Whincup Claims Supercars Championship Crown in Newcastle

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Jamie Whincup has scored his seventh Supercars title at the inaugural Newcastle 500.

The stage was set for Scott McLaughlin to take out a win today but after a trio of penalties throughout the 250km race he came undone.

The final lap was almost absolute carnage with McLaughlin squeezing Craig Lowndes into Turn 2 in a battle for 11th position. Needing 11th place to win the Championship, McLaughlin held the place but was then handed a penalty for reckless driving and ended up finishing in 18th.

Whincup took the win with 21 points ahead of McLaughlin in the Championship.

"I crossed the line and I thought I was second and I asked the guys and girls 'what's going on? Fill me in!' And then I just heard screaming down the radio so I though alright this is looking good!"

"Unbelievable."

"In any sport you never say die. It's not over until the far lady sings as they say so we knew we had a chance but your gut feel says it's a long shot. I was pretty gutted last night thinking how unlucky, what did we do to deserve yesterday. But clearly that got turned around today." 

Shane van Gisbergen crossed the line in third followed by David Reynolds.

Drivers kept the pace all race with only two safety cars needed in this afternoon's race; one for James Courtney after crashing into a wall and another for debris on the track.

Whincup has no doubt this race was one of the toughest of the year.

"It's been an unbelievable battle with some unbelievably good competition and for it to come down to the last lap, the dying moments, the last ten seconds of the year, this one is right up there," said Whincup.

2017 Supercars Champion Jamie Whincup. Image Robert Rouse

Supercars Drivers have Nothing But Praise for Big Crowds in Newcastle on Day Two

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Scott McLaughlin had nothing but praise for the crowd in Newcastle today after taking out the big race of the day in top spot.

Qualifying this morning saw McLaughlin score Pole position heading into Race 25 this afternoon with a fastest lap time of 1 minute 09 seconds. Championship contender Jamie Whincup came over the line in fifth position.

Newcastle's own Aaren Russell finished 23rd in qualifying with a time close to the front of the pack at 1 minute 10 seconds.

It didn't take long for the fresh track to see one of its first major crashes when the V8 Supercars hit the circuit late today.

Whincup's bid for the championship title took a major blow when he made contact with Michael Caruso on Turn 3, Whincup ran out of room on the turn as Caruso turned in, leaving the Holden's right-front steering arm and lower control arm needing to be replaced.

Whincup returned to the race 13 laps later and ended up finishing in 23rd position gaining just 42 points. It doesn't look like even a win will get him the Championship title tomorrow.

It leaves McLaughlin only having to finish 11th or better in the race tomorrow to take out the Supercars 2017 Championship title.

Second place was taken by Fabian Coulthard, trailed by Tim Slade.

It's louder then it seems! An estimated 60,000 people streamed through the gates today to see Newcastle looking absolutely brilliant. #newcastle500 pic.twitter.com/rt93KUY461

— Jessica Rouse (@JessRouse95) November 25, 2017

All three drivers were blown away by both the track and the crowds.

"All weekend the support has been unbelievable," said McLaughlin.

"Obviously all weekend you've seen kilometre lines at gate one trying to get in and the drivers parade to be honest we said was better than Bathurst."

"We're blown away by the place and that podium certainly topped it off."

It was heartbreak for Novocastrian Russell out on the street circuit though, he had a disappointing finish hitting the side of the track after a couple of close calls.

He was sitting just outside the top ten in the race before the incident and didn't return back to the track hoping to make amends when he hits the track tomorrow.



There was another incident earlier in the day during the V8 Ute's qualifying where two spectators suffered minor injuries when two utes collided causing debris to fly over the fence.

A man and a woman suffered minor cuts and were taken to the trackside medical centre for treatment.

In a statement, Supercars Australia said a medical team was on hand within minutes and that incidents of this nature are "extremely rare".

An estimated 60,000 people streamed through the gates today.

"It's Awesome": McLaughlin on Newcastle 500 track

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Supercar Championship contender Jamie Whincup has described the Newcastle 500 track as being like "the Gold Coast on steroids".

Drivers had their first real taste of the 2.6 kilometre track yesterday for two 40 minute practice sessions which saw Jamie Whincup take out the fastest time on the first, and Scott McLaughlin bring it home with the fastest lap on the second practice run.

Whincup was almost a full second faster than McLaughlin in the first practice finishing with 1 minute 10.15 seconds. McLaughlin finished the second practice with the fastest time of 1 minute 09.59 seconds.

Both drivers had nothing but praise for the track after yesterday, telling Supercars Australia:

"It's mad. It's awesome," said McLaughlin.

"Exactly what we thought it was going to be, and probably a bit more."

Whincup said it was a bit bumpier than he was anticipating and it certainly is a challenge.

"You're not even in top gear, it's just a short, little, crazy street circuit. [It's the] Gold Coast on steroids in a way."

"The best part of the circuit is the last part of the corners, coming over the hill down the big rollercoaster into that last, second-last corner," said Whincup.

Today and tomorrow the Supercars will hit the track for two 250km races to decide whether Whincup or McLaughlin will be the 2017 Supercars Champion.

There's plenty of entertainment on and off the track, the Touring Car Masters, V8 Utes, Aussie Race Cars, Toyota 86 and the Dunlop Super2 Series take to the track again today.

The lineup to get wristbands this morning for tonight's concert at the Newcastle 500 certainly were long, but it's sure to be worth the wait with Cold Chisel and Spiderbait taking to the stage in the race precinct tonight.

Last night twin sister duo The Veronicas and Delta Goodrem opened the first night of entertainment for the Newcastle 500 with plenty of fans packing into the heart of the race precinct.

Delta Goodrem rocking the Newcastle 500 last night.

Newcastle 500 Set To Be a Roaring Success

BY JESSICA ROUSE

The Supercars CEO has no doubt the Newcastle 500 will be a roaring success.

The East End has been completely transformed into a challenging street circuit which will see 150,000 racegoers flock to the precinct over the next three days.

CEO James Warburton said it's going to be an absolutely brilliant weekend for the last race in the Championship for 2017.

"The whole of the Supercars community is excited and obviously the fans are as well so the numbers are looking absolutely extraordinary and I think we're going to have a brilliant weekend and most importantly we're going to put an incredibly bright spotlight on Newcastle."

Jamie Whincup and Scott McLaughlin will be fighting it out for the Championship title with just 30 points separating the pair. McLaughlin will have to finish several places in front of six-time Supercars Champion Whincup to claim the 2017 Supercars title.

"We never at look at events over a short period of time, I can see this event being here for 15 to 20 years. The finale is a really integral part of our calendar, and obviously, in terms of the crowds a lot of things sold out and I think this will be a very strong weekend and everyone should enjoy themselves," said James.

It won't just be Supercars hitting the race track, Aussie Race Cars, Toyota 86, V8 Utes and a host of other vehicles will be racing around the 2.6 kilometre circuit.

James has thanked the community for all of the support and hopes it continues well into the future beyond his reign as CEO which finishes up at the end of the year.

"It's been a very complex and long civil and capital works program, it's actually been short at six months, but I think the community has been really understanding and I hope they turn out and really enjoy themselves," said James.

There are major road closures in place around the precinct, special event clearways and extra public transport are in place for the next three days. For all the details head to Transport NSW website.