Ten years later: Diamonds announced lost after strapped to F1 car

A bizarre story has filtered from the Formula 1 paddock, and it’s not to do with this weekend’s race.

Whoever thought it would be a good idea to place two diamonds on the nose of a Formula 1 car, ripping around the streets of Monaco?

Well, in 2004 for the movie premiere of Ocean’s Twelve, movie producers decided to place diamonds worth $300,000 on the front of Austrian driver Christian Klein’s Jaguar.

Of course traditionally on an opening lap at Monaco, the car was involved in a crash and the diamonds were – well, nowhere to be seen.

Due to strict FIA Formula 1 regulations, the team were not allowed to search the track hours after the race.

No one knows what happened to the diamonds – however it is to be believed that a lucky spectator found the sparkling rock.

According to script writer Doug DeMuro, the diamonds were not insured.

Written by Loren Hazelwood. @LorenHazelwood

– See more at: http://fiascosports.com/ten-years-later-diamonds-announced-lost-after-strapped-to-f1-car/#sthash.zbmI1y5o.dpuf

Rosberg cruises to maiden home victory

Fiasco Sports, Formula 1

German driver Nico Rosberg has claimed his first ever German Grand Prix victory, cruising to the chequered in a battle-filled race.

Mercedes pilot Nico Rosberg has extended his world championship lead, winning his first ever home Grand Prix at Hockenheim.

Rosberg never looked back from his pole position, leading all 67-laps of the German Grand Prix.

Valterri Bottas held a strong race in second, defending his race position to British driver Lewis Hamilton who drove from 20th to a credible third place.

Redbull Racing struggled with horsepower with the Renault-powered cars battling throughout the race with Ferrari. Last year’s winner Sebastian Vettel finishing fourth, Fernando Alonso fifth and young Australian Daniel Ricciardo in sixth.

The race was full with incidents starting on Turn 1 where McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen clipped the rear of Felipe Massa, sending the Williams’ driver up-side-down, resulting in the first retirement of the race and a two-lap safety car.

Ricciardo’s race position was harmed because of the incident, forcing the Redbull driver back down to 15th position, Magnussen was also able to continue in the race finishing in ninth.

Ricciardo and Hamilton drove through the back-end of the field, marching their way towards the top-end of the race.

Lap 28 saw the second retirement of the race, with Lotus driver Romain Grosjean having his fourth retirement for the season at no fault of his own – his car stopping due to an electrical fault.

A few laps later, Hamilton made contact with former teammate Jenson Button, ending with a damaged front wing for the Mercedes driver which potentially cost Hamilton second place towards the final laps.

Daniil Kvyat was the third non-finisher for the Grand Prix, retiring after his car caught on fire.

Only four laps later, Adrian Sutil spun his #99 car on the exit of the final corner, resulting with his car stopping on the start/finish straight.

Teams predicted a safety car to remove the Sauber from the straight, but instead marshalls waved double-yellow flags and pushed the car towards the wall while the race continued.

Hamilton changed his pit strategy half-way through the race, making three-stops throughout the Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver pushed forward, making time on Bottas but unfortunately could not pass due to the straight-line speed of the Williams.

Rosberg has extended his championship lead from his German Grand Prix win by 14 points to his teammate Hamilton.

The next round of the Formula 1 championship will be held next weekend at Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

2014 German Grand Prix race results
Pos Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 67 Winner 1
2 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 67 +20.7 secs 2
3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 67 +22.5 secs 20
4 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 67 +44.0 secs 6
5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 67 +52.4 secs 7
6 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-Renault 67 +52.5 secs 5
7 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 67 +64.1 secs 9
8 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 67 +84.7 secs 11
9 Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 66 +1 Lap 4
10 Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 66 +1 Lap 10
11 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari +1 Lap 12
12 Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault +1 Lap 18
13 Jean-Eric Vergne STR-Renault +1 Lap 13
14 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari +1 Lap 16
15 Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari +1 Lap 17
16 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham-Renault +2 Lap 19
17 Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari +2 Lap 21
18 Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault +2 Lap 22
Ret Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari +20 Laps 15
Ret Daniil Kvyat STR-Renault +23 Laps 8
Ret Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault +41 Laps 14
Ret Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes + secs 3

Written by Loren Hazelwood @LorenHazelwood
– See more at: http://fiascosports.com/rosberg-cruises-to-maiden-home-victory/#sthash.3ymuNDgG.dpuf

Rally champ breaks four-wheel Isle Of Man record

Fiasco Sports, Isle Of Man TT

Three-time British Rally Champion Mark Higgins broke the official Isle Of Man TT lap record for four-wheels in his Subaru WRX STI.

