was the last V8 Supercar event to be held at Pukekohe until 2013. From 2008 to 2012, the event was moved to a street race in Hamilton.

Background

[edit]

After years of dissatisfaction with the track facilities, and several attempts at finding alternative venues, it was confirmed that 2007 would be the last V8 Supercar event to be held at Pukekohe Park Raceway. Originally, 2005 was mooted to be the final round, with the city of Auckland initially confirmed to host a street race in and around Victoria Park. However, the project fell through, and focus shifted toward a rejuvenated Wellington street race. But, like the Auckland project, the proposed street track in the nations capital was found to be untenable. It was subsequently confirmed that the championship would return to Pukekohe for a further two years before eventually moving to Hamilton for 2008.

The round served as Cameron McConville's 100th start in the V8 Supercar Championship, and ran the number 100 on his car to mark this achievement.

The six in-car cameras in this round were Greg Murphy, Jason Bright, Rick Kelly, Craig Lowndes, Max Wilson and Paul Dumbrell.

Race Report

[edit]

Qualifying

[edit]

Part 1

[edit]

For the second round in a row, only 30 cars made the grid for qualifying after Jack Perkins from Jack Daniels Racing crashed at approximately 160 km/h into the barrier, on the main straight. The first part of qualifying began with Rick Kelly quickest, however a number of cars including Shane Price, Jason Richards and Steven Richards all ran wide at the hairpin at turn 5. Brad Jones also crashed into the tyre barriers at the hairpin after brake failure, which caused the session to be red flagged. The session was restarted with Garth Tander taking provisional pole from his teammate Rick Kelly and Todd Kelly.

Part 2

[edit]

Once again, a number of drivers including Jamie Whincup, James Courtney and both Jim Beam Racing cars, ran wide at the hairpin, whilst trying to set quick laps which Craig Lowndes was quickest early on. Paul Dumbrell also crashed at turn 4, which caused the second red flag of qualifying. At the end of part 2, James Courtney lead, from Lowndes and Skaife.

Part 3

[edit]

The third part of qualifying began with Whincup running wide at turn 4, and touched the tyre barriers. However he did not suffer any major damage and was able to continue. The pole position holder changed a number of times with Skaife, Whincup and Steven Richards among the drivers who temporarily held pole. Once qualifying finished, Mark Winterbottom had the quickest lap and took pole, from Garth Tander and team-mate Steven Richards in third.

Pos No Name Team Vehicle Time
1 5 Australia Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BF) 0:55.6704
2 16 Australia Garth Tander HSV Dealer Team Holden Commodore (VE) 0:55.7472
3 6 New Zealand Steven Richards Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon (BF) 0:55.7829
4 1 Australia Rick Kelly HSV Dealer Team Holden Commodore (VE) 0:55.8038
5 88 Australia Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford Falcon (BF) 0:55.8338
6 2 Australia Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VE) 0:55.8914
7 4 Australia James Courtney Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BF) 0:55.9017
8 888 Australia Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford Falcon (BF) 0:55.9271
9 9 Australia Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (BF) 0:56.0126
10 22 Australia Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VE) 0:56.0329
11 3 New Zealand Jason Richards Tasman Motorsport Holden Commodore (VE) 0:56.1935
12 51 New Zealand Greg Murphy Tasman Motorsport Holden Commodore (VE) 0:56.2010
13 18 Australia Will Davison Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BF) 0:56.2116
14 17 Australia Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (BF) 0:56.2429
15 021 New Zealand Paul Radisich Team Kiwi Racing Ford Falcon (BF) 0:56.2550
16 55 Australia Steve Owen Rod Nash Racing Holden Commodore (VZ) 0:56.4472
17 111 Australia John Bowe Paul Cruickshank Racing Ford Falcon (BF) 0:56.4827
18 25 Australia Jason Bright Britek Motorsport Ford Falcon (BF) 0:56.4952
19 33 Australia Lee Holdsworth Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VE) 0:56.5121
20 20 Australia Paul Dumbrell Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VE) 0:56.5823
21 100 Australia Cameron McConville Paul Weel Racing Holden Commodore (VE) 0:56.7534
22 34 Australia Dean Canto Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VE) 0:56.7572
23 8 Brazil Max Wilson WPS Racing Ford Falcon (BF) 0:56.8609
24 39 New Zealand Fabian Coulthard Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VZ) 0:56.8658
25 12 Australia Andrew Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BF) 0:56.9623
26 10 Australia Jason Bargwanna WPS Racing Ford Falcon (BF) 0:57.0628
27 7 Australia Shane Price Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VE) 0:57.1221
28 14 Australia Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (BF) 0:57.5039
29 26 Australia Alan Gurr Britek Motorsport Ford Falcon (BF) 0:57.6683
30 67 Australia Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VE) 0:57.8552
- 11 Australia Jack Perkins Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VE) no time
Sources: [1]

Race 1

[edit]

Tander got off the line and beat Mark Winterbottom into the first corner. Meanwhile, Dean Canto ran wide at the first corner and into the gravel trap, causing the safety car to come out at the end of the first lap. Brad Jones' car began heaving smoke barely two laps into the race. He would eventually retire from the race due to a hydraulic problem. The race proved tricky for Britek Motorsport, with both cars in the pits on lap 11 with Jason Bright's car cutting out, which was the same problem that caused the accident in Perth and Alan Gurr's car suffering from a sticky throttle.

