R6S QUAL - Rat topples HRT with sizzling lap
23/6/2001 17:42 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
Paul Radisich is not one to make the same mistake twice, as today's qualifying for round six of the Shell Series at Barbagallo Raceway showed.
“The Rat” claimed pole position ahead of this afternoon’s first race with a stunning lap in the qualifying shootout, a fortnight after squandering a similar opportunity in Canberra.
Radisich’s breathtaking one-lap flier – a 57.52s – was easily the fastest of the day and the fastest ever recorded at the circuit, decimating a lap record that fell several times throughout the day.
After qualifying in third, Radisich sliced four-tenths off his best time to clinch pole – the first time a Ford has been in that position in nine years.
"Nothing will make up for my Canberra blunder. The one lost is the one gone," Radisich said.
"(But) it is particularly pleasing to get pole here because it is one of the most abrasive tracks we race on and it is going to be a case of tyre conservation and controlling the pace, so up the front is where you want to be."
Only three Falcons took part in the shootout, two of which will start from the front row after Glenn Seton claimed second.
Seton was pleasantly surprised with the speed of his Ford-Tickford Falcon; “We didn’t think our cars would be that quick at this circuit,” he said.
"Last year was a bit of a disaster here for us, but we have had some good results here in the past, back in the old Peter Jackson Ford days. But this year is a bit new for all of us as this is the first time we have raced here on the new Bridgestone control tyre."
Paul Morris again put his Big Kev Commodore into the qualifying shootout (he did so for the first time in Canberra), this time making the most of the opportunity.
After qualifying in fifth, the Queenslander put together a faultless hot lap to grab third – his best grid position since joining the series full-time last year.
“We knew we would go alright here after finishing ninth in the old VS Commodore last year, but the trick will be trying to still be fast at the end of the races because tyres go off so quickly on this surface,” Morris said.
Russell Ingall sat on provisional pole before the shootout, with a 57.51s lap that bettered second-placed Craig Lowndes’ best by more than a tenth. But when it counted, Ingall didn’t have the pace to match the three bolters, settling for fourth.
The Holden Racing Team’s incredible six-year pole streak came to end after both factory Commodores failed to make a serious impression on the time sheets.
Despite being fastest in opening practice, Mark Skaife could only manage fifth (improving from sixth in qualifying), while Jason Bright still struggles to come to terms with his newish VX Commodore, scraping into the top 50 percent qualifying session before recording the slowest time in the shootout.
Evergreen Larry Perkins continues his stellar year, climbing four positions in the shootout to grab sixth.
Meanwhile, Craig Lowndes was going backwards, relinquishing his provision front row birth to start from seventh.
Cameron McConville repeated his GMC 400 qualifying performance, unlucky to miss the shootout in eleventh. McConville looked worse for wear after a controversial stoush in practice, though not nearly as battered as his opponent, Steven Ellery.
Jason Bargwanna was sitting pretty atop the time sheets after final practice, though was relegated to twelfth in qualifying. His team-mate, Garth Tander, will start a place further back.
Last round winner Steven Johnson couldn’t explain his lacklustre 14th, while qualifying specialist Marcos Ambrose found himself back in a lowly 18th.
The first 20-minute sprint is scheduled for later this afternoon, ahead of the final two races tomorrow.
**QUALIFYING - TOP TEN**
1st RUSSELL INGALL (Castrol Perkins Racing) - VX Commodore [0:57.5199min]
2nd CRAIG LOWNDES (Gibson Motorsport) - AU Falcon [0:57.6501]
3rd PAUL RADISICH (Shell Helix Racing) - AU Falcon [0:57.6540]
4th GLENN SETON (Ford-Tickford Racing) - AU Falcon [0:57.6865]
5th PAUL MORRIS (Big Kev Racer) - VX Commodore [0:57.6949]
6th MARK SKAIFE (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore [0:57.7511]
7th JASON BRIGHT (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore [0:57.8041]
8th TODD KELLY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore [0:57.8250]
9th GREG MURPHY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore [0:57.8490]
10th LARRY PERKINS (Castrol Perkins Racing) - VX Commodore [0:57.8711]
**TOP TEN SHOOTOUT**
1st PAUL RADISICH (Shell Helix Racing) - AU Falcon [0:57.2542min]
2nd GLENN SETON (Ford-Tickford Racing) - AU Falcon [0:57.5203]
3rd PAUL MORRIS (Big Kev Racer) - VX Commodore [0:57.6397]
4th RUSSELL INGALL (Castrol Perkins Racing) - VX Commodore [0:57.6640]
5th MARK SKAIFE (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore [0:57.6773]
6th LARRY PERKINS (Castrol Perkins Racing) - VX Commodore [0:57.8773]
7th CRAIG LOWNDES (Gibson Motorsport) - AU Falcon [0:57.9028]
8th GREG MURPHY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore [0:58.0712]
9th TODD KELLY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore [0:58.1340]
10th JASON BRIGHT (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore [0:57.1745]
For complete practice/qualifying results:
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?24/06/2001.BARB
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