It’s not everyday you see a Subaru Rally car taking on the course of the Isle Of Man TT race, but Mark Higgins rose to the occasion, breaking the lap record for cars on the dangerous motorbike circuit.

Higgins managed a time in his Subaru WRX STI of 19m 26s, with an average speed of 187.44 kp/h.

The British Rally champion actually defeated and bettered his original lap record set in 2011 driving an earlier model Subaru WRX STI, breaking the original average speed of 185.65 kp/h.

The Snaefell Mountain Course will see the end of the Isle Of Man TT today, with the motorbikes reaching top speeds of 321 kp/h, with New Zealand rider Bruce Anstey racing around the course in 17m 6.6s.

Higgins believed he could have bettered his lap if he didn’t lose time over the top of the mountain.

“That was quite a wild lap, there’s definitely more time out there,” Higgins said.

“I probably dropped about 10 seconds going over the mountain, we lost some power, and locked up at Signpost.

“The first two thirds were perfect though – it’s a great feeling to break the record, but I want to break it by more.”

Higgins plans on coming back with Subaru to break his new record.

Written by Loren Hazelwood @LorenHazelwood

– See more at: http://fiascosports.com/rally-champ-breaks-four-wheel-isle-of-man-record/#sthash.Tp6XgpGj.dpuf

You’ll never be forgotten, Sir Jack Brabham

Fiasco Sports, Formula 1

The loss of a legend in the motor racing world, Sir Jack Brabham passes away at 88 years of age.

He was not only a household name, but also a motor racing legend. An inspiration to many, and made Australia overly proud. His records will never be broken, and he will never be forgotten. Sir Jack Brabham, a legend in his time and a motorsport icon forever.

Brabham began his career in a different place to other racing car drivers, running a small engineering workshop and was a Royal Australian Air Force flight mechanic, before he started racing midget cars back in 1948.

The Australian’s natural knack for driving and strong success in midget racing events in Australia and New Zealnd pushed for Brabham to make the move to Europe to race with a team led by John Cooper, while he also engineering his own car in 1955.

Brabham formed a great friendship with Cooper, and was eventually given the keys to his transporter to take the cars to the events. Brabham made his Grand Prix debut in sports cars at the 1955 British Grand Prix, but later retired from the race due to a broken clutch.

Brabham later in the year ran a non-championship event for the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Australia, before selling his car to make a permanent move to England with his family.

The Australian then pointed his racing campaign towards Formula 2 in 1956, becoming the champion just two years later in 1958.

Sir Jack Brabham was unique, as no other driver worked on the mechanical side of their own racecar, and he also contributed to the design of the car that Cooper introduced into the world of Formula 1 in 1959.

Brabham went on to win his first world championship in 1959 with Cooper, going into the final round of the Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship, the Australian was among two other drivers that could take out the championship – Ferrari’s Tony Brooks and Stirling Moss. Brabham was awake until 1am working on the car with the team, and they went on to win the final round of the championship in Sebring, US.

Despite winning his first world championship, he strived for more and believed he could achieve higher, winning his second Formula 1 Driver’s World Championship in 1960.

In 1962, Sir Jack Brabham left Cooper to race for his own team. He also asked his friend from Australia Rob Tauranac to come to the UK and build a Formula 1 car, producing the first of the Brabham cars – the Brabham BT-3.

Despite not winning a single Grand Prix in ’62, in which some teams felt was because Brabham was reluctant to spend money – he continued on with the team.

In 1965, Sir Jack Brabham stepped aside to manage his team and Dan Guerney took the lead driver role, winning the Brabham team their first Formula 1 World Championship. Towards the end of the season, Guerney announced his intentions to leave the team, with Sir Jack pushing on with his dream.

In 1966, a new 3-litre engine formula was introduced into Formula 1, with all engines having to be 12-cylinders and were difficult to develop because of the weight and unreliability. Sir Jack Brabham took on a different approach, and convinced an Australian Engineering Company called Repco to develop an engine for him.

