VOLUME 4 - ISSUE 23
IT’S OUR BEST OIL YET... WWW.CASTROLEDGE.COM.AU
DECEMBER 2014
CASTROL V8 CREWS SECURE TOP 10 PLACINGS Castrol-backed Mark ‘Frosty’ Winterbottom has finished third in the 2014 V8 Supercars championship which saw Jamie Whincup clinch his sixth title and become the most successful Australian racing car driver. Winterbottom, who lead the championship up until Queensland Raceway, was left to fight for the runners up honours in the Finale against Shane van Gisbergen. However, severe Sydney storms and heavy rain halted Winterbottom’s chances as rival van Gisbergen sealed victory with the race was declared 44 laps in out of the 74 lap race. With three wins for the year, Winterbottom has already turned his focus for 2015 with the debut of the all new ‘Ford Falcon FG X’.
notching seventh in the championship while scoring victories at the Perth 400 and the famous last-lap victory at the 2014 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. “We were top five in the race when it stopped and while the points situation is being sorted we’ve finished well inside the top 10 which is pretty good,” said Mostert. “From there we’ve just kept improving and wins in Perth and Bathurst were the clear highlights.” “I can’t wait for next year and the FG X Falcon and we’ll all work hard in the break to come back next year and give it a big shot. I want to be comfortably in the top five next year so I can’t wait to get back for the new season.” Nissan Motorsport’s Michael Caruso was the next best Castrol-backed driver in
the championship, finishing tenth in the championship - and the first Nissan to do so since returning to the championship. “It’s terrific that we were able to hold onto 10th place in the championship,” said Caruso. However, the year didn’t end so well for Caruso, dropping out of the race within six laps due to engine problems. “There was a problem with the engine and the boys tried to fix it, but the issue was more terminal than first thought,” added Caruso. “We certainly don’t aim to finish 10th in any championship – we are always aiming to win – but given the development curve that Nissan Motorsport has been on over the past two years, this is a nice reward for the team.”
“I got stuck at the back after my first corner incident,” said Winterbottom. “It turned into a mess after that so I am looking forward to going on holidays and regrouping. “The new FG X Falcon should be quicker than the package we have and we finished the year poorly so we’ll enjoy Christmas and go again.” Ford Performance Racing team-mate, Chaz Mostert had a year to remember
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Stable-team mate and Castrol-backed Rick Kelly, who was the best of the Nissan drivers during the Sydney 500 weekend, finished 13th in the overall standings. “I’m stoked to have finished with a couple of top-ten results this weekend,” said Kelly.
2015 V8 Supercars Calendar Date
Event
Location
Race Format
Feb 7-8
Sydney.com V8 Super Test
Sydney Motorsport Park
Super Test
Feb 26-Mar 1
Clipsal 500 Adelaide
Adelaide Street Circuit
Super Street
Mar 12-15
Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix*
Albert Park
International
Mar 27-29
Tyrepower Tasmania Super Sprint
Symmons Plains Raceway
Super Sprint
April 17-19
Perth Super Sprint
Barbagallo Raceway
Super Sprint
“I’ve got really mixed emotions now that it’s all over, finishing inside the top-ten is great, but disappointed that I didn’t finish further up in the points standings.
May 15-17
Winton Super Sprint
Winton Motor Raceway
Super Sprint
June 19-21
Skycity Triple Crown Darwin
Hidden Valley Raceway
Super Sprint
July 10-12
Castrol Townsville 400
Reid Park
Super Street
July 31-Aug 2
Coates Hire Ipswich Super Sprint
Queensland Raceway
Super Sprint
“So you count back through the year and all of the times you could have made that up, it shows just how close the championship really is.
Aug 21-23
Sydney Motorsport Park Super Sprint
Sydney Motorsport Park
Super Sprint
Sept 11-13
Wilson Security Sandown 500
Sandown Raceway
Pirtek Enduro Cup
Oct 8-11
Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000
Mount Panorama
Pirtek Enduro Cup
Oct 23-25
Castrol Edge Gold Coast 600
Surfers Paradise
Pirtek Enduro Cup
“I can’t wait for next year.”
