LOWNDES & SETON FINISH SECOND AT BATHURST – AGAIN
18/10/2004 19:47 (Press Release) -
Ford Performance Racing (FPR) drivers Craig Lowndes and
Glenn Seton have raced to second place for the second year in succession after
a thrilling Bob Jane T-Marts 1000 at Mount Panorama, Bathurst.
The CAT FPR Falcon drivers displayed their intentions to challenge for the race
win early, with Lowndes powering from 9th on the grid up to 4th by lap 25. In
one of several sensational overtaking moves during the 161 lap race, the triple
Champion used the opportunity of a caution period re-start to vault from fourth
to first on the climb up Mount Panorama. Lowndes, who celebrated his 10th
anniversary at Bathurst today, retained the lead and set the fastest lap of the
race in the mid stages. He extended Team FPR's lead in the great race
considerably before making the first of no fewer than eight pit stops during
the race (three more than any of the lead competitors) to hand the car over to
his co-driver Glenn Seton.
Seton drove two very strong stints during the grueling six and half hour race,
ensuring that FPR retained the lead well into the next driver change. The 39
year old double Champion will have to try once again in 2005 to win the elusive
Bathurst title he has always craved after claiming his third Bathurst runner-up
trophy in 21 years of competing at the top of Australian motor racing.
This return to form for FPR mirrors the team's 2003 Bathurst result of second
with the same two drivers. Both Lowndes and Seton recently announced that they
will be leaving FPR at the end of the season and it will be some time before
these two Australian motor racing icons will be competing together at the
hallowed turf of Australian motorsport, Mount Panorama.
#6 Craig Lowndes - "It was an up and down race for us, as we made eight pit
stops as I'm sure everyone noticed. We had a slight problem with engine oil
pressure throughout the race and we needed to keep topping up the oil tank to
ensure that we would be able to finish the race. We had enough Safety Cars to
keep us on the lead lap which was fortunate. I had a great first stint and
Glenn did a fantastic job during his two stints. It was a bit hard as we didn't
know when we were coming in to pit due to the problem, but we kept at it as
hard as we could. This is a tremendous result for the team after the season
that we have had - obviously we would love to have gone one step further, but
passing Bowe was no mean feat and with six laps left after that there was no
way to catch Murphy."
#5 Glenn Seton - "I am very happy with this result - just to be on the Bathurst
podium is fantastic.
I definitely don't mind finishing second if you can't finish first - and it is
a great way to mark my 21st start. It was great teaming up with Craig again, we
worked very well together throughout the week. We got the car into pretty good
shape and we worked very hard in the race. I'm thankful to the team for the
effort that they have made, as we have had a pretty hard year and we have come
to Bathurst and finished second. This was a fantastic effort from where we have
come from. The team came here ready and determined to get the job done and they
have the right people in place to make it even stronger from where it is now."
For Ford Credit FPV Falcon drivers Adam Macrow and Alain Menu, today's race
started with great promise after an outstanding opening stint by 25 year old
Macrow. The young Victorian driver raced from 33rd (and last) to first in a
super-fast 34 lap stint. On several occasions FPR's endurance race driver
matched the pace of the leading competitors. Menu was six laps into his stint
when he encountered slow traffic at the top of the mountain. An overtaking move
turned into an accident at Forest Elbow which damaged the steering of the car.
After losing several laps in the pit garage, the team made the difficult
decision to retire it from the race.
#5 Adam Macrow - "It was very disappointing end to what was shaping up to be a
great race. I had an absolutely fantastic car - the car was the best that it
has been all weekend - awesome engine power and great brakes. Full credit to
the FPR crew for giving me such a weapon that even with a full fuel load was as
fast, if not faster than the best out there. I pushed very, very hard during
the race to make up for our mistake in qualifying and we certainly did that -
there is no doubt that we were in line for a definite top ten finish today."
#5 Alain Menu - "Not long after I started my stint I was getting baulked by a
train of cars across the top of the mountain. I saw some cars overtaking one of
the WPS cars which was wide on the outside through Forest Elbow and I followed
them, then the driver turned in and we touched, damaging the steering rack. We
tried to repair the problem but the car was impossible to drive - the crew
worked hard to replace the rack but we lost too many laps in the process to
warrant continuing. It was a shame for Adam after his great opening stint and
for the team after preparing and developing such a fast and reliable car for
this race."
FPR Chief Engineer John Russell – “A fantastic team effort and good luck
brought Glenn and Craig their second successive runner-up place at Bathurst.
Adam Macrow drove a remarkable first stint from the back of the field to be
placed only two cars behind Craig when he made his stop. Unfortunately Alain
was involved in an incident which damaged the steering and the repair took too
long for us to continue and not interfere with other people’s racing. All in
all, today we demonstrated FPR has great car speed, strategy and reliability.”
Prodrive Group Manging Director Nick Fry - "A fantastic team effort from
everybody. From where we were at Winton to where we are now is a tribute to
every single person in the team. They have all pulled together, the motivation
is absolutely fantastic and it is all coming together. There is a lot of hard
work still to be done but we are definitely on the right track."
Release Date: 10/10/2004
Ford Performance Racing
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