Richards makes a late-season charge
9/11/2004 19:22 (Press Release) -
Another Top 10 finish, his fourth for 2004, has boosted Tasman Inner Circle Rum Motorsport driver Jason Richards to 16th placing in the V8 Supercar Championship.
Richards finished 9th in each of the two races held on the Surfers Paradise street circuit after qualifying a disappointing 23rd, finishing the round in 8th placing to shore up his championship position with only 40 points now separating he and 13th-placed Mark Skaife.
The #3 Tasman Motorsport Commodore struggled for pace in the early part of the weekend but the team confidently made their move during the races on a circuit rated by most drivers as the most difficult on which to overtake.
“We’re not kidding ourselves that we’re going to win the championship this year or anything, but it’s good to keep returning consistent Top 10 placings,” Richards said.
“Consistency is one of the most difficult things to achieve in this category, and particularly this round, which every year brings a lot of people undone.”
The high attrition rate in the first of two races held in oppressively warm conditions worked in Tasman Motorsport’s favour, with Richards inheriting several positions as well as doing his share of passing.
“The car’s speed has been good in both races and we’ve managed to keep either ahead of behind most of the major dramas,” Richards said.
“The races have been excellent for us, we need to do some work obviously to improve our qualifying form and so Wally (Storey, chief engineer) and I will be looking at that pretty closely.”
The round was won by Kmart Racing’s Greg Murphy, the son of Tasman Motorsport team principal Kevin Murphy, after he finished 2nd and 1st in the two races.
The next round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series will be held at Tasmania’s Symmons Plains from November 12-14.
Release Date: 24/10/2004
Tasman Motorsport
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