R2K QUAL - Leaking Wills on improbable pole
17/3/2001 22:09 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
Simon Wills continues to set the Konica Series alight, claiming an improbable pole position for tomorrow’s second round at Sydney’s Oran Park Raceway.
Wills grabbed his second consecutive pole with a 1:09.9min flier in his Biranna-powered VT Commodore, almost two-tenths ahead of surprise-packet, Michael Simpson.
But after an oil leak (failed diff seal) disrupted his first practice session, and excluded him from the second, a good qualifying performance seemed unlikely. A spin coming off Yokohama Bridge (causing official qualifying to be red flagged) didn’t help his cause, but a precision drive late in the session cemented pole.
“We haven’t done a thing all morning. We didn’t know what to change for qualifying. I wasn’t happy with my lap but it did the job," Wills said.
Wills is now left with tomorrow morning’s warm-up session to work on a competitive race set-up.
Queenslander Michael Simpson has emerged from obscurity to become a serious force in the Konica class, putting his ex-Stone Brothers Falcon on the front row.
Simpson, who took advice from Ross Stone via telephone during the day, said; "I had to drive the car hard to get that time but I think we have a good race package and are looking strong for tomorrow."
Seasoned campaigner David "Truckie" Parsons was on the pace throughout the day, and will start from third.
He’ll share the second row with Garry Rogers’ young prodigy Leanne Ferrier, who grows in confidence with every lap she completes. The 20-year-old improved on her Wakefield Park qualifying performance significantly by finishing fourth fastest.
"I am feeling much more confident in the car," Ferrier said. "I am driving it that bit harder, and I am in a much better starting spot than Wakefield so I am feeling good about tomorrow.”
Round one race winner Paul Dumbrell is back in fifth, while NRC Racing’s Dale Brede battled set-up anomalies to round out the top ten. Making his Konica Series debut, accomplished stand-in Greg Crick qualified eleventh.
Dumbrell narrowly avoided disaster on his way to the third row. "Mal (Rose) was coming out of the pits just as I was on my hot lap so I decided to abort the lap but I locked a brake and slide into him," he said.
His Wynn’s Commodore sustained superficial damage – a good result considering the impact a meeting at pace would have inflicted.
The controversy surrounding the reverse grid format continues, with some suggesting they’ll take advantage of the system. "I’ll see what happens in the first few laps," Dumbrell said, refusing to rule out a deliberate slow-down in the first heat to gain a better grid position for the second.
Tomorrow’s tri-race event gets the green light at 11:30am.
**QUALIFYING - TOP TEN**
1st SIMON WILLS (Team Dynamik) - VT Commodore [1:09.9021min]
2nd MICHAEL SIMPSON (Michael Simpson Racing) - EL Falcon [1:10.0844]
3rd DAVID PARSONS (GMS) - VT Commodore [1:10.2340]
4th LEANNE FERRIER (Garry Rogers Motorsport) - VT Commodore [1:10.2915]
5th PAUL DUMBRELL (Gibson Motorsport) - VT Commodore [1:10.3630]
6th MAL ROSE (Mal Rose Racing) - VS Commodore [1:10.3642]
7th CRAIG HARRIS (Castrol/Harris Racing) - AU Falcon [1:10.4254]
8th OWEN KELLY (John Faulkner Racing) - VS Commodore [1:10.6921]
9th GARRY HOLT (Eastern Creek Kart Racing) - EL Falcon [1:11.1132]
10th DALE BREDE (NRC Racing) - VT Commodore [1:11.1424]
For complete qualifying results:
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?18/03/2001.ORAN.Q8
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