BARGS CLAIMS INDY PODIUM WHILE PREPARING IN TASSIE
26/11/2004 22:34 (Press Release) -
Orrcon Racing’s Jason Bargwanna secured his and the team’s first podium finish of 2004 before the Tasmanian Triple Challenge even got underway today at Symmons Plains.
A CAMS Steward’s Inquiry held at Symmons Plains this morning found Holden Racing Team Car Number 22 driven by Todd Kelly at last month’s Lexmark Indy 300 on the Gold Coast to be in breach of technical regulations (Rules C8.11.8 and C8.11.9).
Kelly, who initially finished third for the round, was excluded from the results of race two on the Gold Coast.
What this means is that Bargwanna, who placed fourth for the round, jumps up a spot onto the podium, creating history for himself and Orrcon Racing. And further it provides added confidence and incentive for both he and Orrcon Racing team mate Mark Winterbottom entering this weekend’s Tasmanian Triple Challenge.
Bargwanna’s third place at the Lexmark Indy 300 was:
• Orrcon Racing’s first podium finish for 2004;
• Larkham Motor Sport’s first podium finish since Mark Larkham placed third in Round Seven at Queensland Raceway in 2000;
• The first podium finish for an Orrcon-sponsored car in the V8 Supercar Championship Series;
• His 13th podium finish in his V8 Supercar career since 1998.
The revised round results at the Lexmark Indy 300 also saw young gun Winterbottom finish in 10th place, his best result in a sprint round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series.
However Bargwanna could not contain his excitement when informed of the news of his podium finish this morning.
“This is awesome, and a great way to start this round at Symmons Plains,” said Bargwanna.
“It is a great reward for Orrcon Racing to achieve our first podium finish. We have been working extremely hard to achieve a podium, and now that we have the taste, we want another one this weekend.”
Team Owner Mark Larkham was also delighted to learn about the belated podium finish.
“It is always great to land a podium. It has been a long time coming for the team, and we are now really starting to see the fruits of our labour,” said Larkham.
Orrcon Sponsorship and Events Manager Stewart Smith backed up Bargwanna’s and Larkham’s credit to the entire team.
“This is just reward for the effort the team has put together over the past two years. We look forward to the momentum continuing this round and into next year.”
Today was also the first time that the V8 Supercars had taken to the Symmons Plains circuit since 1999.
In first practice this afternoon, Bargwanna clocked the ninth fastest lap of the day recording 53.1994 seconds, only a fraction of a second behind the day’s pacesetter, fellow Ford driver Marcos Ambrose (52.8467 seconds).
Winterbottom, having his first drive around the 2.41km circuit, finished 16th fastest with a best lap time of 53.4582 seconds.
Tomorrow the Tasmanian Triple Challenge features second practice at 9.20am, qualifying from 11.35am, the top 10 shootout at 2pm and Race One over 100km at 4pm.
Network Ten’s coverage of this weekend’s Tasmanian Triple Challenge begins tomorrow at 3.30pm through until 5pm. The telecast continues on Sunday from 2.30pm featuring the final two V8 Supercar races over 100km.
Team sponsor, Orrcon, is one of Australia's largest manufacturers and distributors of tube, pipe and steel. With cutting edge technology and Quality Assurance certified to ISO 9001 in manufacturing, innovation, logistics and customer service solutions, Orrcon strives to achieve to be the best in Australia for the manufacture and supply of Precision, Structural and Oil & Gas Pipe.
ORRCON RACING DRIVER HISTORY AT SYMMONS PLAINS
Jason Bargwanna
Best Finish – 2nd (1999)
Best qualifying position – 6th (1999)
Podium Finishes – Two – 2nd (1999), 3rd (1998)
Debut - 1998
1999 results Qualifying 6th, Race One 4th, Race Two 2nd, Race Three 3rd, Overall 2nd
Mark Winterbottom
Best Finish – N/A (Debut 2004)
Best qualifying position – N/A (Debut 2004)
Debut - 2004
1999 results – N/A (Debut 2004)
TRACK FACTS
Symmons Plains
Launceston, TAS
Track Length: 2.41km
Round Format: 3 X 100km races
V8 Supercar Lap Record: Craig Lowndes (1999) 54.5805
1999* Result – 1st Mark Skaife, 2nd Jason Bargwanna, 3rd Russell Ingall
*This round marks the return of the V8 Supercars to Tasmania for the fist time since 1999
EVENT SCHEDULE
Saturday November 13
9:20am – 9:55am - Practice 2
11:35am – 11:50am - Qualifying Lower 50%
12:00pm - 12:20pm - Qualifying Upper 50%
2:00pm - 2:30pm – Top Ten Shoot Out
4:00pm - Race 1 (42 laps)
Sunday November 14
10:00am – 10:20am - Warm Up
12:05pm - Race 2 (42 laps)
3:00pm - Race 3 (42 laps)
TELECAST TIMES
Network Ten
Saturday November 13
3:30pm – 5:00pm
Sunday November 14
2:30pm – 5:00pm
Release Date: 12/10/2004
Larkham Orrcon Racing
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