2015 Skycity Triple Crown

The 2015 Skycity Triple Crown was a motor race for V8 Supercars held on the weekend of 19–21 June 2015. The event was held at Hidden Valley in Darwin, Northern Territory, and consisted of two sprint races, each over a distance of 60 kilometres (37 miles) and one endurance race over a distance of 200 kilometres (124 miles). It was the fifth round of fourteen in the 2015 International V8 Supercars Championship.

Northern Territory 2015 Skycity Triple Crown
Event Information
Round 5 of 14 in the 2015 International V8 Supercars Championship
Date19–21 June 2015
LocationDarwin, Northern Territory
VenueHidden Valley Raceway
WeatherFine
Results
Race 1
Distance 21 laps 60 km
Pole position James Courtney
Holden Racing Team
1:07.1190
Winner Chaz Mostert
Prodrive Racing Australia
27:48.7583
Race 2
Distance 21 laps 60 km
Pole position Rick Kelly
Nissan Motorsport
1:06.2920
Winner Craig Lowndes
Triple Eight Race Engineering
27:50.5225
Race 3
Distance 70 laps 200 km
Pole position David Reynolds
Rod Nash Racing
1:06.2526
Winner David Reynolds
Rod Nash Racing
1:20:42.3270

The two sprint races were shared between Holden and Ford; Prodrive Racing Australia driver Chaz Mostert won the opening race by a second ahead of teammate, and championship leader, Mark Winterbottom,[1] while the next three placings were taken by Nissan Motorsport drivers Rick Kelly, James Moffat and Michael Caruso. In race two, Triple Eight Race Engineering's Craig Lowndes led home a Holden 1–2 ahead of Walkinshaw Racing driver Tim Slade, while Mostert completed the podium. With victory, Lowndes became the first V8 Supercar driver to win 100 championship races, spanning 19 years from his maiden win during the 1996 Australian Touring Car Championship season.[2][3]

The main 200 kilometres (124 miles) race was won by David Reynolds for Rod Nash Racing, having started from pole position.[4] Mostert again finished on the podium, with a second-place finish, while Fabian Coulthard completed the podium for the Brad Jones Racing team. In the championship standings, the top three drivers remained the same; however, Winterbottom extended his championship lead from 12 to 95 ahead of Lowndes,[5] while Coulthard moved closer to Lowndes, trailing by 60 points. Mostert's triple podium finish moved him up to fourth in the standings.

Results

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Race 13

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Pos. No. Driver Car Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 6   Chaz Mostert Ford FG X Falcon Prodrive Racing Australia 21 27:48.7583 2 75
2 5   Mark Winterbottom Ford FG X Falcon Prodrive Racing Australia 21 +1.0 s 6 69
3 15   Rick Kelly Nissan Altima L33 Nissan Motorsport 21 +2.1 s 7 64
4 99   James Moffat Nissan Altima L33 Nissan Motorsport 21 +2.4 s 8 60
5 23   Michael Caruso Nissan Altima L33 Nissan Motorsport 21 +3.4 s 19 55
6 17   Scott Pye Ford FG X Falcon DJR Team Penske 21 +3.7 s 20 51
7 47   Tim Slade Holden VF Commodore Walkinshaw Racing 21 +4.0 s 10 48
8 21   Dale Wood Holden VF Commodore Britek Motorsport 21 +4.3 s 11 45
9 222   Nick Percat Holden VF Commodore Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport 21 +4.7 s 16 42
10 7   Todd Kelly Nissan Altima L33 Nissan Motorsport 21 +5.0 s 18 39
11 1   Jamie Whincup Holden VF Commodore Triple Eight Race Engineering 21 +5.3 s 3 36
12 97   Shane van Gisbergen Holden VF Commodore Tekno Autosports 21 +5.9 s 5 34
13 18   Lee Holdsworth Holden VF Commodore Charlie Schwerkolt Racing 21 +6.3 s 24 33
14 9   Will Davison Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Erebus Motorsport 21 +6.6 s 21 31
15 34   David Wall Volvo S60 Garry Rogers Motorsport 21 +7.1 s 25 30
16 55   David Reynolds Ford FG X Falcon Rod Nash Racing 21 +7.3 s 12 28
17 3   Tim Blanchard Holden VF Commodore Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport 21 +8.2 s 22 27
18 888   Craig Lowndes Holden VF Commodore Triple Eight Race Engineering 21 +8.5 s 9 25
19 8   Jason Bright Holden VF Commodore Brad Jones Racing 21 +8.8 s 13 24
20 2   Garth Tander Holden VF Commodore Holden Racing Team 21 +9.4 s 15 22
21 4   Ashley Walsh Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Erebus Motorsport 21 +10.0 s 23 21
22 111   Andre Heimgartner Ford FG X Falcon Super Black Racing 21 +10.2 s 17 19
23 22   James Courtney Holden VF Commodore Holden Racing Team 21 +12.1 s 1 18
DNF 14   Fabian Coulthard Holden VF Commodore Brad Jones Racing 0 4
DNF 33   Scott McLaughlin Volvo S60 Garry Rogers Motorsport 0 14

