Tander, Kelly ready for a big run home in Clipsal 500
13/4/2005 17:38 (Press Release) -
Holden Special Vehicles Dealer Team’s Garth Tander made up 10 places from 17th to 7th in today’s first 250km installment of the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide to put himself in with a good chance of another bag of points in Sunday’s finale.
Unfortunately for his teammate, polesitter Rick Kelly, the cards fell somewhat differently when he was forced to pit for fuel under race conditions, costing valuable seconds while rivals were able to pit under yellow.
Kelly managed to climb back up to 11th before a mid-corner tangle on the penultimate lap cost him valuable track position. It also damaged his steering and punctured a rear tyre, forcing him to limp to the chequered flag in 15th place.
For both drivers, it will be business as usual in Sunday’s race, with both cars in good shape to press the leaders.
Although Tander qualified 18th, a penalty to a rival moved him up a peg to 17th – a gain he admits he squandered with the “world’s worst start”, slipping back several positions.
However, he regained those positions within a lap or two, and set about making cool, calculated progress. A fuel pit-stop under safety car propelled him into the top 10, and he finished strongly in 7th.
#15 Rick Kelly (15th):
“Obviously, the safety cars didn’t play our game. We didn’t have the economy of the other boys so we couldn’t double stop, so that put us back about midfield. Finishing 15th after starting from pole, I am not too stoked. Unfortunately, an incident on the second-last lap cost us considerable track position. The flat tyre wasn’t so much of a problem compared with the broken steering, and it was just a matter of bringing it home and living to fight again tomorrow.”
#16 Garth Tander ():
“After the world’s worst start, losing about three spots, I got most of them back in the first lap. After that, we settled into a groove. The car was very, very good and we managed to charge through the field a little bit, got to seventh and then consolidated. It sets us up for tomorrow, and we still have a straight car. We earned a reasonable bag of points today, and if we can manage another bag tomorrow, we will be very happy.”
Release Date: 19/03/2005
HSV Dealer Team
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