The 2012 International V8 Supercar Championship (often simplified to the 2012 V8 Supercars Championship) was an FIA-sanctioned international motor racing series for V8 Supercars. It was the fourteenth running of the V8 Supercar Championship Series and the sixteenth series in which V8 Supercars have contested the premier Australian touring car title. The championship began on 1 March at the Clipsal 500 and concluded on 2 December at the Homebush Street Circuit. The 53rd Australian Touring Car Championship title was awarded to the winner of the Drivers' Championship by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport.
Jamie Whincup and Triple Eight Race Engineering started the season as the defending drivers' and teams' champions. At Winton, the penultimate event of the season, Whincup secured his defence of the Drivers Championship, with Triple Eight Race Engineering also wrapping up the Teams Championship. Whincup's teammate Craig Lowndes took second in the points standings from Mark Winterbottom, of Ford Performance Racing, at the final round of the series to give Triple Eight their second consecutive 1–2 finish in the Drivers Championship.
Calendar
editThe championship was contested over thirty races at fifteen events. A provisional calendar was released on 8 October 2011.[1]
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Calendar changes
edit- The Yas Marina Circuit V8 Supercar Event was moved from the first event of the championship to the first weekend of November, supporting the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix. It was changed to a three sprint-race format.[3]
- The Falken Tasmania Challenge at Symmons Plains Raceway was moved from its November date to become the second event of the championship.
- Phillip Island and Sandown switched formats. Phillip Island hosted a standalone race meeting in May, while Sandown returned to the 500 km endurance race format. The Sandown 500 featured a revised qualifying format.
- The Queensland 300 was changed from the three-race structure which was used in 2011, returning to a more traditional two-race format.[4]
- The Saturday races at Symmons Plains, Phillip Island, Winton and Queensland Raceway were extended by twenty kilometres.[4]
- An additional international event was planned for the weekend of 11 November, confirmed by the Philippine Sports Commission to be held at Clark International Speedway but never ratified by V8 Supercars.[5] At the 2012 Adelaide 500, V8 Supercars chairman Tony Cochrane said that the vacant place was "unlikely" to be filled by an Australian venue.[6] On 22 April 2012, it was announced that an international location could not be secured for the November date, and the Winton event was moved to November to replace it. The Sydney Motorsport Park at Eastern Creek made a return to the calendar after a three-year absence to fill in Winton's original August date.[7]
Teams and drivers
editThe following teams and drivers contested the 2012 championship.
- Notes
- ^1 — For points-scoring purposes, Kelly Racing was recognised as two separate entities: "Jack Daniel's Racing", which is made up of car No. 7 and car #15; and "Kelly Racing", which consisted of cars No. 11 and No. 51.
- ^2 — The No. 23 wildcard entry was prepared by Dunlop Series team Minda Motorsport and operated by Kelly Racing.[79]
Team and driver changes
edit- After leaving Walkinshaw Racing, Fabian Coulthard joined Brad Jones Racing.[53]
- Jason Bargwanna left Brad Jones Racing and was unable to find a drive with another team.
- Alex Davison was unable to secure a full-time drive for the 2012 season, and returned to the Australian Carrera Cup Championship.[80]
- Paul Dumbrell retired from full-time racing, joining Triple Eight Race Engineering as an endurance driver.[31]
- Lee Holdsworth left Holden team Garry Rogers Motorsport in October 2011, signing a three-year contract with the Ford-backed Stone Brothers Racing.[11]
- Russell Ingall moved from Paul Morris Motorsport to Walkinshaw Racing, replacing Fabian Coulthard.[75]
- Dick Johnson Racing expanded to three cars with Dean Fiore moving his Triple F Racing franchise to become a satellite team within DJR. Under the terms of the arrangement, Fiore would continue to use the No. 12 from the Triple F REC with Jim Beam sponsoring he and Steven Johnson, while James Moffat would acquire Norton as major sponsor for the No. 18 car.[23] DJR later announced a fourth car by securing a lease of a Paul Morris Motorsport owned Racing Entitlement Contract with Steve Owen being confirmed as the driver.[26]
- Warren Luff left Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport, citing the team's uncertain future and unstable management as his reasons for leaving.[81] The team later acquired an ex-Triple Eight Commodore from Paul Morris Motorsports.[82] Luff was replaced by Taz Douglas.[61]
- Former DTM, A1GP, Le Mans and Formula One test driver Alexandre Prémat joined Garry Rogers Motorsport, filling the seat left vacant by Lee Holdsworth.[64][65]
- Karl Reindler joined Kelly Racing after two seasons with Britek Motorsport.[41]
- David Reynolds left Kelly Racing.[41] He later replaced Paul Dumbrell at Rod Nash Racing.[27]
