Ford Aims To Stone 'Em Again At Queensland
29/6/2004 19:09 (Press Release) -
An encore performance of 2003 from the Stone Brothers Racing duo of Russell Ingall (Caltex Havoline Racing) and Marcos Ambrose (Pirtek Racing) at round #6 of the V8 Supercar Championship Series at Queensland Raceway on July 2-4 is very much on the cards.
Last year's Queensland Raceway round brought a number of firsts. Ingall scored his first win for Ford and the team, while Ambrose's second placing earned the first one-two result for Stone Brothers Racing.
The Stone Brothers Racing team have given their drivers every chance of a repeat performance, with a solid test day at the same venue just under two weeks ahead of the Queensland round.
Defending V8 Supercar Series champion, Ambrose, currently leads this year's title race by 50 points; the largest lead so far in 2004.
The Tasmanian stormed out of the blocks to win the opening round in Adelaide. Since then a consistent run has earned him a solid lead in the championship.
“Despite leading the championship, I'm no less hungry to go for the race win at Queensland Raceway,” said Ambrose.
“Looking back at this time last year we'd won four in a row, but we were still chasing the lead in the championship. To lead the championship in 2004 despite winning just the one event is somewhat different, but you can never have enough points.
“The best way to build a lead in the championship is win races.
“Importantly this race is a single 280km event, so anyone who finished down the order in Queensland will take a dive in the championship.
“The test we had was excellent and we're confident of being on the pace.
“In saying that, Queensland Raceway is the home for plenty of other teams. I expect some of our fellow Ford runners to apply plenty of pressure.”
For Ingall, currently placed seventh in the championship, a repeat win in Queensland will go a long way to giving him a chance at taking the title.
“Winning races and a championship is what I'm in this business to do,” said Ingall.
“Last year was great, but I know that I'll have to work a lot harder if I'm going to win back-to-back at Queensland Raceway.
“My record in the Sunshine state has been very good. I've got two wins at Queensland Raceway, plus three on the Gold Coast, so the climate definitely suits me!
“I've had a single race win this year in Darwin, but I need a round win. We need to stop the succession of wins for the red side and give the Blue Oval fans a reason to cheer!”
Practice gets underway on Friday with further practice, qualifying, and the top-10 shootout on the Saturday. The single 280km race is on Sunday afternoon.
Other Ford Racing
The weekend also includes round #5 of the Konica Minolta Series for V8 Supercars, with Ford Falcon drivers holding down the top-5 positions in the championship.
Luke Youlden (Super Cheap Auto Racing) leads the way from Andrew Jones (Team BOC), Cameron McLean (Howard Racing), and Team Fujitsu's Owen Kelly and Jose Fernandez.
Round four of the Australian Formula Ford Championship is also on the program in Queensland. Brett Francis leads the championship after scoring two round wins. Overall there have been seven individual winners from nine races contested.
V8 Supercar details for Queensland Raceway
Top 10 Shootout - Saturday 3 July - 4.15pm
Race (90 laps - 280.8km) - Sunday 4 July 1.45pm
Circuit: Queensland Raceway, Willowbank
Length: 3.12km
Lap Records:
Qualifying - Bowe 1:09.2594 (1999)
Shootout - Ambrose 1:10.5326 (2001)
Race - Tander 1:11.0033 (1999)
Estimated top speed: 250km/h - Back Straight
Estimated average speed: 155 km/h
Top-10 - Championship after 5 of 13 rounds
1. Marcos Ambrose - Pirtek Racing - Ford Falcon BA 872pts
2. Rick Kelly - KMart Racing - Holden Commodore 822pts
3.Steven Richards - Castrol Perkins Motorsport - Holden Commodore 820pts
4. Greg Murphy - KMart Racing - Holden Commodore 811pts
5. Jason Bright - PWR Racing - Holden Commodore 783pts
6. John Bowe - OzEmail Racing - Ford Falcon BA 638pts
7. Russell Ingall - Caltex Havoline Racing - Ford Falcon 634pts
8. Garth Tander - Valvoline Racing - Holden Commodore 600pts
9. Todd Kelly - Holden Race Team - Holden Commodore 597pts
10. Paul Weel - PWR Racing - Holden Commodore 569pts
Ford's V8 Line-up for Queensland Raceway
#1 Marcos Ambrose Pirtek Racing
#9 Russell Ingall Caltex Havoline Racing
#5 Glenn Seton Ford Credit/FPV Ford Performance Racing
#6 Craig Lowndes CAT Ford Performance Racing
#10 Jason Bargwanna Orrcon Steel Racing
#20 Mark Winterbottom Orrcon Steel Racing
#12 John Bowe OzEmail Race Team
#21 Brad Jones OzEmail Race Team
#17 Steve Johnson Shell Helix Racing
#18 Warren Luff Shell Helix Racing
#23 David Besnard WPS Racing
#48 Mark Noske WPS Racing
#31 Steve Ellery Super Cheap Auto Racing
#88 Paul Radisich Team Betta Electrical
#888 Max Wilson Team Betta Electrical
Ford V8 Milestones at Queensland
Queensland debut
Mark Winterbottom - Orrcon Steel Racing
Warren Luff - Shell Helix Racing
Birthday
30th birthday (21 June 1974) - Craig Lowndes - Ford Performance Racing
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