Race 14

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Pos. No. Driver Car Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 888   Craig Lowndes Holden VF Commodore Triple Eight Race Engineering 21 27:50.5225 5 75
2 47   Tim Slade Holden VF Commodore Walkinshaw Racing 21 +1.8 s 8 69
3 6   Chaz Mostert Ford FG X Falcon Prodrive Racing Australia 21 +2.4 s 3 64
4 17   Scott Pye Ford FG X Falcon DJR Team Penske 21 +3.9 s 9 60
5 97   Shane van Gisbergen Holden VF Commodore Tekno Autosports 21 +5.3 s 4 55
6 22   James Courtney Holden VF Commodore Holden Racing Team 21 +6.0 s 7 51
7 5   Mark Winterbottom Ford FG X Falcon Prodrive Racing Australia 21 +6.4 s 10 48
8 2   Garth Tander Holden VF Commodore Holden Racing Team 21 +7.7 s 18 45
9 33   Scott McLaughlin Volvo S60 Garry Rogers Motorsport 21 +10.2 s 11 42
10 55   David Reynolds Ford FG X Falcon Rod Nash Racing 21 +10.4 s 13 39
11 99   James Moffat Nissan Altima L33 Nissan Motorsport 21 +11.5 s 12 36
12 7   Todd Kelly Nissan Altima L33 Nissan Motorsport 21 +12.1 s 15 34
13 8   Jason Bright Holden VF Commodore Brad Jones Racing 21 +15.3 s 14 33
14 23   Michael Caruso Nissan Altima L33 Nissan Motorsport 21 +15.6 s 6 31
15 14   Fabian Coulthard Holden VF Commodore Brad Jones Racing 21 +15.9 s 2 30
16 1   Jamie Whincup Holden VF Commodore Triple Eight Race Engineering 21 +16.4 s 17 28
17 34   David Wall Volvo S60 Garry Rogers Motorsport 21 +19.4 s 23 27
18 18   Lee Holdsworth Holden VF Commodore Charlie Schwerkolt Racing 21 +19.8 s 19 25
19 9   Will Davison Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Erebus Motorsport 21 +30.0 s 21 24
20 4   Ashley Walsh Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Erebus Motorsport 21 +30.8 s 25 22
21 15   Rick Kelly Nissan Altima L33 Nissan Motorsport 21 +52.5 s 1 21
22 21   Dale Wood Holden VF Commodore Britek Motorsport 18 +3 laps 24 19
DNF 3   Tim Blanchard Holden VF Commodore Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport 9 22
DNF 222   Nick Percat Holden VF Commodore Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport 1 20
DNF 111   Andre Heimgartner Ford FG X Falcon Super Black Racing 0 16

