Sandown my big chance, says Weel
10/9/2004 12:44 (Press Release) -
PWR Racing driver Paul Weel is looking for a career-best result when he joins championship leader Jason Bright in the #50 Holden Commodore to form one of the strongest driver pairings to campaign in this weekend’s 2004 Sandown 500 enduro.
Weel, 25, has a single podium finish to his credit in almost seven full seasons in V8 Supercars and believes the time has arrived for him to join the select club of race winners.
“This is the best chance I’ve had in the two years that Jason and I have been racing together, and probably the best chance of my racing career, to really make a statement,” Weel said.
“With Jason doing the qualifying for both Sandown and Bathurst, I’m free to just drive the thing and concentrate on consistently fast laps. I’ve been as fast as anyone else out there at race pace this year, and so has Jason, so if everything goes well on the day we’re going to take some beating.
“From my own point of view I’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain, but I need to be mindful of the fact that Jason and the team have a championship on the line.
“It’ll be a case of using controlled aggression and good tactics. We’ve learned a lot from when Jason and I drove together at Sandown and Bathurst last year that gives us a few clues about when to push, and how hard.”
Bright agreed the pair would wait to see how the weekend played out before deciding how aggressively to chase victory.
“It depends a lot on how we qualify and how the race plays out – if we’re near the front late in the race, we’ll be pushing hard. Otherwise, we’re not about to go on a death-or-glory charge to pick up a few placings. There’s still a long way to go in the championship and the worst thing I can do now is fail to finish.”
Providing strong support to the Bright/Weel combination will be the #16 car to be driven by Konica-Minolta series frontrunner Matthew White and Marcus Marshall, who returned to Australia last week after a successful stint in the competitive British Formula 3 series which included a round win.
White said he was confident a Top 10 finish would be within the reach of himself and Marshall. “Both of us would have finished inside the Top 10 at Bathurst last year, if not for mechanical problems late in the day with our respective cars,” he said.
“It’s an incredibly tough field and neither Marcus nor I have a lot of miles in the car, but I think the Top 10 is achievable.
“I’m really looking forward to linking up again with Craig (Spencer, engineer) whom I worked with at 888 and Briggs, I have a lot of respect for him.”
Marshall, who made his V8 debut for the team in last year’s enduros, said he was again looking forward to the challenge. “It’ll be tough, but that’s the best part,” he said.
“I’ve got a lot stored in my memory from last year, but I know for sure that after racing Formula 3 it’s going to take a couple of stints to get the feel back.
“I’ll just be pumping the laps out to get the best result we can, and if we can score a Top 10 finish like we almost did at Bathurst last year, then that’ll be a bonus.”
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