FPR INTO THE TOP TEN AFTER FIRST ADELAIDE STREET RACE
20/3/2004 20:47 (Press Release) -
Ford Performance Racing (FPR) has endured a race of highs and
lows in the opening Clipsal 500 race in Adelaide.
The race was one of constant progress for FPR drivers Craig Lowndes and Glenn
Seton, who started from 20th and 17th positions on the grid, with both drivers
heading towards strong top ten finishes in the closing stages of the long and
hot 78 lap race.
With 11 laps remaining in the race and while in 9th position, the engine of
Lowndes' CAT FPR Falcon expired, ending his race in the pit garage.
Seton enjoyed more reliability with his Ford Credit FPR Falcon in today's 250
kilometre opening race, driving aggressively throughout to finish 10th from his
20th starting spot on the grid. A fast spin after finding oil at turn 4 on the
54th lap cost Seton a higher finish.
The opening leg of the Clipsal 500 was won by Ford's defending Champion Marcos
Ambrose, with Holden driver Steven Richards second ahead of Ford driver Russell
Ingall.
#5 Glenn Seton - "We had a good run in the race as the car was very consistent,
but not quick enough in a few places. I got caught up in some oil at turn four
with Greg Murphy and bumped the car up against the fence, losing a few
positions. All in all it was an enjoyable race to drive and we still have a bit
of work to do. I'm looking forward
to tomorrow."
#6 Craig Lowndes - "I don't know what exactly went wrong, but we started to
lose a cylinder about six laps before I pitted. It was an intermittent problem
initially, so my engineers decided to keep a watching brief on it via the
telemetry but in the end we decided to retire from the race to reduce the level
of engine damage. It was very disappointing as I was having a fairly good race
today."
FPR Chief Engineer, John Russell - "I am very pleased for Glenn, he drove a
very solid race despite us losing some time during his first stop for tyres. It
was good to see him bring the Ford Credit FPV Falcon home in the top ten. Craig
was running very strongly until he suffered an engine failure due to a damaged
valve. We now focus our efforts on tomorrow's second leg."
Seton's result today represented a commendable first effort behind the scenes
from last minute stand in race engineer Clinton Wilson, one of FPR's design
engineers who filled in for Seton's regular race engineer Dave Paterson, who
fell ill last night.
The team will fit a new engine to the CAT FPR Falcon overnight and continue
with set up changes to the Ford Credit Falcon to assist towards stronger
results tomorrow.
Tomorrow's second 250 kilometre leg to decide the winner of the first V8
Supercar round of the 2004 season starts at 2:00pm.
Release Date: 20/03/2004
Ford Performance Racing
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