The Repco-Brabham BT19 chassis went on to win the 1966 Formula 1 World Championship, with Brabham being the first – and only – man to win a Drivers’ and Constructors’ World title in a car that carried his own name.

Brabham won his last Grand Prix in Africa during 1970, retiring at 44 years of age.

The three-time world champion then made the move back to Australia, to raise his three sons Geoff, Gary and David on a farm for a life away from motorsport. Of course, this didn’t happen, with all three of his sons making a career out of motorsport.

In 1979, the Australian driver became the first person in motor racing history to be knighted by the Queen, being knighted for his services in motorsport.

Sir Jack Brabham has influenced the way we all look at motorsport, and the world of Formula 1 today would not be the same without Sir Jack Brabham’s determination and will to become one of the best.

The saddening news of Sir Jack’s passing has impacted the motor racing world, with tributes flowing from all over the world.

The Queensland Government will be holding a state funeral for Sir Jack, with the ceremony confirmed for June 11, 1:30pm at the Southport Church of Christ on the Gold Coast.

Sir Jack Brabham will never be forgotten, and will always be remembered as one of the great legends in world motorsport. Rest In Peace, Sir Jack Brabham.

Written by Loren Hazelwood. @LorenHazelwood

– See more at: http://fiascosports.com/youll-never-be-forgotten-sir-jack-brabham/#sthash.ycF23F6V.dpuf

Championship ready to rumble in Perth

Australian V8 Supercars, Fiasco Sports

The V8 Supercars Championship is set to take off, with the series ready to race at the Perth 400 held at Barbagallo Raceway.

With the championship well underway and the Perth weather putting on a good show, the V8 Supercars drivers are race ready for the fifth round of the series.

Fabian Coulthard is looking like the favourite for the race win tomorrow in his Brad Jones Racing Holden, finishing fastest in both Practice 1 and Practice 3.

Volvo youngster Scott McLaughlin has also set the pace, finishing Practice 2 on top by one-quarter of a second.

Current championship leader Mark Winterbottom finished inside the top six in all three sessions, being in a consistent position to extend his championship lead in his Ford Peformance Racing Falcon.

Ford Performance Racing’s other drivers Chaz Mostert and David Reynolds are also looking on the money, finishing inside the top ten in all three open-practice sessions today.

Local driver Garth Tander struggled today on home soil, finishing a best of 13th position in Practice 1.

Holden Racing Team’s James Courtney was taking it up to Coulthard in the opening session, missing the fastest lap by only 0.0075s.

The first Mercedes driver was Will Davison, finishing in fifth in Practice 2.

Tomorrow’s race will see the split qualifying and race format, with two qualifying sessions and two 100km races, which can be seen live on Channel Seven’s coverage of the V8 Supercars Championship.

Written by Loren Hazelwood @LorenHazelwood

– See more at: http://fiascosports.com/championship-ready-to-rumble-in-perth/#sthash.0P97J9XB.dpuf

Jason Richards Memorial win goes to Winterbottom

Australian V8 Supercars, Fiasco Sports

Mark Winterbottom has claimed the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy after beating Scott McLaughlin to the finish line in Race 13 of the V8 Championship.

Ford Performance Racing’s Mark Winterbottom became the second winner of the prestigious Jason Richards Memorial Trophy, after taking two race wins at Pukekohe Raceway for the fourth round of the V8 Supercars Championship.

Winterbottom defeated young-gun Scott McLaughlin, overtaking McLaughlin in pit-lane to win Race 13 of the championship.

Chaz Mostert also gained his first podium with Ford Performance Racing, finishing in third place with his new team.

Despite McLaughlin taking two pole positions over the weekend, he was unable to grab a win in front of his home New Zealand crowd like last year.

Front-row starter Tim Slade qualified second for Race 13, but due to a clutch failure the Supercheap Auto Commodore only managed 21st.

Craig Lowndes‘ championship also took a beating, with the Red Bull racer only finishing in 20th position.

Shane van Gisbergen fell shy of another podium finish in front of his home finishing fourth, with Michael Caruso, Jason Bright, Will Davison, Rick Kelly and V8 Champion Jamie Whincup rounding out the top ten.

Winterbottom was also able to grab the championship lead after Saturday’s race results, with the number 5 Falcon driver currently in first to Craig Lowndes by 107 points, with Fabian Coulthard third and Holden Racing’s James Courtney fourth.

“What an awesome race, the car was really good,” Winterbottom said.

