McGill caps off a difficult Bathurst weekend with a top 10 finish
11/10/2004 17:30 (Press Release) -
After a promising start, Konica Minolta V8 Supercars series campaigner Aaron McGill summed up his weekend as a measured one despite scoring a top 10 finish in Saturday’s 25-lap event.
The Willowvale resident started the weekend like a house on fire in the # 27 Howard Racing team prepared AU Falcon during Thursday’s practice session where he posted the 11th quickest lap.
“After practice I was really confident of building more and more speed, but the following day things turned sour with ongoing brake problems,” said McGill. “There were a number of incidents out on the track during Friday’s morning practice sessions which really rattled my confidence.”
A brake lock up heading into Caltex chase saw McGill have a rather scary off track excursion as the team chased brake problems.
“Those lock ups didn’t prepare me well for qualifying, and did nothing for the confidence, I feel that was the prime reason why I failed to qualify further up the grid than 19th, I was really disappointed with that, because I was aiming for the first three rows on the grid.”
Due to the ongoing dramas throughout practice and qualifying, McGill and his team took a different approach heading into Saturday’s 25-lap event.
“The team and I sat down and worked out a different approach because we knew we didn’t have the speed to challenge the front runners,” said McGill. “I said to the boys, I’m just going to go out there circulate and try and make up as many positions as possible.”
For the majority of the race distance McGill was positioned just outside the top 10 and in the closing stages he managed to sneak into ninth due to a number of cars encountering problems and that was where he stayed until the fall of the chequered flag.
“I knew very well that I didn’t have the speed, so my aim was to just stay out of trouble and see where we end up, I’m more than pleased that we scored ninth overall.”
Bathurst last weekend was the final outing in regards to 2004 for McGill, as he weighs up his options for next year within the V8 Supercar ranks.
For more information about the only V8 Supercar driver within the Southern Highlands, Aaron McGill, visit his official website: www.aaronmcgillmotorsport.com
Aaron McGill Motorsport would like the say thanks to the following sponsors:
DUX Hot Water Systems
Kerrick Industrial
Capilano Honey
Derby Air Conditioning
Omega Smeg
Country Rural Traders
Armacell
Rexel Australia Electrical services
Domain Security Services
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