Tander lost the lead to Winterbottom after both had completed their compulsory pitstops, and barely withheld a challenge from Steven Richards after exiting the pits. Both cars almost speared off the circuit on lap 20; locking tyres as the battled raged. Once the tyres came up to temperature, Tander pulled away from Richards and set off after Winterbottom. A slow pitstop from Mark Skaife proved costly and dropped last years round winner tumbling down the order. Andrew Jones completed a dicey move on Jason Bargwanna at the hairpin which, remarkably, resulted in no damage for either car. Craig Lowndes' day was less than optimal; outbraking himself at the hairpin and dropping himself out of the top ten. Steven Richards struggled to arrest his career in the braking areas and eventually found himself losing positions to Rick Kelly and Jamie Whincup. Paul Morris meanwhile would retire from the race with engine issues.

With a handful of laps to go, Tander began to apply pressure to Winterbottom. On lap 38, Tander finally scythed through at the hairpin to take the lead, much to the approval of the large Holden fan contingent in the crowd. The top five would remain unchanged on the run to the flag, with Tander taking his second win at Pukekohe in two years.

Pos No Name Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 16 Australia Garth Tander HSV Dealer Team 43 43min 46.0087sec 2 24
2 5 Australia Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing 43 + 1.233 1 20
3 1 Australia Rick Kelly HSV Dealer Team 43 + 2.614 4 17
4 88 Australia Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering 43 + 5.245 5 15
5 6 New Zealand Steven Richards Ford Performance Racing 43 + 6.807 3 13
6 22 Australia Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team 43 + 10.534 10 12
7 3 New Zealand Jason Richards Tasman Motorsport 43 + 16.298 11 11
8 9 Australia Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing 43 + 17.671 9 10
9 4 Australia James Courtney Stone Brothers Racing 43 + 18.053 7 9
10 2 Australia Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 43 + 25.271 6 8
11 18 Australia Will Davison Dick Johnson Racing 43 + 26.005 13 6
12 51 New Zealand Greg Murphy Tasman Motorsport 43 + 26.328 12 5
13 17 Australia Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing 43 + 27.219 14 4
14 888 Australia Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Race Engineering 43 + 28.342 8 3
15 021 New Zealand Paul Radisich Team Kiwi Racing 43 + 28.342 15 2
16 8 Brazil Max Wilson WPS Racing 43 + 35.765 23
17 33 Australia Lee Holdsworth Garry Rogers Motorsport 43 + 37.978 19
18 100 Australia Cameron McConville Paul Weel Racing 43 + 43.720 21
19 55 Australia Steve Owen Rod Nash Racing 43 + 51.060 16
20 10 Australia Jason Bargwanna WPS Racing 43 + 51.179 26
21 111 Australia John Bowe Paul Cruickshank Racing 43 + 55.733 17
22 39 New Zealand Fabian Coulthard Paul Morris Motorsport 43 + 55.873 24
23 20 Australia Paul Dumbrell Paul Weel Racing 43 + 56.946 20
24 7 Australia Shane Price Perkins Engineering 42 + 1 lap 27
25 34 Australia Dean Canto Garry Rogers Motorsport 40 + 3 laps 22
26 12 Australia Andrew Jones Brad Jones Racing 37 + 6 laps 28
Ret 67 Australia Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport 31 Engine 25
Ret 26 Australia Alan Gurr Britek Motorsport 21 Throttle 29
Ret 14 Australia Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing 20 Hydraulics 28
Ret 25 Australia Jason Bright Britek Motorsport 11 Electrical 18
DNS 11 Australia Jack Perkins Perkins Engineering Did Not Start
Fastest lap: Rick Kelly (HSV Dealer Team), 0:56.4068
Sources: [2]

Race 2

[edit]

Even before the race had begun, there were problems for Greg Murphy, who had a stuck throttle in the installation laps pre-race. Andrew Jones would start from the pit lane and would be forced to contest the race without power steering.

