Skycity Triple Crown

Northern Territory Darwin Triple Crown
Race Information
Venue Hidden Valley Raceway
Number of times held 18
First held 1998
Race Format
Race 1
Laps 21
Distance 60 km
Race 2
Laps 21
Distance 60 km
Race 3
Laps 70
Distance 200 km
Last Event (2015)
Overall Winner
Australia Chaz Mostert Prodrive Racing Australia
Race Winners
Australia Chaz Mostert Prodrive Racing Australia
Australia Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Race Engineering
Australia David Reynolds Rod Nash Racing

The Darwin Triple Crown, previously known as the Skycity Triple Crown, is an annual motor racing event for V8 Supercars, held at Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin, Northern Territory. The event has been a regular part of the V8 Supercars Championship—and its previous incarnations, the Australian Touring Car Championship and Shell Championship Series—since 1998.

Format

The event is staged over a three-day weekend, from Friday to Sunday. Two one-hour practice sessions are held on Friday while a fifteen-minute practice session is held on each of Saturday and Sunday. Saturday features a pair of ten-minute qualifying sessions which decide the grid positions for the following two 60 kilometre sprint races. A single twenty-minute qualifying session is held on Sunday to decide the grid for the following 200 km race.[1]

The event has been known as the Skycity Triple Crown since 2006,[2] sharing its name with the Skycity Triple Crown trophy, which is currently awarded to a driver who is able to win all three races during the event. As of 2015, no driver has achieved this and the trophy has never been awarded.[3]

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.[4] Lowndes' car then failed to fire prior to the start of the second race and both he and Skaife failed to make the grid. In 1999, Jason Bright took Ford's only round win of the season at the event.[5]

Marcos Ambrose scored his first V8 Supercar round win at the 2001 event despite not winning a race. Michael Caruso took his first V8 Supercar race win at the event in 2009, holding off a late charge from Alex Davison.[5] In 2015, Lowndes scored his 100th race win in the ATCC and V8 Supercars, capitalising on a collision between Rick Kelly and Fabian Coulthard on the opening lap.[6]

Winners

Mark Skaife during the 2007 Skycity Triple Crown.
Year Driver[5] Team Car Report
1998 Australia Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering Holden VT Commodore
1999 Australia Jason Bright Stone Brothers Racing Ford AU Falcon
2000 Australia Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden VT Commodore
2001 Australia Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford AU Falcon Report
2002 Australia Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden VX Commodore
2003 Australia Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford BA Falcon
2004 Australia Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team Holden VY Commodore
2005 Australia Todd Kelly Holden Racing Team Holden VZ Commodore
2006 Australia Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford BA Falcon
2007 Australia Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford BF Falcon Report
2008 New Zealand Steven Richards Ford Performance Racing Ford BF Falcon Report
2009 Australia Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford FG Falcon Report
2010 Australia Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden VE Commodore Report
2011 Australia Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden VE Commodore Report
2012 Australia Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden VE Commodore Report
2013 Australia Jonathon Webb Tekno Autosports Holden VF Commodore Report
2014 Australia Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden VF Commodore Report
2015 Australia Chaz Mostert Prodrive Racing Australia Ford FG X Falcon Report

Multiple winners

By driver

Wins Driver Years
4 Australia Craig Lowndes 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011
3 Australia Jamie Whincup 2010, 2012, 2014
2 Australia Mark Skaife 2000, 2002
Australia Marcos Ambrose 2001, 2003
Australia Todd Kelly 2004, 2005

By team

Wins Team
7 Triple Eight Race Engineering
4 Holden Racing Team
3 Stone Brothers Racing
2 Prodrive Racing Australia1

By manufacturer

Wins Manufacturer
10 Holden
8 Ford
Notes

Event sponsors

See also

References

  1. ↑ "V8 Supercars Operations Manual 2015 - Divison A - Administration Rules" (PDF). V8 Supercars. 10 February 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  2. ↑ "Fast Facts: SKYCITY Triple Crown Darwin". V8Supercars.com.au. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "The Skycity Triple Crown". Northern Territory Major Events. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  4. ↑ Clarke, Andrew; Wensley, Scott (2007). V8 Supercars: The First Decade. Carnegie, Victoria: Publishing 101. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-9803909-0-2.
  5. 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.
  6. ↑ "Lowndes wins his 100th race". V8Supercars.com.au. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
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