Nov 6-8
ITM 500 Auckland
Pukekohe Park Raceway
Super Sprint
Nov 20-22
Phillip Island Super Sprint
Phillip Island Circuit
Super Sprint
In 16th place in the championship standings was sixth best Castrol driver,
Dec 4-6
Sydney 500
Sydney Olympic Park
Super Street
James Moffat in the Norton backed Nissan.
2014 V8 Supercars Championship Championship Points 1
Jamie Whincup
3364
2
Shane Van Gisbergen
2778
3
Mark Winterbottom
2763
4
Craig Lowndes
2656
5
Scott McLaughlin
2509
6
James Courtney
2481
7
Chaz Mostert
2444
8
Fabian Coulthard
2430
9
Garth Tander
2280
10
Michael Caruso
1939
11
Jason Bright
1920
12
Nick Percat
1915
13
Rick Kelly
1912
14
Will Davison
1904
15
David Reynolds
1786
16
James Moffat
1704
17
Tim Slade
1646
18
Russell Ingall
1510
19
Scott Pye
1407
20
Lee Holdsworth
1386
21
David Wall
1339
22
Todd Kelly
1317
23
Jack Perkins
1271
24
Dale Wood
1160
25
Robert Dahlgren
909
“Overall, it was a disappointing year,” said Moffat. “For me, it’s not where I want to be, but I can’t thank the effort of the guys in the team. We’ll keep working hard over the off-season to come back bigger and stronger.” After a year of many low points, Castrolbacked Supercheap Auto Racing’s Tim Slade finished the year strongly. Third place in Race 31 at the Castrol EDGE Gold Coast 600 was Slade’s best race result of the weekend. However, improved performances in the subsequent events at the Phillip Island 400 and the Sydney 500 Finale, where he passed Jamie Whincup and led the race in tricky conditions, was evidence the young New South Wales born driver is going to be a force in 2015.
Similar to Slade, Castrol-backed Todd Kelly experienced a difficult season start as Nissan driver continued to focus on developing the car. Although the 2005 Bathurst winner beleove the team is on the right development path. “It’s gone pretty quick this year, we’ve tried to improve the cars throughout the whole season, and in the later part they have been quite competitive,” said Todd Kelly, finishing 22nd in the championship. The V8 Supercars return in 2015 on February 7-8 for the official pre-season test at the Sydney.com SuperTest to be held at the Sydney Motorsport Park. The 2015 V8 Supercars championship then kicks off on February 26-March 1 at the traditional season opener, the Adelaide Clipsal 500.
“I think we’ve learnt a lot over the past few events, including a lot of stuff that we can carry into next year – and make our results more consistent,” said Slade after finishing sixth in the final race and moving him to 17th in the championship standings.
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CASTROL CLAIMS 20TH BATHURST 1000 VICTORY
Castrol claimed its twentieth Bathurst 1000 with Chaz Mostert and Paul Morris recording a maiden victory at Mount Panorama in October. Starting from the extreme rear of the grid the pair played the perfect strategy game to claim victory in a nail-biting finish with current V8 Supercars Championship leader Jamie Whincup. Joining the pair on the podium through a fantastic display of determination and strength was James Moffatt and Taz Douglas who finished second in their Castrol-oiled Nissan to claim a special one-two for Castrol oils. The young talent of Mostert coupled with the experienced hands of Morris cooked up the perfect partnership which sees Ford go back-to-back in the Great Race. “I just kept screaming in the cockpit I don’t know if anyone heard me on the radio!” Mostert said.
fans, words can’t describe the feeling. “Big congratulations to the Ford Performance Racing guys, victory for the second year in a row and hopefully we can come back next year and make it a hatrick.” A true demonstration of strength and performance was on display as the pair fought through an incredible 13 pitstops, including one to fix damage from a crash at Castrol EDGE bend (Turn 2), throughout the tumultuous race. 195,261 roaring spectators were treated to one of the greatest races in recent history as the Castrol logo powered over the finish line before any other. Castrol has a rich history in Australian Motorsport, one which is no stronger than at Mount Panorama. Castrol oil first tasted Bathurst success back in 1966 with the works BMC Cooper S team of Bob Holden and Rauno Aaltonen.