When the race started, Steven Richards made contact with Todd Kelly and spun off into the wall at turn three. However, he was able to continue, though would suffer another excursion at the hairpin just laps later. Still on the opening lap, Whincup overtook Tander for the race lead, although Tander retook said position on the next lap. Winterbottom followed suit just a couple laps later. Steven Richards' day went from bad to worse after being spun by Morris at the hairpin. Murphy ran wide at the same point of the track and lost five positions. Much like the first race, Winterbottom was able to overtake Tander in the compulsory pitstop cycle. However, he had a major brake lock-up into the hairpin, destroying his front-left tyre and requiring a second pitstop. On lap 28, Jason Richards crashed at the hairpin owing to front-left suspension failure, which led to the first safety car period. Skaife was issued a bad sportsmanship flag for blocking. The second safety car was deployed on lap 37, when Bargwanna ran wide coming onto the front straight and crashed into the safety fence.

When the safety car came back in, it became a sprint to the finish. Tander was never under much pressure and took the win from Whincup. The Kelly brothers squabbled over third, with Rick emerging victorious in that battle.

Pos No Name Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 16 Australia Garth Tander HSV Dealer Team 43 47min 28.1385sec 1 24
2 88 Australia Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering 43 + 0.860 4 20
3 1 Australia Rick Kelly HSV Dealer Team 43 + 1.529 3 17
4 22 Australia Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team 43 + 1.915 6 15
5 4 Australia James Courtney Stone Brothers Racing 43 + 2.499 9 13
6 2 Australia Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 43 + 3.520 10 12
7 888 Australia Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Race Engineering 43 + 3.765 14 11
8 18 Australia Will Davison Dick Johnson Racing 43 + 4.070 11 10
9 9 Australia Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing 43 + 5.255 8 9
10 021 New Zealand Paul Radisich Team Kiwi Racing 43 + 5.689 10 8
11 51 New Zealand Greg Murphy Tasman Motorsport 43 + 6.066 12 6
12 8 Brazil Max Wilson WPS Racing 43 + 7.640 16 5
13 33 Australia Lee Holdsworth Garry Rogers Motorsport 43 + 8.106 17 4
14 100 Australia Cameron McConville Paul Weel Racing 43 + 8.471 18 3
15 111 Australia John Bowe Paul Cruickshank Racing 43 + 8.788 21 2
16 25 Australia Jason Bright Britek Motorsport 43 + 9.105 30
17 34 Australia Dean Canto Garry Rogers Motorsport 43 + 9.408 25
18 6 New Zealand Steven Richards Ford Performance Racing 43 + 10.261 5
19 55 Australia Steve Owen Rod Nash Racing 43 + 10.607 19
20 39 New Zealand Fabian Coulthard Paul Morris Motorsport 43 + 10.831 22
21 17 Australia Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing 43 + 11.491 13
22 14 Australia Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing 43 + 11.867 26
23 5 Australia Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing 42 + 1 lap 2
24 26 Australia Alan Gurr Britek Motorsport 42 + 1 lap 28
25 7 Australia Shane Price Perkins Engineering 41 + 2 laps 24
Ret 10 Australia Jason Bargwanna WPS Racing 35 Accident 20
Ret 3 New Zealand Jason Richards Tasman Motorsport 27 Accident 7
Ret 12 Australia Andrew Jones Brad Jones Racing 15 Steering 26
Ret 20 Australia Paul Dumbrell Paul Weel Racing 10 Retired 23
Ret 67 Australia Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport 8 Engine 27
DNS 11 Australia Jack Perkins Perkins Engineering Did Not Start
Fastest lap: Mark Winterbottom (Ford Performance Racing), 0:56.5605
Sources: [3]

Race 3

[edit]

Whincup struggled off the line and lost positions to the Kelly brothers. Davison incurred damage to the front spoiler, causing it to drag on the front-left tyre. Tander set the pace as the leader early on as the race began to settle down. The calm wouldn't last long however as, on lap six, Morris and Brad Jones collided on the approach to Ford Mountain, throwing Morris sideways into the barrier. The impact lifted Morris' car up and sent it into a number of rolls; eventually ending with the car resting on its roof. Morris emerged from the car unscathed as the safety car was dispatched.

Tander continued to control the pace right up until the compulsory pitstop window. When he came in, a slow stop (owing to a cross-threaded wheel nut) lost him an array of positions. Teammate Rick Kelly assumed the lead from brother Todd. Tander began scything through the field with the possibility of a round win still in the play. The pack began to jostle around as several key runners began to move forward. On lap 31, Dean Canto strayed wide at Ford Mountain, slammed the wall and was out of the race. Canto, whilst audibly winded from the accident, emerged unharmed. However, the safety car was deployed once again.

