Dynamik closer to podium goal
16/8/2004 12:18 (Press Release) -
Scintillating lap times and a season-best seventh place further demonstrated the podium potential of V8 challengers Team Dynamik in today’s racing at Sydney’s Oran Park.
Simon Wills drove the Roadships car #44 superbly all weekend but a long pit stop in today’s first race denied the South Australian team an even better placing in Round 8 of the V8 Supercar Series.
Wills lined up in third on the grid for today’s first race - the Team’s best ever qualifying spot - and the car had shown top-three pace through practice and qualifying sessions.
Wills was challenging for second spot when a locked wheel nut during his 23rd lap pit stop cost him nearly 30 seconds and pushed him back into 28th.
The Roadships VY Commodore #44 then battled back to 16th, and then from 16th to 7th in today’s second 54-lap race but was no consolation to Team Dynamik principal Kieran Wills.
“We really could have won the race,” Wills said. “But you can’t win it from starting in 16th – the pit stop cost us the weekend.”
Driver Simon Wills agreed that Team Dynamik’s race pace was unequalled today – in race 2 he lapped faster than eventual round winner Ford’s Marcos Ambrose.
In race 2 Wills recorded the fastest lap of the race – a 1:09.9280s – on his 29th lap, and recorded the next three fastest laps for good measure.
“I was really happy with the pace of the car and that’s our best place for the year so far. The one thing that hurt us was the pit stop in race 1 … but then our stop in race 2 was really good! We’ve just got to get that consistency across the weekend,” Wills said.
Team Dynamik’s other driver, Dale Brede in the Roadships car #45, finished 26th and 25th in today’s two races, his race cut in half by an unscheduled pit stop to repair accident damage. That cost him several places and any chance at a top 20 finish.
“Our race pace was very promising today,” he said “but I was collected in the rear through turn 2 which knocked off the rear diffuser. There was a black flag and our race was made harder after that,” he said.
Wills’ best points-scoring weekend of the year has pushed him to 28th place in the V8 Supercar Championship Series, with Brede in 32nd place.
Prospective Team Dynamik enduro driver Will Davison finished his first V8 Supercar race in 31st position in car #14, battered but enthusiastic about Australia’s most competitive motorsport category.
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