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00:00Up here in Townsville, it's V8 Supercars Heartland.
00:14Love coming to Townsville. You know, the atmosphere's electric.
00:17Everyone just embraces the event like you wouldn't believe.
00:20The North really love their motorsport.
00:22The fans are definitely the closest they get to feeling and touching the cars anywhere in the calendar.
00:30The fans love it. The drivers love it. It's just a great place to race.
00:35We're in for a great afternoon of motorsport. These boys play for keeps here.
00:39Oh!
00:40200 kilometres is tough. It's gruelling.
00:46Every race here has been a dog-eat-dog battle right to the end.
00:51Well, the racing's always tough. It's always fierce. Just finishing is a challenge.
00:54We're now past the halfway mark of the 2013 season.
00:58And the pressure is building.
01:01And with a championship on the line, it's testing every team and every driver.
01:06Even teammates.
01:08Close enough this time. Get off!
01:10No!
01:11Locks the rears and turns him around.
01:14That's stupid.
01:15And the streets of Townsville will only add fuel to the fire.
01:26Lowndes will get the lead of the race.
01:28That's where the cup will go for the crisscross.
01:29Temperature's rising. That's a big hit.
01:32There's a massive amount of tension out there.
01:33The championship's so close and everyone's looking for that single point.
01:37Anyone can win on their day. Anyone can fail on their day.
01:39It's fierce, competitive. It's cutthroat. It's what V8 Supercars is about.
01:44Go, go, go, go, go.
01:45He's got him. He's got him.
01:47That'll be a penalty.
01:48The team-mates actually bump.
01:50Oh, here we go. It's a little bit of dodging car work.
01:53Van Gisburgh and a bump slam down.
01:55They're both at the break.
01:56Oh!
01:57Contact!
01:57This is big.
01:59Welcome to North Queensland for the Supergene Townsville 400.
02:02Everyone's just going to be going flat out from the start.
02:04I can see this being a 200-kilometer sprint race.
02:06The V8 Supercars, live from coast to coast, right here on 7.
02:16We are still chasing the sun in the V8 Supercars.
02:19This weekend, we're in Townsville, North Queensland.
02:22The first of three events in the Sunshine State
02:25and the fifth time we have raced at this venue.
02:27The weather, absolutely glorious.
02:29The crowds are pouring in and Townsville is ready to shine once again.
02:33Hi, everyone. I'm Matt White and welcome to the Supergene Townsville 400 on 7 Sport.
02:37One of the great weekends in the V8 Supercar Championship.
02:41Yes, we are live all day, so you won't miss a beat.
02:44There's a lot to look forward to as well.
02:46First up, V8 Supercar qualifying in about 12 minutes' time.
02:50But first up, let's take a look at the championship picture after Darwin,
02:53after race 19.
02:55Jamie Winkup leads by 159 points.
02:58Will Davison is the best of the Fords.
03:00Craig Lowndes is in second.
03:02James Courtney and Jono Webb inside the top ten.
03:05Webb in terrific form coming in here.
03:07As I said, a lot to look forward to.
03:08A busy schedule ahead.
03:10We've got Dunlop Series racing, Carrera Cup Porsches, V8 Utes,
03:13a special edition of V8 Extra from here in the paddock later on today live.
03:17And we also want to get your thoughts on some of the biggest hits and misses of the season so far.
03:23So get ready to join us on Twitter.
03:25Right now, though, let's join our experts as we say g'day to Mark Scaife and Neil Crompton.
03:29Hi, Matt.
03:30Hi, everybody.
03:30Great to be back in Townsville at this time of the year.
03:33Well, we have passed the halfway mark of our championship season.
03:36What a season it's been so far in the recent past.
03:39Jamie Winkup has come to the fore.
03:41Craig Lowndes clawed back a little bit of that margin the last time that we raced up in Darwin.
03:45But we've had eight different winners so far this season, Scaifey.
03:49Eleven different drivers have occupied the podium.
03:51It's been a terrific battle.
03:52Some big stories since we last saw you.
03:54Volvo are going V8 supercar racing in 2014.
03:58We'll discuss more of that later on this afternoon.
04:00Seven cars have been through a lot of remedial work to get them back up here and right after the big disaster that we saw in Darwin.
04:06But this is a great place to be.
04:07A change of format.
04:08Two 200-kilometre races here this weekend, Mark.
04:11We'll use both the tyres.
04:13And this Reid Park complex is fantastic.
04:16And passionate fans here.
04:17It certainly is.
04:18We love coming here, Crompo.
04:19So, hi to everybody.
04:20This is going to be a great day's racing.
04:22And this circuit, as you can see there with the number of people so close to the action, is a real mix of a hybrid circuit.
04:28It's parkland at one end.
04:29It's street circuit at the other end.
04:31The drivers love it.
04:32And just remember, the 2013 car regulations with Car of the Future, everybody's a pioneer.
04:37So, they're working very, very hard on making these cars work around this particular layout.
04:42Let's have a look at the highlights because there's been lots of drama so far.
04:46And this fast turn five and six has produced most of the action.
04:51James Courtney with the New South Wales State of Origin.