- David Wall joined Brad Jones Racing after competing with the team as an endurance co-driver during the 2011 season.[60]
- Jonathon Webb's Tekno Autosports switched from running Ford Falcons to Holden Commodores.[83] The team expanded to a two-car operation, leasing one of the Racing Entitlement Contracts owned by Paul Morris Motorsport. West Australian driver Michael Patrizi joined the team after driving in Carrera Cup in 2011.[57]
Mid-season changes
edit- Greg Murphy was ruled out of the Symmons Plains round due to a back injury sustained in a collision during the 2012 Clipsal 500. Dunlop Series driver David Russell replaced him for the event. Two weeks before the event at Hidden Valley Raceway, Murphy suffered a relapse of his back injury and Kelly Racing announced that he would be forced to sit out until at least the Sandown 500 endurance race.[84] David Russell was retained as Murphy's replacement for Hidden Valley,[85] with 1997 Formula One World Champion Jacques Villeneuve joining the team for Townsville,[49] Queensland Raceway and Sydney Motorsport Park events.[86]
- Todd Kelly was ruled out of the final four events of the 2012 season, after undergoing surgery for a shoulder injury sustained in a training accident.[38] Kelly's endurance partner, Tim Blanchard, replaced him for the remainder of the season.[39]
- Greg Ritter replaced Garry Rogers Motorsport's Alexandre Prémat for the Gold Coast 600.[68]
- Scott McLaughlin replaced Alexandre Prémat for Race 30 in Sydney after Prémat had to be removed from his car suffering from dehydration during Race 29 the day before.[70]
Results and standings
editResults summary
editChampionship standings
edit- Points system
Points were awarded to the driver or drivers of a car that had completed 75% of the race distance and was running at the completion of the final lap. Various different points scales were applied to events having one, two, or three, ensuring that a driver would be awarded 300 points for winning all races at any event.
Event format |
Position | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th | 21st | 22nd | 23rd | 24th | 25th | 26th | 27th | 28th | 29th | |
Two-race | 150 | 138 | 129 | 120 | 111 | 102 | 96 | 90 | 84 | 78 | 72 | 69 | 66 | 63 | 60 | 57 | 54 | 51 | 48 | 45 | 42 | 39 | 36 | 33 | 30 | 27 | 24 | 21 | — |
Three-race | 100 | 92 | 86 | 80 | 74 | 68 | 64 | 60 | 56 | 52 | 48 | 46 | 44 | 42 | 40 | 38 | 36 | 34 | 32 | 30 | 28 | 26 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 14 | |
Sandown qualifying races |
50 | 46 | 43 | 40 | 37 | 34 | 32 | 30 | 28 | 26 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | |
Sandown 500 | 200 | 184 | 172 | 160 | 148 | 136 | 128 | 120 | 112 | 104 | 96 | 92 | 88 | 84 | 80 | 76 | 72 | 68 | 64 | 60 | 56 | 52 | 48 | 44 | 40 | 36 | 32 | 28 | |
Bathurst 1000 | 300 | 276 | 258 | 240 | 222 | 204 | 192 | 180 | 168 | 156 | 144 | 138 | 132 | 126 | 120 | 114 | 108 | 102 | 96 | 90 | 84 | 78 | 72 | 66 | 60 | 54 | 48 | 42 | 36 |
Notes:
- Two-race format: denotes all races except the Perth, Sandown, Bathurst, Surfers Paradise, and Abu Dhabi events.
- Three-race format: the Trading Post Perth Challenge at Barbagallo Raceway and the Yas Marina Circuit V8 Supercar Event at the Yas Marina Circuit consisted of three races rather than two. The total number of points on offer for each position remained the same as in other rounds, but were divided evenly across the three races.
- Sandown: two drivers share one car for the main race. The first qualifying race was for non-regular co-drivers, while the regular championship drivers contested the second qualifying race. Points from each race were awarded to both drivers.
- Bathurst: two drivers share one car for the race. The full points total was awarded to both drivers.
- Surfers Paradise: each of the 28 regular drivers is required to have an international co-driver,[88] who is eligible to score points in the race. An "international co-driver" is defined as a driver who is known for competing in racing series outside Australia (the driver may be Australian but primarily raced in Asia, Europe, or the Americas), as opposed to a driver who competes with a racing licence issued by a country outside Australia and New Zealand (as is the case with Alexandre Premat, a Frenchman who is contesting the series as a regular driver).
- Drivers Championship
|
Bold - Pole position |
Notes:
- ^1 — Driver ineligible to score points.
- Teams championship
|
Bold - Pole position |
- Notes
- † — denotes a single-car team.
- Manufacturers Championship
See also
editReferences
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- ^ "Eastern Creek renamed Sydney Motorsport Park". SpeedCafe.com. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
- ^ "Abu Dhabi Race Format Confirmed". Official site of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series. 19 October 2012. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- ^ a b "Speedway-style V8 Grand Prix format". Speedcafe. 10 February 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
- ^ "PSC supports V8 Supercars event, after denying aid to dragon boat". Philippine Daily Inquirer. 16 August 2011. Archived from the original on 27 October 2023.
