R1 QUAL - Dumbrell off to a flying start
30/3/2002 18:38 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
Paul Dumbrell will start the 2002 Konica V8 Supercar Series from where most people think he will finish it – in first place – after qualifying for this weekend’s opening round at Wakefield Park Raceway.
The 19-year-old found the edge in the 50-minute (two 25-minute sessions) qualifying shootout, clocking a 59.88sec fastest lap to claim pole position ahead of Matthew White and Dale Brede.
"The car went really well today, better than we expected. We made the right changes at the right time and everything fell into place,” said Dumbrell, the only driver to break the one-minute barrier.
"I am looking forward to the 2002 season. I have worked with everyone (in the Independent Race Cars team) at some stage over the past few years and feel really comfortable with our chances at taking out this year’s championship."
The title fight could well come down to a battle of the runner-ups; Dumbrell the Konica Series vice-champion to Simon Wills last year and White the series runner-up in 2000.
"It is good to be back," said White, who was sidelined for much of 2001 with budget constraints. “I really pushed the car hard out there today, a little too hard at times.
"These new Dunlop tyres are very consistent and give you three or four chances at a good qualifying lap, this really helped me today."
White is competing in a VT Commodore previously run by the man he today pipped for second, Dale Brede. Brede is now campaigning a Falcon for the Brisbane-based Craig Harris camp.
The Canberra driver was happy with the position, but not the time: "I made a few mistakes out there on my good laps today. These cost me some valuable time right when I needed it."
Just behind the young-guns lurks the experienced head of Tasmanian Greg Crick in a Halliday Motorsport Falcon. Crick has been in the V8 Supercar wilderness over recent years, and was suitably impressed by the 28-car Konica fleet.
"It is really a credit to the whole field, the presentation of these cars is just fantastic compared to a few years ago,” he said.
Michael Simpson’s ex-Stone brothers EL Falcon has had more hits than Elvis, but the Queenslander again showed his class by qualifying fifth.
Rod Salmon was sixth, ahead of Terry Wyhoon. Super Cheap Auto supremo Bob Thorn qualified his Falcon in eighth, while rookie Grant Elliott was ninth.
Kiwi debutant Michael Turner, in a Commodore prepared by Matthew White’s outfit, would do well to tread water in tomorrow’s first race starting from tenth, gifting him pole position for the second heat under the controversial top ten reversed grid format.
Craig Harris was the biggest disappointment, only completing six laps in his team’s first in-house built Ford to qualify in 18th position, one ahead of V8 Supercar sophomore Leanne Ferrier in a VS Commodore.
Two 20-minute races are scheduled tomorrow, the first starting at 11:30am, before a final 35-minute sprint to the podium.
Qualifying results: click here.
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