WILSON SHOWS TRUE GRIT IN NEW ZEALAND
19/4/2005 14:32 (Press Release) -
Report Race 2
WOW Sight & Sound V8 Supercar entry car#45 driven by Brazilian Max Wilson put in an inspiring effort today in race two, a 50 lap 150 km event conducted today at Pukekohe Raceway in New Zealand.
Wilson showed true grit with his performance after starting in 15th position on the grid.
By lap 14 Wilson had pushed his way into 7th spot and was on a charge.
The very next lap saw Wilson become the target for an out of control Greg Ritter in the FPR Ford who speared into the rear of Wilson’s ‘WOW’ Commodore, in turn sending Wilson into a spin and off the circuit resulting in him dropping several valuable places on the circuit.
Wilson did well to finally cross the line in 15th position.
“The car was performing like a jet today, there is no doubt it is definitely a top ten contender and a pleasure to drive”.
“Sure it was disappointing that Ritter took me out so close to the finish, but you get that on occasions” – said Wilson.
Report Race 3
Race three developed into a debacle after 11 laps into the race. Besnard , driving the WPS Ford lost control of his car at the end of the main straight ending in the sand trap.
It took race organisers several laps to bring the safety car out onto the circuit.
The safety car remained on the circuit for 9 laps. The race was restarted on Lap 23.
During the safety car period Wilson picked up debris from the circuit that punched a hole through the radiator of the Wow Sight and Sound Commodore, ending Wilson’s chances of improving on his Race 2 finishing position.
“This could have been a blessing,“ - commented Wilson, “With the carnage resulting from the high speed accident just seven laps later in the race.”
The event was red flagged on Lap 30 when Craig Baird in the WPS Commodore and Paul Dumbrell in the Castrol Commodore, came together on the main straight adjacent to pit exit, with both cars sustaining very heavy damage as rain started to fall across the circuit.
Damage was also sustained to parts of the circuit taking some time for repairs to be effected.
Finally race organisers used Rule 9.3.2 from the FIA International rulebook to restart the race as a separate race for the remaining 16 laps, with the eventual winner, Greg Murphy, taking out a clean sweep of all three races in Round Two of the Championship series event.
“I’m glad we still have a complete car after seeing the damage sustained by many of the teams here today.”
“Its only three weeks to Round 3 at Barbagallo in Perth and some of the teams will be hard pressed to have their cars ready in time,” commented Wilson.
Results: Race 2
POS CAR ENTRANT DRIVER VEHICLE
1 51 Super Cheap Auto Racing Greg Murphy Holden Commodore VZ
2 9 Caltex Racing Russell Ingall Ford Falcon BA
3 1 Pirtek Racing Marcos Ambrose Ford Falcon BA
4 2 Holden Racing Team Mark Skaife Holden Commodore VZ
5 888 Team Betta Electrical Craig Lowndes Ford Falcon BA
6 021 Team Kiwi Racing Paul Radisich Holden Commodore VZ
7 88 Team Betta Electrical Steve Ellery Ford Falcon BA
8 11 Team Perkins Racing Steven Richards Holden Commodore VY
9 50 Super Cheap Auto Racing Paul Weel Holden Commodore VZ
10 12 Team BOC John Bowe Ford Falcon BA
11 6 Ford Performance Racing Jason Bright Ford Falcon BA
12 8 WPS Racing Craig Baird Ford Falcon BA
13 18 Westpoint Racing Glenn Seton Ford Falcon BA
14 10 Larkham Orrcon Racing Jason Bargwanna Ford Falcon BA
15 45 WOW Sight & Sound Max Wilson Holden Commodore VZ
Results Race 3
POS CAR ENTRANT DRIVER VEHICLE
1 51 Super Cheap Auto Racing Greg Murphy Holden Commodore VZ
2 9 Caltex Racing Russell Ingall Ford Falcon BA
3 11 Team Perkins Racing Steven Richards Holden Commodore VY
4 1 Pirtek Racing Marcos Ambrose Ford Falcon BA
5 2 Holden Racing Team Mark Skaife Holden Commodore VZ
6 021 Team Kiwi Racing Paul Radisich Holden Commodore VZ
7 6 Ford Performance Racing Jason Bright Ford Falcon BA
8 12 Team BOC John Bowe Ford Falcon BA
9 16 HSV Dealer Team Garth Tander Holden Commodore VZ
10 50 Super Cheap Auto Racing Paul Weel Holden Commodore VZ
DNF 45 WOW Sight & Sound Max Wilson Holden Commodore VZ
Series Point Standings (after Round 2)
1 Marcos Ambrose 366pts
2 Russell Ingall 324pts
3 Paul Weel 279pts
4 Craig Lowndes 277pts
5 Greg Murphy 273pts
6 Mark Skaife 264pts
7 Paul Radisich 261pts
8 Jason Bright 256pts
9 Todd Kelly 252pts
10 Steven Richards 225pts
21 Max Wilson 150pts
Release Date: 17/04/2005
Longhurst Racing
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