Richards Hits Up His V8 Supercar Ton
30/11/2004 18:22 (Press Release) -
Castrol Perkins Motorsport’s Steven Richards thinks he has the demons exorcised that have plagued his Commodore as he reaches his 100th start in the V8 Supercar Championship Series at Eastern Creek this weekend.
Following disastrous rounds at Sandown, Bathurst (where his father, co-driver Jim, hit an errant kangaroo) and Indy (where his gear lever broke), Richards’ crew took to his Castrol Holden with cloves of garlic prior to the last round in Tasmania. It worked, the former Bathurst winner clinching a podium position!
“I wouldn’t have known I was about to clock up 100 starts had someone not told me last week but I’m sure we can have a good weekend now we’ve got rid of the demons!” said Richards.
The 32-year-old made his debut in a Garry Rogers Motorsport/Valvoline Commodore at the same venue in 1996 and has competed full-time in the series since, save for the majority of 1998 when he accepted an offer to be test driver for Nissan in the British Touring Car Championship.
“The two back-to-back Bathurst wins in 1998 and 1999 were special. They both hold a special place in my motor racing career.
“Other highlights would have to include winning at Calder in 2000. We had good pace that day. It was our test track with the Gibson team and the car was very good over the three races. Another one that springs to mind was Oran Park in 2002. It didn’t really feature a great result, but we started near the back of the grid and drove through to third, so sometimes it’s not the fact you’re on the podium that means you’ve had a good race.
“The championship is a lot different now compared to 1996. That year we had a third place in a race at Mallala as privateers in a customer car back before the team built their own cars. That was no mean feat racing against factory-supported guys.”
For all of his championship race successes, Richards still can’t let Bathurst 2002 slip from his memory, where he and Russell Ingall finished second to Mark Skaife.
“We were leading and I made a mistake to allow Skaife past. He had a bag blocking his air intake that was cooking his engine. All it would have needed was for me not to miss a gear and we could have won. I kick myself regularly over that one …
“But the highlights aren’t necessarily all on-track either. The whole team atmosphere of V8 Supercars has always been a highlight for me. I enjoy that part of it and the input I have with the team. It’s as important as the result at the end of the weekend.”
An element missing from the statistical box in Richards’ championship career in the past has been pole positions. After never scoring one in his career, Richards went on a blitz in 2004, taking his first at Barbagallo and backing it up at Bathurst and Symmons Plains.
STEVEN RICHARDS’ TON BY THE STATS
Championship Debut: 1996, Round 1 at Eastern Creek in Valvoline Commodore.
1996-1998 Garry Rogers Motorsport (22 rounds)
1999-2000 Gibson Motorsport (Wynn’s and Kmart) (26 rounds)
2001 Ford Tickford Racing (13 rounds)
2002 – 2004 Castrol Perkins Motorsport (38 rounds)
Wins: 3 (1999 – Bathurst; 2000 – Canberra, Calder)
Second-places: 6 (2002 – Queensland 500, Bathurst 1000; 2003 –
Clipsal 500; 2004 – Clipsal 500, Hidden Valley, Queensland Raceway)
Third-places: 6 (2000 – Queensland 500, Bathurst 1000; 2002 –
Clipsal 500; 2003 – Winton, Barbagallo; 2004 – Symmons Plains)
Pole Positions: 3 (2004 – Barbagallo, Bathurst 1000, Symmons Plains)
Release Date: 30/11/2004
Holden Motorsport
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