“It was the best feeling ever crossing that finish line and doing it for all the Ford
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CASTROL EDGE GOLD COAST 600 ENJOYS SUCCESSFUL DEBUT
The inaugural Castrol EDGE Gold Coast 600 was a huge success for Castrol Australia with plenty of exposure for our brand and a strong message throughout the event of Strength for Maximum Performance.
Friday Night Drags, our very impressive team of Grid Girls and plenty more. Television figures were also very strong with over 900,000 Australians tuning
into the Seven Network’s telecast in Metro areas. Castrol also enjoyed extensive media coverage both on event and throughout the leadup.
184,723 people walked through the gates over three days on the streets of Surfers Paradise to enjoy action packed V8 Supercars action coupled with parties, performances, concerts and a bunch more entertainment as the Castrol EDGE Gold Coast 600 lit up the city from start to finish. Along with fantastic event signage both on and off the track the Castrol EDGE brand was further bolsted through various other assets including the Hot Wheels Stunt Team, Showtime FMX, V8 Superfest,
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MURPHY DOMINATES V8 SUPERTOURERS TO CLAIM SECOND TITLE
Castrol EDGE-backed Greg Murphy secured the 2014 BNT NZ SuperTourer Championship in his final year in the category. The Mike Pero Holden pilot is now a twotime champion of the series after winning his first title in the category last year. Murphy, who recently announced his retirement from V8 Supercars and SuperTourers, once again proved to be the man to beat. The four-time Bathurst 1000 winner dominated the season winning 11 of the 13 races which included a streak of seven victories on the spin. In fact the Kiwi was never off the podium throughout the campaign.
Despite his dominance, the championship battle went right down to the wire at the Pukekohe finale.
“We have won a lot of the races this year, but it hasn’t been as easy as it looked,” said Murphy.
Murphy guided his Holden to victory in the meeting’s opening two encounters which proved to be enough to claim the title. He shared the podium with Richard Moore and Andre Heimgartner on both occasions.
“I suppose I’m the benchmark for some of the guys to reach. I think I’m just setting the standard in the category.”
With the title already secured, Murphy went on to win the third race before succumbing to M3 Racing team-mate Richard Moore in the final hit out of the season. In the end, Murphy claimed the title with a healthy 319 point margin over Simon Evans.
Before retiring from the series Murphy secured a second place finish at the Taupo 400 in September. The 2014 championship was reduced from seven to four rounds because the organisation rejigged the schedule so that the next series will run from September to April rather than over the calendar year.
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V8 SuperTourer 2014 Championship Standings Pos
Driver
Points
1
Greg Murphy
1155
2
Simon Evans
836
3
Richard Moore
821
4
Ant Pedersen
817
5
Andre Heimgartner
732
6
Tim Edgell
564
7
Mark Gibson
549
8
Mitch Cunningham
543
9
Morgan Haber
537
10
Simon McLennan
448
11
Dominic Storey
408
12
Chris Hanley
372
13
Angus Fogg
314
14
Andrew Waite
189
15
Steve Owen
164
16
Eddie Bell
148
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‘MAGGOTSACK’ WINS CASTROL EDGE V8 PREDICTOR 2014 Castrol EDGE V8 Predictor team ‘MaggotSack’ has won the Castrol EDGE V8 Predictor competition in 2014 after a dramatic season finale shook up the competition on the streets of Sydney Olympic Park. Simon Watt, who is the founder of ‘MaggotSack’ team was trailing competition favourites ‘Go the Muel’ and ‘Arne’s Mob’ heading into the final round. With wet weather forecast throughout the weekend, tipping Shane
van Gisbergen as the race winner proved to be the winning formula sealing victory for the Queenslander. “I didn’t think I had done enough to make it to the top,” said Watt after winning the competition 48 points clear of second place’. “Scott McLaughlin’s pole position on Sunday and then Shane van Gisbergen sneaking into the lead just as the Safety Car (during Sunday’s race) was
deployed, got me the bonus points and gave me the edge over my rivals. “I was pretty shocked to check the website on Monday morning following the Sydney event and seeing the number one next to my name. “The competition was a fun way to get bragging rights over mates, it was always exciting checking the website after a race weekend to see how many points had been racked up.
