TOP TEN START FOR BRIGHT IN NEW ZEALAND
19/4/2005 13:48 (Press Release) -
CAT FPR Falcon driver Jason Bright has recovered from his
troublesome Friday at Auckland's Pukekohe Raceway to qualify in the top ten for
today's first 36 lap New Zealand V8 Supercar race starting at 3:00pm (1:00pm
EST).
Bright lapped the 2.8 kilometre Pukekohe circuit over 1.6 seconds faster
(55.7830s) then his best Friday practice time. This earned the 32 year old
defending New Zealand V8 Supercar Champion a place in the top ten shootout. A
locked brake during his single lap saw Bright set the 10th ranked lap, which
became his starting position for today's opening V8 Supercar race.
Ford Credit FPV Falcon driver Greg Ritter was also in stronger form during
today's qualifying session, but his lap times were excluded due to a pit lane
infringement. This has relegated the New Zealand debutant to the rear of the
field for the first race.
Today's qualifying and top ten shoot-out resulted in an all Ford front row in
New Zealand, with Craig Lowndes on Pole position, Marcos Ambrose second and
Holden driver Steven Richards third.
#6 Jason Bright - "We expected to make a reasonable improvement today as we
weren't competing on a level playing field yesterday in terms of tyres. I am
happier with the car, but we are still chasing a better balance for the race."
#5 Greg Ritter - "We have made significant progress with the car since
yesterday and we tried some other things that didn't work as planned. I'm
disappointed to be starting from the rear of the field due to the infringement,
but we won't let that stop us from making a major effort for today's opening
race."
The weather remained warm and sunny throughout today's qualifying sessions.
Release Date: 16/04/2005
Ford Performance Racing
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