R9S RACE - Shell pair win QLD classic
26/8/2001 19:16 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
The son of Queensland’s favourite son, and one very drowned Rat, finally gave the parochial Queensland crowd something to cheer about with victory in today’s VIP Petfoods Queensland 500 at Queensland Raceway.
The Shell Helix pair of Steven Johnson and Paul Radisich won a classic, albeit controversial, race from painfully-unlucky Castrol chargers Larry Perkins and Russell Ingall and the K-Mart Racing duo of Greg Murphy and Todd Kelly.
It is the first time one of the local Ford horde has won at Queensland Raceway. It was also the most captivating V8 Supercar spectacle Queensland has ever seen.
And with title heavyweights Jason Bright and Mark Skaife finishing in fourth, both Johnson and Ingall now have the Shell Series silverware within reach with four rounds remaining.
The Dick Johnson outfit, despite driving a hard-charging, tactically-flawless race, has the impeccable timing of a race steward to thank for their victory.
As the heavens opened late in the race, Radisich held a marginal lead over Ingall.
But with four laps remaining, 'the Rat' lost control of his Falcon and speared off the circuit. It left Ingall in the lead and heading towards victory – only to be stopped by a red flag.
Under the sport’s regulations, results are taken from the lap previous to the red flag being shown. Reminiscent of the infamous conclusion to the 1992 Bathurst 1000, Ingall, despite leading the race, was relegated to second behind Radisich.
A despondent Larry Perkins declared himself and Ingall winners regardless, but had to watch Johnson and Radisich accept the accolades on the podium.
"What an amazing race,” Radisich said. “I think it’s the first time I’ve ever won a race while in a sand trap!
"Really, the race was ours to win today because the car was great throughout, our pit stops were the best ever, and it all came together as we planned.”
"The end was untidy,” Johnson admitted, “(but) otherwise it was a perfect day and really given us a shot at the title.”
Ingall, despite the heartbreaking loss, knew he was a part of something special.
"It was a great race to be in as a driver," Ingall said. "Paul is a tough competitor, I think we are from the same mould. All credit to their team, they went hard all race, like us.
"It was one of the classic V8 Supercar races."
The Stone Brothers’ front row birth did them no favours, as both the pole-sitting Pirtek car of Marcos Ambrose and Greg Crick and Caltex entry of David Besnard and Matthew White failed to make an impression due to a haphazard start (Crick and White, surprisingly, started the race) and costly delays in pitlane.
Other casualties included the Gibson Motorsport Falcon of Craig Lowndes and Neil Crompton, who crashed out of contention on lap 14 even before Lowndes could get into the car.
Radisich led Jason Bright to the first round of pit stops, when both cars came in for fuel, tyres, brake pads and new drivers on lap 60. Stepping into the car for the second stint, Steven Johnson maintained the team’s lead over the HRT Commodore, now with Mark Skaife behind the wheel, on resumption.
But a second yellow flag period on lap 77 provided Skaife the opportunity to pounce on Johnson in a clever move at the restart to take the lead.
Johnson found himself sandwiched between both HRT Commodores (ahead of the second car of Tony Longhurst) until the second round of stops.
Skaife handed the reigns back to Bright on lap 115 and, while the stop was slick, it wasn’t quite as quick as the Shell Helix stop a lap later. Johnson was just three seconds quicker than HRT in changing over to Radisich – just enough time to emerge ahead.
But they both forgot about Russell Ingall. He took the lead from HRT and, after a fleeting fuel stop, retained it.
As rain started falling, an oil-smeared windscreen and faulty wipers blinded Jason Bright. He began dropping two to three seconds a lap before electing to pit for a windscreen clean – and a change to wets.
Meanwhile, Radisich closed the gap on Ingall before sliding past the Castrol Commodore on lap 154 to take the lead.
And then the rain came. A sudden deluge forced Radisich, Ingall and fourth-placed Greg Murphy into pitlane on lap 155 for a change to grooved tread. Radisich’s crew was again swift, getting their man back into the action ahead of Ingall.
John Bowe gambled on slicks, and suffered the consequences. While running in third he lost control of the CAT Falcon and finished the day in the sand.
Bowe said he was “shattered” but that it was “better to have a go at the podium and fall short than just settle for fourth.”
A number of others cars – including Radisich – left the tarmac over the final few rain-marred laps before the red flag put an end to the chaos three laps before the 161 lap target.
With Ingall still circulating and Radisich beached, confusion reigned as to who the winners were before officials declared the race for Shell Helix Racing.
"You could not see the end of the bonnet, so to end the race early was the right decision in terms of safety and obviously it worked to our advantage,” Radisich said.
Other notable finishers were the second HRT Commodore of Tony Longhurst and Tomas Mezera in fifth, Steven Ellery and Geoff Brabham in sixth, the Young Lion Commodore of Paul Romano and Owen Kelly in ninth, and a brave drive from flu-ridden Paul Morris, partnering Matt Neal, to finish tenth.
The endurance battle resumes at Mt. Panorama in October, but not before the Winton Raceway meeting, round ten of the Shell Series, in two weeks time.
**QUEENSLAND 500 - TOP TEN**
1st JOHNSON/RADISICH (Shell Helix Racing) - AU Falcon
2nd PERKINS/INGALL (Castrol Perkins Racing) - VX Commodore
3rd MURPHY/KELLY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore
4th SKAIFE/BRIGHT (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore
5th MEZERA/LONGHURST (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore
6th ELLERY/BRABHAM (Super Cheap Auto Racing) - AU Falcon
7th WEEL/LEAHEY (K & J Thermal Products Racing) - AU Falcon
8th RICHARDS/CANTO (Ford Tickford Racing) - AU Falcon
9th ROMANO/KELLY (Holden Young Lions) - VS Commodore
10th MORRIS/NEAL (Big Kev Racing) - VT Commodore
**CHAMPIONSHIP TABLE**
1st MARK SKAIFE (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore [2270]
2nd JASON BRIGHT (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore [2166]
3rd STEVEN JOHNSON (Shell Helix Racing) - AU Falcon [2062]
4th RUSSELL INGALL (Castrol Perkins Racing) - VX Commodore [2008]
5th PAUL RADISICH (Shell Helix Racing) - AU Falcon [1675]
6th GREG MURPHY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore [1611]
7th TODD KELLY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore [1554]
8th MARCOS AMBROSE (Pirtek Racing) - AU Falcon [1410]
9th CRAIG LOWNDES (Gibson Motorsport) - AU Falcon [1381]
10th GARTH TANDER (Valvoline Cummins Repco Team) - VX Commodore [1370]
For complete race results:
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?26/08/2001.QRI
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