V8 Supercars, Round 4 – Barbagallo Raceway, WA

Races 2 and 3

Apart from Mark Skaife living down to my expectations on the opening lap of race 2, ending his weekend against a concrete wall, the two races today were pretty much staid, tactical affairs.

Mark Winterbottom managed to take out both races, and the round, which I felt was well deserved, even though it’s becoming a formula destined to breed boredom among fans. Start from pole and lead the field from start to finish by not tangling with other cars. It’s easy for the man up front. Not so simple for those further back. Tander came home second overall, and a good run it was too. I was especially pleased to see Jamie Whincup run two very good races to run across the line in race three in third spot, closely followed by his team mate, Lowndes. Interestingly, when quizzed about his potential championship recovery, Whincup dismissed any interest in the championship until after Bathurst. A sign of the importance drivers still place on the big race of the year, despite the season’s championship. Clearly, Whincup sees his debacle last round, courtesy of Todd Kelly, as the end of his chances this year.

On that issue, it appears that the V8 Supercars Investigating and Prosecuting Officer charged Kelly with dangerous driving, which Kelly then proceeded to appeal and escape from. Frankly, I think the vision of the incident spoke volumes, but a good legal argument can beat the blindingly obvious any day, it seems.

While there were many creditable performances this round, I found myself wondering just why people like Jason Bright and Paul Morris bother trundling cars and teams across the country when both either ‘DNF’, or finish with cars badly in need of repair, round after round. In Morris’s case, he’s simply spending Daddy’s money, and who gives a shit because Sirromet Wines sell well among the easily duped. As for Bright……he’s either filthy rich on family money, or mindlessly stupid on Fujitsu’s. The first lap incident in race one was all his own work, and it happens every round lately. I’d feel sorry for Russell Ingall, but he chose to drive for Morris, so I reckon he deserves everything that befalls him. Here’s the points standings after this round.

Here’s a point of interest for the avid among you. Drop the worst round from the standings thus far, as used to be the case in times past, and we’d see the top ten order change to:

Pity VESCA sees fit to keep changing the rules every bloody year. On to round five, Sandown, in four weeks time (June 7-9). Queens Birthday long weekend, so racing is being held on Sunday and Monday, just for something different. I wonder if we’ll get to see practice on Saturday?