Hidden Valley – Round 4, Race #1
28/5/2004 19:44 (Anthony Goode) -
Thanks to a brisk easterly breeze the ambient temperature at the start of Saturday’s race was comfortable for the drivers, the mercury topping out at around 30 degrees.
The action was much hotter on the track however, as spectators witnessed what is being described as one of the best races in recent memory. They were treated to a number of exciting dices throughout the field and a highly controversial and dramatic end, which saw two of the biggest names in the sport today come to blows.
Skaife had lead the entire race, but on the last corner of the last lap, 2nd placed Ambrose dove up the inside of the no. 2 HRT Commodore, breaking a steering arm and also causing considerable damage to Skaife’s car.
Russell Ingall ended the 17-lap sprint in 1st position, having been the main benefactor of the Mark Skaife and Marcos Ambrose incident, sneaking past as Ambrose slowed post incident.
Ambrose finished 3rd, while a disappointed Skaife limped home 14th. The damage so bad that both drivers were forced to park their cars on the start / finish straight and find alternate means of transport back to the pits, Skaife by foot, Ambrose by motorbike.
"It's not a move I thought he would make given his lead in the championship, I saw him on the inside, but I just didn't think he would have a go," said a surprised Skaife. He then added ominously "every dog has its day."
Ambrose defended his actions saying, "I went for it on instinct, I had no intention of going for a manoeuvre like that but the opportunity was there. I'm a racer". Ambrose was also defended by his teammate and race winner Ingall, "he should be applauded for having a go," he said.
One consolation for HRT was the effort of Todd Kelly, who also snuck through on Ambrose to finish 2nd behind Ingall. The incident certainly stole the limelight from what was an action packed race up and down the field.
It was a good all round race for Orrcon, with Bargwanna spending almost the entire distance on his own, eventually finishing a solid 7th; John Bowe had a strong run, ending the race in 8th.
Unfortunately Bowes teammate, Brad Jones, was not so lucky, Paul Dumbrell punted him into the wall at turn 12. Dumbrell, who apologised for the incident claimed his windscreen was smeared with oil, which had impaired his vision. The incident is now the subject of a Stewards enquiry.
It was not a good day for FPR however, both drivers struggling with a continued lack of top end power and finishing outside the top ten. Lowndes was 12th, having spent the race dicing with Mark Winterbottom and Greg Murphy. Rookie Winterbottom's final placing of 11th was his best so far.
Lowndes' teammate Glenn Seton finished down the pack after a lap 1 altercation with Paul Weel. The Sirromet Commodore of Paul Morris, also involved in an early clash that resulted in a bent steering arm, finished a lowly 29th.
DJR had a race to forget, with Steven Johnson suffering an engine failure on the 9th lap, and Warren Luff in 22nd in what he described as a "lacklustre race." With one race down, it was still anyone's round with two 100k races still to be run on the Sunday ultimately deciding who the winner of round 4 at Hidden Valley raceway would be.
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