News

Track: Townsville Street Circuit
Race:  Townsville 400
Date:  8th July 2016

No. 12 Hog's Ford – Fabian Coulthard
Practice 1      P 13     Fastest Lap 1:13.54
Practice 2      P 22    Fastest Lap 1:13.47        

No. 17 Shell Helix Ford – Scott Pye
Practice 1:     P 19     Fastest Lap 1:13.67
Practice 2:     P 21     Fastest Lap 1:13.27   

Practice Recap: The streets of Townsville came alive today as Supercars returned to the Reid Park circuit. DJR Team Penske drivers Fabian Coulthard and Scott Pye searched for a set up on the demanding layout but could not find the sweet spot in a pair of very competitive practices sessions.

The Shell Helix Ford of Scott Pye set the best time of the day for the team albeit only two tenths of a second quicker than the Hog's Supercar of Fabian Coulthard.

The Townsville track is only used once a year and quite often takes time to get to its peak. Much of today's practice was run on used Dunlop Soft tyres, so the new tyre runs on Saturday will be a better guide. The engineers of both DJR Team Penske Fords worked hard on changes during the day but now the focus turns to Qualifying for Race 1 on Saturday.

Fabian Coulthard Quote: "It was a tough day in the Hog's Ford. We struggled a bit and the car did not react as well to the changes as we had hoped. We were looking for a Qualifying set up this afternoon as there is no third practice session. We will work with the data we have and give it a crack in Qualifying."

Scott Pye Quote:  "The track was very green this morning but we did not run all that quicker this afternoon. The balance of the Shell Helix Ford felt OK but the speed was not there. It seems both cars were very similar in pace so we will need to focus on achieving a good set up for Qualifying on Saturday."

About Viva Energy Australia
Viva Energy Australia ("Viva Energy") was launched in mid-August 2014 following the completion of Vitol's acquisition of Shell's Australian downstream business. It comprises of the Geelong refinery, a 900 plus site-retail network and a bulk fuels, bitumen, chemicals and lubricants business supported by more than 20 terminals across the country. Viva Energy is the exclusive licensee of Shell branded fuels and lubricants in Australia. For more information – www.vivaenergy.com.au

About Hog's Australia's Steakhouse
Our founding father and original Boss Hog, Don Algie, was sailing along the Queensland Coast and settled into the idyllic surrounds of the Whitsunday Islands. Soon after, he opened the doors of the first Hog's Breath Restaurant right there in Airlie Beach some 26 years ago.
In November the following year, a second store was opened in Mooloolaba and ever since, additional stores have followed. There are now over 80 locations currently around Australia and New Zealand and we’re still growing!