Four-year winning first on offer in Darwin opener
19 Jun 2021
Saturday’s Race 12 at Hidden Valley could see the seventh different winner in as many races, a streak not seen since 2018.
Series leader Shane van Gisbergen may have won the first six races of 2021 but the last six races have been won by six different drivers.
Van Gisbergen, Jamie Whincup and Chaz Mostert shared the Tasmania wins, before Andre Heimgartner, Anton De Pasquale and Cameron Waters all won in Tailem Bend.
Five of the top 10 of the Race 12 grid are yet to win a race in 2021: Winterbottom (starting second), Scott Pye (fourth), Nick Percat (fifth), Tim Slade (ninth) and Zane Goddard (10th).
WATCH: QUALIFYING HIGHLIGHTS
Winterbottom will launch from the front row in a race for the first time since his Tasmania pole in 2019.
The 2015 champion is the only driver of the five to have previously won in Darwin, but hasn't won since 2016.
De Pasquale will launch from pole for the 38-lap race, which will commence at 3:55pm AEST.
The Shell V-Power Racing Team driver clocked a lap record in ARMOR ALL Qualifying.
The last time six different primary drivers won consecutive races was 2018.
You have to go back to 2017 to find a string of seven different winners in as many races, which can be matched on Saturday.
2017 saw the last string of seven in seven
Fabian Coulthard and Whincup shared the wins at Sydney Motorsport Park, Waters combined with Richie Stanaway to win the Sandown 500, before David Reynolds and Luke Youlden won the Great Race for Erebus.
Mostert and Steve Owen won the Gold Coast opener, before Scott McLaughlin and Alex Premat won the Sunday race.
Van Gisbergen made it seven in seven in the Pukekohe opener, before McLaughlin ended the streak on the Sunday.
The championship record is nine, between Race 19 and Race 27 in 2013.
Eight years ago, nine drivers won in nine starts across the Darwin, Townsville, Ipswich and Winton events: Craig Lowndes (Darwin), Will Davison and Garth Tander (Townsville), Whincup, Scott McLaughlin and Mostert (Ipswich), and James Moffat, Mark Winterbottom and James Courtney (Winton).