“I had a bit of a bodgy start and trucked on through…

“A 100 point lead, that’s cool! I wanted to lead going out, not just halfway through.

“I feel honoured to win [the JR trophy].”

The next round of the V8 Supercars Championship will see the drivers head to Barbagallo for the Perth 400, on the 16-18 May.

Race 13 results

Position	Car	Driver	Team	Car
1	5	Mark Winterbottom	Ford Pepsi Max Crew	Ford Falcon FG
2	33	Scott McLaughlin	Valvoline Racing GRM	Volvo S60
3	6	Chaz Mostert	Ford Pepsi Max Crew	Ford Falcon FG
4	97	Shane Van Gisbergen	Team Tekno VIP Petfoods	Holden Commodore VF
5	36	Michael Caruso	Norton Hornets	Nissan Altima
6	8	Jason Bright	Team BOC	Holden Commodore VF
7	9	Will Davison	Erebus Motorsport V8	Mercedes E63 AMG
8	15	Rick Kelly	Jack Daniel’s Racing	Nissan Altima
9	14	Fabian Coulthard	Lockwood Racing	Holden Commodore VF
10	1	Jamie Whincup	Red Bull Racing Australia	Holden Commodore VF
11	222	Nick Percat	Walkinshaw Racing	Holden Commodore VF
12	2	Garth Tander	Holden Racing Team	Holden Commodore VF
13	16	Scott Pye	Wilson Security Racing	Ford Falcon FG
14	22	James Courtney	Holden Racing Team	Holden Commodore VF
15	4	Lee Holdsworth	Erebus Motorsport V8	Mercedes E63 AMG
16	360	James Moffat	Norton Hornets	Nissan Altima
17	55	David Reynolds	The Bottle-O Racing Team	Ford Falcon FG
18	18	Jack Perkins	Team JELD-WEN	Ford Falcon FG
19	23	Russell Ingall	Repair Management Aust Racing	Holden Commodore VF
20	888	Craig Lowndes	Red Bull Racing Australia	Holden Commodore VF
21	47	Tim Slade	Supercheap Auto Racing	Holden Commodore VF
22	21	Dale Wood	Team Advam/GB	Holden Commodore VF
23	34	Robert Dahlgren	Valvoline Racing GRM	Volvo S60
24	7	Todd Kelly	Jack Daniel’s Racing	Nissan Altima

By Loren Hazelwood @LorenHazelwood

– See more at: http://fiascosports.com/jason-richards-memorial-win-goes-to-winterbottom/#sthash.AhRGTwFW.dpuf

Hamilton takes hat-trick win in China

Fiasco Sports, Formula 1

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton claimed his third consecutive race victory, finishing first at the Chinese Grand Prix.

British driver Lewis Hamilton has broken a personal racing record, winning three consecutive rounds in the Formula 1 Drivers Championship.

Hamilton lead from pole, taking the chequered flag at the Shanghai circuit, finishing ahead of his German teammate Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton drove away from the start, racing his own race ahead of the rest.

Rosberg endured telemetry dramas throughout the entire Grand Prix, forcing the German to report the data from his steering wheel to the data engineers, costing Rosberg at the very beginning of the race.

Red Bull Racing were unable to catch Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, with the Spaniard able to race his #14 Ferrari to third, despite clashing with former teammate Felipe Massa at the start of the race.

Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo fell shy of his first podium finish in Formula 1, crossing the line only 1.2s behind Alonso, despite starting the race on the front row.

Ricciardo and German teammate Sebastian Vettel battled mid-race, with Vettel being told by team principle Christian Horner to surrender his position to Ricciardo because the Australian was faster.

Vettel quoted, “tough luck” on the radio communications and let Ricciardo race Vettel for fourth position.

Vettel was outshone by his new Australian teammate, finishing behind the Red Bull rookie in fifth place.

Both Force India drivers scored points, Nico Hulkenberg racing his way to the end to defeat Williams driver Valtteri Bottas for sixth and Sergio Perez falling seconds shy from Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari to finish ninth.

Rookie Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kyvat finished tenth, the 19-year-old consistently scoring points.

McLaren failed to make it into the points, Jenson Button finishing 11th and Kevin Magnussen crossing the line 13th.

Rosberg still leads the Formula 1 Drivers Championship, Hamilton close behind in second.

Mercedes extend their comprehensive lead in the Constructors Championship.

