AMBROSE MAKES IT BACK II BACK V8 CHAMPIONSHIPS!
11/1/2005 16:03 (Press Release) -
Pirtek Racing's has won his second straight V8 Supercar Championship title,
by taking the opening race of the BigPond Grand Finale at Sydney's Eastern
Creek.
It's the first time since the legendary Dick Johnson in 1988 and '89 that
Ford has won back-to-back championships and he was one of the first to
congratulate Ambrose.
“This is great, winning the race and the title is unbelievable,” said Ambrose.
“It's been a long hard year and winning two-straight is something I never
thought possible.
“As always the team gave me a great car this weekend and I felt very confident
of doing the job.
“I only had to finish 15th in any of the three races this weekend, but
I wanted to win in style and that's what we did.
“Hearing the crowd as I crossed the line and seeing the crew lined on the
pit wall was fantastic.
“For the Ford fans who have waited for 15 years to see back-to-back titles,
it's now time to celebrate.
“It was great to see one of my heroes in Dick Johnson after I got out of
the car. It was like a childhood dream.
“I now want to finish off the weekend with an overall win. This place is
going to be jumping tomorrow and we're going to paint it blue!”
It was the completion of a great day for Ambrose and his Stone Brothers
Racing team. Ambrose blitzed the field in the top-10 shootout and from
the outset in the race he was all class.
The opening turn was full of drama when teammates Mark Skaife and Todd
Kelly collided. Skaife speared off the track before returning at the back
of the field, while Kelly limped back to change a punctured tyre.
Ambrose charged out front, stopping on lap #8 for his compulsory tyre change
with his crew turning him around in 7.2 seconds.
After the cycle of stops, he controlled the race from out front winning
ahead of fellow Ford driver Craig Lowndes (CAT Ford Performance Racing).
Lowndes was side-by-side with Skaife into the first corner, when he collided
with Kelly.
>From that point excellent car speed was the key to the result, despite
a slow pit stop.
“I got the jump on Mark (Skaife) but I wasn't sure if I could get around
him as he gathered it up and was catching me,” said Lowndes.
“By the time we got to the corner I was half a car length in front of him.
I tried to give him as much room as I could and the next time I looked
in my mirrors no-one was there.
“It was a good, solid result for us today, we had a slight delay during
my pit stop.
“So it was a matter of keeping the car as straight as I could to the end
of the race, knowing all the time that Jason (Bright) was right on my tail.”
David Besnard proved that his win in the final race in the previous round
in Tasmania was no fluke, finishing fourth in today's race.
"It was a great effort and it was the team, not me, who came fourth today,"
said Besnard.
"They picked me up a few places and gave me some breathing space on the
guys behind me. I just kept the car straight.
"Fourth place is pretty satisfying coming off the back of the win in Tasmania.
Some people probably thought we were extremely lucky in Tassie but we had
good pace all weekend there and we have shown that again today.
"It has been a hard year but everyone in this team has had faith in each
other and it's now starting to pay off."
Tomorrow completes the BigPond Grand Finale at Eastern Creek with another
two races.
Top-10 race #1 - BigPond V8 Grand Finale - Eastern Creek
1. Marcos Ambrose - Pirtek Racing - Ford Falcon BA
2. Craig Lowndes - CAT Ford Performance Racing - Ford Falcon BA
3. Jason Bright - PWR - Holden Commodore
4. David Besnard - WPS Racing - Ford Falcon BA
5. Rick Kelly - KMart - Holden Commodore
6. Paul Radisich - Team Betta Electrical - Ford Falcon BA
7. Russell Ingall - Caltex Havoline Racing - Ford Falcon BA
8. Steven Richards -Castrol Perkins Motorsport - Holden Commodore
9. Steven Johnson - Shell Helix Racing - Ford Falcon BA
10. Jason Bargwanna - Orrcon Steel Racing - Ford Falcon BA
Release Date: 04/12/2004
Ford Racing Australia
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