04:54HRT Commodore right out sideways and over the kerb.
04:58This is one of the best bits of road you'll ever find.
05:00And all the changes being made to cars.
05:03Jamie Winkup in to have a rear suspension adjustment.
05:06Jason Bright.
05:07Rear geometry change for the BOC car.
05:10And this is another great shot of Alex Premmer.
05:13Have a look at his hands.
05:14Total control over this 140-kilometre entry to turn five.
05:20This is a little part of the track that has the best body language, the best action for the weekend.
05:24And look at this.
05:25James Moffat sideways at turn six.
05:27Almost in the fence.
05:29Dave Reynolds doing a very, very good job all weekend.
05:32He's been very, very fast.
05:34And we're going to have a look at Craig Lowndes at the same spot.
05:36Take a look at this.
05:37Right out in the grass.
05:38He did a very good job to maintain control.
05:41Now, James Moffat's been flamboyant.
05:43Certainly in this final practice session, he did finally kiss the wall.
05:46He threatened to early on.
05:47And he got the job done there.
05:48And then half had the rotation down at turn 13.
05:50It's been a bit of a wild run for him.
05:52This is David Wall who also, like many other competitors this weekend,
05:55has had some suspension breakages.
05:57They're damaging shock absorbers.
05:59And so that pitched him into the wall.
06:00You can hear the front of the car scraping as it was on the run down towards the tyre barrier there.
06:04Light damage, but enough to be a concern.
06:07Garth Hand has been in the walls as well.
06:08A failed right rear shock absorber.
06:10And there's the spring platform that has been handed back to the officials there.
06:14But the guy that was in control at the end of it all, young Scott McLaughlin.
06:1820 years of age.
06:19Great performer.
06:19The fastest lap of the weekend achieved this morning in practice four.
06:23He got to a one-minute 12.8.
06:25Let's have a look at the top ten for you.
06:27And amazing to consider the top nine covered by just 0.9 of a second.
06:31Bit of a quiet run so far for Jamie Wincup.
06:35Lee Holdsworth there in tenth for Erebus Motorsports.
06:38So six hours of live coverage on seven or seven, mate.
06:41Casey Stoner is back in action in the Dunlop series.
06:43That race straight after V8 qualifying.
06:45Larco has more on Russell Ingle's history-making weekend.
06:48And Mark Barretta is out soaking up all the atmosphere.
06:51Barretts?
06:51Now, Matty, you know how much I love to find the best place on the circuit.
06:55You will not believe where I am here.
06:57The Jim Beam Party Platform.
06:59Afternoon, girls.
07:00Hello.
07:01Oh, they make you feel so welcome, don't they?
07:03Have a look at all these happy faces.
07:04They are happy not only because they're on the Jim Beam Party Platform,
07:08but because they have one of the best views of the circuit.
07:11Now, this is something that Townsville really prides itself on,
07:14is how close you can get to the action.
07:16It's probably one of the best viewing circuits anywhere on our calendar.
07:19So, have a look at this, we're between turns seven and eight,
07:21and you can virtually, I'm not kidding, reach out and touch the cars.
07:25It is a magnificent place to be.
07:27Wherever you are on this track, it's just great viewing, guys.
07:31So, for those observing amongst you, you'll see number 226
07:35on Russell Ingle's super cheap Commodore.
07:37Now, the Enforcer has now broken John Bauer's long-standing record.
07:42226 championship starts.
07:44The most ever.
07:45Expect a big weekend from the Enforcer.
07:47Always do, Larko, and Russell Ingle will be one of the special guests
07:51on a special edition of V8 Extra, live from the paddock.
07:54That is later on today with Neil and Scaifey.
07:56Some great memories to roll through.
07:58Big news off the track, of course.
07:59Volvo is back in the game.
08:01Find out what Gary Rogers has planned for the S60 in 2014 and beyond.
08:05What's the story at FPR after the dramas in Darwin?
08:09Is everything cool now between the teammates?
08:11We'll find out.
08:11And the best in the business goes behind the barriers just before they go racing.
08:16Crompo gives you access all areas on the grid.
08:20But coming up next, qualifying.
08:21There's our championship leader, Jamie Winkup.
08:23Focus.
08:24Fabian Coulthard already had two poles this year.
08:27Davey Reynolds, two out of three poles at our last round.
08:30He's always great to watch.
08:31And Shane Van Gisbergen locked on and ready to rumble.
08:35Live all day on 7Sport.
08:36Qualifying coming up.
08:37It really is one of the most spectacular sights we get to see on the V8 supercar calendar.
08:46That's coming over the top of Castle Hill.
08:47Looking down to the Reid Park complex that houses this circuit.
08:52And has done so since 2009.
08:5524 degrees or thereabouts at the moment.
08:58So we're edging to our predicted top of 27 degrees.
09:01The crowds have been fantastic.
09:03A driver signing session earlier behind the pit lane complex was packed.
09:08And as Barrett said, the vantage points are so many.
09:12And so too this wild ride already in 2013.
09:15Now throughout the weekend, we're going to be running through the highs and the lows.
