2023 ROLEX AUSTRALIAN FORMULA ONE GRAND PRIX THURSDAY WRAP

Thursday at the Australian Grand Prix is all about the support categories and 2023 was no different, with one major exception. The addition of both FIA Formula 3 and Formula 2 has seen the Repco Supercars Championship run a race on the opening day!

One might expect the first day in a four day program to be on the timid side of the scale, though 2023 saw action from the opening practice sessions.

Both Tim Slade and Shane van Gisbergen found the wall during practice, while Simon Fallon rolled is Bob Jane Porsche during qualifying. While the two Supercar drivers found their way back on the circuit for the opening race (even if Slade started from the pitlane), Fallon’s Porsche remained shrouded beneath a dark cover for the remainder of the weekend.

Fallon’s Porsche was not the only entry to obtain some pretty hefty damage. Indiran Padayachee and Daniel Stutterd clashed in the opening race of the Grand Prix with at least one car slamming into the wall near Turn 8 at over 200kmh. The force moved a section of concrete wall and forced the race to be declared after less than 4 laps.

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Jackson Walls managed to split the front row pairing of Callum Hedge and Max Vidau to lead the 28 car field into Turn 1. It proved to be the decisive moment in the race just prior to the Padayachee and Stuttert clash. Chris Pither also had damage in the Coca Cola EMA Motorsport Porsche after Courtney Prince spun into the #42.

The race was not restarted after the Padayachee and Stuttert crash and was declared a non event with no results recorded.

Shane van Gisbergen claimed the win in Race 1 of the weekend with an inspired pit stop helping the Ampol Red Bull Racing driver to a 0.4 win over the Coca Cola Erebus team with Brodie Kostecki in 2nd and Will Brown 3rd.

Anton de Pasquale led a fleet of cars on the super soft tyres as the race began. The longevity of the tyre may have come as a surprise to some with the combination of an overcast sky and cooler temperatures aiding the life of the stickier rubber.

Such was the durability of the super soft tyre that Kostecki and van Gisbergen were able to stay on the circuit until the final laps of the race before changing tyres.

The Thursday crowd topped the 60,000 mark with the remainder of the Grand Prix weekend already sold out. The possibility of some rainfall over the next three days also threatens to spice up what has already been and action packed event.

Earlier in the day, Jack Doohan, Tommy Smith, Christian Mansell and Hug Barter met up at the Motorsport Australia Stand to undertake a rather impromptu press conference.

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All four offered invaluable insights into their respective categories, the challenges they had faced and their cumulative excitement in finally getting the opportunity to race at Albert Park ( a feat that Smith had trumped his peers with a Formula 4 drive).

All three formula categories F1, F2 and F3 will be on track throughout Friday,  in what will be another jammed pack day of racing.

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