NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport

Motorsport: Five in with a chance of V8 glory

Eric Thompson
By Eric Thompson
NZ Herald·
19 Nov, 2010 04:30 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

James Courtney drives his Ford qualifying for round 10 of the V8 Supercars Championship Series at Bathurst. Photo / Getty Images
James Courtney drives his Ford qualifying for round 10 of the V8 Supercars Championship Series at Bathurst. Photo / Getty Images

James Courtney drives his Ford qualifying for round 10 of the V8 Supercars Championship Series at Bathurst. Photo / Getty Images

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Australian V8 Supercar penultimate round at Sandown Raceway, Victoria, is shaping up just like the Formula One series did with two rounds to go. Like the F1 race for the drivers title which went down to the wire, there are five V8 pilots in with a chance to win the 2010 championship.

With 600 points on offer over the next four races and 334 points separating the top five contenders, it'll be game on this weekend to see who's going to head to Sydney for the Telstra 500 with the bragging rights.

James Courtney is the leading contender with defending champion Jamie Whincup breathing down his neck just 50 points back. Mark Winterbottom is making a late run and sits in third just one race win (150 points) behind Whincup but only 57 points in front of Whincup's teammate Craig Lowndes. A resurgent Garth Tander is poised within striking distance of the top four.

There is a mathematical chance young Kiwi driver Shane Van Gisbergen could upset the applecart and win the championship over the next rounds. However, for that to realistically happen the top three drivers would have to be beamed up by aliens and never be seen again.

"We got gapped a bit on the weekend [Tasmania] especially by Tander and Winterbottom. We can close on those two but there's not a chance of catching the others," said Van Gisbergen.

"There's no chance of winning the thing really but getting fourth and even third is a possibility. There's a lot of points up for grabs and it'll definitely be all on at the pointy end of the race."

Van Gisbergen will want to atone for a miserable weekend in Tasmania when nothing seemed to go his, or his Stone Brothers Racing team's way.

"That's normally a race we do half all right at," he said. "It was just frustrating. We didn't have the speed in qualifying and in the races we just couldn't get the best out of the new tyres.

"It was even worse in the wet and I hope it doesn't rain this weekend as the car's not as good in the wet as it was last year. I'm really looking forward to this weekend and I hope we can get the momentum going again and get some results. We need to finish the year off strongly."

While the young Kiwi is keen to finish the season well and try for his first race win, series leader Courtney has more on his mind - staving off Whincup and the others in an effort to win his first title.

"We've had a few calls not go our way this year, as has Jamie [Whincup] and Craig [Lowndes], so it'll be pretty exciting over the next few races," said Courtney. "We've had a good package and we were second at Sandown last year and won at Homebush.

"It's going to be a great fight to the end and the run-in is going to be good for us going on previous form. I'm not going to worry about the other blokes, just concentrate on doing my own thing, as that's hard enough as it is."

Courtney is fast, but he has been a bit erratic in the past and put a few noses out of joint with some of his race craft. This year he's found consistency, and a certain maturity in his racing.

"The car's nearly two years old and we've hardly done much to develop the car. The good thing about that is we know what we've got and I feel comfortable pushing it a bit because I know what it does and I've got a great engineer," he said.

"I've been called a few names in the past but everyone evolves over the years and I've learnt from my mistakes and I'm always ready to learn and take constructive criticism."

Points

1. James Courtney - 2662
2. Jamie Whincup - 2612
3. Mark Winterbottom - 2462
4. Craig Lowndes - 2405
5. Garth Tander - 2328
6. Shane Van Gisbergen - 2178

Discover more

Sport|motorsport

Motorsport: McIntyre delivers thrills and spills at V8s

07 Nov 04:30 PM
Sport|motorsport

Motorsport: FIA grants V8 Supercars international status

09 Nov 12:16 AM
Sport|motorsport

Motorsport: Lowndes takes out Tassie V8 race

13 Nov 05:47 AM
Sport|motorsport

Motorsport: Paddon maintains his focus in drive to reach top of rallying world

19 Nov 04:30 PM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

Black Caps

‘Very committed’: Williamson not done with Black Caps despite Zimbabwe snub

09 Jul 12:00 AM
Premium
All Blacks

'The pressure can consume you': Billy Proctor's All Blacks balancing act

08 Jul 10:02 PM
Olympics

'World-leading': New study addresses concussion risks for female athletes

08 Jul 09:12 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Recommended for you
Texas floods claim over 100 lives, search for 160+ missing continues
World

Texas floods claim over 100 lives, search for 160+ missing continues

08 Jul 11:23 PM
'David and Goliath': Australian gold mine company makes $25m Central Otago land deal
New Zealand

'David and Goliath': Australian gold mine company makes $25m Central Otago land deal

08 Jul 11:20 PM
South Island Jurassic Park? Peter Jackson backs project to bring back moa
New Zealand

South Island Jurassic Park? Peter Jackson backs project to bring back moa

08 Jul 11:10 PM
Texas disaster adds to US flood costs since 1980 that exceed $330b
World

Texas disaster adds to US flood costs since 1980 that exceed $330b

08 Jul 11:02 PM
ATMs used to ‘launder cash from drug sales’ to be banned
Politics

ATMs used to ‘launder cash from drug sales’ to be banned

08 Jul 11:01 PM

Latest from Sport

‘Very committed’: Williamson not done with Black Caps despite Zimbabwe snub

‘Very committed’: Williamson not done with Black Caps despite Zimbabwe snub

09 Jul 12:00 AM

The former captain will instead play franchise cricket in England.

Premium
'The pressure can consume you': Billy Proctor's All Blacks balancing act

'The pressure can consume you': Billy Proctor's All Blacks balancing act

08 Jul 10:02 PM
'World-leading': New study addresses concussion risks for female athletes

'World-leading': New study addresses concussion risks for female athletes

08 Jul 09:12 PM
Speeding likely cause of Diogo Jota car crash: Police

Speeding likely cause of Diogo Jota car crash: Police

08 Jul 07:28 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search