- ^ Bartholomaeus, Stefan (3 March 2012). "V8s: No emergency Australian event for TBA slot". Speedcafe. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- ^ "Eastern Creek added to 2012 V8 Supercars calendar". SpeedCafe. 22 April 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
- ^ "Holding pattern". Official site of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series. 29 November 2010. Archived from the original on 3 December 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
- ^ "D'Alberto re-signs Wood for endurance races". SpeedCafe. 8 February 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
- ^ "Ex-F1 Driver Completes Gold Coast Line-Up". V8 Supercars Australia. 26 September 2012. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
- ^ a b "Lee Holdsworth to Join Stone Brothers Racing in 2012". Stone Brothers Racing. 26 October 2011. Archived from the original on 30 October 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
- ^ "Baird lets the cat out of the bag". V8 Supercars. 26 February 2012. Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ^ a b c "Stone Brothers Sorts Gold Coast Line-Up". V8 Supercars Australia. 18 July 2012. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
- ^ "Van Gisbergen re-signs with SBR until 2012". Stone Brothers Racing. 16 April 2010. Retrieved 8 October 2011.[permanent dead link ]
- ^ "Luke Youlden confirmed at Stone Brothers Racing". speedcafe. 28 February 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
- ^ "Mark Winterbottom re-signs with FPR". Ford Performance Racing. 19 January 2010. Archived from the original on 15 October 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
- ^ a b "FPR confirms John McIntyre for 2012 enduros". SpeedCafe. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
- ^ "Will Power confirmed for Armor All Gold Coast 600". SpeedCafe. 16 August 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
- ^ "Will Davison officially joins FPR". Ford Performance Racing. 20 January 2011. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
- ^ "Salo Re-Signs With Ford Performance Racing". V8 Supercars Australia. 24 July 2012. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
- ^ "Fiore's Jim Beam Falcon to carry #12". SpeedCafe. 5 December 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Dick Johnson Racing confirms endurance drivers". V8 Supercars Australia. 11 April 2012. Archived from the original on 12 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
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- ^ "Ex-F1 Ace Signs with the Bottle-O Squad". V8 Supercars Australia. 22 June 2012. Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
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- ^ a b "Percat confirmed at HRT with Tander". NickPercat.com. Retrieved 15 June 2012.[permanent dead link ]
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- ^ "Jack Daniel's Racing Signs Andretti". V8 Supercars Australia. 22 June 2012. Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
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- ^ "Graham Rahal to partner Rick Kelly on Gold Coast". SpeedCafe. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
- ^ "Murphy and Pepsi re-sign with Kellys". SpeedCafe. 1 December 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
- ^ "Murphy to return to famous #51 in 2012". SpeedCafe. 17 January 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
- ^ O'Leary, Jamie (26 July 2012). "Justin Wilson, Franck Montagny join Surfers Paradise's line-up". Autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
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- ^ a b Meissner, Johan (20 June 2012). "Jacques Villeneuve joins V8 Supercars at Townsville". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Archived from the original on 24 June 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
- ^ a b "BJR to remain a three-car team in 2012". SpeedCafe. 21 September 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
- ^ a b c "Brad Jones Racing confirms enduro line-ups". SpeedCafe. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
- ^ a b c "Brad Jones Racing confirms Gold Coast Drivers". V8 Supercars. 31 August 2012. Archived from the original on 31 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
- ^ a b "Coulthard confirms 2012 drive". V8 Supercars. 16 November 2011. Archived from the original on 17 November 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
- ^ "McLaughlin Signs With Tekno". Official site of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series. 1 February 2012. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
- ^ "Tekno Autosports announces Gold Coast drivers". SpeedCafe. 21 September 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- ^ a b "2012 V8 Supercars Pit Order Confirmed". Official site of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series. 14 December 2011. Archived from the original on 8 January 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
- ^ a b "Patrizi joins expanded Tekno Autosports". V8X Magazine. 7 February 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2012.[permanent dead link ]
- ^ "Young Kiwi Secures Endurance Drive". Official site of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series. 22 April 2012. Archived from the original on 27 April 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
- ^ "Tekno Secures Ex-F1 Driver For Gold Coast". Official site of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series. 21 September 2012. Archived from the original on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- ^ a b "Wall and Wilson Security confirmed at BJR". V8X Magazine. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
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- ^ "Team iSelect signs Gold Coast co-driver". V8 Supercars. 31 August 2012. Archived from the original on 31 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
- ^ a b Phelps, James (2 February 2012). "Garry Rogers signs Frenchman Alexandre Premat for 2012 season". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- ^ a b "Frenchman Alexandre Premat set for GRM". SpeedCafe.com. 2 February 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- ^ "Perkins signs with Fujitsu Racing GRM". V8 Supercars. 12 April 2012. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
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