Tasman puts a top 5 finish on its agenda
8/10/2004 22:11 (Press Release) -
Tasman Inner Circle Rum Motorsport leading driver Jason Richards has declared he will be happy with nothing less than a Top 5 finish in the Bathurst 1000 at Mt Panorama this weekend
With a string of Top 10 finishes behind them following the mid-season switch to a new VY Commodore chassis, the team has continued to dramatically revise their goals to match the new levels of performance.
Richards said the key to finishing within the top half-dozen cars was for him and co-driver Fabian Coulthard to remain on the lead lap at all costs. “It sounds simplistic, but year after year we see only six or seven cars able to remain on the same lap as the race leader,” he said.
“It’s the hardest thing to do in the hardest race we face all year, but after the successes we’ve had this year, we’re up for a challenge. It’s become a 161-lap, six-hour sprint race and the attrition level is usually pretty high, which we’re hoping will help us.”
He said the final hour of the race, usually comprising a 30-lap dash following the final fuel stop, was the time to “hang in there”.
“If you’re in about fifth or sixth place and there’s a Safety Car – and there nearly always is – then suddenly you’re back in a sprint race with the leader in sight. Anything can happen.”
Richards said that hand-in-hand with Tasman Motorsport’s new-found race pace had come more competitiveness in the qualifying sessions. “We’re getting better with every race at setting the car up in time for qualifying, although putting it in the Top 10 Shootout at Bathurst is something I’ve never quite been able to do,” he said. “Maybe this is the year to change that.”
After the pair finished 9th at the Sandown 500, Coulthard said he was keen to continue the process of learning the art of driving V8 Supercars.
“I don’t think you ever stop learning, but I know I still have plenty to pick up, and the only major incident I had at Sandown was more about inexperience in this type of car, than me being a hot-head,” he said.
It will be Coulthard’s second trip to Mt Panorama after competing in last year’s Bathurst 24-Hour Race in a Holden Commodore where he completed about five hours at the wheel. “The more laps you do, the better you know a track and how your car works at that track,” he said.
“I’ll be driving a Porsche in the Carrera Cup this weekend as well, so by the time the race rolls around I’ll be pretty dialled in.”
Richards said he had a lot of faith in his 22-year-old co-driver. “Fabian’s picking up the caper pretty quickly, he’s impressed us with the way he’s going about it,” he said. “He’s building up experience and miles pretty quickly and I think he’s going to fit in well with our Bathurst game plan.”
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