AMBROSE NUMBER 1 ON THE STREETS OF ADELAIDE
22/3/2004 6:23 (Press Release) -
V8 Supercar champion Marcos Ambrose (Pirtek Racing) has won his and Ford's first
Clipsal 500 on the streets of Adelaide.
After his win in the opening 250km race yesterday, Ambrose again proved the class
of the field, on a day where cars were left littered around the Adelaide streets.
Starting from pole position, Ambrose led from the start before a safety car on
lap #18 brought the majority of the field into the pits for their compulsory
tyre stop. Ambrose was amongst this group and despite a minor problem with a
throttle sensor he regained the lead from the re-start.
Staying out on track until lap #41 for fuel, Ambrose had to wait for the cycle
of stops and regained the lead on lap #50.
Any hope of an easy run to the chequered flag was halted with two safety cars
periods, including one for a massive accident just 10 laps from the end.
The defending champion got another great re-start and took the chequered flag
just under two seconds ahead of Steven Richards with Jason Bright third.
"I'm thrilled to win this event," said Ambrose.
"It's my first Clipsal 500, Ford's first, and to start the year in the lead of
the championship is awesome!
"I consider Bathurst to be the only other race more prestigious than this, so
to have this trophy on the shelf is a big moment.
"From the outside it may have looked easy but it was a big fight. Our team worked
very hard to get this result and we are all pretty exhausted now that it's over.
"Today's race was a lot better for me physically. I made some adjustments to
get some cooling and it was a lot more comfortable.
"We had a slight problem with the throttle on the car. The throttle control sensor
was not working properly and it meant that the power came on immediately, making
it a handful. The car's balance was so good I could drive around it.
"I had to be very careful on re-starts as the throttle problem made it hard to
change down through the gears. Each time, I made sure I got going very quickly
and didn't let Steve Richards get a look in.
"I don't want to start thinking about the championship defence right now. However,
it feels great to be the points leader after round one.
"It's a long way to go, the points system shows that you must finish. With around
half the field not finishing today, it's a big bonus, especially from some of
the big challengers
"I can't be complacent and think that it's an easy road. You can't always expect
to finish and I'm under no illusions that the competition will be gunning for
us at the next round at Sydney's Eastern Creek."
The 2004 Clipsal 500 will not only be remembered for Ambrose's victory, as many
crews head away from Adelaide with hefty damage bills.
The biggest incident involved Mark Winterbottom (Orrcon Steel Racing), Brad Jones
(OzEmail Racing), Steven Johnson (Shell Helix Racing), Cameron McConville and
Paul Dumbrell with ten laps remaining. Contact between McConville and Dumbrell
set off a chain reaction with cars colliding at over 250km per hour. Despite
the massive impact, none of the drivers were injured.
Other drivers not to fair well in the results included third place finisher yesterday,
Russell Ingall (Caltex Havoline Racing) who had an engine problem. With power
plant problems also for Ford Performance Racing duo Craig Lowndes and Glenn Seton,
who both had separate engine related issues. Championship aspirants Mark Skaife
finished 17th and last car running, while Greg Murphy brought his car home in
ninth. Garth Tander failed to make the start for the final race after a heavy
crash in this morning's warm-up.
Of the other strong performers for Ford, Jason Bargwanna (Orrcon Steel Racing)
again showed that consistency pays off with a fifth place finish today and 11th
overall for the weekend.
The popularity of the Clipsal 500 was again evident this weekend. 80,700 attended
today giving it a four-day total of 237,400.
Teams have just two weeks to re-group before round two of the V8 Supercar Championship
Series at Eastern Creek on April 1-2.
Top-10 results overall and championship positions
1. Marcos Ambrose - Pirtek Racing - Ford Falcon BA 192 pts
2. Steven Richards - Castrol Perkins Motorsport - Holden Commodore 186 pts
3. Paul Weel - PWR Racing - Holden Commodore 171 pts
4. Greg Murphy - KMart Racing - Holden Commodore 159 pts
5. Jason Bright - PWR Racing - Holden Commodore 147 pts
6. Rick Kelly - KMart Racing - Holden Commodore 144 pts
7. Paul Dumbrell - Castrol Perkins Motorsport - Holden Commodore 141 pts
8. Paul Morris - Siromet Racing - Holden Commodore 132 pts
9=. John Bowe - OzEmail Race Team - Ford Falcon BA 126 pts
9=. Mark Skaife - Holden Race Team - Holden Commodore 126 pts
Release Date: 21/03/2004
Ford Racing Australia
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