Owing to the late time in the day, as well as AFL commitments for the broadcaster, it soon became evident that the race would finish under time-certain rulings. The slow nature of the recovery of Canto's car, which drew harsh criticism from fans and media, exacerbated the issues. When the race got back underway on lap 36, it would become a one-lap sprint to the finish. Rick Kelly maintained his lead until the end while Tander failed to pass Radisich that would've been required to take the round win. The nature of the finish drew the ire of some drivers, including Tander who claimed they did not know the race would be finished early.[4]

In terms of the overall round, Tander and Rick Kelly were equal on points. However, Kelly won the round after finishing higher in the final race. Kelly would be the last Pukekohe V8 Supercar round winner until the events return in 2013.

Pos No Name Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1 Australia Rick Kelly HSV Dealer Team 36 47min 13.1552sec 3 24
2 22 Australia Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team 36 + 0.300 4 20
3 4 Australia James Courtney Stone Brothers Racing 36 + 0.758 5 17
4 888 Australia Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Race Engineering 36 + 1.189 7 15
5 88 Australia Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering 36 + 1.780 2 13
6 18 Australia Will Davison Dick Johnson Racing 36 + 2.111 8 12
7 021 New Zealand Paul Radisich Team Kiwi Racing 36 + 3.055 10 11
8 16 Australia Garth Tander HSV Dealer Team 36 + 3.214 1 10
9 2 Australia Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 36 + 3.610 6 9
10 9 Australia Russell Ingall Stone Brothers Racing 36 + 3.881 9 8
11 5 Australia Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing 36 + 4.724 23 6
12 6 New Zealand Steven Richards Ford Performance Racing 36 + 5.175 18 5
13 51 New Zealand Greg Murphy Tasman Motorsport 36 + 5.905 11 4
14 8 Brazil Max Wilson WPS Racing 36 + 6.153 12 3
15 100 Australia Cameron McConville Paul Weel Racing 36 + 6.942 14 2
16 17 Australia Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing 36 + 7.046 21
17 33 Australia Lee Holdsworth Garry Rogers Motorsport 36 + 7.211 13
18 3 New Zealand Jason Richards Tasman Motorsport 36 + 8.048 27
19 39 New Zealand Fabian Coulthard Paul Morris Motorsport 36 + 8.569 20
20 7 Australia Shane Price Perkins Engineering 36 + 8.737 25
21 55 Australia Steve Owen Rod Nash Racing 36 + 8.948 19
22 12 Australia Andrew Jones Brad Jones Racing 36 + 9.360 28
23 111 Australia John Bowe Paul Cruickshank Racing 36 + 9.811 15
24 26 Australia Alan Gurr Britek Motorsport 36 + 10.162 24
25 25 Australia Jason Bright Britek Motorsport 35 + 1 lap 16
Ret 34 Australia Dean Canto Garry Rogers Motorsport 27 Accident 17
Ret 20 Australia Paul Dumbrell Paul Weel Racing 15 Engine 29
Ret 14 Australia Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing 6 Accident 22
Ret 67 Australia Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport 5 Accident 30
DNS 10 Australia Jason Bargwanna WPS Racing Did Not Start
DNS 11 Australia Jack Perkins Perkins Engineering Did Not Start
Fastest lap: Rick Kelly (HSV Dealer Team), 0:56.4550
Sources: [5]

Aftermath

[edit]

Championship standings

[edit]
Pos. No Driver Team Pts
1 1 Australia Rick Kelly HSV Dealer Team 173
2 16 Australia Garth Tander HSV Dealer Team 160
3 22 Australia Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team 132
4 88 Australia Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering 104
5 2 Australia Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 104

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "PlaceMakers V8 V8 Supercars - 2007 V8 Supercar Series Rd 3 - PUKEKOHE PARK RACEWAY - V8 SUPERCARS - Qualifying". natsoft.com.au. 22 April 2007. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
  2. ^ "PlaceMakers V8 V8 Supercars - 2007 V8 Supercar Series Rd 3 - PUKEKOHE PARK RACEWAY - V8 SUPERCARS - Race 1". natsoft.com.au. 22 April 2007. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
  3. ^ "PlaceMakers V8 V8 Supercars - 2007 V8 Supercar Series Rd 3 - PUKEKOHE PARK RACEWAY - V8 SUPERCARS - Race 2". natsoft.com.au. 22 April 2007. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Tander upset by shortened race". foxsports.com.au. 23 April 2007. Retrieved 23 April 2007.
  5. ^ "PlaceMakers V8 V8 Supercars - 2007 V8 Supercar Series Rd 3 - PUKEKOHE PARK RACEWAY - V8 SUPERCARS - Race 3". natsoft.com.au. 22 April 2007. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
[edit]
Supercars Championship
Previous race:
2007 BigPond 400
2007 Supercars Championship Next race:
2007 Winton
Previous year:
2006 PlaceMakers V8 International
PlaceMakers V8 Supercars Next year:
2013 ITM 400 Auckland