Triple Eight scores podium in first race of Championship
13/4/2005 17:43 (Press Release) -
The Clipsal 500 is billed as one of the most demanding races for a driver and Race One was certainly full of action. With Car 88 starting in third position on the grid and Car 888 in seventh, Team Betta Electrical’s strategy heading into the first leg of the weekend was to confidently but cautiously pick the opportunities to overtake and to stay out of trouble.
Craig Lowndes drove with stunning clarity throughout the race, finishing on the podium in third position.
“The Safety Car was out quite a bit in this race and I lost a bit of time to the Caltex car due to cold tyres. However, my lap times were consistently up in the top 3 and it was just a matter of making a steady push back to the front after my pit stops,” commented Craig after the race.
“Today has definitely shown that the move to Triple Eight was the right move for me. We have a very ‘hands on’ team, who are incredibly focused and hungry to win. The engines are the best I’ve ever had and now it’s just a matter of working with our engineers to match my driving style with the car and vice versa.”
Steve Ellery hit the wall at Turn 8 just after quarter distance with alarming force – in the vicinity of 4Gs – taking his car out of action for the remainder of the weekend.
“Naturally when you hit the wall with that much force, it’s going to do substantial damage to the car. The impact was such that we’ll be using our spare shell to build up another car for Steve to race in New Zealand next month,” explained Roland Dane, Team Principal for Triple Eight Race Engineering.
As a precaution, Steve was taken to Adelaide General Hospital for observation but released later Saturday evening.
Race 2 of the Clipsal 500 starts at 2pm on Sunday (Adelaide time) with 250kms over 78 laps.
Release Date: 19/03/2005
Team Betta Electrical - Triple 8
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