Sixth place brightens Dodo's day
9/11/2004 18:49 (Press Release) -
A razor-sharp start catapulted the Dodo car #44 into a season-best sixth place in today’s first race of the Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge at the Gold Coast Indy. Simon Wills started 12th on the grid but got the better of championship contender Jason Bright off the line, and picked off another five places during the 22-lap sprint.
Ford’s Marcos Ambrose won today, holding off Holden’s Greg Murphy with Todd Kelly third in another Holden, in a race peppered with incidents but no safety cars.
Wills finished some 25 seconds behind Ambrose but was cautiously confident about tomorrow’s final 30-lap race: “It was hard work out there but the car is quick … I’ll be sitting back and hoping for a bit of carnage in the first few laps.”
Wills was the winner today in a first-lap tangle between the Ford of Russell Ingall and Rick Kelly’s Holden, which sent Ingall back through the field and wrecked Kelly’s tyre.
“I got a good start and passed Bright, and then Ingall on that first lap,” said Wills.
“My game plan from there was to stay out of trouble for a few laps – there was a lot of aggressive racing going on out there. I knew I had the car speed to stay ahead of Bright and I just kept on Ellery’s tail.”
The Dodo car #44 kept pressuring the Steve Ellery Ford and was rewarded when Ellery missed the back straight chicane and Wills claimed another spot. He drove solidly from there to keep Bright at bay and chase fifth-placed runner Jason Bargwanna.
The sixth place was Team Dynamik’s best race finish since Round 8 at Oran Park, a positive result for the South Australian Holden outfit with new naming rights sponsor Dodo aboard.
The Dodo car #45 with Dale Brede at the wheel had differential problems on the race warm-up lap, forcing the VY Commodore to retire without completing a lap.
“I was on the back straight on the first lap when I felt it let go and that was the end of my race,” Brede said.
Tomorrow’s race starts at 1200 AEST. Follow the Dodo cars live on the web at www.teamdynamik.com
Release Date: 23/10/2004
Team Dynamik
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