2008 Hamilton 400

The 2008 Hamilton 400 was the third round of the 2008 V8 Supercar season. It was held on the weekend of 18 to 20 April on the streets of Hamilton, in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand.

2008 Hamilton 400
Event Information
Round 3 of 14 in the 2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series
Date18–20 April 2008
LocationHamilton, New Zealand
VenueHamilton Street Circuit
WeatherFine
Results
Race 1
Distance 36 laps 120 km
Pole position Steven Richards
Ford Performance Racing
1:24.7270
Winner Garth Tander
Holden Racing Team
1:02:38.9460
Race 2
Distance 36 laps 120 km
Winner Garth Tander
Holden Racing Team
54:47.9366
Race 3
Distance 36 laps 120 km
Winner Garth Tander
Holden Racing Team
1:00:27.5864
Round Results
First 300 pts
Second 270 pts
Third 252 pts

Race 1

Race 1 was held on Saturday 19 April. Garth Tander took his fourth consecutive win after clean-sheeting at Albert Park. The race wasn't without incident though as Mark Winterbottom and Shane van Gisbergen collided with each other off the start line while Greg Murphy was spun around by Mark Skaife at the exit of turn 1.

The chaos continued into turn 2 when Van Gisbergen locked up while Russell Ingall went down the inside of a Steven Johnson car which caused a collision collecting Paul Morris, Shane Price, Michael Patrizi, Steven Johnson and Craig Lowndes. Johnson, Price and Ingall retired to the pits. Steven Richards had managed to run wide at turn 5 which gave the lead to Tander and gave Rick Kelly second place. The Safety Car was deployed until the end of lap 5. The Safety Car was back on track at the end of that lap though thanks to an incident for Patrizi at turn 7. Most people pulled into the pits except for a few people like Mark Skaife. This decision, forced by HRT's decision to pit Tander first, would cost Skaife dearly later in the race. The Safety Car pulled in on lap 11 and racing resumed.

Jason Richards and Lowndes were both given drive through penalties for pitlane infringements after Murphy pulled into pitlane with a broken steering plate. Murphy returned to the track 2 laps later to the delight of the crowd and Paul Morris had also returned to the track.

Skaife pitted on lap 20 and fell well down the order while Caruso spun his GRM Holden Commodore. Craig Lowndes entered pitlane on lap 26 for a flat tyre when he clipped the tyre bundle at turn 4. Andrew Jones pulled into the garage to retire at lap 30. Van Gisbergen also pitted on lap 33 for some damage and was subsequently lapped. In the end Tander won from Rick Kelly and Steven Richards.

Race 2

Race 2 was held on Sunday 20 April. A fifth consecutive victory for Garth Tander in Race 2.

Race 3

Race 3 was held on Sunday 20 April. Six on the trott wrapped up the round victory for Garth Tander.

Results

Qualifying

Steven Richards gave the big New Zealand crowd something to cheer about, securing pole position in the Ford Performance Racing Falcon after Garth Tander's last-ditch effort fell five hundredths short. Rick Kelly was third fastest ahead of Stone Brothers Racing driver James Courtney. Crowd favourite, Greg Murphy made a welcome return to the top ten in seventh. Michael Caruso, who has struggled since graduating since arriving in the V8 Supercar Championship Series, was a top performer, topping one of the practice sessions and backing it up with eighth grid position, three behind his Garry Rogers Motorsport teammate Lee Holdsworth. A heavy practice crash limited Round 2 winner Will Davison's progress to 16th, while Jamie Whincup looked a good bet for pole position until he crashed heavily after contact with Todd Kelly. The car was not repairable and the series points leader was reduced to a spectator for the weekend. A miserable weekend for Triple Eight Race Engineering saw Craig Lowndes qualify back in 21st, caught out by the changeable weather in the first part of qualifying, failing to make the first qualifying cut.

