Bargwanna says the best is yet to come
3/12/2004 18:17 (Press Release) -
When Jason Bargwanna joined Orrcon Racing at the start of 2003 the team at Larkham Motor Sport was establishing a plan to become serious contenders in the V8 Supercar Championship over the coming years.
In his second year with the team, Bargwanna has made six out of twelve top ten shootouts, finished five rounds inside the top ten and also recorded the team’s first podium finish since 2000.
This year could be referred to as one of Bargwanna’s better years in the Championship. However, the pint sized pilot says the best is still yet to come from the Gold Coast based team.
“When I first joined the team there was a very clear and direct path we were taking, this was to become serious Championship contenders by 2006,” said Bargwanna.
“This game is tough, no one delivers overnight success, not even HRT or SBR. I liken our team to SBR where we are pure racers and are dedicated to getting the job done which is one of the reasons I joined the team at the start of last year.
“Our improved results are a reward for commitment that everyone is putting in, we are certainly on track to deliver on what we have set out to achieve.
“This year we have proved we can be in the top five, now we need to continue to work on securing consistent results every weekend, not just half of them.”
Bargwanna’s results throughout 2004 are a visible improvement on his first year with the Larkham Motor Sport outfit where he recorded three top ten finishes in his Orrcon Racing Falcon.
Over the past five rounds of this year’s Championship Bargwanna has captured three top five finishes and is placed eighth on the points table.
Bargwanna believes the improvement in the car and team has been across the board and not restricted to one specific area.
“The entire operation has stepped up another notch this year, we have a stronger engine package due to our deal with Stone Brothers Racing and the team has worked extremely hard on improving the brake system and suspension, overall the car has been continually improved with each round,” said Bargwanna.
“To be in eighth spot with one round remaining is very rewarding and gives me a sense of achievement for the year but there is still a lot more to come over the coming years.
“When you look back at the year and see that I’m inside the top ten, I finished on the podium at Indy and Mark (Winterbottom) sitting just outside the ten, it has been rewarding, however, we are not about to sit back and rest on our laurels, the hardest work is still to come.
“The platform has been built for 2005 but before we head into next year we are fully focused on this weekend and finishing on a high.”
Bargwanna has twice finished a career high seventh in the Championship, securing the mark during his debut 1998 season and backing that up with a similar result in 2001. His best round result at Eastern Creek was achieved at the corresponding round last year finishing fifth.
Practice begins for the Bigpond Grand Finale at Sydney’s Eastern Creek on Friday with qualifying and race one held on Saturday. The Championship culminates with a pair of 39-lap races on Sunday afternoon.
Network Ten will be telecasting the top ten shootout from 4:00 until 5:00pm on Saturday with the opening race telecast live from 6:00pm. The telecast continues on Sunday with four hours of coverage from 1:00pm.
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 EASTERN CREEK RACEWAY
Jason Bargwanna
V8 Supercar rounds – 6 (Debut Round 1, 1999)
Best overall result – 5th (Round 13, 2003)
Best qualifying position – 7th (Round 1, 1999)
2004 Round 2 results – Qualifying 19th, Race – 8th
Mark Winterbottom
V8 Supercar rounds – 1 (Debut Round 2, 2004)
Best overall result – 12th (Round 2, 2004)
Best qualifying position – 25th (Round 2, 2004)
2004 Round 2 results – Qualifying 25th, Race – 12th
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS (After 12 of 13 rounds)
TOP 40
1: Marcos Ambrose (Ford) 1982
2: Greg Murphy (Holden) 1825
3: Jason Bright (Holden) 1816
4: Russell Ingall (Ford) 1776
5: Rick Kelly (Holden) 1701
6: Steven Richards (Holden) 1661
7: Todd Kelly (Holden) 1513
8: Jason Bargwanna (Ford) 1402
9: John Bowe (Ford) 1400
10: Garth Tander (Holden) 1320
11: Steven Johnson (Ford) 1274
12: Mark Winterbottom (Ford) 1158
13: Cameron McConville (Holden) 1150
14: Mark Skaife (Holden) 1150
15: Paul Weel (Holden) 1146
16: Brad Jones (Ford) 1141
17: Glenn Seton (Ford) 1137
18: Jason Richards (Holden) 1109
19: Craig Lowndes (Ford) 1060
20: Warren Luff (Ford) 1049
21: Paul Radisich (Ford) 1014
22: Anthony Tratt (Holden) 991
23: Paul Morris (Holden) 991
24: Paul Dumbrell (Holden) 950
25: Steve Ellery (Ford) 937
26: Simon Wills (Holden) 887
27: Craig Baird (Holden) 859
28: Tony Longhurst (Holden) 856
29: Max Wilson (Ford) 749
30: David Besnard (Ford) 682
31: Greg Ritter (Ford) 372
32: Dale Brede (Holden) 365
33: Cameron McLean (Ford) 360
34: Fabian Coulthard (Holden) 330
35: Mark Noske (Ford) 304
36: Alex Yoong (Ford) 278
37: Thomas Mezera (Holden) 272
38: Jim Richards (Holden) 248
39: Luke Youlden (Ford) 240
40: Christian D'Agostin (Holden) 236
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Friday December 3
10:30am – 11:05am – Practice One
1:15pm – 1:50pm – Practice Two
Saturday December 4
11:40am – 12:00pm Warm Up
1:40pm – 2:00pm – Qualifying (lower 50%)
2:05pm – 2:25pm – Qualifying (upper 50%)
4:10pm – 4:40pm – Top Ten Shoot Out
6:15pm – Race One (26 laps)
Sunday December 5
10:00am – 10:20am – Warm Up
12:20pm – Race Two (39 laps)
3:40pm – Race Three (39 laps)
TELECAST TIMES
Network Ten
Saturday, December 4:
4.00pm - 5.00pm: Top Ten Shootout
6.00pm - 7.30pm: Race 1
Sunday, December 5:
1.00pm - 5.00pm. Race 2 & 3
Release Date: 01/12/2004
Larkham Orrcon Racing
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