CARRERA CUP DRIVERS GO ON ARMY EXCURSION AT HIDDEN VALLEY
21/5/2004 20:57 (Press Release) -
Some of Australia’s leading Porsche drivers engaged the military in preparation for the motor racing ‘battle ground’ at Hidden Valley Raceway near Darwin today.
A joint exercise between the Carrera Cup and the Royal Army Reserve saw four of the best Porsche drivers going around, take command in ‘tanks’, before hitting the motor racing circuit in their Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars for today’s practice.
The Australian Carrera Cup, which is the primary support category to the V8 Supercars this weekend, and the Royal Army Reserve at Robertson Barracks, had an inside-look at the technology that propels both on their respective battle grounds.
This morning leading Carrera Cup drivers Alex Davison, Rodney Jane, Ross Rutherford and Fabian Coulthard were taken on an excursion of the Hidden Valley mud tracks in an M113 APC - the first modern ‘battle taxi’ developed to transport infantry forces on the battlefield.
Then this afternoon three 5/7 RAR 1st Brigade soldiers were given a ride experience by their Carrera Cup comrades, Fabian Coulthard and Steven Borness, in Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars around the 2.9km Hidden Valley Raceway. These soldiers recently returned from deployment in East Timor, and are part of the same battalion that deploys soldiers to Iraq.
However the main motor racing show for Carrera Cup today was the first practice session, which saw series leader Alex Davison (Greg Murphy Racing / Glenfords Tool Centre) head the time sheets with a best lap of 1:11.2034.
Reigning series champion Jim Richards (Jim Richards Racing / OAMPS Insurance Brokers) clocked a fractionally slower lap of 1:11.2258, while arguably the performance of the day went to 20-year-old Sydney driver Jonathon Webb (Tekno Autosports) who was third fastest with a lap of 1:11.4916.
Rounding out the top five was Peter Fitzgerald (Fitzgerald Racing / Abcor, Acer) and Fabian Coulthard (Greg Murphy Racing / Team Braun).
But while the Porsches excited fans on the track, it was the M113 APC which excited the Carrera Cup drivers off the track.
The M113 APC is fitted with a 2-stroke gearbox and steering differential. The main armament is a single .50 Cal heavy barrel machine gun, and the secondary armament is a single .30 Cal machine gun. The M113 is built of aircraft quality aluminum which allows it to possess some of the same strengths as steel at a much lighter weight. This distinct weight advantage allows the M113 to utilise a relatively small engine to power the vehicle, as well as carry a large payload cross-country.
Yesterday Rodney Jane took his Bob Jane T-Marts sponsored Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car to Robertson Barracks to showcase the technology features of these Carrera Cup machines to more than 70 soldiers.
The Carrera Cup is the most successful ‘one make’ championship in the world with the close-to-identical Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars built by Porsche’ racing arm in Weissach, Germany. All cars have a top speed in excess of 300 kilometres per hour with a 400-horsepower, 6 cylinder Boxer engine which revs to 8000 RPM.
Round three of the 2004 Australian Carrera Cup at Hidden Valley continues with qualifying and race one tomorrow Saturday May 22, and race two and three on Sunday May 23. All races will be contested over 15 laps of the 2.9km anti-clockwise racing circuit.
‘Trackside’ on Network Ten will telecast round three of the Carrera Cup on Sunday May 30 at 2pm (check local guides).
RESULTS - PRACTICE
1. Alex Davison (Greg Murphy Racing / Glenfords Tool Centre) 1:11.2034
2. Jim Richards (Jim Richards Racing / OAMPS Insurance Brokers) 1:11.2258
3. Jonathon Webb (Tekno Autosports) 1:11.4916
4. Peter Fitzgerald (Fitzgerald Racing / Abcor, Acer) 1:11.5815
5. Fabian Coulthard (Greg Murphy Racing / Team Braun) 1:11.9459
6. Paul Pedersen (International Motorsport NZ / Lakesawn Lumber) 1:12.3241
7. Rodney Jane (Rodney Jane Racing / Bob Jane T-Marts) 1:12.4622
8. Ross Rutherford (International Motorsport NZ / Woodstock Bourbon) 1:12.5562
9. Tony Quinn (Team VIP Petfoods) 1:12.6577
10. Peter Bradbury (Team MPS Security) 1:12.7726
11. James Cressey (Team VIP Petfoods) 1:12.7727
12. Kevin Bell (International Motorsport NZ / G-Tech NZ) 1:12.8811
13. Klark Quinn (Team VIP Petfoods) 1:12.8971
14. Stephen Borness (Celerity Racing / Logiadd) 1:13.3989
15. Tony Pugliese (Greg Murphy Racing / Team Braun) 1:13.4379
16. Dean Grant (Becks Racing) 1:14.0739
17. Roger Oakeshott (Greg Murphy Racing / Team Braun) 1:14.1101
18. David Thexton (Thexton Racing / thexton.com.au) 1:14.7850
19. Ash Samadi (Globe Racing) 1:14.7852
HIDDEN VALLEY STATS & INFO
Circuit – 2.9km anti-clockwise
Practice – 11.20am Friday
Qualifying – 10.15am Saturday
Race 1 – 3.15pm Saturday (15 laps)
Race 2 – 10.30am Sunday (15 laps)
Race 3 – 1.40pm Sunday (15 laps)
Carrera Cup Track Qualifying Lap Record – Jim Richards 1:10.4166
Carrera Cup Track Race Lap Record – Jim Richards 1:11.2764
2003 Round Results – 1. Tim Leahey 2. Jim Richards 3. Kevin Bell
2003 Race Winners – Jim Richards x 2, Kevin Bell x 1
2004 ROUND RESULTS
Round 1 (Clipsal 500) – 1. Alex Davison 2. Jim Richards 3. Fabian Coulthard
Round 2 (Eastern Creek) – 1. Alex Davison 2. Jim Richards 3. Peter Fitzgerald
Release Date: 21/05/2004
Carrera Cup
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