PERSISTENT RAIN FORCES SATURDAY RACE CANCELLATION
9/5/2004 13:11 (Press Release) -
Persistent heavy rain in Auckland has forced the cancellation of
today's 36 lap V8 Supercar race at Pukekohe Raceway.
Ford Performance Racing (FPR) drivers Craig Lowndes and Glenn Seton were
strapped into their FPR Falcons awaiting the opening of the pit lane exit when
this announcement was made by race officials, following the intervention of a
number of drivers.
After the wet morning warm up session, heavy rain continued until the
scheduled start time of Saturday's race, which was 2:35pm (local time).
V8 Supercar organisers Avesco have stated their intention to run three 36 lap
races tomorrow, (Sunday May 2) instead of the previously scheduled two 56 lap
races.
The opinion of Team FPR management and drivers was unanimous in relation to the
cancellation of Saturday's race.
#6 Craig Lowndes - "This was the right decision given the conditions and
despite predictions
of worse weather tomorrow, we hope that we can complete three races here and
give the spectators the show that they deserve, as this is what we are here
for. I feel for the fans and our sponsors today as we would have loved to be
out there racing, but safety must always come first."
#5 Glenn Seton - "I agree with this decision based on the water that I saw on
the circuit earlier in the day during heavy rain. I didn't get a chance to see
the circuit but after some of the drivers did, it was obvious that they did not
base their opinions lightly. It should be a big day tomorrow, with similar
weather forecast - and if that is the case its going to be a very long day."
FPR Chief Engineer, John Russell - "This was definitely the right decision. I
told both drivers that it was impossible for me to make a judgement as I
couldn't drive on the circuit, but from what I could see it looked unsafe to
race. There was absolutely no expectation from the team that they had to race
in these conditions and I also told them that if they thought it was
unsafe on the track, to just drive their cars into the pit garage. Personally,
I believe that the possibility of a serious accident was very high along with
major car damage. Hopefully the conditions will improve for tomorrow."
The last time a V8 Supercar race was cancelled at an event was at Melbourne's
Calder Park Raceway in 1998, when torrential rain forced the cancellation of
that round's third heat.
In 1996 a complete V8 Supercar round was postponed by one week due to major
flooding (Lakeside, Queensland) one day before the event was scheduled to start.
Release Date: 01/04/2004
Ford Performance Racing
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