Round 5 of the Formula 1 World Championship will be hosted in Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix on 11 May.

Chinese Grand Prix Results

Pos	Driver	Team	Time/Gap
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1h36m52.810s
2	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+18.686s
3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+25.765s
4	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull-Renault	+26.978s
5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	+51.012s
6	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India-Mercedes	+57.581s
7	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Mercedes	+58.145s
8	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	+1m23.990s
9	Sergio Perez	Force India-Mercedes	+1m26.489s
10	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso-Renault	+1 lap
11	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	+1 lap
12	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso-Renault	+1 lap
13	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren-Mercedes	+1 lap
14	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus-Renault	+1 lap
15	Felipe Massa	Williams-Mercedes	+1 lap
16	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber-Ferrari	+1 lap
17	Kamui Kobayashi	Caterham-Renault	+1 lap
18	Jules Bianchi	Marussia-Ferrari	+1 lap
19	Max Chilton	Marussia-Ferrari	+2 laps
20	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham-Renault	+2 laps
RET	Romain Grosjean	Lotus-Renault	27 laps
RET	Adrian Sutil	Sauber-Ferrari	4 laps

– See more at: http://fiascosports.com/hamilton-takes-hat-trick-win-in-china/#sthash.7Gj9w88L.dpuf

Are broadcasting rights killing motorsport?

Australian V8 Supercars, Fiasco Sports, Film and TV, Formula 1, MotoGP

With media deals happening in every category for 2015, are these new pay-TV deals pushing fans away from the sport?

With a sport that costs a lot of money to run with the fancy bodywork, complicated engineering and the drivers that are paid by the millions, there is also the media side of racing that costs channels millions each year, resulting in major series of motorsport no longer available free-to-air.

MotoGP is one category with a faint future on free-to-air, with fans purchasing a Foxtel sports package to watch their favourite rider or constructor win the world championship.

Network Ten are currently in their final year of televising the MotoGP, but will only retain full live coverage of the MotoGP until the end of 2014. Fox Sports are broadcasting every Moto2, Moto3 and MotoGP practice, qualifying and races live in 2014.

Another broadcasting amend includes the new contract in V8 Supercars, with Seven losing the rights to Network Ten, Foxtel and Fox Sports, with only six of the races in the 2015 championship to be available on free-to-air channels.

Former TEN CEO and current CEO of V8 Supercars James Warburton signed the new broadcasting rights deal, including a $241 million media deal with Foxtel, Fox Sports and Network Ten for all media rights including $196 million cash and $45 million of advertising, making this deal the biggest in V8 Supercars history.

The new deal means that only the Adelaide, Townsville, Sandown, Bathurst, Gold Coast and Sydney V8 rounds will only be shown free-to-air.

“This is a tremendous and significant deal for our sport,” Mr Warburton said.

“It is a great boost to our amazing race teams and fans and will lead to unprecedented coverage on multiple platforms for our sport, never before seen on such a scale.”

Formula 1 is set to stay on free-to-air with the coverage supported by Network Ten, the only major motorsport category worldwide not under the Fox banner in 2015.

Currently on free-to-air channels in Australia, only the Formula 1 and V8 Supercars are shown live to racing fans.

Other categories shown within free-to-air are broadcasted a week or so later, including ONE HD’s coverage of the World Series Sprintcars, Australian Rally Championship and NASCAR.

Fans have expressed concern about the new broadcasting rights, stating it is another expense they cannot afford.

After interviewing fans at Winton Raceway during the V8 Supercar event at the Winton 400, most said they were outraged and disappointed about spending money every month to watch motorsport.

Nothing yet has been confirmed towards the coverage for motorsport after 2015.

By Loren Hazelwood. @LorenHazelwood

– See more at: http://fiascosports.com/are-broadcasting-rights-killing-motorsport/#sthash.W2qBiesK.dpuf

Holdsworth holds the silverware for maiden Erebus win

Australian V8 Supercars, Fiasco Sports

Lee Holdsworth has stolen the show at Winton Raceway, claiming Erebus Motorsport’s first maiden win in Race 2, with Fabian Coulthard scoring the Race 1 victory.

After a long year of engine development and no sponsorship, the team at Erebus Motorsport have finally claimed a well-deserved win with Lee Holdsworth taking the top-step on the podium in a thrilling Race 2.