Pos No Name Team Car Time
1 6 Steven Richards Ford Performance Racing Ford BF Falcon 1:24.7270
2 1 Garth Tander Holden Racing Team Holden VE Commodore 1:24.7974
3 15 Rick Kelly HSV Dealer Team Holden VE Commodore 1:24.9111
4 4 James Courtney Stone Brothers Racing Ford BF Falcon 1:24.9289
5 33 Lee Holdsworth Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden VE Commodore 1:25.0264
6 14 Cameron McConville Brad Jones Racing Holden VE Commodore 1:25.0338
7 51 Greg Murphy Tasman Motorsport Holden VE Commodore 1:25.0387
8 34 Michael Caruso Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden VE Commodore 1:25.5047
9 2 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden VE Commodore 1:25.5638
10 111 Fabian Coulthard Paul Cruickshank Racing Ford BF Falcon 1:25.5755
11 88 Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford BF Falcon 1:25.8686
12 9 Shane van Gisbergen Stone Brothers Racing Ford BF Falcon 1:25.8921
13 5 Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing Ford BF Falcon 1:25.9384
14 12 Andrew Jones Brad Jones Racing Holden VE Commodore 1:26.0055
15 25 Jason Bright Britek Motorsport Ford BF Falcon 1:26.1540
16 18 Will Davison Dick Johnson Racing Ford BF Falcon 1:26.3173
17 11 Shane Price Perkins Engineering Holden VE Commodore 1:26.4035
18 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford BF Falcon 1:26.5019
19 7 Todd Kelly Perkins Engineering Holden VE Commodore 1:26.5241
20 50 Andrew Thompson Paul Weel Racing Holden VE Commodore 1:26.9382
21 888 Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford BF Falcon 1:32.9566
22 39 Russell Ingall Paul Morris Motorsport Holden VE Commodore 1:32.9753
23 16 Paul Dumbrell HSV Dealer Team Holden VE Commodore 1:33.3609
24 67 Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden VE Commodore 1:33.7532
25 3 Jason Richards Tasman Motorsport Holden VE Commodore 1:33.7563
26 26 Marcus Marshall Britek Motorsport Ford BF Falcon 1:34.0816
27 777 Michael Patrizi Ford Rising Stars Racing Ford BF Falcon 1:34.1202
28 021 Kayne Scott Team Kiwi Racing Ford BF Falcon 1:34.9871
29 55 Tony D'Alberto Rod Nash Racing Holden VE Commodore 1:35.2007
Sources:

Race 1 Results

Pos No Name Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1 Garth Tander Holden Racing Team 36 1:02:38.9460 2 100
2 15 Rick Kelly HSV Dealer Team 36 +1.1s 3 92
3 6 Steven Richards Ford Performance Racing 36 +1.5s 1 86
4 4 James Courtney Stone Brothers Racing 36 +2.4s 4 80
5 33 Lee Holdsworth Garry Rogers Motorsport 36 +3.1s 5 74
6 14 Cameron McConville Brad Jones Racing 36 +5.0s 6 68
7 111 Fabian Coulthard Paul Cruickshank Racing 36 +8.9s 10 64
8 7 Todd Kelly Perkins Engineering 36 +16.7s 19 60
9 18 Will Davison Dick Johnson Racing 36 +21.4s 16 56
10 5 Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing 36 +22.4s 13 52
11 25 Jason Bright Britek Motorsport 36 +36.2s 15 48
12 34 Michael Caruso Garry Rogers Motorsport 36 +38.3s 8 46
13 55 Tony D'Alberto Rod Nash Racing 36 +38.5s 29 44
14 16 Paul Dumbrell HSV Dealer Team 36 +44.8s 23 42
15 50 Andrew Thompson Paul Weel Racing 36 +45.0s 20 40
16 26 Marcus Marshall Britek Motorsport 36 +46.9s 26 38
17 021 Kayne Scott Team Kiwi Racing 36 +48.8s 28 36
18 2 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 36 +57.9s 9 34
19 888 Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Race Engineering 35 + 1 Lap 21 32
20 3 Jason Richards Tasman Motorsport 35 + 1 Lap 25 30
21 9 Shane van Gisbergen Stone Brothers Racing 35 +1 Lap 12 28
22 12 Andrew Jones Brad Jones Racing 34 + 2 Laps 14 26
23 51 Greg Murphy Tasman Motorsport 32 + 4 Laps 7 24
24 67 Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport 28 + 8 Laps 24 22
DNF 777 Michael Patrizi Ford Rising Stars Racing 4 Accident 27
DNF 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing 1 Accident 18
DNF 11 Shane Price Perkins Engineering 1 Accident 17
DNF 39 Russell Ingall Paul Morris Motorsport 1 Accident 22
DNS 88 Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering

