2011 Trading Post Perth Challenge
# 2011 Trading Post Perth Challenge

The 2011 Trading Post Perth Challenge was a motor race for the Australian sedan-based V8 Supercars racing cars. The Trading Post Perth Challenge was the fourth event of the 2011 International V8 Supercars Championship. It was the 34th time a motor racing event held at Barbagallo Raceway had contributed to the Australian Touring Car Championship and its successors. It was held on the weekend of April 29 to May 1 at Barbagallo Raceway, near Wanneroo, just outside Perth, Western Australia.

The event hosted races 7, 8 and 9 of the 2011 season in a unique to this event format. Each race was held of 50 laps of the 2.4 kilometre venue, making for race distances of 120 kilometres for each race. An alternative pointscore was used, giving 100 points for each race instead of the usual 150 points, meaning that the extra race would not make the Perth Challenge worth any more than the standard two race event. In keeping with the concept introduced in 2010 that each race is a standalone event, a different qualifying procedure was established. The usual Saturday Top Ten Shootout was abandoned and the grid for the two Sunday races was established by a single qualifying session with each driver's second fastest lap used to establish the grid for Sunday's Race 9.

The meeting was overshadowed by a heavy collision at the start of Race 8 which saw Steve Owen collide with the stalled Holden Commodore of Karl Reindler. The impact ruptured the fuel tank at the rear of Reindler's Brad Jones Racing Commodore, causing the car to erupt into a fireball. Reindler received only minor burns and Owen only minor injuries. It was doubly unfortunate for Reindler after he had finished seventh the previous race, a career best performance.

Jamie Whincup collected the most championship points for the weekend, 292 out of the possible 300, after winning races 7 and 9 and finished second in race 8. Jason Bright was next best performed with 260 points which included second in race 9, and victory in race 8. The race win was additionally notable as it was the first championship race win recorded by a Brad Jones Racing driver, recorded after joining V8 Supercar in 2000. Whincup's team mate Craig Lowndes was third for the weekend having collected 252 points over the three races, including a second in Race 7, making for a 1–2 finish in the race for the Triple Eight Race Engineering team. The best performed Ford driver of the weekend was Stone Brothers Racing lead driver, Shane van Gisbergen, who scored 196 points. The best individual performance by a Ford driver was by Will Davison of Ford Performance Racing with a third-place finish in Race 7, the only Ford podium result for the weekend.

## Results

Results as follows:

### Qualifying Race 7

Qualifying timesheet:

| Pos | No | Name | Car | Team | Time |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Holden VE Commodore | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 56.0734 s |
| 2 | 6 | Will Davison | Ford FG Falcon | Ford Performance Racing | 56.2865 s |
| 3 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Holden VE Commodore | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 56.6132 s |
| 4 | 17 | Steven Johnson | Ford FG Falcon | Dick Johnson Racing | 56.6990 s |
| 5 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Holden VE Commodore | Kelly Racing | 56.7047 s |
| 6 | 21 | Karl Reindler | Holden VE Commodore | Britek Motorsport | 56.7185 s |
| 7 | 1 | James Courtney | Holden VE Commodore | Holden Racing Team | 56.7224 s |
| 8 | 4 | Alex Davison | Ford FG Falcon | Stone Brothers Racing | 56.7279 s |
| 9 | 18 | James Moffat | Ford FG Falcon | Dick Johnson Racing | 56.7406 s |
| 10 | 8 | Jason Bright | Holden VE Commodore | Brad Jones Racing | 56.7691 s |
| 11 | 33 | Lee Holdsworth | Holden VE Commodore | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 56.8444 s |
| 12 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Ford FG Falcon | Ford Performance Racing | 56.8523 s |
| 13 | 34 | Michael Caruso | Holden VE Commodore | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 56.8583 s |
| 14 | 55 | Paul Dumbrell | Ford FG Falcon | Rod Nash Racing | 56.8831 s |
| 15 | 16 | David Reynolds | Holden VE Commodore | Kelly Racing | 56.8844 s |
| 16 | 9 | Shane van Gisbergen | Ford FG Falcon | Stone Brothers Racing | 56.9073 s |
| 17 | 49 | Steve Owen | Holden VE Commodore | Paul Morris Motorsport | 56.9707 s |
| 18 | 19 | Jonathon Webb | Ford FG Falcon | Tekno Autosports | 56.9774 s |
| 19 | 47 | Tim Slade | Ford FG Falcon | James Rosenberg Racing | 56.9848 s |
| 20 | 39 | Russell Ingall | Holden VE Commodore | Paul Morris Motorsport | 56.9979 s |
| 21 | 14 | Jason Bargwanna | Holden VE Commodore | Brad Jones Racing | 57.0046 s |
| 22 | 11 | Greg Murphy | Holden VE Commodore | Kelly Racing | 57.0363 s |
| 23 | 2 | Garth Tander | Holden VE Commodore | Holden Racing Team | 57.0530 s |
| 24 | 12 | Dean Fiore | Ford FG Falcon | Triple F Racing | 57.1402 s |
| 25 | 7 | Todd Kelly | Holden VE Commodore | Kelly Racing | 57.1574 s |
| 26 | 30 | Warren Luff | Holden Commodore VE | Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport | 57.1867 s |
| 27 | 61 | Fabian Coulthard | Holden VE Commodore | Walkinshaw Racing | 57.2114 s |
| 28 | 3 | Tony D'Alberto | Ford FG Falcon | Tony D'Alberto Racing | 57.5109 s |

