R4 - What they said...
19/5/2002 22:37 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
Driver quotes from round four of the V8 Supercar Championship Series at Hidden Valley Raceway.
MARK SKAIFE (Holden Racing Team) – 1st
"It's been a really tough weekend, you can tell by the way we all look. This is a tough circuit because it really compresses the field, and with a driver like Jason [Bright] chasing you, you cannot afford to make any mistakes.
It has been a dream start to the series, the team has been working really hard for it so it is nice to get the rewards.
There are some big points rounds still to come, so we've got to press on. This is the best field in the history of V8 Supercar racing, so we can't take anything for granted."
JASON BRIGHT (Holden Racing Team) – 2nd
"There was pretty much nothing between us [Mark Skaife]. After the safety car at the end there it became a sprint, it was going to be a long way around the outside of him though."
GREG MURPHY (Kmart Racing Team) – 3rd
"All three of us dedicate our results to Ashley [Stichbury] this weekend. It is a tough time for his family and hopefully this helps a bit."
MARCOS AMBROSE (Pirtek Racing) – 5th
“I think we were lucky to get away with the points we did this weekend. We missed the car set-up a little and did not have the pace to challenge the leading couple of cars.
It was good to finish as the leading Ford, but we are out there to beat everyone, not just the other Ford teams.”
DAVID BESNARD (Caltex Havoline Race Team) – 7th
“I was pushing as hard as I could and the tyres started to go away from me a little and that’s when I slipped off the track, but we got away with it.
It was great to know I had the car speed to match those guys in front of me. The result was good for everyone who is working hard on this program.”
GARTH TANDER (Garry Rogers Motorsport) – 8th
"We got our strategy right in the second race. The guys did a good pit stop, the car speed was almost up with the front-runners and we made up a lot of positions from 15th on the grid.
I'm reasonably happy with the weekend as we really struggled early. We made progress which was encouraging.”
BRAD JONES (OzEmail Racing Team) – 9th
“It’s been a great weekend for OzEmail Racing. We had both cars in the top ten shootout, both cars inside the first dozen in race one and a top ten round result.
It really proves that as an outfit, OzEmail Racing are one of the top three Ford teams in the championship at the moment.”
GLENN SETON (Ford Credit Racing) – 10th
"We've made enormous gains this weekend, so we're pleased with the result. The important factor with the result is that we're now heading in the right direction and we can definitely build on that.”
JASON BARGWANNA (Garry Rogers Motorsport) – 11th
"It was a reasonable result, encouraging but we're not there yet.”
STEVEN JOHNSON (Shell Helix Racing) – 14th
“Early on in the weekend we looked like we might be close to the pace but that practice accident with [John] Bowe lost us valuable time and it was tough to compete from so far back.
At least in that final race I could put my head down and go for it, and I enjoyed myself. It was great to move so far up the field, it’s just a pity there wasn’t another race to have another go!”
NEIL CROMPTON (00 Motorsport) – 15th
“Our whole team did a tremendous job in turning a tough situation into a respectable result. We made enormous ground in race two thanks largely to brilliant pit work and improved car speed compared to yesterday.”
STEVE ELLERY (Super Cheap Auto Racing) – 16th
"While it was an up-and-down weekend for us, to force our way through the field like we did in the final race today showed the doubters what we are capable of.
Between races today we made a few changes which had a positive impact on the car, and gave me enough speed to round up those guys in front of me."
JOHN BOWE (OzEmail Racing Team) – 17th
“I really struggled today, especially after the dramas with the gearbox in race two.
Starting at the back of the field [for race three] on this track is hard because there really aren’t many passing opportunities.”
CRAIG LOWNDES (00 Motorsport) – 21st
“It was disappointing to finish the weekend in the way we did considering that we started out so well during qualifying and in race one.
The car was getting better with every outing so to have engine problems in the last two races was very disappointing.”
CAMERON McCONVILLE (Lansvale Racing Team) – 24th
"It has been a weekend where we have had to battle for every result that we could get.
Our race reliability is usually excellent so it was a bad setback considering that our pace was improving in the first and second races.”
CAMERON McLEAN (VIP Petfoods Racing) – 25th
"We still have a way to go with our new Falcon to match our previous levels, but we're definitely heading in the right direction.
Today was the first time I'd been able to race with certain drivers and as a bonus we came away with an unmarked car to take to Canberra.”
WAYNE GARDNER (Caltex Havoline Race Team) – 27th
“It has been a hot and tough weekend. I just could not take a trick. In Japan they tell me that being 42 years old is an unlucky year, maybe they are right.”
PAUL RADISICH (Shell Helix Racing) – 31st
"This has been a very frustrating weekend. I thought the biggest issue I would have to deal with this weekend would be the heat, but apparently not!"
PAUL MORRIS (Paul Morris Motorsport) – 33rd
“Things didn't go our way today.
The car still wasn't right in the second race, and we had more trouble with the power steering. I'd say the problem was probably caused by the hit at the start of the first race, but we won't know for sure until we get the car back to the workshop."
RODNEY FORBES (00 Motorsport) – 36th
“It was a real shame that we didn’t get to show the potential of the car this weekend. I felt as if the No. 7 Falcon had really good speed, but unfortunately we were unable to convert that into race results after we got caught up in other people’s incidents.”
|
|
