Besnard in Brilliant Debut for WPS Racing
22/3/2004 6:08 (Press Release) -
David Besnard carried his battered Ford Falcon over the line in 14th place in the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide today to cap a memorable series debut for the Gold Coast-based WPS Racing.
Besnard, who climbed to a race-high second place two-thirds into the race, was shunted into a wall just 18 laps from home and was forced to complete the series opener with serious damage to the rear of the car.
The incident crippled the car’s aerodynamics and cost Besnard the chance to post a top 10 finish.
“Everything was going very well with the car until I was turned around,” said Besnard.
“I copped a hit from behind and it put me into a wall.
“That hit stuffed my race and cost me a certain top-10 finish.”
The incident was the only black spot on a strong series debut for the new WPS Racing team owned by businessman Craig Gore.
“It was a great effort from the team and the incident shouldn’t overshadow what was a highly-promising debut for WPS Racing,” said Besnard.
“We are still learning about our car and for us to have been in contention for a top-10 finish was a very strong result.
“We now walk away 14th in points which is more than we could have hoped for in our first race.”
Besnard started from 18th place on the grid and made steady progress through the field when team managers Keith Evers and Charlie O’Brien adopted a late-pit strategy for the second of the mandatory two stops.
He came out of his second stop just outside of the top 10 as the intensity of the race started to pick up.
The tight racing led to a number of serious incidents, with Besnard just managing to negotiate through a crash late in the race involving Brad Jones, Mark Winterbottom, Steven Johnston and Cameron McConville.
“It was a bit of a heart-stopper but luckily I saw it early and managed to get out of the way,” said Besnard.
WPS Racing now heads to Eastern Creek for round two of the V8 Supercar Championship Series.
“We will now go into Eastern Creek with an air of confidence and a much greater knowledge of our car,” said co-team manager Charlie O’Brien.
“The times that we were running during the race and the position that we held for the majority of the race was extremely encouraging at the beginning of the first championship year for WPS Racing.”
Release Date: 21/03/2004
WPS Racing
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