Team CoolDrive & PETRONAS Motorsport Perth SuperNight Report

6 May, 2019

Barbagallo Raceway held its first ever VASC night race this weekend, making the Perth circuit the fourth venue to hold a VASC/ATCC race in championship history.

Upping the ante from the Sydney Motorsport Park event last year, fans would be treated to not one, but two night races across the weekend with the usual SuperSprint format of one 120km race, and a 200km finale.  

Drivers had their first taste of the newly resurfaced track on Thursday night when the opening practice session was held under lights. The drivers had a half hour to sample the track, and as expected the times were fast and as the weekend progressed, both the practice and race lap record (set back in 2004) were smashed by over 2 seconds each.

For Macauley, the first race of the weekend was off to a good start, when the young gun found some solid pace early in his first stint. However, some early steering damage turned for the worse in the final ten laps, dropping Macauley from inside the top twenty to finish back in 24th.

For the Saturday night finale, Macauley scored his best qualifying result for 2019, starting 17th on the grid for the 200km race. Macauley also finished in 17th, making it his best result as well!

The PETRONAS Syntium Supercar of Tim Blanchard was highly praised all weekend by drivers, teams and fans alike as one of (if not) the best looking Supercar seen on the grid. After a brilliant start to the 120km race, Tim was looking at breaking into the top fifteen in the race. A slow pit stop put a harsh end to Tim’s chances of pushing further forward and he finished in 21st.

Tim started out of 24th in the PETRONAS Syntium Supercar for the final night fight, and as expected he charged forward again. He moved up a whopping 6 spots to bring the PETRONAS Motorsport Supercar home in 18th position.

In just over a weeks’ time, Team CoolDrive will head to their home circuit, Winton Motor Raceway to complete their second test day of 2019. They’ll be back there again for the next round of the Supercars championship on the 24th-26th of May.

RESULTS

Friday 3rd May
Qualifying
Tim: 25th – 53.9869s
Macauley: 23rd – 53.7828s
Pole Position: Scott McLaughlin – 52.8141s

Race Eleven – 120kms / 50 Laps
Tim: 21st
Macauley: 24th
Winner: Fabian Coulthard

Saturday 4th May
Qualifying
Tim: 24th
Macauley: 17th
Pole Position: Scott McLaughlin

Race Twelve – 200kms / 83 Laps
Tim: 18th
Macauley: 17th
Winner: Scott McLaughlin

THE WORD FROM TIM & MACAULEY

MACAULEY

“It was really cool to be racing at night here in Perth. The opening practice session was quite unusual as everyone was learning the new surface and it’s new bumps and difference under the lights. When we went out the next day and did everything in the daylight it seemed totally different again, but it helped build the confidence pretty quickly and when we were out racing under the lights, it was awesome.”

“Qualifying was extremely close all weekend, everyone was only searching for a tenth or two. Three or fourth tenths was all that covered quite most of the field, so the smallest error is costly at a short track like this. With ten minutes to qualify and get into the next round, the pressure is on for everyone to get it right, as you really only have one shot at it. My result of 17th was a small win, my best qualifying result so far.”

“To finish the weekend with my best qualifying and race result is a step forward for us. I’m really happy with that result and keen to keep progressing in the CoolDrive Commodore. A small win for the team!”

TIM

“I feel like we improved across every session on the weekend. A couple of small errors cost us in the first race, but overall it was a lot of fun to be back racing. It was great to have some solid time back behind the wheel and get a feel for everything again.”

“It was nice to have a smoother run in the longer, 200km Sunday race and bring the PETRONAS Motorsport Supercar home in 18th. The one and only safety car brought everyone together for the final stint home, but we were sitting in a reasonable spot and held onto it. The Perth crowd gave us a good cheer home there at the end!”

“The feedback on the PETRONAS Syntium livery has been overwhelming. We’ve had people coming up to us all weekend, and messaging across social media channels saying they absolutely love the look of this car. It’s received a lot of attention!”

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

1 – Scott McLaughlin - 1346
2 – Fabian Coulthard - 1204
3 – Shane Van Gisbergen - 1024
4 – David Reynolds - 971
5 – Chaz Mostert - 944
24 - Macauley Jones – 381

COMING UP

Round 6 of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship
Truck Assist Winton SuperSprint
Winton Motor Raceway, Benalla, Victoria
24-26 May 2019

Stay tuned to our Facebook page for updates on Team CoolDrive, CoolDrive Auto Parts, to see photos and videos from upcoming Supercars event!