Richards finds podium after brilliant fightback
29/11/2004 18:40 (Press Release) -
Starting 13th for today’s final race in the Tasmania Triple Challenge at Symmons Plains near Launceston, Castrol Perkins driver Steven Richards probably wouldn’t have imagined he would be standing on the podium at the end of the 42 lap race.
But that’s exactly what happened, as Richards carved his way through the field and took advantage of the misfortune of some of his rivals to take third spot in the penultimate round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series.
Earlier it had looked even more unlikely, after a problem on the left rear of his #11 Commodore in race two cost him time in the pits and dropped him to 21st.
“When I was running 21st after the pit stop in that second race there was no way I thought I would be standing on the podium at the end of the last race!” exclaimed Richo.
“We tuned the car up nicely in between races two and three and we had a nice consistent race in the last one. Everyone has worked very hard at the workshop and this is a good result that is good reward for the whole team.
“We’ve had a rough trot for the last three rounds but the guys thought we should ‘exorcise’ the car, so they put some cloves in garlic in it and maybe it worked!
“It would be nice to go to Eastern Creek for the final round and show the same sort of speed. We were strong there earlier in the year and our car is 1000 times better now than it was then, so we’ll see how we go.”
In today’s opening 42 lapper, Richards made a strong start, settling into third spot after getting the jump on HRT’s Todd Kelly from the second row of the grid.
The Castrol Commodore driver peeled off into pit lane behind race leaders Marcos Ambrose and Rick Kelly at the end of lap three, but a disastrous pit stop dropped Richo all the way back to 21st spot.
Dramas with the left rear wheel cost Richards valuable time and he spent the rest of the race playing catch up. By race’s end he had clawed his way back up to 13th spot, giving him more work to do in the final race.
In the final race he worked his way through, with problems befalling some of his rivals, including both Kelly brothers and Ambrose. After all of the pit stops had been completed he was sitting fifth, and then worked his way through to third to finish behind Greg Murphy and Russell Ingall.
Things weren’t as rosy for team-mates Paul Dumbrell and Alex Davison. Dumbrell finished 23rd and 22nd in today’s races. In the former he stalled in his compulsory pit stop, and in the latter he had contact with Brad Jones that spun him and nearly caused him to hit the stranded Kmart Holden of Rick Kelly at the hairpin.
Davison, meanwhile, finished 20th in the first of today’s races, but was a retirement in the last race after contact with Jason Bargwanna at the hairpin.
“Bargwanna had run wide into the hairpin so I went up the inside only to find him flying back down onto the racing line,” said Davison.
“He spun off the front of me, which didn’t do any damage. But as I went to drive off our cars got caught on one another slightly and that broke something in the rear of my car.”
The final round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series will be the BigPond Grand Finale at Eastern Creek Raceway on December 3-5.
Tasmania Triple Challenge, Rd 12 – V8 Supercar Championship Series
Round Results
Pos No Driver Car Points
1 9 Russell Ingall Caltex Falcon BA 170
2 51 Greg Murphy Kmart Commodore VY 166
3 11 Steven Richards Castrol Commodore VY 158
4 6 Craig Lowndes CAT Falcon BA 154
5 33 Cameron McConville Valvoline Commodore VY 146
6 17 Steven Johnson Shell Helix Falcon BA 142
7 31 Steve Ellery SER Falcon BA 140
8 18 Warren Luff Shell Helix Falcon BA 130
9 1 Marcos Ambrose Pirtek Falcon BA 126
10 15 Rick Kelly Kmart Commodore VY 126
25 8 Paul Dumbrell Castrol Commodore VY 60
27 7 Alex Davison Castrol Commodore VX 52
Championship Points After 12 of 13 Rounds
Pos No Driver Car Points
1 1 Marcos Ambrose Pirtek Falcon BA 1982
2 51 Greg Murphy Kmart Commodore VY 1831
3 9 Russell Ingall Caltex Falcon BA 1782
4 50 Jason Bright PWR Commodore VY 1780
5 15 Rick Kelly Kmart Commodore VY 1701
6 11 Steven Richards Castrol Commodore VY 1667
7 22 Todd Kelly HRT Commodore VY 1513
8 12 John Bowe Ozemail Falcon BA 1406
9 10 Jason Bargwanna Orrcon Falcon BA 1406
10 34 Garth Tander Valvoline Commodore VY 1320
24 8 Paul Dumbrell Castrol Commodore VY 952
28 7 Tony Longhurst Castrol Commodore VX 856
43 7 Alex Davison Castrol Commodore VX 212
Release Date: 14/11/2004
Castrol Perkins Motorsport
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