Darwin Triple Crown
![]() | |
Race Information | |
Venue | Hidden Valley Raceway |
Number of times held | 21 |
First held | 1998 |
Race Format | |
Race 1 | |
Laps | 42 |
Distance | 120 km |
Race 2 | |
Laps | 70 |
Distance | 200 km |
Last Event (2018) | |
Overall Winner | |
![]() | DJR Team Penske |
Race Winners | |
![]() | DJR Team Penske |
![]() | Erebus Motorsport |
The Darwin Triple Crown, known as the CrownBet Darwin Triple Crown for sponsorship reasons, is an annual motor racing event for Supercars, held at Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin, Northern Territory. The event has been a regular part of the Supercars Championship—and its previous incarnations, the Australian Touring Car Championship, Shell Championship Series and V8 Supercars Championship—since 1998.
Format
The event is staged over a three-day weekend, from Friday to Sunday. Three forty five-minute practice sessions are held, two on Friday and one on Saturday. Saturday features a fifteen-minute qualifying session which decides the grid positions for the following 120 kilometre race. A single twenty-minute qualifying session is held on Sunday, with the top ten progressing to a top ten shootout to decide the grid for the following 200 km race.[1]
The event has been known as the Triple Crown since 2006, which currently refers to the two races during the event and the top ten shootout. As of 2018, no driver has completed the Triple Crown.[2]
History
Hidden Valley Raceway had existed for several years prior to being upgraded for its first national championship event in 1998, a round of the Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC). Russell Ingall won the event despite receiving a stop-go penalty in the first race for spinning Jason Bright. Mark Skaife had been on course to take victory in the opening race when his engine died, allowing teammate Craig Lowndes past.[3] Lowndes' car then failed to fire prior to the start of the second race and both he and Skaife failed to make the grid, while Ingall charged from 13th on the grid to take victory.[2] In 1999, Bright took his first career round win in what was Ford's only round win of the year.[4] It was also the first round win for Stone Brothers Racing, who saw further success at the event in 2001 when Marcos Ambrose scored his first round win, despite not winning a race over the weekend.
In 2004, Ambrose made contact while attempting to overtake Mark Skaife for the lead on the final corner of the race, delaying both and granting victory to team-mate Russell Ingall. In the following race, Ambrose then spun Ingall off on the first corner of the race.[5] Todd Kelly went on to win the round, his first of two consecutive event wins. Michael Caruso took his first Supercars race win at the event in 2009, holding off a late charge from Alex Davison.[4] At a late safety car restart in the first race of the 2011 event, the top four tangled into turn one, allowing fifth-placed Rick Kelly to take the race win.[5] In 2013 Jonathon Webb, driving for his family team Tekno Autosports, won his first career round.[6]
At the 2015 event, Lowndes became the first to achieve 100 race wins in ATCC and Supercars, capitalising on a collision between Rick Kelly and Fabian Coulthard on the opening lap.[7] In 2016, Caruso provided Nissan with their first round victory since 1992. At the same event, Lee Holdsworth suffered a broken pelvis in a first lap accident, forcing him out of the next three events.[8]
Winners
![](../I/m/Hidden_Valley_Raceway.jpg)
Multiple winners
By driver
Wins | Driver | Years |
---|---|---|
4 | ![]() |
2005, 2006, 2009, 2011 |
3 | ![]() |
2010, 2012, 2014 |
2 | ![]() |
2000, 2002 |
![]() |
2001, 2003 | |
![]() |
2004, 2005 | |
![]() |
2017, 2018 | |
By team
Wins | Team |
---|---|
7 | Triple Eight Race Engineering |
4 | Holden Racing Team |
3 | Stone Brothers Racing |
2 | Prodrive Racing Australia1 |
DJR Team Penske | |
By manufacturer
Wins | Manufacturer |
---|---|
10 | Holden |
Ford | |
- Notes
- ^1 – Prodrive Racing Australia was known as Ford Performance Racing from 2003 to 2014, hence their statistics are combined.
Event sponsors
See also
References
- ↑ "Supercars Operations Manual 2018 - Division "A" - Administration Rules" (PDF). Supercars. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
- 1 2 "Fast Facts: Hidden Valley". Supercars.com. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
- ↑ Clarke, Andrew; Wensley, Scott (2007). V8 Supercars: The First Decade. Carnegie, Victoria: Publishing 101. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-9803909-0-2.
- 1 2 3 Greenhalgh, David; Howard, Graham; Wilson, Stewart (2011). The official history: Australian Touring Car Championship - 50 Years. St Leonards, New South Wales: Chevron Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-9805912-2-4.
- 1 2 Tulk, Mitchell (16 June 2017). "Bent cars and broken egos: The top five moments from Hidden Valley raceway". Carsguide.com.au. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
- ↑ "V8 PREDICTOR: Webb springs surprise in Darwin". Speedcafe. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
- ↑ "Lowndes wins his 100th race". V8Supercars.com.au. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
- ↑ "Holdsworth sidelined with fractured pelvis". Speedcafe. 19 June 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
- ↑ "New sponsor for Darwin Triple Crown". Speedcafe. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.