Ingall wants back-to-back V8 Supercar wins in Queensland
2/7/2004 19:09 (Press Release) -
Defending Queensland 300 champion Russell Ingall wants to avenge the one that got away by winning back-to-back titles at his ‘home’ track this weekend.
Rightfully so, Ingall knows that he probably should have at least one round win in the bag this year.
Ingall was on track for victory in round four in Darwin had his team-mate Marcos Ambrose not given him the ‘don’t argue’ and pushed him off the track at the first corner in the second of three races that weekend.
A great drive from there helped Ingall finish 11th in race two. A win in the first race and fifth in the third meant he finished third overall.
With the Queensland 300 being a single race format on Sunday Ingall knows he has a great opportunity to make amends. It is also right in the Gold Coasters backyard. He also won last year’s event from Ambrose and Holden’s Todd Kelly.
“What we thought should have been a good win in Darwin didn’t eventuate,” Ingall said.
“It was disappointing in Darwin but from that point on we knew that this Queensland race would be the next big opportunity. We have to make it count.”
Ingall and his champion team-mate Ambrose have a distinct advantage. The Queensland track is also where they conduct all their testing, giving them a home ground advantage, so to speak.
“We know this track very well and for that very reason we have got to make it stick,” he said.
“We don’t get to race there too often so when we do it has to count. It’s also very important along the championship road. In fact it’s important for many reasons, not just home town ego.”
The ‘paperclip’ shaped Queensland track looks simple enough to negotiate. Ingall, however, says looks are deceiving.
“It’s certainly not the hardest track in the world to pick up and learn but having said that there are only six corners,” he said.
“On a track where there are numerous corners it is sometimes easier to pick up a tenth of a second here and there but to go fast on a so-called easier track is often harder.
“Of course there are little characteristics of the track that Marcos and I are very familiar with. You get to know the corners, the race lines and little things that can work to your advantage.
“It still helps with the fact you are at home. At least I get to sleep in my own bed for a change.”
Ingall is running seventh in the championship but with the one-race formats of the next three rounds the table could be easily turned on the front-runners. It means any small mistakes could prove to be extremely costly.
Championship Ladder (after 5 of 13 rounds)
1 Marcos Ambrose - 872
2 Rick Kelly - 822
3 Steven Richards - 820
4 Greg Murphy - 811
5 Jason Bright - 783
6 John Bowe - 638
7 Russell Ingall - 634
8 Garth Tander - 600
9 Todd Kelly - 597
10 Paul Weel - 569
11 Steven Johnson - 543
12 Mark Skaife - 540
13 Jason Bargwanna – 496
14 Craig Baird - 448
15 Mark Winterbottom – 442
16 Craig Lowndes - 414
17 Paul Radisich - 400
18 Brad Jones - 396
19 Paul Morris - 394
20 Max Wilson - 390
Round Six Facts
Queensland Raceway
Ipswich, QLD
July 2-4, 2004
Track Length: 3.12 km
Avg Speed: 161 kph
Max Speed: 246 kph
Round Format: 1 X 280km race
2003 result – 1st Russell Ingall, 2nd Marcos Ambrose, 3rd Todd Kelly
Schedule
Friday 2 July
2:30pm - 3:05pm - Practice 1
Saturday 3 July
10:35am – 11:10am - Practice 2
1:35pm - 1:55pm - Qualifying (Lower 50%)
2:00am - 2:20pm - Qualifying (Upper 50%)
4:15pm - 4:45pm - Top 10 Shoot Out
Sunday 4 July
10:00am – 10:20am Warm Up
1:45pm - Race (90 laps)
Television - Network Ten
Sunday
2:30pm - 5:00pm
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