### Race 7

Race timesheets:

| Pos | No | Name | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 50 | 49 m 38.6955 s | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 50 | +0.9 s | 3 | 92 |
| 3 | 6 | Will Davison | Ford Performance Racing | 50 | +6.7 s | 6 | 86 |
| 4 | 9 | Shane van Gisbergen | Stone Brothers Racing | 50 | +8.1 s | 16 | 80 |
| 5 | 17 | Steven Johnson | Dick Johnson Racing | 50 | +11.1 s | 4 | 74 |
| 6 | 8 | Jason Bright | Brad Jones Racing | 50 | +14.8 s | 10 | 68 |
| 7 | 21 | Karl Reindler | Britek Motorsport | 50 | +17.6 s | 6 | 64 |
| 8 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Performance Racing | 50 | +21.1 s | 12 | 60 |
| 9 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Kelly Racing | 50 | +22.0 s | 5 | 56 |
| 10 | 1 | James Courtney | Holden Racing Team | 50 | +22.3 s | 7 | 52 |
| 11 | 14 | Jason Bargwanna | Brad Jones Racing | 50 | +30.7 s | 25 | 48 |
| 12 | 34 | Michael Caruso | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 50 | +32.4 s | 13 | 46 |
| 13 | 2 | Garth Tander | Holden Racing Team | 50 | +32.7 s | 23 | 44 |
| 14 | 39 | Russell Ingall | Paul Morris Motorsport | 50 | +33.1 s | 20 | 42 |
| 15 | 11 | Greg Murphy | Kelly Racing | 50 | +33.3 s | 22 | 40 |
| 16 | 33 | Lee Holdsworth | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 50 | +34.1 s | 11 | 38 |
| 17 | 49 | Steve Owen | Paul Morris Motorsport | 50 | +34.4 s | 17 | 36 |
| 18 | 18 | James Moffat | Dick Johnson Racing | 50 | +34.6 s | 9 | 34 |
| 19 | 16 | David Reynolds | Kelly Racing | 50 | +35.8 s | 15 | 32 |
| 20 | 19 | Jonathon Webb | Tekno Autosports | 50 | +36.5 s | 18 | 30 |
| 21 | 4 | Alex Davison | Stone Brothers Racing | 50 | +40.2 s | 8 | 28 |
| 22 | 47 | Tim Slade | James Rosenberg Racing | 50 | +40.4 s | 19 | 26 |
| 23 | 61 | Fabian Coulthard | Walkinshaw Racing | 50 | +40.9 s | 27 | 24 |
| 24 | 12 | Dean Fiore | Triple F Racing | 50 | +50.7 s | 24 | 22 |
| 25 | 3 | Tony D'Alberto | Tony D'Alberto Racing | 50 | +54.9 s | 28 | 20 |
| 26 | 30 | Warren Luff | Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport | 49 | + 1 lap | 26 | 18 |
| 27 | 7 | Todd Kelly | Kelly Racing | 49 | + 1 lap | 25 | 16 |
| Ret | 55 | Paul Dumbrell | Rod Nash Racing | 40 | | 14 | |

