Besnard ready to fire at Tasmania
26/11/2004 21:46 (Press Release) -
WPS Racing’s David Besnard, fresh from a standout performance in a Champ Car at the Lexmark Indy 300 on the streets of Queensland’s Gold Coast, is looking to carry over his form in his return to the V8 Supercar Championship Series.
Besnard sat out the 11th round of the V8 Supercar series at the Gold Coast last month in favour of the one-off Champ Car drive at Indy.
He put in an inspired drive and his 7th place in his first Champ Car start, the event’s best debut performance since ex-Formula One driver Nigel Mansell won on debut in 1993, has further stoked his competitive fire.
Besnard is now looking to carry that form into the Tasmania Triple Challenge, at Tasmania’s Symmons Plains Raceway, as he returns to his regular-season seat in the WPS Racing Car 23 Ford Falcon in the V8 Supercar series.
“The Indy drive was a fantastic experience and I’m thankful to Craig Gore, our team owner, for the opportunity,” said Besnard.
“He showed a lot of faith in me to get the drive and I’ll be looking to return the favour with a big result at Tasmania.”
Besnard said WPS Racing, supported by the Wright Patton Shakespeare financial group, had learned much in its first season in motorsport.
“We are the newest team in the series and this year has probably been the equivalent of a test season for WPS Racing,” he said.
“We have learned a lot about our cars, our team and our race strategy and I think you will see us emerge as a very competitive outfit in the new year.
“It would be nice to show how far we’ve already come by banking a good result at Tasmania.”
Besnard has consistently been in the top 10 during practice throughout the year, but the results have eluded him.
“We are certainly going better than what the record books suggest but it would be nice to end the year with a couple of big results,” said Besnard.
The second WPS Racing Ford Falcon, Car 48, will be driven by Tasmanian Owen Kelly who has just completed his season in the Konica Minolta V8 Supercar Series.
Kelly hasn’t driven in his home state since placing second in the Australian Super Tourer Championship at Symmons Plains in 2000.
“It is great to see Symmons Plains back on the racing calendar and it’s nice to get an 11th hour invitation into the event,” said Kelly.
“When my Konica Minolta season ended last month I was hopeful of a finding a drive in the main series.
“That opportunity came through WPS Racing and I’ll be looking to capitalise on it and reward the team with a strong showing.”
Release Date: 08/11/2004
WPS Racing
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