09:18The best and the worst of the season so far.
09:21You can join us on Twitter.
09:22Just use the hashtag V8SC.
09:24And let us know your thoughts.
09:25The crashes.
09:26The heartbreak.
09:27The heartache.
09:28The winds as well.
09:29We might even build it into a top five countdown into the coming events.
09:33But there's been a lot to talk about so far in 19 races.
09:36And we'll have plenty to talk about today and tomorrow.
09:40Remember, 200 kilometres each race.
09:44The fuel stops come back into play for the first time since our first event in Adelaide.
09:49So this continuing game change rolls on again for the drivers and the teams.
09:56Big crowd.
09:57Pure sunshine.
09:59In total anticipation with less than two minutes to go for qualifying.
10:03So you're watching the V8 supercars as we welcome our viewers right around the world
10:12to Townsville in North Queensland.
10:13The weekend format.
10:15Two 200 kilometre races.
10:17The top ten shootout will determine pole position for today.
10:20But who will make that top ten?
10:22Well, we're about to find out in a 20-minute qualifying session.
10:26The seventh event of 2013.
10:29Alongside me in commentary as always, Mark Scaife, our five-time series champion
10:32and the voice of V8 supercars, Neil Crompton.
10:35And this circuit, Matty, is 13 corners.
10:382.86 kilometres clockwise in direction.
10:40Just a little over 40% of the lap is 100% throttle.
10:43You can see how complex it is from Turn 3 all the way through to Turn 10.
10:48Peak speed on the straight, 255 kilometres an hour.
10:51The slowest corner is the final corner, Turn 13 at just 60 kilometres an hour.
10:55Coming into qualifying, we'll make reference to the three sectors.
10:58The first intermediate in the braking approach to Turn 3
11:02and the second intermediate in the braking approach to Turn 11.
11:07Fastest time achieved so far we made mention of at the top of the program.
11:10That great job done by Scott McLaughlin.
11:12But now, as race director Tim Schenken calls everybody to order,
11:17everyone's on the same tyre and we get to see precisely what they can do
11:20because tyre quality through practice is varied from car to car.
11:24So what is the state of play in terms of the championship?
11:27Well, Jamie Winkup, of course, leads.
11:29He's had eight pole positions and seven race wins.
11:32In terms of poles, Jason Bright has had three.
11:35Fabian Coulthard, Shane Van Gisburgh and David Reynolds, two.
11:39And Mark Winterbottom on the board.
11:42Here last year, it was an all-forward performance racing qualifying show
11:46with Winterbottom grabbing pole on this corresponding day and Reynolds' pole on the Sunday.
11:51As they head out, let's join Mark Larkin in pit lane.
11:53Marko?
11:53Yeah, and boys, whilst they are on the same tyre, effectively they're not.
11:56As we go past you, there's a new tyre.
11:59There's a wet tyre.
12:00There's a wet tyre.
12:02There's a wet tyre.
12:03There's a new tyre.
12:04So what everyone's doing is going out there, conserving their tyres.
12:07Some going out on wet, some new.
12:09About 50-50.
12:10Now, I've got to say, one for you, Scafie, Commissioner of VA Supercars and some of these rules.
12:15Personally, mate, I'd like to see this gone.
12:18I reckon when these guys go out here, they need not go out at all or go out on the tyre they're going to run on.
12:22Half the field run around on hits and wets here in the dry.
12:25They don't do it for me.
12:26Yeah, it's an interesting point, Larko.
12:28I agree with you that the wet tyre and the dry seems a bit strange.
12:32The only reason that the guys are actually doing it is to effectively warm the cars up,
12:36warm the tyres and brakes and all the things up in terms of just having a performance level
12:41that's going to be good enough to put the fresh tyre on when that happens.
12:43And I understand what you're saying.
12:44There's a lot of conjecture about it.
12:46Guys don't want to waste tyres when they effectively just warm the car up.
12:50That's what you can see there James Courtney doing, just warming the brakes up,
12:52getting himself organised to go and do a very, very good lap time,
12:57showing good form this weekend.
12:58Yeah, and Scafie, not to harp on the point, mate, but I just reckon the people in the stands,
13:01that's what I'm sort of thinking.
13:02I think they like to see the cars out and into it, hard on it.
13:05Yeah, I totally agree, Larko.
13:06That's a very good point.
13:07Well, James Courtney knows how to pick a fight in Queensland, doesn't he?
13:10He's come up here and put the New South Wales State of Origin logo smack bang
13:13on the top of the bonnet at car number 22.
13:16His team mate Garth Tander, who's already had a lot of dramas across practice
13:21that you guys detailed at the top of the show, is the smart guy in the HRT garage.
13:25He has the Queensland State of Origin colours.
13:28The Holton big supporters as we head to the final game in the series.
13:31See how energised James was in the mid-section of the course,
13:35and he's doing it again now.
13:36He's hammering those tyres and the high-intensity rain light's on,
13:40so he's got a wet on that tyre, and that's what Mark Larkin was alluding to.
13:43As he comes into the pit lane, a bit of a summary of the penalties
13:47that have been adjudicated so far in the weekend to this point.
