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| Round 2 of 15 in the2019 Supercars Championship | ||||||||||||||
 Layout of the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit | ||||||||||||||
| Date | 14-17 March 2019 | |||||||||||||
| Location | Melbourne,Victoria | |||||||||||||
| Venue | Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit | |||||||||||||
| Weather | Fine | |||||||||||||
| Results | ||||||||||||||
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The2019 Melbourne 400 (known for sponsorship purposes as theBeaurepaires Melbourne 400) was amotor racing event for theSupercars Championship held as a support event to the2019 Australian Grand Prix from 14 March to 17 March 2019. It was held at theMelbourne Grand Prix Circuit and consisted of two races of 70 kilometres and two races of 130 kilometres. It was the second event of fifteen in the2019 Supercars Championship and the second running of theMelbourne 400 event.
Tickford Racing'sChaz Mostert won the Larry Perkins Trophy for accumulating the most points over the weekend.[1] The event saw the running of the1,000th Australian Touring Car Championship race in Race 4, won byDJR Team Penske'sScott McLaughlin.[2] McLaughlin claimed three pole positions and three race wins across the weekend, with the new-for-2019Ford Mustang GT proving dominant. McLaughlin left the event continuing to hold his championship lead overJamie Whincup by 31 points.
This event was the second of fifteen in the2019 Supercars Championship and the second running of theMelbourne 400. Defending series championScott McLaughlin held the championship lead entering the event after winning both races at theAdelaide 500.
Two 30-minute practice sessions were held prior to qualifying on Thursday.Chaz Mostert was fastest in the first session with a margin of 0.4s overAnton de Pasquale with a time of 1:55.5743s.[3] The second session sawDJR Team Penske claim the first two positions withScott McLaughlin setting a time of 1:54.5518, 0.2s faster than teammateFabian Coulthard and 0.6s clear of Mostert.[4]
Four 10-minute qualifying sessions were held to decide the grid for each race. Qualifying for Races 3 and 4 was held on Thursday afternoon with McLaughlin claiming pole position for both races. McLaughlin's time of 1:53.8280s in qualifying for Race 3 was a new Supercars lap record, beating teammateFabian Coulthard's previous lap record by 0.6s.[5] Mostert was left just 22nd in the first session after infringing track limits on his first flying lap. He recovered in qualifying for Race 4 to be second, 0.128s slower than McLaughlin's best time of 1:54.2643s.Jamie Whincup qualified 3rd, ahead of theFord Mustangs ofCam Waters, Coulthard andWill Davison.[6]
Qualifying for Races 5 and 6 was held early Friday afternoon. McLaughlin claimed his 50th career pole position for Race 5 with a time of 1:53.9990s, 0.5s clear of Waters.Shane van Gisbergen was left 12th after making a mistake at the penultimate corner on his second flying lap.[7] Qualifying for Race 6 saw Mostert pip McLaughlin by 0.08s with a time of 1:54.2783s to claim his first pole position since the2017 Vodafone Gold Coast 600. Whincup qualified 3rd ahead of Waters and van Gisbergen.[8]
Race 3 was held on Friday afternoon and consisted of 130 kilometres and 25 laps. McLaughlin converted from his pole position to finish unchallenged ahead of Coulthard and Waters, leading home an all-Mustang top 5. Mostert recovered from his 22nd starting position to finish 5th ahead of the best placed Holden ofTim Slade andJames Courtney.[9] Van Gisbergen retired from the race after an engine failure while running fourth with four laps remaining.[10]
A post-race investigation into a pitlane incident in which a tyre fromScott Pye's car was collected byNick Percat during pitstops on lap 10 resulted inWalkinshaw Andretti United receiving a penalty of 30 team championship points and a fine of $3,000.Rick Kelly received a post-race 43-second time penalty, demoting him to 22nd, after his car was released from the pit bay into the path ofJames Golding.[11]
Race 4 was held early Saturday afternoon and consisted of 70 kilometres and 13 laps. This race was notable as the 1,000thAustralian Touring Car Championship race held. McLaughlin led from start to finish to continue his perfect streak of victories, with Mostert in second and Waters in third. Mostert started second but found himself fourth after passes by Waters and Whincup on the opening lap. He recovered to 2nd after passing Whincup on lap 4 and Waters on lap 9.[2]