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Castrol EDGE V8 Predictor Standings GLOBAL LEAGUE Rank
Team
Points
1
MaggotSack
808
2
Tarmac
760
3
Go the Muel!
759
4
Murph
750
5
tyrfryr
748
6
robbo1976
747
7
figjam racing
746
8
Arne’s Mob
742
9
smsracing55
735
10
Ally Go
733
11
SCATTERS
732
12
boats n hoes
727
13
Pluto Pups All Round
727
14
Acc-sell-or-ators
724
15
Micool06
724
16
Rubelgroppers
722
17
Bloopy Enterprises
721
18
JWS-888-
720
19
red bull 01
718
20
Great Generals
717
EXPERT LEAGUE Rank
Team Name
Points
1
Speedcafe.com Team
406
2
Andy Priaulx
375
3
Greg Rust
307
“I’d like to thank Castrol for running the Castrol EDGE V8 Predictor competition and providing such an awesome prize.” Competition runner up ‘Tarmac’ who was a consistent top five runner all season, narrowly finished second ahead of ‘Go the Muel!’ by just one point. Team ‘Murph’ finished a further nine points down while team ‘tyrfryr’ jumped an impressive 35 positions during the final round to claim fifth on 748 points. V8 Predictor teams robbo1976, Figjam Racing, Arne’s Mob, SMSRacing55 and Ally Go rounded out the top ten positions.
As apart of the competition prize, Watt and a friend will head to a V8 Supercar round of their choice in style, with an exclusive behind the scenes up and personal experience with a leading V8 Supercar team, as well as $1,000 spending money. In the Experts’ league, Speedcafe secured league victory finishing with 406 points. Trailing by 15 points was runner up Andy Priaulx while Greg Rust finished a further 68 points behind in third.
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FORE TAKES OUT CASTROL BACKED RACE OF STARS Italian Superstar Davide Fore dominated the Castrol backed Race of Stars on the Gold Coast in October showing a true masterclass leaving the event undefeated aboard his CRG. The five time World Champion had fellow Italian, Lorenzo Camplese right with him for the early part of the final, Camplese firing his CRG into the lead on the third circulation.
Fore was all class though, charging on to take a stunning victory - while the battle for second intensified late in the race.
Camplese took a narrow third position ahead of four time World Champion Jonathan Thonon. Fifth was Patrizicorse Birel Dutchman, Marijn Kremers.
Camplese was caught by Kiwi flyer Daniel Bray in his GP Kart. Bray was forced to recover from a DNF in the opening race and had to work his way forward.
The first of the Australians home was last year’s winner, Gold Coaster, Christopher Hays. Hays was ecstatic with his performance to come home in front of David Sera - the 17-time Australian Champion taking the fight
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right to the superstar Europeans for the heat races, including a stunning pass at 160kph into turn one on Simo Puhakka early in the opening heat. Queenslanders Jason Faint (Energy), Kel Treseder (Energy) and Kyle Ensbey (Maranello) completed the top 10. Fore was pleased with his second visit to Australia. “We’re very happy with the result, Team CRG worked very hard after we blew an engine in practice yesterday, so this is pleasing,” Fore said.