13:5014 drivers have been pinged for speeding in pit lane, which is very rare,
13:54so they've all been a bit energised and excited.
13:56Obviously, there's been a little shift in the rhythm.
13:59Maybe the control line has changed on the pit in there or something,
14:02but there's a whole bunch of them yesterday.
14:03So it was just a never-ending parade of drivers having to pay fines
14:08and cop a little penalty.
14:11And it's great to be on board the Super Chief Auto Commodore of Russell Engel.
14:16Larko touched on number 226 in reference to the record-breaking weekend here.
14:22He overtakes John Bowers, the all-time leader in most championship starts.
14:27You're going to talk to him later on in a special edition of V8 Extra.
14:30249 years of age now, more than 520 races, 27 wins.
14:37Just the one pole position next to his name.
14:41Well, you know how lots of people like to agree with what Mark Larko says.
14:44The Techno boys are doing just that.
14:46They have said, forget it.
14:47We're not going to bother going out there and wearing out a set of wet tyres.
14:50What we're going to do is just wait until the time's right.
14:51When all these other teams come in and change those tyres,
14:54that's when they're going out to get some clear track and throw up a great time.
14:58Hey, Neil, really good point you make about that pit lane entry.
15:01I reckon what some of the teams would be doing also,
15:03remember that pit lane speed limiter is controlled electronically.
15:06So what you try and do at an event is arrive early in the week,
15:10or sorry, on the Friday, run around and test the radar
15:13and see where you get tripped up or not.
15:14So when you think about what we pay per, you know,
15:18tenth of a second to make our cars go faster,
15:20that's pretty cheap if you cop a $250 or $500 fine
15:23if you can pick up two, three, four tenths in a pit stop.
15:27Yeah, so they're exploiting every last little opportunity here to make time.
15:31Now, Todd Kelly with the fronts well locked up on the Jack Daniels Nissan Altima
15:35on the rundown to turn two there.
15:38That will no doubt have put a mark on those tyres.
15:41Oh, and speaking of marks, Jamie Wittkamp, that was a bit weird.
15:43He just ended up kissing the apex of the exit of the concrete wall on the left.
15:49It'll only be a little bit of paddle damage there.
15:51Now he's got the rears locked.
15:52So all out of rhythm in a very strange start to the session
15:56for the reigning champion.
15:57And wouldn't it be great?
15:58I reckon Russell Ingle would say, boys, can it right now.
16:01Although Winkup's just done a 1.14, 1.9
16:03because Russell Ingle was on top of the timesheets there.
16:07He's currently second here as qualifying continues
16:10and we look for the top ten shootout to determine pole position.
16:14At the Superage in Townsville 400.
16:20Back at Townsville where the leaderboard has changed here in qualifying.
16:23James Courtney has just gone to the top with a 1.14.02.
16:28And that's Mark Dutton, Adrian Burgess and Jeremy Moore
16:31looking on out of Red Bull Racing Australia.
16:33One of their charges is in second.
16:35That's Jamie Winkup.
16:37And Craig Lowndes is in third.
16:39Did you hear that wheel spin there?
16:40We're on board with James Courtney.
16:42The wheel spin coming out of turn two was unbelievable
16:45and he's run down to turn three.
16:46This is turn five Winkup using every little bit of road and more
16:50over the inside kerb.
16:52You can see how much that disturbed the car, moved it too wide
16:55and will make turn six too tight.
16:57It's too wide at the end of that.
16:58This is still Courtney.
16:59And Slade now goes to the top of the 13.95.
17:04So Slade in the Erebus Motorsport entry's got .06 of a second over James Courtney.
17:10This is Garth Tander on screen.
17:12Jason Bright meantime's got two green boxes to his name.
17:15But universally across virtually the entire field
17:18I'm hearing endless drivers talking about the track conditions being
17:21very different to the way they experienced them in practice four earlier today.
17:26They're talking about being way out of the window and sliding a lot.
17:3013.7 now.
17:31Jason Bright, the Team VOC entry.
17:33He was one of the drivers yesterday to break a shock absorber.
17:38Traffic's always a problem.
17:39Craig Mounds was on a flyer who was fastest to the second sector.
17:44David Reynolds, who's down in 24th, is currently fastest to the first sector.
17:49He was the quickest man throughout the early practice sessions,
17:52is pipped by Scott McLaughlin in the fourth and final practice session earlier today.
17:56And every time across the weekend that we've been watching David Reynolds,
18:01he has had to wring the neck of this bottle of four to get it to do what he wants.
18:05Too wide.
18:06That cost him there.
18:07And he had a good marker to the first intermediate,
18:09as you can see from the graphic on screen with the green box.
18:12But that second critical spot on the run down to turn 11, he was wide.
18:16That will hurt.
18:18Bright's going on with it, by the way.
18:19He's done a fast sector on this subsequent lap, Jason Bright.
18:24So he's pressing on, looking to see whether those tyres improve on the run.
18:27We've got 11 minutes to go.
18:28We've lost the ball.
18:31He's aborted the lap, Jason Bright.
18:32So he's coming in.
