Holden Racing Team - CLIPSAL 500 – DAY 1
7/4/2005 19:10 (Press Release) -
CLIPSAL 500 – DAY 1
Adelaide Parklands, Adelaide
March 18, 2005
Weather: Fine, warm
Practice 1 (35 mins)
Fastest time: 1min 23.2738sec
1st: Todd Kelly 1min 23.2738sec (completed 17 laps)
7th: Mark Skaife 1min 23.5517sec (completed 13 laps)
Practice 2 (35 mins)
Fastest time: 1min 22.4336sec
4th: Mark Skaife 1min 22.7576sec (completed 12 laps)
24th: Todd Kelly 1min 23.7576sec (completed 5 laps) *
Qualifying (split, 2 x 20min sessions)
Fastest time: 1min 22.1776sec
10th: Mark Skaife 1min 22.8235sec (4 laps completed) **
15th: Todd Kelly 1min 23.0607sec (6 laps completed) *
Top 10 Shootout
10th: Mark Skaife (did not start) **
* Todd Kelly had an engine distributor problem with his car in Practice 2, which took until early in the qualifying session to rectify.
** Mark Skaife clipped a kerb at Turn 12 on the fourth lap of Qualifying and broke the steering on the left side of his car, veering side-on into the fence. The impact broke the rear axle housing, the front suspension and damaged panels down the car’s left side. The damage rendered him unable to participate in the Top 10 Shootout.
Mark Skaife:
“I clipped the kerb and suddenly found I had no steering in the left-hand side of the car. I’ve hit those tyres, or other bundles of tyres, a lot harder over the years and never had a problem so I didn’t even register in my brain to back off. I would have backed off if I knew what was going to happen! When you’re trying that hard you’re looking for every millimetre in the road. It was my mistake to start with but you don’t expect for that to happen.
“The new rules that eliminate a pre-race warm-up session have bitten us straight away, because we won’t be able to check whether the repairs we make to the car are right for the race. We’ll be asking for dispensation to run a lap or two pre-race, just to make sure the car is safe.”
Todd Kelly:
“It’s been a bit of a setback but we’ll be 100 per cent tomorrow. Qualifying in 15th placing doesn’t show the speed of the car, whereas being quickest in the first practice session does. We’re in good shape, it’s a quick car and a long race so we’re not too concerned.”
Release Date: 18/03/2005
Holden Racing Team
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