Seventh place for Shell Helix Racing at Bathurst
18/10/2004 19:30 (Press Release) -
Shell Helix Racing showed that it was returning to top form when it finished today's thrilling Bathurst 1000 in seventh place. Steve Johnson and Warren Luff, for the second consecutive race, showed that the team could be very competitive
"This new Shell Ford is a definite improvement on what we have had previously and we've shown that we can be competitive and are competitive," Steve Johnson said.
"Seventh is a good result but we are disappointed, we really should have been on the podium."
Johnson said that the final safety car period really hurt the team and its chances of making the podium.
"We made our last pit stop and to be honest we thought we were in the box seat because all the cars around us had to stop again," Johnson said.
"If everyone pitted under green like we did then the podium was most likely ours but the safety car handed them the advantage.
"We went from second on the road to sixth, it hurt Marcos Ambrose as well."
Shell Helix Racing kept to its strategy for the entire race and was not tempted to alter it when the safety car came out.
"We wanted to four stop," Johnson said.
"We've always believed that if you can keep to a four stop strategy and not stop unnecessarily then you have a good chance of winning.
"We showed today that this was definitely the case."
Despite being pleased with the number 17 Ford, Johnson had his problems during his final stint.
"I had some major vibration in the car which made driving very difficult," Johnson said.
"I was having a pretty big fight for position with Jason Bargwanna during this time and in the end I had to let him through.
"If I pushed any harder I was worried about going into the wall so I backed off completely, I was lucky that eighth place was a lap down."
Johnson's teammate Warren Luff showed, during his double stint in the middle of the race, just what a driving talent he is.
"I was very happy with my drive overall," Warren Luff said.
"Steve (Johnson) handed over the Ford in a strong position and I was able to maintain it.
"I was able to push hard, I managed some overtaking and I was able to put some distance between me and those chasing me.
"This endurance campaign has given me a lot of confidence for the remainder of the season, I'm really looking forward to proving myself as a stand alone driver in the remaining three rounds."
In the other Falcon David Brabham and Owen Kelly drove a strong race but a problem with the front of the car prevented a top 10 placing.
"Brabham and Kelly would have finished well inside the top ten had we not had problems with the Falcon's front splitter," Car 18 head engineer David Stuart said.
"The car came in with a damaged undertray and we tried to mount the new splitter but we couldn't line it up properly to attach it.
"By the time we were able to line it up we had lost a few laps and a lot of places.
"It's a real shame because both drivers were strong out there today, they progressively improved and deserved a better result."
The next round of the V8 Supercar championship is at the Indy carnival
on October 21-24.
Release Date: 10/10/2004
Shell Helix Racing (DJR)
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