18:33So he did the first part of that second flying lap very quick,
18:36and then he's backed away from it.
18:37So Phil Keane, engineer for Fabian Coulthard, on the radio on the right.
18:42There's Chris Clarke off to Bradley's left shoulder.
18:45He's the team manager.
18:46And that's Garth Kander with big locking at the front right corner of the car.
18:50And the back of it looks unstable.
18:51And the other, there's universal chat also in this area.
18:54We talked about it earlier in the day, Scafie,
18:56about people unhappy with their brake balance in the car
19:00and the behaviour of the rear of the car,
19:02with a lot of rear brake blocking
19:03and a lot of discussion this weekend about Oversteed.
19:06Remember, to your point at the top of the telecars,
19:08this is the first time that the new generation car's been here.
19:12It's turning out that it needs a very different set-up recipe
19:14to make the cars work in these conditions.
19:17Oh, Dave, you're 100% right.
19:19And all of that in this last little sector,
19:22it's such an important but short sector
19:25that Dave Reynolds then was one-tenth up
19:27to go to the top of the timesheets and made that mistake.
19:29So rear locking there for turn 11 and 13 for David Reynolds.
19:34And he was super quick to the second-timing intermediate
19:37and then that completely messed up the last third of the lap.
19:40And as we go on board with the Bollower Ford,
19:42later on throughout the day, folks,
19:43we're going to give you the chance to do that
19:46at our next round at Ipswich Queensland Raceway.
19:50You can win a hot lap with David Reynolds,
19:52so stay tuned throughout the day.
19:53Shane Van Gisbergen, remember the last time we checked in
19:56on Techno Autosports and the VIP entry and the Daryl Lee entry.
20:01They were sitting in pit lane waiting.
20:04Barrettes was there as Giz slides it around turn 12.
20:09So two green boxes.
20:10These guys left Darwin with the most points across the weekend.
20:15Jono Webb scored the most points across the round
20:18and back in the day he would have left with a trophy
20:20for the round win.
20:22Shane Van Gisbergen won 13.676.
20:27They're qualifying on their hard tyres here as well.
20:30They're not using the soft tyre in qualifying,
20:32so it's a big contrast.
20:33Even if you used old soft tyres in earlier practice,
20:36which some did,
20:37so it makes for a very different rhythm in the car
20:39as we look now at Mark Winterbottom.
20:42Great shot on the kerb cam.
20:44This is an area where many have been stepping wide at Turn 6.
20:47Van Gisbergen's got a problem on the dash on the car as well.
20:50He's not getting a correct reading
20:51with the brake bias position on that car.
20:54He's been on the radio in consultation with Blake Smith
20:56and just complaining about not getting the right information
21:01up on the dash.
21:02So FPR have decided to unleash Mark Winterbottom
21:04when there's only four other cars out there.
21:0724 cars in pit lane.
21:09Now make that 25.
21:10So Van Gisbergen, Ingle and Winterbottom,
21:13the only cars on the track at the moment.
21:17Winterbottom in 28th right now.
21:19Let's see how far he can push.
21:22So he goes up to the ninth.
21:31The prerequisite earmuffs.
21:35On the strength of your comments there, Neil,
21:37about what some of the drivers are saying,
21:38I think it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out.
21:40We're seeing this typical strategy
21:41with most of the pit lane parked in here now.
21:43But if there's not a lot of grip level out there,
21:45because remember we're on a street circuit now,
21:47so do we trade off the traffic,
21:48and we've talked about it before,
21:50versus the rubber going down there?
21:51You can see the yellow on the tyres.
21:52That means they're on the hard tyre.
21:53Not as much rubber goes down as we say saw in Darwin,
21:56where there was definitely a benefit
21:57to stay out right at the end of the session and wait.
22:00So it's going to be interesting to see.
22:01I don't know if I can just stick my head in here
22:02and grab a quick word with James.
22:04Hey, James, just really interested to know,
22:06what's the strategy here you think that's going to work best, mate?
22:08Is it waiting for a clear running traffic or going now
22:11or waiting for the rubber to go down?
22:14It's pretty tough, Larco.
22:16We're probably going to wait.
22:18But then at the end,
22:19there's more cars on the track at that time too.
22:22So you have to make sure that you get it as late as you can,
22:25but yet have as much gap as you can.
22:27So it's pretty tricky.
22:29Also, there's quite a bit of traffic on the lap here
22:31because it is a shorter lap.
22:33But no, it's all right.
22:34We'll have another swing, see how we go.
22:36James, we're hearing a bit of driver radio feedback
22:39saying that the circuit isn't anything like it was
22:41in that last practice session.
22:42Are you finding that?
22:43Yeah, for sure.
22:44We've definitely lost a little bit of re-grip between the two runs.
22:47So we're making a small change here now
22:49to try and compensate that
22:50and hopefully get the car a little further up.
22:53Good luck, buddy.
22:54Well, Murrow Engel is the only driver making his debut
22:56here at Townsville this weekend.
22:58Murrow, your early feel on this track, what's it like?
23:01Oh, look, it's an awesome track.
23:02I really enjoyed learning it.
