R6S RACES - Rat conquers WA for resurgent Ford
24/6/2001 18:30 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
Paul Radisich did what he has threatened to do all year with an imperious three-from-three performance at Barbagallo Raceway this afternoon.
Radisich exploited his pole position to dictate terms at the arduous 2.4km circuit, recording lights-to-flag victories in each of the three 20-minute sprint events.
In the process he ended the Holden Racing Team’s incredible six-year winning streak in the West and continued Ford’s resurgent run in the championship.
Radisich won the round from TWR stable-mates Mark Skaife and Greg Murphy, clinching the first Ford clean-sweep since 1997 and the first hat-trick of round wins for Ford since ’95.
"The car was great all weekend,” a jubilant Radisich said, “the guys in the team have once again showed that we are a force to be reckoned with.”
"The car was fast and despite running on a very abrasive circuit, it was very kind on its tyres. The entire team's confidence is on a high, so I'm sure it's something we can continue to achieve.
"It's also pleasing for Ford, whose investment in the championship is now staring to pay off.”
Skaife couldn’t match Radisich’s superior race package, but maintained his championship lead with three second-place finishes.
"The best way to win a championship is to be on the podium every round and we have managed that in what was a very tough weekend,” Skaife said.
“We made a few changes to the car during the weekend that put us closer to Paul than we thought, but still not close enough to catch him.”
Russell Ingall looked on target for another podium birth before a stop/go penalty for jumping the start in the final race ruined what was an otherwise productive weekend.
Murphy took his place on the podium, improving his championship aspirations considerably.
"Obviously it was a bit unlucky for Russell, but I just had one of those weekends when I stayed out of trouble and I just drove as straight as I could and we drove our way through the field and on to the podium," Murphy said.
Race one, held yesterday afternoon under threatening skies, saw a clean-break by Radisich to lead from Paul Morris and Ingall. Front-rowed Glenn Seton got bogged on the line, falling back to fourth.
After an impressive qualifying performance, Morris’ time in the spotlight was short-lived. The Big Kev racer was soon besieged by the hungry pack, plunging back to eighth.
With his boss beached in the turn one sand trap, Ingall held firm in second before losing the place to Skaife on lap 16.
But Radisich was untouchable out front, almost 13-seconds clear of Skaife at race’s end. Flu-ridden team-mate Steven Johnson climbed to ninth after starting in 14th.
Race two produced much the same start, though Craig Lowndes brilliantly threaded his Gibson Falcon through the first two rows to challenge Skaife for second.
Glenn Seton was pummelled at the start, ripping the spoiler off the right hand side of his car. He continued to circulate before retiring with a shredded tyre.
While Jason Bargwanna and David Besnard were spinning into the sand, Johnson continued his charge through the field, passing Todd Kelly and Craig Lowndes over the final laps to rise to fifth.
The margin was smaller, but Radisich’s 2-second win was again comfortable from race one trifectees, Skaife and Ingall.
Even before race three began, Mark Larkham provided the most spectacular incident of the weekend on the warm-up lap.
Larkham lost control of his Falcon, spearing into the sand and barrel-rolling 360 degrees. Larkham was unhurt and car damage superficial, but it brought an end to a horror weekend for the ICS Smartcar outfit.
Steven Ellery forced his way onto the highlight reel, too, with a heart-stopping spin on the main straight early in the race. Ellery managed to avoid the oncoming traffic despite cutting back onto the straight following the spin.
“I had nowhere to go trying to avoid him (Garth Tander), he gave me a nudge and I ended up in the marbles," Ellery explained.
Ingall and Marcos Ambrose both were judged to have jumped the start and forced into pitlane for a costly stop/go penalty.
Mark Skaife sat on Radisich’s bumper over the opening laps, though the Shell Helix Falcon had just enough pace – and rubber – to maintain a comfortable margin.
Perkins again visited the Barbagallo beach, Seton pitting with engine drams, while Radisich kept Skaife at bay to the chequered flag. Murphy finished in third, ahead of a courageous Steven Johnson.
"I was fighting the car all the way in the last race with very little grip,” Radisich said, "It would have been tough to have to race hard for position with those sorts of grip problems."
Barbagallo’s V8 Supercar farewell brought out a massive Sunday crowd – more than 32,000 – and created traffic chaos on entry to the circuit. The future of the sport in Western Australia remains clouded after high-level talks over the weekend.
The next round of the championship, another ‘triple sprint’ event, is at Melbourne’s Calder Park Raceway in three week’s time.
**RACE ONE - TOP TEN**
1st PAUL RADISICH (Shell Helix Racing) - AU Falcon
2nd MARK SKAIFE (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore
3rd RUSSELL INGALL (Castrol Perkins Racing) - VX Commodore
4th GLENN SETON (Ford-Tickford Racing) - AU Falcon
5th GREG MURPHY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore
6th CRAIG LOWNDES (Gibson Motorsport) - AU Falcon
7th TODD KELLY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore
8th PAUL MORRIS (Big Kev Racer) - VT Commodore
9th STEVEN JOHNSON (Shell Helix Racing) - AU Falcon
10th JASON BRIGHT (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore
**RACE TWO - TOP TEN**
1st PAUL RADISICH (Shell Helix Racing) - AU Falcon
2nd MARK SKAIFE (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore
3rd RUSSELL INGALL (Castrol Perkins Racing) - VX Commodore
4th GREG MURPHY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore
5th STEVEN JOHNSON (Shell Helix Racing) - AU Falcon
6th CRAIG LOWNDES (Gibson Motorsport) - AU Falcon
7th TODD KELLY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore
8th JASON BRIGHT (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore
9th STEVEN RICHARDS (Ford-Tickford Racing) - AU Falcon
10th CAMERON McCONVILLE (Lansvale Smash Repairs) - VX Commodore
**RACE THREE - TOP TEN**
1st PAUL RADISICH (Shell Helix Racing) - AU Falcon
2nd MARK SKAIFE (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore
3rd GREG MURPHY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore
4th STEVEN JOHNSON (Shell Helix Racing) - AU Falcon
5th CRAIG LOWNDES (Gibson Motorsport) - AU Falcon
6th TODD KELLY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore
7th JASON BRIGHT (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore
8th GARTH TANDER (Valvoline Cummins Repco Team) - VX Commodore
9th STEVEN RICHARDS (Ford-Tickford Racing) - AU Falcon
10th CAMERON McCONVILLE (Lansvale Smash Repairs) - VX Commodore
**CHAMPIONSHIP TABLE**
1st MARK SKAIFE (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore [1612]
2nd JASON BRIGHT (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore [1503]
3rd RUSSELL INGALL (Castrol Perkins Racing) - VX Commodore [1268]
4th STEVEN JOHNSON (Shell Helix Racing) - AU Falcon [1258]
5th GREG MURPHY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore [1121]
6th MARCOS AMBROSE (Pirtek Racing) - AU Falcon [1068]
7th STEVEN RICHARDS (Ford-Tickford Racing) - AU Falcon [1063]
8th TODD KELLY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore [1032]
9th CRAIG LOWNDES (Gibson Motorsport) - AU Falcon [1023]
10th GLENN SETON (Ford-Tickford Racing) - AU Falcon [994]
For complete race results:
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?24/06/2001.BARB
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