Most successful chassis in Townsville 500 history
TWO of the most successful chassis in Supercars history counted Townsville’s Reid Park Street Circuit as a happy hunting ground.
‘Kate’ (888A-023) and ‘Chastitii’ (888A-054) are the only two cars to have tasted victory on three or more occasions in north Queensland.
Driven by Jamie Whincup to two championships and the 2012 Peter Brock Trophy, 888A-023 was a three-time winner on the streets of Townsville.
Those successes came in 2011 (Race 2) and 2012 (Races 1 and 2), all after it was upgraded to VE II Commodore specification.
That Townsville hat-trick remained unparalleled until all-conquering 888A-054 came along.
It’s with that ZB Commodore that Shane van Gisbergen won seven of the nine most recent main game races in Townsville spanning 2020-22.
That’s just part of the story for Peter Xiberras-owned ‘Chastitii’ which powered van Gisbergen to two championships, two Bathurst 1000 victories and an overall record of 39 wins from 92 races.
Fittingly, both cars nowadays are on display to the public; Whincup’s at The Bend Motorsport Park’s welcome centre and Xiberras’ in the National Motor Racing Museum at Bathurst.
So, as you can probably tell by now, Townsville has been something of a Triple Eight fortress since its maiden event in 2009, the team winning 22 of 36 races to date (12 to Whincup and 10 to van Gisbergen).
But the Brisbane outfit is not the only team to have conquered Townsville.
Tickford Racing has collected six wins over the years, two each in its various guises as Ford Performance Racing, Prodrive Racing Australia and its current name.
In fact, Cam Waters is the only driver to have bested van Gisbergen in the past nine races there.
Dick Johnson Racing is next on the list with five wins, four to Scott McLaughlin during the DJR Team Penske era, and one to James Courtney in the inaugural event (after Whincup won the very first race).
The only other squad to have won in Townsville? The Holden Racing Team (now Walkinshaw Andretti United) via Garth Tander, with one win in each of 2011, 2013 and 2014.
After a Darwin Triple Crown which saw Team 18 and Matt Stone Racing enjoy major breakthroughs, could we see a new Townsville winner? Time will soon tell.
