Andrew Jones Braces For Toughest Round
29/6/2004 0:12 (Press Release) -
As Andrew Jones, who has been the stand-out performer in the last two Konica Minolta V8 Supercar rounds, prepares for round five of the 2004 championship at Queensland Raceway, he does so knowing that he has doesn’t share the same test-track advantage as some of his competitors and for the first time in his career he will race without the support from his number one fan – his Grandfather Phil, who sadly passed away this week.
“Luke [Youlden] and Owen [Kelly] both use Queensland Raceway as their test track, which will no doubt make it more difficult for me to match their pace, particularly in the early sessions,” said Jones.
“It’s also been a tough week for all of us with Grandpa [Phil Jones] passing away. He lived and breathed motorsport and if it wasn’t for his passion, I wouldn’t be racing today. It will be hard knowing that he wont be around watching me, I’ve never experienced that before.”
Phil Jones, Grandfather to Andrew and father to Brad and Kim Jones passed away last Tuesday. Phil spent over 50 years dedicated not only to the racing pursuits of his family but to motorsport nationally. As an administrator, backer and passionate supporter, his legacy will remain firmly entrenched within car racing circles forever.
For Andrew Jones, who is on a quest to win the 2004 Konica Minolta title but now knows he must take round honours this weekend to have any chance of capturing the crown at the last event at Mallala in Adelaide.
“The great thing is that the pressure isn’t on me. I’m sitting second in the championship and I know what I have to do to take the championship and that’s win. For Luke [Youlden, who is leading the championship], he knows that he cant make a mistake or not finish a race because he will have me and few other guys breathing down his neck,” Jones added.
“I’m just concentrating on doing what I have done in the last two rounds and leave it up to the other guys to do all the worrying.”
Commenting on the performance of the Team BOC Falcon, Jones added -
“We had a test session earlier this week and we were all happy with the way the BOC Falcon went. We know we have a fast car so I’m really looking forward to keeping the momentum going and being in a position to challenge for the championship at Mallala.”
The Konica Minolta V8 Supercar Series joins its big brother this weekend at Queensland Raceway with two races on Saturday and the third on Sunday morning.
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