March 31, 2015 - It was another big weekend for Lucas Oil Products-supported teams in Australia with wins and podiums in speedway and V8 Supercars.
Lucas Oil Products’ Sprintcar drivers James Thompson and James McFadden stole the show in Sydney, while our V8 Supercars star, Shane van Gisbergen claimed his second podium finish of the year in Tasmania.
Having headed into the final round with a 27-point lead, Thompson clinched his maiden track championship at Sydney’s Valvoline Raceway with the #N22 Stahlwille/Lucas Oil Maxim after a season long battle with rival Ben Atkinson.
“I can’t believe I’ve finally won [the track championship],” Thompson said.
“It’s been a long week waiting for the final. I can’t thank my team enough and I’m glad to reward them with the Championship.”
Fellow Lucas Oil Products racer McFadden won night’s the A-Main, the victory his second at Parramatta in just the past three weeks.
McFadden said his recent Sydney form has been aided by the addition of Tim ‘Moth’ Gleeson to the #NQ25 Totally Workwear/Lucas Oil crew.
“Having Moth working on this car has helped us enormously. He has a great handle on Parramatta,” McFadden said.
Meanwhile van Gisbergen finished the weekend claiming third in Race 6 of the V8 Supercars Championship, at the Tyrepower Tasmania SuperSprint at Symmons Plains – the second of 14 rounds.
Van Gisbergen finished top 10 in all the weekend’s three races – fourth in Race 4 and eighth in Race 5 – but admitted the Darrell Lea STIX/Lucas Oil Products Commodore had potential to be quicker.
“We didn’t have the strongest car, so to have the results and consistency we had on the weekend is a good sign,” Van Gisbergen said.
“We had some brake issues and didn’t qualify as well as we should, but I got great starts in all three races and moved forward.
“I want to be in the top five every race, so if that was a bad weekend, I think we’re in a good position for the year.”
Van Gisbergen is fifth in series points after six of 37 races, just 27 points behind series leader Jamie Whincup.
The V8 Supercars Championship now takes a four-week break before continuing with the Perth SuperSprint, at Barbagallo Raceway, on 1-3 May.
In the meantime, Van Gisbergen will be a star attraction on the Lucas Oil Products of Australia stand at the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association’s industry expo at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre next month – between 6:00 – 7:00pm on Friday, 17 April, and 11:00am – 12:00pm the following day.
2015 V8 Supercars Championship Series
Top 10 Drivers' Championship Points
Jamie Whincup: 483
James Courtney: 464
Craig Lowndes: 460
Garth Tander: 457
Shane van Gisbergen: 456
Mark Winterbottom: 433
Fabian Coulthard: 403
David Reynolds: 303
Rick Kelly: 299
Chaz Mostert: 296
Top 10 Teams' Championship Points
Red Bull Racing Australia: 943
Holden Racing Team: 921
Pepsi Max Crew: 729
Brad Jones Racing: 687
Jack Daniel's Racing: 559
Tekno Autosports: 456*
Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport: 397
Wilson Security Racing GRM: 389
Nissan Nismo: 361
Erebus Motorsport: 287
* Single-car team.
