ORRCON RACING SEARCH FOR THE BALANCE AT PUKEKOHE
19/4/2005 13:30 (Press Release) -
The team at Larkham – Orrcon Racing were continually chasing the balance in their car setup during opening practice for the PlaceMakers V8 Supercar International in New Zealand this afternoon.
During the first two-hour practice session of the year as an effective “test day” the team completed several routine procedures such as bedding in brake pads and discs during the opening half of the session.
With the resurfacing of the 2.82 kilometre Pukekohe circuit changing several key characteristics of the track, including the famous bump that drivers previously endured during the final turn, teams were presented with numerous new challenges in the set up of the car.
Just after mid way through the session Jason Bargwanna held down eighth position with his team-mate Mark Winterbottom set a time that placed him just outside the top 20.
As the session continued both drivers battled to find a comfortable set-up in their Orrcon Racing Falcon’s they were unable climb up the order with Bargwanna finishing the session in 25th position.
Despite not bolting a new set of tyres for the final few moments of the session Winterbottom recorded his fastest time with seconds remaining to be in 23rd place.
While the positions weren’t as high as the team would have liked the first 29 cars, which includes both Bargwanna and Winterbottom, were within a second of the time set by pacesetter Marcos Ambrose (55.8130 seconds).
Qualifying will be held from 11:30am tomorrow followed by the top ten shootout and the opening of three races for the round to will begin tomorrow at 3:00pm. The round is highlighted by a pair of 50-lap races on Sunday.
JASON BARGWANNA – Orrcon Racing Falcon #10
“We have a lot of work to do before we are on the money.
“One of the positives we can take from the session is that we completed the entire session on old tyres so there will be some improvement when we bolt the new sets on tomorrow.
“The resurfacing of the track has smoothed it out a lot which means our old set ups aren’t working anywhere near what they should be and we need to try and maximize what we can get out of the car.
“The car is pretty unbalanced during the high speed corners and I am having to “chase” the rear during the slow to medium corners which is costing me a lot of time.
“It is frustrating but we will get there.”
MARK WINTERBOTTOM – Orrcon Racing Falcon #20
“As soon as I hit a curb the car becomes very unsettled very easily, especially as I come through turns two and three. As a consequence of having an unbalanced car it costs me speed along the back straight.
“It was very hard to get into a rhythm with the car the way it was and we also didn’t use a new set of tyres which is reflected by the time that was posted.
“The track surface was a lot smoother than last year but there was a lot of dirt and rubbish over the track for the majority of the session.”
2005 V8 Supercar Championship
Round 2 of 13 - PlaceMakers V8 International
Practice results
1. Marcos Ambrose (Ford) 55.8130
2. Steven Richards (Holden) 55.8320
3. Paul Radisich (Holden) 55.8891
4. Mark Skaife (Holden) 55.8961
5. Garth Tander (Holden) 55.9365
6. Craig Lowndes (Ford) 55.9994
7. Jamie Whincup (Holden) 56.0464
8. Paul Dumbrell (Holden) 56.0953
9. Greg Murphy (Holden) 56.1533
10. Paul Morris (Holden) 56.1774
11. Rick Kelly (Holden) 56.1807
12. John Bowe (Ford) 56.2160
13. Todd Kelly (Holden) 56.2199
14. Steve Ellery (Ford) 56.2221
15. David Besnard (Ford) 56.2359
16. Brad Jones (Ford) 56.2421
17. Paul Weel (Holden) 56.2873