23:03Obviously, I'm learning a lot of tracks this year,
23:06but this is definitely one of the better ones.
23:08Yeah, really good track.
23:09The best parts of it, what do you enjoy about this circuit?
23:12Oh, look, there's a bit of everything.
23:14You know, heavy braking, a fast corner, bumpy curbs, technical parts.
23:19So it's really good, really good from a driver's point of view.
23:21Murrow, how's the E63 behaving for you?
23:24It's pretty good, but it's not quite where I want it yet.
23:26So hopefully in this second run, we can make a small improvement.
23:29All right, mate, good luck.
23:30Cheers. Thanks, mate.
23:31And while Mark Beretta was in conversation there with Murrow Engel
23:34at the Erems Photosport garage area,
23:36Mark Winterbottom's gone to the top on a 13.6.
23:39The curiosity for me was he found four tenths of six on his subsequent lap
23:43as we look here at Fabian Coutard.
23:45From Lockwood, you can see just how much curve you've got to use here.
23:48Not hard to understand why shock absorbers are being damaged
23:50when you see the pounding that the car's popping through here.
23:53There's three or four spots around this track
23:55where it really hammers the car.
23:58But Winterbottom did a very, very good job on that second lap
24:01and it looked like he needed it to get the tyres up to the level
24:04that he needed them to perform.
24:08Just made that.
24:09You hear the tyre screech before the turn-in point.
24:14And this is about getting a ticket to the shootout.
24:17We've got five minutes and 20 seconds remaining.
24:23Phil Keat on the radio in conversation with Fabian
24:26and he goes P2 on the lap that we just watched
24:28and he's missed out by 0.01 of a second to be the fast man.
24:32So it's Winterbottom, Piltard, Van Gisberg
24:34and then Bright, Will Davison, McLaughlin, Tander, Slade is still in the 10.
24:39And then Courtney and David Reynolds
24:40who's been quick at times through the weekend.
24:42Now you can see the passing parade of cars leaving the pit lane
24:46and it'll be all about congestion from here on.
24:50So there's about half a dozen have gone out.
24:52Now they're all rushing out.
24:54It's a full traffic jam.
24:55This will be tricky.
24:57100% Neil with four and a half minutes to go
25:00and everybody trying to get in.
25:02We haven't probably put enough emphasis on this yet
25:04but this is a ticket to the top 10.
25:07So Reynolds currently on the cusp.
25:09Jamie Winkup and Craig Lowndes are currently 11th and 12th.
25:12They're not in the top 10 as we speak.
25:15Now Rick Kelly there just even at a moderate pace
25:18clearly with the tyre pressure still down.
25:20Have another go.
25:20You're P2 at the moment.
25:21P2 at the moment.
25:23It's going to get tight.
25:25Yeah, fascinating to watch down here just then, boys.
25:28It was almost like it was choreographed, orchestrated.
25:31The whole pit lane within a matter of, I don't know,
25:3210 or 12 seconds, about half of them.
25:34Then the other half all pushed their cars backwards and out together.
25:38Now clearly what they're doing is timing back from the end of the session
25:40to allow an out lap and two flying laps.
25:43That's all fine except I just don't get why they do it so together
25:46and now they're going to be all around on one part of the circuit together
25:48and the drama will unfold at the end.
25:51No risk.
25:51Marco, it's quite amazing.
25:52It's like someone just pulled a big plug at the end of pit lane
25:55and everyone just drained out together.
25:56It is a scurry to try and get these cars back out of the circuit.
25:59Everyone sits there and it's like if one goes,
26:01right, we're not going to miss, we're going to go with him
26:03and they all go.
26:04Yeah, and Barrett, seriously, for the sake of maybe 20 seconds,
26:07you could be over the other side of the circuit,
26:09away from the entire field and still get your one out lap
26:13and two flies in no problem.
26:15That's what I'd be doing.
26:15And what a disaster.
26:17What a disaster for Fabian Coulthard
26:19because you heard Phil Keats say we can get another lap done here.
26:22He's driven straight into a wall of cars
26:24all dribbling around at no miles an hour.
26:27Meantime, the contrasting strategy is that
26:29Winterbottom did a time, he's done a 13.6,
26:32he's pulled off the racetrack.
26:34So there are 27 cars on it, one car off it
26:37and the bloke who's parked up is the fastest guy.
26:40For me, that's the smart call
26:41because if you're Fabian,
26:43you're going to have steam coming out of your ears at the moment.
26:45Well, one minute he was flying down the freeway,
26:47the next he was in the shopping centre car park, wasn't he?
26:50So Winterbottom just cooling it out in pit lane
26:53with a sterny face, Tim Edwards watching the clock as well.
26:57And here's the traffic we spoke about,
26:59Murrow Engel just in the foreground
27:01and a little touch up there.
27:04I mean, Fabian's committed with the headlights on
27:07on a qualifying lap.
27:08Everyone should get out of his way.
27:09That should actually be a penalty.
27:11And you can see the body language.
27:13His run is done.
27:15And 1.13.62 is the best he can do.