Race 2 Results

Pos No Name Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1 Garth Tander Holden Racing Team 36 54:47.9366 1 100
2 6 Steven Richards Ford Performance Racing 36 +0.8s 3 94
3 4 James Courtney Stone Brothers Racing 36 +5.6s 4 88
4 33 Lee Holdsworth Garry Rogers Motorsport 36 +7.2s 5 80
5 14 Cameron McConville Brad Jones Racing 36 +9.8s 6 74
6 15 Rick Kelly HSV Dealer Team 36 +10.9s 2 68
7 5 Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing 36 +12.0s 10 64
8 111 Fabian Coulthard Paul Cruickshank Racing 36 +12.3s 7 60
9 3 Jason Richards Tasman Motorsport 36 +14.1s 20 56
10 55 Tony D'Alberto Rod Nash Racing 36 +15.1s 13 52
11 16 Paul Dumbrell HSV Dealer Team 36 +16.4s 14 48
12 25 Jason Bright Britek Motorsport 36 +19.1s 11 46
13 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing 36 +19.4s 26 44
14 888 Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Race Engineering 36 +23.1s 19 42
15 12 Andrew Jones Brad Jones Racing 36 +25.9s 22 40
16 26 Marcus Marshall Britek Motorsport 36 +30.0s 16 38
17 67 Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport 36 +35.5s 24 36
18 34 Michael Caruso Garry Rogers Motorsport 36 +41.0s 12 34
19 7 Todd Kelly Perkins Engineering 36 +41.2s 8 32
20 021 Kayne Scott Team Kiwi Racing 35 + 1 Lap 17 30
21 777 Michael Patrizi Ford Rising Stars Racing 35 + 1 Lap 25 28
22 18 Will Davison Dick Johnson Racing 34 + 2 Laps 9 26
23 2 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 34 + 2 Laps 18 24
24 11 Shane Price Perkins Engineering 34 + 2 Laps 27 22
25 51 Greg Murphy Tasman Motorsport 31 + 5 Laps 23 20
26 9 Shane van Gisbergen Stone Brothers Racing 30 + 6 Laps 21 18
DNF 39 Russell Ingall Paul Morris Motorsport 31 28
DNF 50 Andrew Thompson Paul Weel Racing 28 Accident 15
DNS 88 Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering

Race 3 Results

Pos No Name Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1 Garth Tander Holden Racing Team 36 1:00:27.5864 1 100
2 6 Steven Richards Ford Performance Racing 36 +1.2s 2 92
3 4 James Courtney Stone Brothers Racing 36 +3.9s 3 86
4 15 Rick Kelly HSV Dealer Team 36 +6.7s 6 80
5 5 Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing 36 +7.1s 7 74
6 111 Fabian Coulthard Paul Cruickshank Racing 36 +8.7s 8 68
7 888 Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Race Engineering 36 +8.9s 14 64
8 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing 36 +9.4s 13 60
9 12 Andrew Jones Brad Jones Racing 36 +10.9s 15 56
10 9 Shane van Gisbergen Stone Brothers Racing 36 +11.3s 26 52
11 39 Russell Ingall Paul Morris Motorsport 36 +13.0s 27 48
12 2 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 36 +13.8s 23 46
13 25 Jason Bright Britek Motorsport 36 +14.8s 12 44
14 3 Jason Richards Tasman Motorsport 36 +15.1s 9 42
15 7 Todd Kelly Perkins Engineering 36 +15.6s 19 40
16 11 Shane Price Perkins Engineering 36 +18.9s 24 38
17 34 Michael Caruso Garry Rogers Motorsport 36 +19.2s 18 36
18 67 Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport 36 +22.0s 17 34
19 777 Michael Patrizi Ford Rising Stars Racing 36 +30.9s 21 32
20 14 Cameron McConville Brad Jones Racing 36 +35.1s 5 30
DNF 021 Kayne Scott Team Kiwi Racing 33 20
DNF 16 Paul Dumbrell HSV Dealer Team 23 Accident 11
DNF 18 Will Davison Jim Beam Racing 9 22
DNF 51 Greg Murphy Tasman Motorsport 7 25
DNF 26 Marcus Marshall Britek Motorsport 4 16
DNF 55 Tony D'Alberto Rod Nash Racing 1 Accident 10
DNF 33 Lee Holdsworth Garry Rogers Motorsport 0 Accident 4
DNS 50 Andrew Thompson Paul Weel Racing
DNS 88 Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering

Standings

After round 3 of 14

Pos No Name Team Points
1 15 Rick Kelly HSV Dealer Team 672
2 1 Garth Tander Holden Racing Team 626
3 33 Lee Holdsworth Garry Rogers Motorsport 580
4 5 Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing 572
5 88 Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering 540

Support categories

The 2008 Hamilton 400 had four support categories.

Category Round winner
New Zealand V8s John McIntyre (Ford BA Falcon)
Toyota Racing Series Earl Bamber (Tatuus TT104ZZ Toyota)
Porsche GT3 Cup Craig Baird (Porsche 997 GT3)
Mini Challenge Courtney Letica (Mini Cooper)

References

    Supercars Championship
    Previous race:
    2008 Eastern Creek round of the V8 Supercar Championship
    2008 Supercars Championship Next race:
    2008 BigPond 400
    Previous year:
    inaugural
    Hamilton 400 Next year:
    2009 Hamilton 400
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