18. Russell Ingall (Ford) 56.2896
19. Cameron McConnville (Holden) 56.3699
20. Anthony Tratt (Holden) 56.5282
21. Jason Bright (Ford) 56.5344
22. Max Wilson (Holden) 56.5444
23. Mark Winterbottom (Ford) 56.6163
24. Simon Wills (Holden) 56.8021
25. Jason Bargwanna (Ford) 56.8096
26. Greg Ritter (Ford) 56.9240
27. Matthew White (Ford) 57.1319
28. Andrew Jones (Holden) 57.7196
EXC. Jason Richards (Holden) 56.1927
EXC. Glenn Seton (Ford) 56.2037
EXC. Steven Johnson (Ford) 56.2592
EXC. Craig Baird (Ford) 56.7989
FAST FACTS
Track Length: 2.82km
Average Speed: 186 km/h
Max Speed: 270 km/h (End of the back straight entering Turn 5)
Min Speed: 64 km/h (Turn 5)
Max lateral G-force: 2.0 exiting turn 6
Full Throttle: 52% of the lap
Average Throttle: 61%
2004 result – 1st Jason Bright, 2nd Marcos Ambrose, 3rd Greg Murphy
The Pukekohe circuit is located 40km south of Auckland on Manu kau Road, Pukekohe, New Zealand
JASON BARGWANNA
Championship rounds: 89
Victories: 4
Podium finishes: 13
Debut: 1997 – Sandown
First Win: 1998 – Calder Park
Highlight of career: 2000 Bathurst Victory
Current Championship Position: 33rd
Best Round Finish at Pukekohe: 5th – 2003
2004 Facts
Top Ten Finishes: 6
Shootouts: 6
Cars passed during races: 70
Most cars passed in one race: 16 (Race 2, Round 1 – Adelaide)
Highest position in standings: 5th (after Round 2)
Overall championship position: 8th
2004 PlaceMakers V8 International
Qualifying: 10th
Race Results: Race One – 27th, Race Two – DNF, Race Three - 21st
Overall: 29th
MARK WINTERBOTTOM
Championship rounds: 16
Debut: 2003 – Sandown
Top Ten Race Finishes: 3
Current Championship Position: 19th
Best Round Finish at Pukekohe: 27th – 2004
2004 Facts
Top Ten Race Finishes: 3
Cars passed during races: 56
Most cars passed in one race: 13 (Round 2 – Eastern Creek)
Highest position in standings: 12th (after Round 12)
Overall championship position: 18th
2004 PlaceMakers V8 International
Qualifying: 23rd
Race Results: Race One – 25th, Race Two - 14th, Race Three - DNF
Overall: 27th
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS (After 1 of 13 Rounds)
1: Marcos Ambrose (Ford) - 192
2: Craig Lowndes (Ford) - 183
3: Todd Kelly (Holden) - 162
4: Paul Weel (Holden) - 141
5: Steven Johnson (Ford) - 141
6: Russell Ingall (Ford) - 138
7: Paul Dumbrell (Holden) - 135
8: Cameron McConville (Holden) - 129
9: Rick Kelly (Holden) - 126
10: Jason Bright (Ford) – 108
11. Paul Morris (Holden) 108
12: Steven Richards (Holden) 105
13: Jamie Whincup (Holden) 102
14: Paul Radisich (Holden) 99
15: Brad Jones (Ford) 99
16:Glenn Seton (Ford) 96
17: Mark Skaife (Holden) 90
18: Steve Own (Ford) 84
19. Mark Winterbottom (Ford) 84
20: Greg Murphy (Holden) 81
21: Max Wilson (Holden) 78
22: Garth Tander (Holden) 78
23: David Besnard (Ford) 75
24: Matthew White (Ford) 63
25: Anthony Tratt (Holden) 63
26: John Bowe (Ford) 63
27: Andrew Jones (Holden) 51
28: Craig Baird (Ford) 48
29: Simon Wills (Holden) 42
30: Jason Richards (Holden) 39
31: Alex Davison (Holden) 36
32: Greg Ritter (Ford) 0
33. Jason Bargwanna (Ford) 0
34: Steve Ellery (Ford) 0
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Saturday April 16
11:30am – 11:50am Qualifying (Lower 50%)
11:5am – 12:15pm Qualifying (Upper 50%)
12:30pm - 1:00pm Top Ten shootout
3:00pm – Race One (36 laps)
Sunday April 17
9:35am – 10:25am – Pit Walk
12:05 - Race 2 – (50 laps)
2:30pm – 3:15pm – Driver Parade
4:30pm – Race 3 (50 laps)
TV TELECAST - Network Ten
Sunday April 17
12:00pm - 17:00pm
Release Date: 15/04/2005
Larkham Orrcon Racing
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