Race 15

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Pos. No. Driver Car Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 55   David Reynolds Ford FG X Falcon Rod Nash Racing 70 1:20:42.3270 1 150
2 6   Chaz Mostert Ford FG X Falcon Prodrive Racing Australia 70 +0.8 s 4 138
3 14   Fabian Coulthard Holden VF Commodore Brad Jones Racing 70 +1.4 s 2 129
4 97   Shane van Gisbergen Holden VF Commodore Tekno Autosports 70 +9.6 s 3 120
5 5   Mark Winterbottom Ford FG X Falcon Prodrive Racing Australia 70 +13.1 s 6 111
6 222   Nick Percat Holden VF Commodore Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport 70 +15.6 s 8 102
7 22   James Courtney Holden VF Commodore Holden Racing Team 70 +21.6 s 7 96
8 8   Jason Bright Holden VF Commodore Brad Jones Racing 70 +23.4 s 9 90
9 47   Tim Slade Holden VF Commodore Walkinshaw Racing 70 +29.2 s 14 84
10 21   Dale Wood Holden VF Commodore Britek Motorsport 70 +32.3 s 5 78
11 33   Scott McLaughlin Volvo S60 Garry Rogers Motorsport 70 +34.2 s 21 72
12 2   Garth Tander Holden VF Commodore Holden Racing Team 70 +35.0 s 23 69
13 15   Rick Kelly Nissan Altima L33 Nissan Motorsport 70 +38.6 s 17 66
14 99   James Moffat Nissan Altima L33 Nissan Motorsport 70 +39.8 s 16 63
15 888   Craig Lowndes Holden VF Commodore Triple Eight Race Engineering 70 +47.1 s 15 60
16 17   Scott Pye Ford FG X Falcon DJR Team Penske 70 +47.5 s 13 57
17 7   Todd Kelly Nissan Altima L33 Nissan Motorsport 70 +50.8 s 19 54
18 18   Lee Holdsworth Holden VF Commodore Charlie Schwerkolt Racing 70 +53.8 s 18 51
19 111   Andre Heimgartner Ford FG X Falcon Super Black Racing 70 +54.0 s 10 48
20 34   David Wall Volvo S60 Garry Rogers Motorsport 70 +61.9 s 25 45
21 23   Michael Caruso Nissan Altima L33 Nissan Motorsport 70 +67.4 s 11 42
22 1   Jamie Whincup Holden VF Commodore Triple Eight Race Engineering 69 +1 lap 12 39
23 3   Tim Blanchard Holden VF Commodore Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport 69 +1 lap 22 36
24 9   Will Davison Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Erebus Motorsport 69 +1 lap 20 33
DNF 4   Ashley Walsh Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Erebus Motorsport 33 24

Championship standings

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  • After Race 15 of 36.
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

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  1. ^ Bartholomaeus, Stefan (20 June 2015). "Mostert wins chaotic Hidden Valley opener". Speedcafe.com. Speedcafe. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  2. ^ "Craig Lowndes finally hits 100 V8 Supercars victories at the Hidden Valley circuit". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  3. ^ Dale, Will (22 June 2015). "Craig Lowndes 100 wins: His 10 key milestone victories and the stats behind his V8 Supercars century". Fox Sports. Fox Sports Pty Limited. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  4. ^ Bartholomaeus, Stefan (21 June 2015). "Reynolds hangs on for Hidden Valley victory". Speedcafe.com. Speedcafe. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  5. ^ "Dutton: Our strategy would have worked". V8 Supercars. V8 Supercars Media. 22 June 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2016. While the same issue affected Lowndes, the final result wasn't as bad for the #888 driver - the Championship margin to leader Mark Winterbottom has expanded to 95 points.
Supercars Championship
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2015 NP300 Navara Winton Super Sprint
2015 Supercars Championship Next race:
2015 Castrol Edge Townsville 400
Previous year:
2014 Skycity Triple Crown
Skycity Triple Crown Next year:
2016 Skycity Triple Crown