INDY SUN - Ingall spoils the party, but Rat big winner
15/10/2000 19:25 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) - Russell Ingall gatecrashed Paul Radisich’s Gold Coast party today, winning the third and final FAI V8 Supercar Challenge race on Honda Indy Sunday.
Ingall slipped past Radisich late in the 10-lap sprint and pulled away to record a clean sweep-breaking win on the sunny Surfers Paradise streets.
Radisich appeared to be hampered by tyre wear problems and failed to find the speed he used to keep Ingall at bay yesterday.
Nonetheless, his two wins and a second put him on the top tier of the overall podium, and sent a clear message to the rest of the V8 paddock that Dick Johnson’s Falcons would be a force to be reckoned with come Bathurst.
The Holden Racing Team had a forgettable weekend behind Radisich and Ingall, not helped after Mark Skaife kissed the concrete wall late in the race. Craig Lowndes held out Jason Bargwanna to grab third spot on the end-of-event podium.
Radisich again won the start in the CART curtain-raiser, leading the field cleanly through the first chicane.
Jason Bargwanna split the Factory Holden pair early, but couldn’t hold out Craig Lowndes for long.
By lap seven, Ingall’s Castrol Commodore had run down the Shell Helix Falcon and slipped down the inside under breaks at the Honda Chicane.
Bargwanna reclaimed fourth on lap eight after third-placed Mark Skaife locked-up his Commodore, spun 180 degrees, and collided heavily with the outside wall. Skaife limped back to pitlane, but did not rejoin the race.
Steven Johnson was also forced into retirement after a passing manoeuvre on Bargwanna went wrong. Damage to the Bathurst-bound DJR Falcon looked minimal.
Ingall maintained his lead over Radisich for the remainder of the race to take the chequered flag. Lowndes finished ahead of Bargwanna and a consistent Mark Larkham in fifth.
The full toll of the event will be felt tomorrow when the Holden Racing Team, K-Mart Racing, Castrol Perkins Racing and Valvoline-Cummins Racing return home with damaged Bathurst vehicles.
The final round of the championship, November’s Bathurst FAI 1000, is four weeks away.
Earlier in the day, Young Gun Marcos Ambrose – one of two candidates for the vacant Ford-Tickford Racing seat next season – has been given the opportunity to test with the PacWest Indy Lights outfit after claiming victory in today’s Honda Young Gun Challenge. DJR’s Steven Johnson finished third.
In his debut CART race, Bathurst champ Jason Bright performed admirably – at one stage mixing it amongst the lead pack in fifth – before a tangle with another car on the main straight put him out of the race. Patrick Racing’s Adrian Fernandez claimed victory in an enthralling Indy encounter.
**RACE THREE TOP TEN**
1st RUSSELL INGALL (Castrol Perkins Racing) - VT Commodore
2nd PAUL RADISICH (Shell Helix Racing) - AU Falcon
3rd CRAIG LOWNDES (Mobil-Holden Racing) - VT Commodore
4th JASON BARGWANNA (Team Valvoline-Cummins) - VT Commodore
5th MARK LARKHAM (Mitre 10 Racing) - AU Falcon
6th TONY LONGHURST (Caltex Havoline Racing) - AU Falcon
7th NEIL CROMPTON (Ford-Tickford Racing) - AU Falcon
8th CRAIG BAIRD (Pirtek Racing) - AU Falcon
9th PAUL MORRIS (Big Kev Racing) - VT Commodore
10th RODNEY FORBES (Wynn's Racing) - VT Commodore
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