Garry Rogers Motorsport V8 Supercar star Lee Holdsworth narrowly missed a brilliant result in Round 11 of the V8 Supercar Championship, the Coffee Club Indy 300 at Surfers Paradise on the weekend.

After qualifying 12th, Holdsworth worked up to 10th in Race 1, and then took advantage of a safety car in Race 2 to move up a further six positions to fourth.

In the third and final race, Holdsworth ran as high as second behind series leader Jamie Whincup, before an unforced error dropped him to last, from which he recovered to 17th. Nevertheless, he still finished the round a commendable ninth overall.

“In the second and third races, I did the fourth fastest lap of the race and I was able to match it with the three quick guys: Jamie Whincup, Garth Tander and Mark Winterbottom,” Lee said. “In the last race, I was pushing really hard because I really wanted the race win, and unfortunately I made a mistake, locked the front-right wheel and speared up the escape road.

“Overall though, I’m very happy with how the weekend went. The car was really good, and it has given me a lot of confidence running around with the championship front-runners. I look forward to the next round in Bahrain,” Holdsworth concluded.

Catch Lee’s brother Brett and father Glen in action next weekend in the TTM Racing Commodore Cup car in the Southern Star Windows Commodore Cup endurance event at Mallala.

Practice

Holdsworth was 12th fastest on combined times from the two practice sessions, setting his fastest time in the second of the two sessions.

Qualifying

Lee made it through the first segment of qualifying, but was narrowly eliminated from the second session, winding up 12th once again.

Race 1

Lee made a great start and overtook Rick Kelly and Steven Richards on the opening lap to move up to 10th. This would prove crucial as the race unfolded, with the tight confines of the Surfers Paradise street circuit making overtaking very difficult.

Holdsworth stayed out on the circuit when the pit-window opened, and led the race for six laps before pitting on lap 17. He rejoined the race in 10th position, and despite putting pressure on James Courtney, was unable to find a way past before the end of the race.

Race 2

Lee held onto 10th for the opening few laps before the pit-window opened on lap six. Once again, Lee stayed out on the circuit.

The safety car was deployed on lap nine when Fabian Coulthard and Jason Richards collided in the final turn, and Holdsworth dived in for his compulsory pit stop. The late pit strategy gave Lee a huge advantage in this race, because while he was taking his pit stop, other drivers who had already stopped, including Craig Lowndes, Russell Ingall and Todd Kelly, became involved in a traffic jam in the final corner due to Tony D’Alberto and Fabian Coulthard blocking the track. Thus, Lee leapfrogged six cars and rejoined the race in fourth behind Jamie Whincup, Garth Tander and Mark Winterbottom.

Holdsworth briefly applied pressure to Winterbottom on the restart, but ultimately settled for fourth.

Race 3

Lee beat Mark Winterbottom off the line and moved up to third, a position he held until lap eight when the safety car was deployed so that Cameron McConville’s stranded car could be recovered. The race leaders all came into the pits, and the Garry Rogers Motorsport team did a brilliant pit stop, allowing Holdsworth to overtake Garth Tander and move up to second.

The race was restarted, but a second safety car was deployed after just one lap due to an incident between Shane Van Gisbergen and Jack Perkins.

When the race restarted a second time, Lee applied pressure to Whincup for a few laps, before his crucial mistake on lap 17. He speared up the escape road and dropped to 22nd.

After his error, Holdsworth was able to overtake five cars, including his team mate Michael Caruso, to finish 17th.

Round Results Summary

Qualifying: 12th

Race 1: 10th

Race 2: 4th

Race 3: 17th

Overall: 9th (168 points)

V8 Supercar Championship – Top 15 Pointscore

1. Jamie Whincup – 2616 points

2. Mark Winterbottom – 2541 points

3. Garth Tander – 2510 points

4. Craig Lowndes – 2103 points

5. Will Davison – 2033 points

6. Steven Richards – 1988 points

7. Rick Kelly – 1940 points

8. James Courtney – 1906 points

9. Russell Ingall – 1666 points

10. Steven Johnson – 1649 points

11. Lee Holdsworth – 1567 points

12. Todd Kelly – 1565 points

13. Mark Skaife – 1482 points

14. Fabian Coulthard – 1417 points

15. Jason Richards – 1306 points

Please contact Lachlan Mansell from Chequered Flag Media