### Qualifying Race 8

Qualifying timesheet:

| Pos | No | Name | Car | Team | Time |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Holden VE Commodore | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 54.9898 s |
| 2 | 8 | Jason Bright | Holden VE Commodore | Brad Jones Racing | 55.1614 s |
| 3 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Holden VE Commodore | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 55.3178 s |
| 4 | 4 | Alex Davison | Ford FG Falcon | Stone Brothers Racing | 55.3445 s |
| 5 | 2 | Garth Tander | Holden VE Commodore | Holden Racing Team | 55.3548 s |
| 6 | 17 | Steven Johnson | Ford FG Falcon | Dick Johnson Racing | 55.3631 s |
| 7 | 14 | Jason Bargwanna | Holden VE Commodore | Brad Jones Racing | 55.3666 s |
| 8 | 6 | Will Davison | Ford FG Falcon | Ford Performance Racing | 55.4050 s |
| 9 | 1 | James Courtney | Holden VE Commodore | Holden Racing Team | 55.4377 s |
| 10 | 33 | Lee Holdsworth | Holden VE Commodore | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 55.4447 s |
| 11 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Ford FG Falcon | Ford Performance Racing | 55.4461 s |
| 12 | 18 | James Moffat | Ford FG Falcon | Dick Johnson Racing | 55.4604 s |
| 13 | 21 | Karl Reindler | Holden VE Commodore | Britek Motorsport | 55.5029 s |
| 14 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Holden VE Commodore | Kelly Racing | 55.5545 s |
| 15 | 3 | Tony D'Alberto | Ford FG Falcon | Tony D'Alberto Racing | 55.5648 s |
| 16 | 61 | Fabian Coulthard | Holden VE Commodore | Walkinshaw Racing | 55.5788 s |
| 17 | 47 | Tim Slade | Ford FG Falcon | James Rosenberg Racing | 55.5830 s |
| 18 | 11 | Greg Murphy | Holden VE Commodore | Kelly Racing | 55.5879 s |
| 19 | 34 | Michael Caruso | Holden VE Commodore | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 55.6119 s |
| 20 | 9 | Shane van Gisbergen | Ford FG Falcon | Stone Brothers Racing | 55.6239 s |
| 21 | 55 | Paul Dumbrell | Ford FG Falcon | Rod Nash Racing | 55.6656 s |
| 22 | 19 | Jonathon Webb | Ford FG Falcon | Tekno Autosports | 55.7658 s |
| 23 | 12 | Dean Fiore | Ford FG Falcon | Triple F Racing | 55.8213 s |
| 24 | 39 | Russell Ingall | Holden VE Commodore | Paul Morris Motorsport | 55.8815 s |
| 25 | 49 | Steve Owen | Holden VE Commodore | Paul Morris Motorsport | 55.8929 s |
| 26 | 16 | David Reynolds | Holden VE Commodore | Kelly Racing | 55.8995 s |
| 27 | 7 | Todd Kelly | Holden VE Commodore | Kelly Racing | 55.9244 s |
| 28 | 30 | Warren Luff | Holden Commodore VE | Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport | 55.9347 s |

## Standings

* After 9 of 28 races.

| Pos | No | Name | Team | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 946 |
| 2 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 804 |
| 3 | 2 | Garth Tander | Holden Racing Team | 737 |
| 4 | 9 | Shane van Gisbergen | Stone Brothers Racing | 730 |
| 5 | 6 | Will Davison | Ford Performance Racing | 714 |
