Skycity Triple Crown
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| 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 | |
 Chaz Mostert | Prodrive Racing Australia |
| Race Winners | |
| Chaz Mostert | Prodrive Racing Australia |
| Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight Race Engineering |
| 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
Multiple winners
By driver
| Wins | Driver | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Craig Lowndes |
2005, 2006, 2009, 2011 |
| 3 | Jamie Whincup |
2010, 2012, 2014 |
| 2 | Mark Skaife |
2000, 2002 |
| Marcos Ambrose |
2001, 2003 | |
| 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
- ^1 – Prodrive Racing Australia was known as Ford Performance Racing from 2003 to 2014, hence their statistics are combined.
Event sponsors
- 2005–15: Skycity
References
- ↑ "V8 Supercars Operations Manual 2015 - Divison A - Administration Rules" (PDF). V8 Supercars. 10 February 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
- ↑ "Fast Facts: SKYCITY Triple Crown Darwin". V8Supercars.com.au. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
- ↑ "The Skycity Triple Crown". Northern Territory Major Events. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
- ↑ Clarke, Andrew; Wensley, Scott (2007). V8 Supercars: The First Decade. Carnegie, Victoria: Publishing 101. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-9803909-0-2.
- 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.
- ↑ "Lowndes wins his 100th race". V8Supercars.com.au. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.