Fabian Coulthard took the Race 1 victory, and battled with Holdsworth throughout the entire race, with his tyres starting to fade away with six-laps to go.

Holdsworth passed Coulthard with three laps to go, Coulthard just making his way onto the podium after Ford Performance Racing driver Mark Winterbottom passed Coulthard with one lap to spare.

It was a hard day at the office for Volvo favourite Scott McLaughlin, who failed to finish Race 1 due to mechanical failure, and finish at the rear of the pack in Race 2, despite leading one quarter of the 100km race.

Another record was broken for rookie driver Dale Wood, who claimed his first podium finish in the V8 Supercars series finishing third for Race 1.

The first race at Winton Raceway endured no drama until McLaughlin stopped on the middle of the enfield, with the safety car being introduced into the race.

After the first safety car, drama unfolded with young gun Chaz Mostert being forced wide on the exit of turn one, spinning and involving both Tim Slade and James Courtney in the incident.

Another incident was caused at turn six on the same lap, involving Nick Percat and David Reynolds.

The two incidents caused another safety car, which later saw Todd Kelly endure engine dramas, causing a yellow flag.

Coulthard took the chequered first after a safety car filled race, closely followed by Shane van Gisbergen and Wood taking his maiden podium in third.

Race 2 was a sprint to the finish, with the 100km race safety car free.

McLaughlin got the jump on Coulthard at the start of the race, with Holdsworth following closely behind the front duo.

The S60 Volvo of McLaughlin’s was forced to pit early on in the race, with McLaughlin giving his lead to Coulthard.

It was a sprint to the finish line and a true testament to had the best tyre strategy, with Holdsworth making the jump on Coulthard with few laps to spare.

Holdsworth took the Race 2 victory, with Winterbottom second, Coulthard third and David Reynolds following close by rounding out the top four.

Race 3 will feature a 200km format to complete the Winton 400.

Written by Loren Hazelwood. @LorenHazelwood

– See more at: http://fiascosports.com/holdsworth-holds-the-silverware-for-maiden-erebus-win/#sthash.j9oBipfs.dpuf

Red Bull top practice in Tasmania

Australian V8 Supercars, Fiasco Sports

Red Bull Racing Australia drivers Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup managed to blitz the rest and finish the three sessions on top, looking strong for tomorrow.

V8 Supercars are set to rumble for qualifying tomorrow morning. Photo: Ross Marsden

Craig Lowndes and Red Bull teammate Jamie Whincup managed to stay on top throughout the three practice sessions today, looking a competitive force for this weekend’s Tyrepower Tasmania 400 at Symmons Plains Raceway.

Despite Whincup having a power steering pump failure in Practice 1, the champion topped the final session of the day presenting a lap time of 51.33, with Lowndes only .02s off his teammate.

Although Whincup was quickest in the final session, the #888 Commodore of Lowndes was able to top the first two practice sessions, with an overall fastest lap of 51.31.

Whincup wasn’t the only driver to endure power steering issues today, with crowd favourites Volvo, also enduring a power steering “binding” issue, with the team at Garry Rogers spending the whole day trying to resolve the issue, and David Wall was only out in Practice 2 for five laps before his Dick Johnson Racing Falcon suffered from power steering issues.

Other drivers looking strong for the weekend include Ford Performance Racing’s Chaz Mostert, last year’s race winning team Brad Jones Racing, Nick Percat from Walkinshaw Racing and Nissan’s Michael Caruso with all of the drivers sitting within the top three at some time in the sessions today.

The V8 Supercars will hit the Symmons Plains circuit for back-to-back 10 minute qualifying sessions tomorrow morning at 11:30am local time, for the official second round of the 2014 championship.

Written by Loren Hazelwood @LorenHazelwood
– See more at: http://fiascosports.com/red-bull-top-practice-in-tasmania/#sthash.undOxBio.dpuf

Media by Loren Hazelwood

Motor sport media, marketing and content specialist

Fiasco Sports

Ten years later: Diamonds announced lost after strapped to F1 car

Rosberg cruises to maiden home victory

Rally champ breaks four-wheel Isle Of Man record

You’ll never be forgotten, Sir Jack Brabham

Championship ready to rumble in Perth

Jason Richards Memorial win goes to Winterbottom

Hamilton takes hat-trick win in China

Are broadcasting rights killing motorsport?

Holdsworth holds the silverware for maiden Erebus win

Red Bull top practice in Tasmania