Tasman Hopes Smashed As Creek Overflows
14/4/2004 22:33 (Press Release) -
Tasman Motorsport’s hopes of a good result in their home city came to a crashing halt in yesterday’s 300km race, the second round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, after a high-speed collision substantially damaged Jason Richards’ #3 Holden Commodore in atrocious wet conditions at Sydney’s Eastern Creek.
Richards walked away unhurt after the #22 car of the Holden Racing Team’s Todd Kelly drove into his path while re-entering the track, after an incident with Ford driver Marcos Ambrose moments earlier.
The forced retirement saw Richards pick up no points for the round and dropped back to 28th position in championship standings.
Kelly received a drive-through penalty for his part in the incident, while brother Rick Kelly went on to win the race for the Holden-based Kmart Racing Team.
Richards, known as a wet-weather specialist, had started from 20th position with a car he described as “reasonably well sorted”. Heavy rain saw the race start behind the pace car, and continuing showers throughout the race maintained treacherous conditions.
Problems with demisting equipment in the #3 car reduced visibility as the 77-lap race continued, with team members attempting to clear the windscreen during compulsory pitstops in the race’s middle stages. Richards was running around 25th position when he collided with Todd Kelly on lap 57, 11 laps before the race was stopped due to unsafe conditions caused by continuing heavy rain.
"Up to that point (the collision) the visibility had been our main problem, but we were also lacking for car speed,” he said.
“Because it was difficult to pick whether the race would be wet or dry we chose an intermediate set-up and adjusted it through the race to compensate for the conditions. But at the end of the day we didn't have the car speed we wanted, although it would have been good to finish."
Release Date: 05/04/2004
Tasman Motorsport
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