CHAMPIONS REIGN SUPREME AT LEXMARK INDY 300
9/11/2004 19:06 (Press Release) -
Respective reigning Series champions Marcos Ambrose and Paul Tracy broke through triumphantly on a drama-charged third day of Queensland’s Lexmark Indy 300 on the Gold Coast.
Balmy coastal conditions ensured a bumper record crowd of 85,741 turned out to cheer on the best Australian V8 Supercar and International Champ Car drivers, as they buckled up and turned up the heat on the streets of Surfers Paradise for enthusiastic fans.
This afternoon’s first race in the Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge began in spectacular fashion as a dog-fight ensued at the first Lexmark Chicane between front row starters Mark Skaife (Holden Racing Team) and Marcos Ambrose (Pirtek Racing).
The unfortunate casualty from early race skirmishes was Russell Ingall (Caltex Racing) who was sent to the rear of the pack after trading paint with Rick Kelly (Kmart Racing), while Kelly felt the wrath of officials when a drive-through penalty was enforced.
Skaife won the initial battle with Ambrose over the opening laps, but the reigning Championship Series leader stayed composed to collect a deserved victory as his Holden adversary spun out on lap 11 at Falken Tyres turn.
It was a tale of woe for many of the top-line drivers in the V8 Supercar Championship Series as they succumbed under the intense pressure of the tight street circuit.
The entire Castrol Perkins Racing team was left in disarray as Steven Richards, Paul Dumbrell and Tony Longhurst all encountered problems following a series of incidents.
With today’s first up victory Ambrose extends his championship lead, while second placed Greg Murphy jumped a spot into fourth, backing up from his recent success during the Bob Jane T-Marts 1000 at Bathurst.
“I’m fighting for a championship so I’m trying to do everything right but I thought Skaife might have a lunge at turn one,” said Ambrose.
“I wanted to wait for the last five laps to try and pass him, he was pushing hard and made a mistake.
“We always knew Indy was going to be a turning point in the Championship.
“Today we had a good car, not a great car and tomorrow we’ll have a better car.”
Todd Kelly (Holden Racing Team) drove a consistent race over the 22-lap journey to complete the minors.
Meantime in a day reserved for the big name players of both feature categories on the Lexmark Indy 300 program, the international contingent of drivers showed their wares during an exciting second qualifying period.
At the very site which last year provided him the crowning glory of a maiden Championship victory in the Champ Car World Series, Paul Tracy took a progressive step towards claiming this year’s Lexmark Indy 300 winner’s trophy by securing Pole Position.
The Forsythe Championship Racing driver recovered from an earlier tap on the tyres at the VB Chicane to capture great track speed and record the quickest time of the day.
Earlier on during some thrilling periods of racing it appeared Newman/Haas Racing team mates Sebastien Bourdais and Bruno Junquiera may very well share the front row of tomorrow’s grid.
But in the blink of an eye Tracy snuck up to steal the limelight from the two front-runners of the Champ Car World Series.
“I think it’s going to be an exciting race, history has shown you put Sebastien, Bruno and I on the front it’s going to be interesting,” said Tracy.
“This session was a mixed bag really, we had some good luck and some bad luck .
“We were in a lot of traffic but were happy how things panned out.”
Tracy will share the front row with yesterday’s best qualifier Bourdais, Junquiera slips into third followed by rookie A.J Allmendinger (RuSPORT) who also suffered early dramas at the VB Chicane during morning practice.
2002 Gold Coast Indy winner Mario Dominguez (Herdez Competition) completes the top five.
Australia’s sole Champ Car driver David Besnard struck gearbox problems which cut short his practice session, however he managed to master the most laps during qualifying in the Wright Patton Shakespeare Reynard.
His willingness to push through the bulk of qualifying without a lengthy break ensured quality track time that will prove vital during tomorrow’s Lexmark Indy 300.
Following last night’s inaugural Carrera Cup night feature, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars completed the day three program in a likewise entertaining style.
Jim Richards evened the ledger with 2004 Champion Alex Davison by winning race two in a dramatic climax.
Davison had a minor altercation with second placed Craig Baird over the concluding stages which relegated him to fourth and allowed Fabian Coulthard to sneak into third.
Aussie Racing Cars kicked off proceedings this morning and they too gave fans plenty to cheer about.
Regular series front-runner Tim Monte had crafted the initial lead only to see it dissipate when he struck trouble through the chicane on the back straight.
His misfortune allowed the lead pack to fight it out for line honours with local Paul Kemal completing a great weekend on the Gold Coast followed by James Ward and David Sieders.
Anticipation now grows as the finale to the Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge is played out at noon tomorrow on the Surfers Paradise street circuit as the preceeding feature to the Lexmark Indy 300.
The progressive record three-day crowd figure of 202,262 leaves the Event on track to surpass all previous 13 occasions of Gold Coast’s premier motorsport’s Event.
The 2004 Lexmark Indy 300 on the Gold Coast will continue tomorrow with tickets on sale at the gate.
Release Date: 23/10/2004
Lexmark Indy 300
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