Where's the fire?
11/9/2004 18:31 (Press Release) -
An unfortunate mishap has ruined Brad Jones’ and John Bowe’s chances of securing a respectable starting position, when the OzEmail Falcon’s on-board fire extinguisher set itself off during a crucial stage of this afternoon’s qualifying session at the V8 Supercars’ Sandown 500 event in Melbourne.
The 30 minute session got underway in torrential rain but an ease in the precipitation created a dry line on the circuit towards the latter stages. As drivers started to take advantage and lap times started to tumble, John Bowe was ready to pounce.
Halfway through a lap, in which the team telemetry depicted a time that would have placed Bowe well inside the top four, the on-board fire extinguisher sprayed fire retardant powder throughout the cabin, as it’s designed to do in the advent of a cockpit fire.
Bowe, who drives in spectacles, was temporarily blinded as his lenses were covered with the powder. The subsequent hurried cleaning of the glasses resulted in the removal of the anti-fogging agent that was applied due to the damp conditions. Not being able to see, last years Bathurst front row sitter found himself beached in a sand trap and unable to post a competitive lap time. Bowe and Jones starting tomorrow’s 500 kilometre race from 21st position.
“I couldn’t believe it. I was doing over 230 kph when suddenly all I could see was a cloud of white. I managed to pull the car up before the corner and I had to take off my glasses to clean them because they were just totally covered in the powder,” said Bowe.
“The powder had also sprayed onto the inside of the windscreen but my biggest problem was that once I’d cleaned my glasses, they fogged up with all the dampness inside the car. The next thing I was sitting in a foot of sand,” he added.
An obviously disappointed Brad Jones added – “We can’t change what happened but it’s frustrating considering how fast we were yesterday. Let’s just hope that tomorrow is dry and we can prove how good the OzEmail Falcon is. We’re still confident of a good result, 500 kilometres is a long way.”
Disappointment was also evident in the second of the OzEmail Falcon camps. In an attempt to get into the top ten, the #21 OzEmail Falcon crew made a number of significant changes looking for improved grip. In qualifying the car, Andrew Jones just couldn’t get the balance needed to set a decent lap time, finishing 28th.
“The changes we made had some effect but no where near enough. I struggled with the car for the entire session. I’m really disappointed with the result, our cars are normally really good in the wet,” said Andrew Jones.
Putting things into perspective, Scot John Cleland said – “All it means its that we have a #@%*load of cars to pass tomorrow.”
|
|
