Lowndes completes Queensland domination

Speedcafe

Craig Lowndes has completed his domination of the 2012 Coates Hire Ipswich 300 by winning a processional Race 17 of the V8 Supercars Championship.

Lowndes took the lead from early front-runner Mark Winterbottom on the sixth of the 65 laps and was only headed during the pitstop cycles for the remainder.

The win is Lowndes’ fifth consecutive at Queensland Raceway and his third of the 2012 season. Additionally, TeamVodafone has now swept the last six races across the Hidden Valley, Townsville and Queensland Raceway events following a seven race streak from FPR.

Although Race 17 ran Safety Car-free for its entire distance, Winterbottom crossed the line just 2.0s behind Lowndes in second place.

Jamie Whincup was a further 14s adrift in third, while Will Davison, Fabian Coulthard, Russell Ingall, Shane van Gisbergen, Tim Slade, Michael Caruso and Steve Owen rounded out the top 10.

Lowndes and Winterbottom spent much of the last 20 laps dealing with lapped traffic. The TeamVodafone driver lapped all cars up to the 14th placed James Courtney by the chequered flag, such was his domination.

TeamVodafone and FPR ran identical strategies on its two cars, with the leading pair pitting together on Laps 9 and 38. The pursuing Whincup and Davison visited the lane one lap later on each occasion, but neither had the pace of their team-mates.

Pole-sitter Davison found himself squeezed out by fellow front-row starter Winterbottom heading into the first corner, before quickly losing places to Lowndes, Whincup and Ingall during the short hard tyre stint. The Trading Post FPR Falcon driver recovered to fourth in the first pitstop cycle, but spent the remaining laps struggling for car balance.

Jonathon Webb and Lee Holdsworth were the race’s only retirements – the pair both pitting late in the going with mechanical issues. Holdsworth struggled with a sticking throttle for much of the race, an issue that eventually resulted in a fire within the IRWIN Ford.

An early puncture ensured a poor day for the ill David Reynolds, who was the last finisher in 26th.

Rick Kelly fared just one place better after a strategic error necessitated a third pitstop for fuel in the waning laps.

Kelly’s team-mate Jacques Villeneuve saw his race come apart on the opening lap, when a touch from David Wall exiting Turn 6 sent the Pepsi Max Holden spinning across the infield.

The results see second placed Winterbottom close Whincup’s championship lead to 82 points.

The championship continues at Sydney Motorsport Park later this month.

See below for the Race 17 result

1TeamVodafoneCraig LowndesHolden Commodore VE26501:18:23.0855
2Orrcon Steel FPR FordMark WinterbottomFord Falcon FG6501:18:25.0614
3TeamVodafoneJamie WhincupHolden Commodore VE26501:18:39.2308
4Trading Post FPR FordWill DavisonFord Falcon FG6501:18:46.8078
5Lockwood RacingFabian CoulthardHolden Commodore VE26501:18:55.6134
6Supercheap Auto RacingRussell IngallHolden Commodore VE26501:18:56.4045
7SP Tools RacingShane Van GisbergenFord Falcon FG6501:18:57.7599
8Lucky 7 RacingTim SladeFord Falcon FG6501:18:59.1930
9Fujitsu Racing GRMMichael CarusoHolden Commodore VE26501:19:04.5473
10VIP PetfoodsSteve OwenFord Falcon FG6501:19:18.2868
11Jim Beam RacingSteven JohnsonFord Falcon FG6501:19:20.3540
12Tekno AutosportsMichael PatriziHolden Commodore VE26501:19:20.7882
13Team HiflexTony D’AlbertoFord Falcon FG6501:19:29.3162
14Holden Racing TeamJames CourtneyHolden Commodore VE26501:19:30.8377
15Holden Racing TeamGarth TanderHolden Commodore VE26401:18:28.0769
16Jack Daniel’s RacingTodd KellyHolden Commodore VE26401:18:30.0032
17Team BOCJason BrightHolden Commodore VE26401:18:30.9105
18Wilson Security RacingDavid WallHolden Commodore VE26401:18:32.1275
19Team Norton DJRJames MoffatFord Falcon FG6401:18:34.8537
20Jim Beam RacingDean FioreFord Falcon FG6401:18:35.3388
21Fair Dinkum Sheds RacingKarl ReindlerHolden Commodore VE26401:18:37.5944
22Team iSelectTaz DouglasHolden Commodore VE26401:18:38.5686
23Fujitsu Racing GRMAlexandre PrematHolden Commodore VE26401:18:42.0785
24Pepsi Max CrewJaques VilleneuveHolden Commodore VE26401:18:52.3026
25Jack Daniel’s RacingRick KellyHolden Commodore VE26401:19:02.9705
26The Bottle-O Racing TeamDavid ReynoldsFord Falcon FG6201:18:23.7838
DNFIrwin RacingLee HoldsworthFord Falcon FG5501:07:53.3336
DNFTekno AutosportsJonathon WebbHolden Commodore VE25401:05:52.8327

See below for the updated points standings

1Jamie Whincup2052
2Mark Winterbottom1970
3Will Davison1876
4Craig Lowndes1796
5Shane Van Gisbergen1472
6Tim Slade1344
7Garth Tander1323
8Fabian Coulthard1261
9Lee Holdsworth1217
10David Reynolds1017
11James Courtney 989
12Michael Caruso 984
13Todd Kelly 983
14Jason Bright 981
15Steven Johnson 965
16Rick Kelly 943
17Russell Ingall 917
18Steve Owen 877
19Michael Patrizi 850
20Jonathon Webb 808
21Dean Fiore 776
22Tony D’Alberto 737
23Taz Douglas 593
24Karl Reindler 584
25David Wall 547
26James Moffat 545
27Alexandre Premat 532
28Greg Murphy 315

Lowndes completes Queensland domination

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