Ambrose extends Championship lead and Ingall jumps a spot
10/10/2004 22:30 (Press Release) -
Stone Brothers Racing’s Marcos Ambrose extended his lead in the V8 Supercar Championship Series and Russell Ingall jumped a spot after today’s Bob Jane T-Marts 1000 at Bathurst’s Mt Panorama.
Ambrose and co-driver Greg Ritter finished fourth in the 161-lap enduro in the Pirtek Falcon while Ingall and Cameron McLean finished sixth in the Caltex Racing Ford.
Both Ambrose and Ingall had a fantastic start with Ambrose driving from fifth to first by the second corner and Ingall going from eighth to second.
Both cars were rarely out of the top 10 all day, but battled tyre wear and car speed in the final hour or so of the event and Ambrose and Ingall paced themselves to the finish.
The race was won by Greg Murphy and Rick Kelly for the second year in a row from Craig Lowndes and Glenn Seton and Brad Jones and John Bowe.
The only real “incident” for either SBR car came on lap 111 when a kangaroo jumped on to the track and was hit by Jim Richards heading into The Cutting.
Ingall was on Richard’s bumper and had to brake frantically, but hit him in the rear and damaged the front bumper and bonnet, which he carried through the remaining 50 laps.
For Ingall, a former two-time winner, today’s result equals his finishing position of last year, while Ambrose improves a couple of spots from SBR’s 2003 effort.
The next round of the championship will be the Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge at the Lexmark Indy 300 on the streets of the Gold Coast in two weeks time.
MARCOS AMBROSE - Quotes
“We did not have the car for the track at the end of the day,” said Ambrose.
“The last couple of stops were short because of some tyre problems we were having.
“It is nice to extend the championship lead and I guess that’s what this is all about, but I think we were certainly a chance to win this race today.
“There is always next year.”
GREG RITTER – Quotes
“The experience with Stone Brothers Racing has been great,” said Ritter.
“I learnt a lot and mid-way through the day I think we had a decent chance, but it was not to be.
“The car was a little soft in my first stint, but it was spot on after a minor change in the second stop.
“The tyre wear hurt us towards the end, but we probably didn’t have the car speed. It would be nice to be on the podium, at least go away from here knowing Marcos’ championship is still intact. And that’s the big picture.”
RUSSELL INGALL – Quotes
“In the end we did not have the car speed,” said Ingall.
“We battled hard all day and looked good a few times, but then things worked against us with safety cars and tyre wear.
“It is never a good feeling leaving this place without the winner’s trophy, especially after you have experienced it a couple of times, but I’ll take the points we got today.
“I am happy that we have jumped another spot in the championship and kept the title hopes alive.
“We are now heading to Indy where I am the defending champion and hopefully we can continue the charge on the streets of the Gold Coast.”
CAMERON McLEAN – Quotes
“I came here to do a job and I think I managed that,” said McLean.
“The whole day almost came unstuck only three laps into my first stint when I was hit by one of the Shell cars.
“My second stint could have been a little quicker, but I was driving to instruction and just had to make sure I brought it back straight for Russell’s run home.
“I have to thank all the crew at SBR for their hard work and providing me another strong Bathurst result for the CV.”
BOB JANE T-MARTS 1000 - RESULTS
1: Greg Murphy/Rick Kelly (Holden) 161 Laps
2: Craig Lowndes/Glenn Seton (Ford)
3: Brad Jones/John Bowe (Ford)
4: Marcos Ambrose/Greg Ritter (Ford)
5: Jason Bargwanna/Mark Winterbottom (Ford)
6: Russell Ingall/Cameron McLean (Ford)
7: Steve Johnson/Warren Luff (Ford)
8: Tim Leahey/Steve Owen (Holden) 160 Laps
9: Jamie Whincup/Alex Davison (Holden)
10: Nathan Pretty/Allan Simonsen (Holden)
11: Mark Larkham/Matt Halliday (Ford)
12: Jason Bright/Paul Weel (Holden) 159 Laps
13: Simon Wills/Paul Stokell (Holden)
14: Mark Skaife/Todd Kelly (Holden)
15: Alex Yoong/Neil McFadyen (Ford)
16: Steve Ellery/Luke Youlden (Ford) 158 Laps
17: Owen Kelly/David Brabham (Ford) 157 Laps
18: Anthony Tratt/Tomas Mezera (Holden)
19: Kurt Wimmer/Christian D’Agostin (Holden)
20: Jason Richards/Fabian Coulthard (Holden) 152 Laps
21: Steven Richards/Jim Richards (Holden) 148 Laps
22: Craig Baird/Mark Porter (Holden) 129 Laps
DNF: Dean Canto/Yvan Muller (Ford) 138 Laps
DNF: Garth Tander/Cameron McConville (Holden) 133 Laps
DNF: Paul Dumbrell/Tony Longhurst (Holden) 129 Laps
DNF: Paul Radisich/Max Wilson (Ford) 116 Laps
DNF: David Besnard/John McIntyre (Ford) 99 Laps
DNF: Mark Noske/Lee Holdsworth (Holden) 59 Laps
DNF: Paul Morris/Alan Gurr (Holden) 50 Laps
DNF: Dale Brede/Will Davison (Holden) 49 Laps
DNF: Alain Menu/Adam Macrow (Ford) 43 Laps
DNF: Andrew Jones/John Cleland (Ford) 29 Laps
DNF: Jason Plato/Peter Brock (Holden) 27 Laps
DNF: Garth Walden/Grant Elliott (Ford) 18 Laps
ROUND 10 POINTS
1: Greg Murphy/Rick Kelly (Holden) 192
2: Craig Lowndes/Glenn Seton (Ford) 186
3: Brad Jones/John Bowe (Ford) 180
4: Marcos Ambros e/Greg Ritter (Ford) 174
5: Jason Bargwanna/Mark Winterbottom (Ford) 168
6: Russell Ingall/Cameron McLean (Ford) 162
7: Steve Johnson/Warren Luff (Ford) 156
8: Tim Leahey/Steve Owen (Holden) 150
9: Jamie Whincup/Alex Davison (Holden) 144
10: Nathan Pretty/Allan Simonsen (Holden) 138
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS (After 10 of 13 rounds)
1: Marcos Ambrose 1667
2: Jason Bright 1612
3: Rick Kelly 1565
4: Russell Ingall 1519
5: Steven Richards 1509
6: Greg Murphy 1476
7: Todd Kelly 1303
8: John Bowe 1188
9: Garth Tander 1155
10: Jason Bargwanna 1138
Crowd figures
Thursday: 30,274
Friday: 35,433
Saturday: 46,629
Sunday: 60,359
Total: 172,695 (Record)
|
|