27:18And that, what I would imagine, Matty,
27:20at a 13.6, for Gizzy as well,
27:22three of them on those,
27:22basically on the same number,
27:24they're OK.
27:25They'll be in the shootout for sure.
27:28But the guys at the back end here now
27:29have got a really tough job
27:30because there's no time left
27:32and they've got to try and figure out
27:33who's going to squeak into this 10.
27:35Well, at the moment,
27:36Jamie Winkup and Craig Lowndes are 12th and 13th.
27:39Winkup has never qualified outside the top 10
27:41at this circuit.
27:43Lowndes has only qualified outside the top 10 once.
27:47And here comes the Cavalry.
27:49So who's lighting up the scoreboard?
27:51Well, Garth Tander is fastest to the second sector.
27:55Davey Reynolds quickest to the first.
27:57There's Lowndes, light splashing
27:59as Alex Davison goes by
28:00and goes into seventh.
28:03And here comes Tander.
28:04So there's his teammate, James Courtney.
28:07Tander's already about to cross the line ahead of him.
28:09James is 11th at the moment.
28:11He needs this to get back into the shootout, potentially.
28:14So Garth Tander went off the track
28:15and ended up doing a 1.16
28:17after being quickest to the second sector.
28:21So Courtney into fourth.
28:22Will Davison showing pace
28:23and so too is David Reynolds.
28:26This is Will Davison now to see what he can deliver.
28:32He's also been complaining
28:34about this rear brake locking problem.
28:36So Reynolds to fifth, Will Davison seventh.
28:39Winterbottom and Coulthard have gone into the pit lane.
28:41They're out of action.
28:42One minute remaining in this qualifying session.
28:44Jason Bright is sixth on two green boxes.
28:47This might actually jam the Team BOC car up
28:50even further in this field
28:51if he could put the last sector together.
28:53Mark's drifted off.
28:53He must have had an off somewhere.
28:55Young Moss has done a great job.
28:57He's up to 11th.
28:57He was seventh a second ago.
28:59Look out, Scott McLaughlin.
29:00He crosses the line.
29:01Yep, seventh.
29:02They're having trouble stopping it down at 11, Matt.
29:04That's where the...
29:05And that is in the third sector.
29:07So that's where all the drama is
29:09for many of them at the moment.
29:10Alex Davison.
29:10A bunch of cars having trouble stopping down there.
29:14Winterbottom, Coulthard, Van Gisbergen.
29:16Shane Van Gisbergen at the moment's on a very quick lap.
29:19Here's Courtney.
29:20James at the moment is in position four.
29:22He's gone on to a second lap on this tyre set
29:25to see whether or not he can move up.
29:27Will Davison's gone on to a second lap
29:28and he looks quick as well.
29:30Winterbottom, Coulthard, Van Gisbergen, Courtney.
29:32They're all struggling in the final sector.
29:34So Van Gisbergen from third up to first.
29:40A 1.13.5.
29:44John Lawlison still pumping along
29:47and he goes up to fifth.
29:51So only 0.05 between Shane Van Gisbergen's time
29:55and the time set by Mark Winterbottom.
29:58Now, at the moment, Lowndes is 15th.
30:01His teammate Wincup is 16th.
30:03So for guys that are contending the championship,
30:06they're struggling on the hard tyre.
30:08And that's huge too because throughout practice
30:10we just didn't know what kind of tyres they were running.
30:14So two orange boxers
30:16say that it's personal best sector tyres.
30:21He just made that.
30:23He had the wheel locked.
30:24He turned it in.
30:25Let's have a look what it does.
30:26Is this the first time that Jamie Wincup
30:28qualifies outside the top ten at Townsville?
30:31Yes, it is.
30:32He's going to start from mid-pack.
30:35Our championship leader,
30:37Craig Lowndes, 12th.
30:39Garth Tander down in 15th.
30:44And Tim Slade in the ten boys in car very good, number 47.
30:48So that's great news for Erebus Motorsport
30:50to fire a spot into a shootout on a very tricky racetrack.
30:53Absolutely.
30:54And Rick Kelly just outside the ten in 11th spot.
30:58So four FPR cars in the top ten.
31:00And this man, Jamie Wincup in 16th position.
31:04He's had eight pole positions for the year.
31:07He's never been outside the top ten all season.
31:09But today is the day.
31:11So Van Gisbergen will be the last man out in the shootout.
31:14Four Fords in that top ten.
31:18Five of the Holden Commodores and the Erebus Motorsport
31:21Mercedes-Benz of Tim Slade inside for the shootout.
31:25So there, position 12 Lowndes
31:26and position 16 Wincup.
31:29Russell Ingle will start from 22nd.
31:32Tim Blanchard and Dean Fiore on the final row of the grid.
31:36So qualifying is done.
31:38Still to come, of course,
31:39we've got the top ten shootout on an enormous day
31:42here at Townsville.
31:44After the break,
31:44I'll tell you how you can get a hot lap
31:47with David Reynolds at Queensland Raceway
31:49in the coming weeks.
31:50Well, the Flying Kiwi, Shane Van Gisbergen,
31:59started season 2013
32:00with back-to-back pole positions
32:02on the streets of Adelaide at the Clipsal 500.
