AMBROSE ON THE PACE AT DARWIN V8'S
21/5/2004 20:55 (Press Release) -
V8 Supercar Champion, Marcos Ambrose (Pirtek Racing) has set the second fastest
time in today's practice session for the fourth round of the 2004 V8 Supercar
Championship Series at Darwin's Hidden Valley.
Only Todd Kelly was quicker in a very tight practice session where one second
separated the top 23 cars.
The defending champion of the Darwin round, Ambrose, was pleased with his position,
but is keen for further improvement in tomorrow's practice and qualifying.
"It's early days and there's still plenty more to some from both me and the car,"
said Ambrose.
"It's good to be on the pace for the session, but we're still a way off the times
from last year. The track will certainly get better with more sessions and we
need to make sure we're still up the front after that.
"Despite being in front of the championship right now, I'm here to win this weekend.
You can't be complacent or conservative. There's still a lot races in the season
and I can't think of the championship yet.
"We didn't use any brand new tyres. However, the last couple of events have been
pretty wet so we did have some pretty good used tyres".
Further good news for Ford was the times of Ford Performance Racing teammates
Craig Lowndes (CAT FPR) and Glenn Seton (Ford Credit / FPV FPR), with fourth
and eighth places respectively.
Lowndes ran wide on the first turn early in practice, but he hit back to be on
the pace through the second part of the 35-minute session.
"I went in deep on turn #1 and didn't want to damage a tyre so I drove off the
track," said Lowndes.
"If that's the worst thing that happens this weekend, then I'll be happy.
"We brought the car here with last year's set-up, and made a couple of minor
changes and then it was pretty good.
"Good start, but like Marcos, we can't get carried away and we must make some
gains for tomorrow.
"We only used the one set of tyres, so that's pleasing and right now I'm sure
we can make it better for qualifying.
"I'm still looking for better drive out of the corners, but to have Glenn up
there does mean the team has made some progress".
It's a busy day for crews tomorrow with further practice, qualifying, a top-10
shootout and the opening 17-lap race.
Sunday concludes the weekend with two 35-lap races.
Details for Hidden Valley
Top 10 Shootout - Saturday 22 May - 2.30pm
Race 1 (17 laps - 49.3km) - Saturday 22 May - 4.30pm
Race 2 (35 laps - 101.5km) - Sunday 23 May - 11.45am
Race 3 (35 laps - 101.5km) - Sunday 23 May - 2.30pm
Circuit: Hidden Valley Raceway, Northern Territory
Length: 2.9km
Lap Records:
Qualifying - Tander 1:08.4938 (2001)
Shootout - Ambrose 1:08.4384 (2003)
Race - Bright 1:09.0149 (1999)
Estimated top speed: 245km/h - Pit Straight
Estimated average speed: 145 km/h
Top-10 championship - practice #1 Hidden Valley
1. Todd Kelly - Holden Race Team - Holden Commodore 1:10.0535
2. Marcos Ambrose - Pirtek Racing - Ford Falcon BA +0.2767
3. Rick Kelly - KMart Racing - Holden Commodore +0.3397
4. Craig Lowndes - CAT Ford Performance Racing - Ford Falcon BA +0.3983
5. Jason Bright - PWR Racing - Holden Commodore +0.4025
6. Paul Dumbrell - Castrol Perkins Motorsport - Holden Commodore +0.4250
7. Greg Murphy - KMart Racing - Holden Commodore +0.4581
8. Glenn Seton - Ford Credit / FPV Ford Performance Racing - Ford Falcon BA +0.5349
9. Russell Ingall - Caltex Havoline Racing - Ford Falcon BA +0.5598
10. Mark Skaife - Holden Race Team - Holden Commodore +0.5996
Release Date: 21/05/2004
Ford Racing Australia
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