James Golding received a 5-second time penalty for failing to leave racing room forAndre Heimgartner at the end of the first lap. HisGarry Rogers Motorsport teammateRichie Stanaway received the same penalty after a post-race investigation found him guilty of careless driving after contact withLee Holdsworth.Todd Hazelwood was investigated for twice cutting the Turn 11/Turn 12 complex, but was cleared due to damage from contact with Percat.[12]
Race 5 was held late Saturday afternoon and consisted of 130 kilometres and 25 laps. The race started in bizarre circumstances after an out-lap crash between polesitter McLaughlin and second-place qualifier Waters resulted in neither driver starting the race.[13] The incident leftBrad Jones Racing's Percat and Slade as the new highest-placed starters. Slade led from the line but was passed by Whincup at Turn 13 on the opening lap. Slade and Percat then made contact at Turn 15, resulting in Percat being escorted wide and falling to seventh. Whincup continued to extend his race lead while Slade fell under pressure from Mostert. Mostert undercut Slade during pitstops and began to pressure Whincup for the effective race lead, eventually passing on lap 14. Mostert continued to extend his lead until a Safety Car was called on lap 20 after van Gisbergen's car lost a wheel. Mostert held the race lead as the race restarted with four laps to go and won the race from Whincup and Slade.David Reynolds finished in fourth ahead of Coulthard and Walkinshaw Andretti United drivers Pye and Courtney. van Gisbergen was classified 22nd and 2 laps down after repairs to his car.[14]
Triple Eight Race Engineering were fined $5,000 and docked 30 teams' championship points as a result of van Gisbergen's wheel loss. Will Davison received a 5 second time penalty, demoting him to 10th, for failing to leave racing room while battling James Golding at Turn 3 on lap 3.[15] Incidents between Lee Holdsworth and Richie Stanaway were the subject of a post-race investigation. The two drivers first made contact on lap 1, with Stanaway then making contact with the rear of Holdsworth's car on lap 3. Stewards charged Stanaway with dangerous driving and he was disqualified, fined $10,000 and forced to start Race 6 from pitlane.[16]
Race 6 was held on Sunday afternoon and consisted of 70 kilometres and 13 laps. The race did not meet the scheduled race distance due to time certainty and finished after 11 laps. The race was won by McLaughlin, leading from start to finish from second on the grid. Polesitter Mostert finished 2nd and Whincup finished 3rd. Van Gisbergen was given a 15-second time penalty after contact with Coulthard at Turn 13 on lap 2. Coulthard fell to 22nd after the contact, recovering to 15th position. The Safety Car was called after a crash betweenGarry Jacobson andMacauley Jones on lap 4. The accident occurred when Jones was attempting a pass onSimona de Silvestro. Overlap between the rear of Jones' car and the front of Jacobson's car caused Jones to spin into the wall. The race resumed on lap 7 with McLaughlin and Mostert building a comfortable lead over Whincup before the race finish. Mostert won the Larry Perkins Trophy for accumulating the most points over the weekend, with 2018 Larry Perkins Trophy winner Whincup second in the standings.[1]
De Silvestro received a post-race penalty of 5 seconds for careless driving after a last corner pass on James Golding escorted him wide and caused him to hit the wall. Kelly Racing were also docked 50 teams' championship points after it was found in parc ferme thatRick Kelly's car did not have a SD card inserted in its judicial camera. Jacobson, meanwhile, was cleared of wrongdoing after a post-race investigation into the crash with Jones.[17]
| Session | Day | Fastest lap | ||||
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| No. | Driver | Team | Car | Time | ||
| Practice 1 | Thursday | 55 |  Chaz Mostert | Tickford Racing | Ford Mustang GT | 1:55.5742 |
| Practice 2 | Thursday | 17 |  Scott McLaughlin | DJR Team Penske | Ford Mustang GT | 1:54.5518 |
| Sources:[18][19] | ||||||
| Supercars Championship | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous race: 2019 Adelaide 500 | 2019 Supercars Championship | Next race: 2019 Tasmania SuperSprint |
| Previous year: 2018 Melbourne 400 | Melbourne 400 | Next year: 2020 Melbourne 400 |
