V8 Supercars Championship

PHILLIP ISLAND TOP TEN FOR PERCAT

On the day that Jamie Whincup secured his record-breaking sixth V8 Supercars Championship, Coates Hire Racing’s Nick Percat finished 11th and 10th in the opening two 100km races of the first leg of the penultimate round of the 2014 V8 Supercars championship, at Phillip Island today.

Percat qualified 13th for the first 100km sprint and battled with Scott Pye, Rick Kelly, Will Davison and Walkinshaw Racing stablemate, Tim Slade, to cross the line 11th.

After a race long dice, Scott McLaughlin (Volvo) narrowly won the opening encounter from Red Bull teammates Craig Lowndes and Whincup (Holden) followed by Garth Tander, (Holden), Michael Caruso (Nissan), Jason Bright (Holden), David Reynolds (Ford), Todd Kelly (Nissan), Scott Pye (Ford) and Rick Kelly (Nissan) completing the top ten.

Percat started seventh in the second race and dropped to 11th in the cut and thrust of the opening lap where he found himself in a high-speed freight train with Bathurst winner Chaz Mostert (Ford), Reynolds, James Courtney (Holden) and James Moffat (Nissan). Percat snuck past Moffat with a handful of laps remaining to secure another top ten result for the HHA Racing V8 Supercar squad.

After an early battle with Mark Winterbottom (Ford), Jamie Whincup went on to win the second 23-lap encounter and create history, becoming the first driver to win six V8 Supercars titles. Second across the line was Whincup’s teammate, Craig Lowndes followed by Winterbottom in third.

Rounding out the top ten were Tander, Todd Kelly, McLaughlin, Nissan duo Caruso and Rick Kelly, Mostert and Percat.

Tomorrow will see the V8 Supercars back on track for a single 200km race to complete the event.

Nick Percat: “To be in the top ten in any race in this championship is a positive but I definitely want to be hunting around the top six, which would be a good result for tomorrow. The cars is nice and straight and we will give it a tune up overnight and come out firing in tomorrow’s 200 kilometre race”.


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