The elite Junior KF3 category saw Canberra racer, Zane Morse take a comfortable victory. After an incident yesterday that saw him have to repair his Tony Kart chassis, he drove a wheel perfect event taking all three races. American youngster, Juan Manuel Correa came home a fighting second. The Lotus F1 Team Junior Driver battled hard through the heats and then charged forward in the final in a five way battle for second.
“We came to Australia to win and give the people a show, I think we did that.”
Gold Coaster Zane Goddard (Tony Kart) delighted the home crowd with his third placed finish, sneaking home in front of Chris Sandrone (Exprit) and Aaron Cameron (Arrow).
After qualifying the script couldn’t have been any better with arch-rivals Fore and Thonon on the front row and Aussie flyer Sera third.
The TaG category was toughly contested with 50 of Australia’s best battling it out. Queenslander Cian Fothergill got himself back to the
top step in national competition by dominating the event. He skipped away from the field to take the win. The battle for second raged literally from the first lap. The elbows were out literally from the first lap and in the end Harrington Doyle Racing Arrow pilot, Jarryd Ebzery took second, whilst Sydney ART GP racer Aaron Borg completed the podium. Mitchell Griffin (Exprit) and Mitchell Madden (Birel) completed the podium. Chaz Mostert made it two wins in as many weekends in the V8 Supercar driver Celebrity Race, taking a hard fought victory after an early stoush with Michael Caruso and Alex Premat. Erebus Motorsport’s Lee Holdsworth was second with David Reynolds third.
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CASTROL EDGE CIK STARS OF KARTING CHAMPIONS CROWNED Jayden Ojeda, Troy Loeskow and Joey Hanssen added themselves to an illustrious list of Australian Karting Champions having triumphed in the Castrol EDGE CIK Stars of Karting Championship. The three champions have earned themselves an international event entry in 2015 with the support of Karting Australia. Loeskow and Nathan Tigani were separated by a mere 18 points coming
into the twin 27-lap KF2 finals at Melbourne’s Todd Road Circuit.
in final one, finishing just ahead of Loeskow.
When trouble befell PCR Scuderia Australia pilot, Tigani early in the first final, Loeskow’s hold on the James Courtney Trophy became stronger. The FA (Fernando Alonso) Kart driver only had to front for the second final to secure the Title.
Final two was a completely different story when Loeskow struck trouble in the opening lap. He dropped to the back of the field and charged on, however up front it was a battle royale between Ebzery and outgoing KF3 Junior Champion Liam McLellan in his KF2 debut.
Harrington Doyle Racing Arrow driver, Jarryd Ebzery took his first ever Stars of Karting Championship final victory
McLellan, whose deal with Energy Corse Australia came together at the last
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minute, finally got a handle on the 125cc IAME engine and new chassis package and surged ahead, trading blows with Ebzery as the laps wound down. The young Victorian was able to get past the Queenslander and take a memorable victory on debut. Finishing third was Ebzery’s Pepsi Maxsupported Harrington Doyle team-mate, Scott Sorenson.
Hanssen was shuffled back in the early stages of final one and fought forward from eighth to cross the line in first. Arch rival, David Sera didn’t finish the race and was forced to start final two from 24th on the grid. Starting alongside him would be
Vemmekart racer, Matthew Wall. The second final will go down in history in CIK Stars of Karting folklore with Hanssen taking yet another victory while setting a new lap record.
In the KF3 Juniors, Ojeda had a solid points lead over his Exprit team-mate, Chris Sandrone heading into the final. Sandrone fought valiantly at the front with Aaron Cameron and Zane Morse. Ojeda took the first final by threeone-hundredths of a second and then backed that up by stealing the victory on the line from local hope Cameron by four hundredths of a second. Hanssen had already secured the KZ2 title before the championship’s to final races but it didn’t stop him from ending the year on a high.
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