Ambrose Guns For Fourth Straight Sydney V8 Win
4/4/2004 8:13 (Press Release) -
V8 Supercar champion Marcos Ambrose (Pirtek Racing) is on target to win his fourth straight V8 Supercar Championship Series round win in Sydney, when the 2004 series hits Eastern Creek Raceway on Sunday April 4.
Ambrose started his Sydney-streak at the corresponding round in 2003 when he led home a Ford 1-2-3 to end a Blue Oval drought that dated back to 1997.
On that day the Tasmanian led home Craig Lowndes (CAT Ford Performance Racing) and teammate Russell Ingall (Caltex Havoline Racing).
The Devil Racer then went on to win at Oran Park and the final round at Eastern Creek, where he also collected the championship trophy.
Ambrose comes to Sydney hot on the heels of his dominant win of the opening round, the Clipsal 500 on the streets of Adelaide.
“Eastern Creek and Sydney were very kind to us in 2003, this year will be a tougher challenge,” said Ambrose.
“Our last visit was very special. Winning the championship and finally giving Ford fans their fist title since 1997 was a big highlight. I hope the many thousands of Ford fans will be out at Eastern Creek getting behind us again.
“Everyone has us in their sights this time around, and a victory in a 300km race is always hard earned.
“We got a great start to the year in Adelaide and it's nice to lead the championship at the moment; that's the best feeling coming into Eastern Creek.
“Confidence in the team is very strong and we'll give it everything we can to make it four-straight in Sydney.”
After a disappointing start to the season with no points in Adelaide, Craig Lowndes is keen to repeat the 2003 Eastern Creek round.
“Absolutely, we want to kick-start things and Eastern Creek is the best place to make it happen,” said Lowndes.
“It was a fantastic result for Ford in 2003, and I'd like to see the same result again. Although I'm keen to swap positions with Marcos and be on the top step of the podium!
“We've been working hard to get some more speed from the car. All the Ford teams take great encouragement from Marcos's win in Adelaide and I'm sure we'll be amongst a group of Falcons fighting at the pointy end.”
Russell Ingall was very fast in Adelaide. Setting quick times in practice and qualifying, as well as finishing third in the opening 250km race. Unfortunately Sunday ended early with engine failure just 10 laps in.
“Adelaide was definitely a mixed weekend for us, but importantly we know our car is fast,” said Ingall.
“As Eastern Creek is just the one race, a failure to finish will be a far harsher blow than what we experienced in Adelaide.
“We'll go all out to make sure we're up front at the end of the 77-laps.
“Eastern Creek last year was my first podium for Ford, I was happy that day and I aim to come away with another smile on my face this time around.”
Crews hit the track for a 90-minute session on Friday, with further practice qualifying and a top-10 shootout on the Saturday. Sunday's single 300km race starts at 1.30pm.
Media event
Ambrose, Lowndes and Ingall will be available for pre-race media interviews.
The details are:
· Thursday 1 April
· 10am
· The Rooftop Terrace
· The Park Hyatt, 7 Hickson Road, The Rocks NSW.
Valet Parking is available.
Details for Eastern Creek:
Top 10 Shootout - Saturday 3 April 4pm
Race (77 laps - 302.61) - Sunday 4 April 1.30pm
Circuit: Eastern Creek, New South Wales
Length: 3.93km
Lap Records:
Qualifying - Skaife 1:31.1923 (2003)
Shootout - Ambrose 1:30.8955 (2001)
Race - Skaife 1:31.7301 (2000)
Estimated top speed: 265km/h - Pit Straight Estimated average speed: 147 km/h
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
Ford's V8 Line-up for Eastern Creek
#1 Marcos Ambrose - Pirtek Racing
#9 Russell Ingall - Caltex Havoline Racing
#5 Glenn Seton - Ford Credit/FPV Ford Performance Racing
#6 Craig Lowndes - CAT Ford Performance Racing #10 Jason Bargwanna - Orrcon Steel Racing #20 Mark Winterbottom - Orrcon Steel Racing
#12 John Bowe - OzEmail Race Team
#21 Brad Jones - OzEmail Race Team
#17 Steve Johnson - Shell Helix Racing
#18 Warren Luff - Shell Helix Racing
#23 David Besnard - WPS Racing
#31 Steve Ellery - Super Cheap Auto Racing
#88 Paul Radisich - Team Betta Electrical
#888 Max Wilson - Team Betta Electrical
Release Date: 29/03/2004
Ford Racing Australia
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