Driver pairings for Gold Coast V8 Supercar race
Just 22 days now remain until the October 22-24 event hits the streets of the Gold Coast, with the teams revealing their driver pairings for the third endurance event of the 2010 V8 Supercars Australia Championship Series this week.
Dario Franchitti, who recently said the Armor All Gold Coast 600 has the potential to be the greatest touring car race the world has ever seen, will pair with Steve Johnson while Johnson’s team mate and championship leader James Courtney will share the driving duties with Jim Beam Racing’s regular co-driver Warren Luff.
Fellow championship contenders Jamie Whincup and Mark Winterbottom will employ the same strategy, retaining their co-drivers from Phillip Island and Bathurst in their TeamVodafone and Orrcon Steel FPR entries. Steve Owen and Luke Youlden will join these front-runners respectively, while multiple World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx and IndyCar Series leader Will Power join their team-mates Craig Lowndes and Steve Richards.
Two of the international drivers will have pre-Gold Coast race time, with Ryan Briscoe – a former Gold Coast open-wheel winner – and David Brabham – 2009 Le Mans 24 hour winner – both participating in endurance events.
Briscoe will race Bathurst with the Bundaberg Red Racing team and Andrew Thompson before moving across to the Toll Holden Racing Team with Will Davison for the Gold Coast event (Thompson will pair with former Formula One competitor Mika Salo), while Brabham will have the advantage of competing in all three endurance events with IRWIN Racing’s Alex Davison.
For a full look at the Armor All Gold Coast 600 V8 Supercar entry list, please see below. For biographies of the international drivers, please (URL: http://bit.ly/bvNbhd)
The Armor All Gold Coast 600 will take place in just 22 days time on the streets of the Gold Coast from Friday October 22 to Sunday October 24.
The event will feature 18 international drivers alongside the V8 Supercar stars by day, and 16 International and Australian acts by night, in a continuance of V8 Supercars’ highly successful Rock ‘n’ Race format.
Tickets are now on sale for the Armor All Gold Coast 600, with Friday admission tickets starting from just $49 and three day passes from just $136, with each ticket providing admission to not only the day’s racing but also the same night’s entertainment line-up at 600 Sounds. Visit ticketek.com.au or call 132 849 for more information or to purchase.
DRIVER PAIRINGS – ARMOR ALL GOLD COAST 600*
Car No. – Drivers – Team – Car
1 – Jamie Whincup/Steve Owen – TeamVodafone – Commodore VE
2- Garth Tander/Cameron McConville – Toll Holden Racing Team – Commodore VE
3 – Tony D’Alberto/Tiago Monteiro – Centaur Racing – Commodore VE
4 – Alex Davison/David Brabham – IRWIN Racing – Falcon FG
5 – Mark Winterbottom/Luke Youlden – Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon – Falcon FG
6 – Steve Richards/Will Power – Dunlop Super Dealer FPR Falcon – Falcon FG
7 – Todd Kelly/Scott Dixon – Jack Daniel’s Racing – Commodore VE
8 – Jason Richards/Andrew Jones – Team BOC – Commodore VE
9 – Shane Van Gisbergen/John McIntyre – SP Tools Racing – Falcon FG
10 – Andrew Thompson/Mika Salo – Bundaberg Red Racing – Commodore VE
11 – Jason Bargwanna/Alex Tagliani – Rock Racing – Commodore VE
12 – Dean Fiore/Gianni Morbidelli – Triple F Racing – Falcon FG
14 – Jason Bright/Alain Menu – Trading Post Racing – Commodore VE
15 – Rick Kelly/Owen Kelly – Jack Daniel’s Racing – Commodore VE
16 – Tony Ricciardello/Taz Douglas – Stratco Racing – Commodore VE
17 – Steven Johnson/Dario Franchitti – Jim Beam Racing – Falcon FG
18 – James Courtney/Warren Luff – Jim Beam Racing – Falcon FG
19 – Jonathon Webb/Sebastien Bourdais – Dick Johnson Racing – Falcon FG
21 – Karl Reindler/Fabrizio Giovanardi – Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing – Commodore VE
22 – Will Davison/Ryan Briscoe – Toll Holden Racing Team – Commodore VE
24 – Fabian Coulthard/David Reynolds – Bundaberg Red Racing – Commodore VE
30 – Mark Noske/Scott Pruett – Gulf Western Oil Racing – Commodore VE
33 – Lee Holdsworth/David Besnard – Fujitsu Racing/GRM – Commodore VE
34 – Michael Caruso/Patrick Long – Fujitsu Racing/GRM – Commodore VE
39 – Russell Ingall /Paul Morris – Supercheap Auto Racing – Commodore VE
47 – Tim Slade/Helio Castroneves – Wilson Security Racing – Falcon FG
51 – Greg Murphy/Yvan Muller – Castrol Edge Racing – Commodore VE
55 – Paul Dumbrell/Jacques Villeneuve – The Bottle-O Racing Team – Falcon FG
888 – Craig Lowndes/Andy Priaulx – TeamVodafone – Commodore VE
* subject to change