32:06This is a similar circuit,
32:07a hybrid street and parkland circuit,
32:09and he is the quickest in qualifying,
32:12and he's with Mark Larkin.
32:13Well, Shane Van Gisbergen, that was impressive.
32:15How impressive?
32:16I just, well, you saw on the time sheets there,
32:17Jamie Wincup, 16th.
32:19But your car obviously working very, very well
32:21alongside with you around here.
32:23Yeah, I think we were the only triple-eight car
32:24in the top ten, which is surprising.
32:26But, yeah, the car was awesome.
32:28We've been on the hards all practice sessions.
32:31So we haven't really showed up,
32:32but we've been doing our own program,
32:34and it worked.
32:35The car was really good.
32:36I think we didn't need to run again to stay in the ten,
32:39but now we're in the shootout on softs.
32:41I haven't run softs all weekend,
32:42so it's going to be pretty interesting.
32:44It will be, mate.
32:45Your car's next door at the moment being weighed.
32:47I'm sure that'll be fine.
32:48An hour before the shootout now,
32:50will you change the car?
32:51I think you have to.
32:52Just a few little things,
32:54just the usual stuff to make it work on the soft,
32:57but then you'll be changing it for the race again.
33:00So hopefully we can make it work.
33:02Giz, what's this?
33:03What's going on here, mate?
33:05I think they had to tone them down,
33:07so it doesn't look as good.
33:08Quite a debrief going on at the moment in the Red Bull garage.
33:12You can see Roland Dane and Adrian Burgess,
33:14along with Jamie Wincup,
33:15just going through it at the moment.
33:16They've got a bit to talk about
33:17because this is the first time this year
33:18that we haven't had a Red Bull car qualify in the top ten.
33:21I might just try and grab a quick word with Jamie.
33:23Jamie, we're so used to seeing you out there
33:25in the porty end of the field.
33:26Yeah.
33:27You'll be midfield for this race.
33:28It's going to be a little tricky.
33:29Yeah, yeah.
33:30Hey, that's where we've been at this weekend, unfortunately.
33:33We've really had our challenges through practice,
33:36so we were hoping that we could snag something miracle for the race.
33:40But basically this new car, yeah, it throws up some variables.
33:45We've been in similar positions at other race meetings,
33:48but we've been able to call it back.
33:49So fortunately we haven't been able to do that today.
33:51But hey, it's still only Saturday morning.
33:53You know, don't ride us off all weekend,
33:55but certainly got a long afternoon ahead.
33:58Jamie, we know what a great racer you are.
33:59We look forward to seeing this this afternoon.
34:01I'll have a crack.
34:01We've just got to get to our first lap.
34:02It's going to be carnage.
34:03Good luck, mate.
34:04Not only that, he has won five out of the eight racers at this circuit.
34:07Got something from our friends at Shannon's to tell you about.
34:10It's the Shannon's Club.
34:11You can connect with fellow enthusiasts and car clubs
34:13that share your passion in the Shannon's Club,
34:16share a wealth of information and knowledge on all things automotive,
34:19so why not go online and join today?
34:23Visit shannons.com.au forward slash club.
34:27Great to have Shannon's on board and supporting the V8 supercars.
34:32As they always do.
34:33As we go on board with Davey Reynolds,
34:35and I can tell you that in a few weeks' time,
34:37when we head to Queensland Raceway for the second of three events
34:39in the Sunshine State,
34:41we're going to give you the chance to win a hot lap with Dave.
34:44If you buy your Coats Higher Ipswich 360 ticket at Ticket Tech
34:48before the 8th of July,
34:50you could be in the chance to win a ride.
34:53On the bottle of Ford,
34:54just go to v8supercars.com.au
34:56and 25 words or less tell us why you want to be in that seat
34:59with the bottle of Ford Pilot.
35:02It'll be a wild, wild ride.
35:05So qualifying is done.
35:06Top 10 shootouts still to come.
35:08An enormous day ahead.
35:09Don't forget,
35:09you can join the conversation on Twitter.
35:11Use that hashtag
35:12and let us know your thoughts about the best and worst moments,
35:15the highlights,
35:16the lowlights of season 2013 so far.
35:19Undoubtedly,
35:20one of the peaks was back at Barbagallo Raceway
35:22with Craig Lowndes breaking the all-time race win record.
35:25And this is one for the record books.
35:29The People's Champion
35:30today becomes the all-time race winner.
35:33It was just such an erst of excitement for me
35:35to get out of the car
35:35and to see Mark down there.
35:37For me,
35:37that was quite special.
35:40You know,
35:40we've been teammates,
35:41we've been rivals,
35:42and we're great mates,
35:43so for me,
35:43it was really nice
35:44to be able to share that moment with you.
35:46Craig Lowndes,
35:4791 career victories.
35:49To be able to be now known as the most,
35:50or have the most victories in v8 supercars
35:53is quite incredible.
35:56Definitely a record in the history books for me
35:58that's,
35:59you know,
35:59he's quite outstanding.
36:00His talent is supreme.
36:02Now he sits at the top of the list.