2011 Review

TeamVodafone’s Craig Lowndes made a clean sweep of the Coates Hire Ipswich 300, winning all three races of the weekend.

Race 16 & 17 saw a new format of two 22 lap sprint races with a 15 minute pit lane service in between the two races. Lowndes led the first 22-lap race from start to finish but was pushed all the way by Lucky 7 Racing’s Tim Slade, who scored the best race result of his career and his first podium finish. Lowndes then went on to win Race 17 which sealed the 2011 Manufacturer’s championship for Holden; the red lion claiming 15 of the season’s 17 races.

Race 18 on Sunday, in front of an enthusiastic crowd, Lowndes chalked up his 80th career victory after holding off a hard-charging Tim Slade. Slade pushed Lowndes all the way and the pair finished the race over 30 seconds ahead of third-placed Shane van Gisbergen.

The Coates Hire Ipswich 300 delivered a big crowd of 50,425 despite early morning rain on Sunday, 12,499 more people piling into Queensland Raceway than last year