WPS Racing 15th at Bathurst
18/10/2004 19:27 (Press Release) -
V8 Supercar rookies Alex Yoong and Neil McFadyen piloted their WPS Racing Ford Falcon to 15th position in the team’s debut race at Bathurst today.
The pair, who between them have had just three V8 Supercar races going into today’s Bob Jane T-Marts 1000 at Mount Panorama, returned exhausted but elated after finishing one place behind race veteran Mark Skaife.
Yoong’s day started strongly when he shot from 29th position on the starting grid to be 25th after the first lap.
He raced for the first 20 laps before handing over to McFadyen who completed the next 57 laps on the challenging Bathurst circuit.
Yoong then piloted the car for the final 83 laps of the 161-lap endurance event.
“I’m very happy but it was a very tough race,” said Yoong.
“I had two long stints in the car and I’m feeling the effects of it now.
“The team did a tremendous job and had a great race strategy. I actually ran out of fuel on the last lap so they timed it to perfection..
“But I made a mistake of not asking for enough ventilation in the car and I was running out of drink so I’m feeling very ordinary.”
McFadyen felt similarly drained after the race but said it was an excellent result for two newcomers to the V8 Supercars.
“We had a car that was mechanically A1 and this is a result that I hope the team can build from,” he said.
“This race was unlike anything I have done before as it is such a long event on a challenging track.
“I was cramping up in the car and it was pretty uncomfortable but at the end of the day it was a great result.
“We did a pretty good job of keeping our heads and we ended up with a result.”
It was a day of mixed fortunes for WPS Racing team owner Craig Gore, the chairman of team sponsor Wright Patton Shakespeare Financial Group.
His lead car with David Besnard and John McIntyre was forced out of the race on lap 99 after earlier running in the top 10.
McIntyre, who was on debut at Bathurst and was competing in just his third ever V8 Supercar race, drove with great maturity to guide WPS Racing’s Car 23 into a strong position through the mid stages of the race.
Besnard, who started the race and was traveling in 14th position in the early stages, handed the car to McIntyre on lap 20.
McIntyre returned to the track in 21st position and settled into a groove before grinding his way into a race-high eighth just after the halfway mark in the 161-lap endurance event.
He completed 67 laps in the car and was in 11th position when he made a scheduled stop to hand the car back to Besnard.
McIntyre described the race as ‘incredibly tough’ but his best ever motorsport experience.
“It was amazing spending that much time in the car around a track like Bathurst,” he said.
“It was my first time around here in traffic and I just managed to avoid three accidents right in front of me and I had one save, so it was pretty interesting and a real mental challenge.
“But, to use a bad cliché, it was absolutely sensational and it was the best motorsport experience I have ever had in my life.”
Besnard was in 18th position after the driver change but he quickly experienced problems with the car and the engine failed.
“I was getting some huge shuddering through the car when I was pulling in and out of the draft (of Car 33),” said Besnard.
“I then had some big under-steer and it felt like I had a flat tyre. That put me into the gravel and that’s when we might have picked up something in the engine.”
Besnard limped back to the pits on lap 99 and the car did not return to the track.
“We had done all the right things and kept out of trouble so it’s a disappointing way to go out of the race,” said Besnard.
Besnard now shifts out of the V8 Supercar Championship Series for the next round to compete in a Champ Car in the Lexmark Indy 300 on the Gold Coast in two weeks.
He will then return to the V8 Supercars for the final two races of the season.
Release Date: 10/10/2004
WPS Racing
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