R10 PRAC – Besnard's back, Kelly out, as fast men warm to race
12/10/2002 17:33 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
David Besnard’s dream of winning the Bob Jane T-Marts 1000 has been revived while Owen Kelly’s is shattered in an eleventh-hour driver change for tomorrow’s race.
David Besnard will race against his own team tomorrow after teaming with Glenn Seton
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Besnard, whose Stone Brothers Racing Falcon crashed out of the event on Friday at the hands of co-driver Wayne Gardner, will drive with Ford rival Glenn Seton tomorrow, replacing an ill Kelly.
Driven by a midday deadline for entry changes, Seton’s Ford Credit Racing outfit deemed Kelly’s viral infection couldn’t be taken into the gruelling race.
"If we could have either waited longer or entered three drivers, than that’s what we would have done,” Seton said.
"This is the most important race of the year, and if Owen was not 100 per cent fit it would not be right for the team, our sponsors and the supporters.”
With the goodwill of the Stone brothers and their sponsors, Besnard got behind the wheel of the Ford Credit Falcon for the first time in this afternoon’s final practice session.
"Everything feels pretty good in the car, it's a strong Ford and I'm sure we can have a good run tomorrow,” Besnard said.
"The emotions of the last 24 hours have been amazing, now to be in with a shot of winning is something I'll take with both hands.”
Kelly was inconsolable after the decision, after working with the team all season in preparation for this weekend.
"I can't put into words what it means to miss the race tomorrow," he said.
The Ford Credit car was almost three seconds off the pace in this afternoon’s session, with the team repairing power steering problems and a broken oil line sustained in this morning's disastrous Top 15 Shootout.
The Kmart Commodore of Greg Murphy and Todd Kelly was fastest, ahead of the pole-sitting Commodore of Mark Skaife and Jim Richards in a session used primarily to test the cars in race conditions.
OzEmail racers Brad Jones and John Bowe, fourth fastest, are cautiously confident ahead of tomorrow’s assault, starting from the front row of the grid.
“The difference is that this year we have come here with the attitude and belief that we can win,” Jones said. “Whilst in the last few years we have always thought we could do well, there hasn’t been the same feeling of intensity that the whole team has this year.”
SportsTAB has installed the No. 1 HRT Commodore as $3.50 favourites after the shootout, ahead of Bowe and Jones at $6.50.
Shootout starter Greg Ritter was fifth fastest in final practice, but has been relegated to 15th on the grid after officials found irregularities with the Dick Johnson Racing Falcon he shares with Alan Jones. A "small measurement error" on the car's front track disqualified Ritter’s shootout result of seventh.
The decision shuffles a pack of cars led by the Pirtek Falcon of Marcos Ambrose and Paul Weel forward one position.
Earlier, Luke Youlden took out the 30-lap Konica V8 Supercar support race in an exciting contest from Wayne Wakefield. Youlden is partnering Steven Ellery in tomorrow’s race, Wakefield aboard Paul Morris’ Sirromet Commodore.
The lights go green on Mount Panorama at 10am.
Practice three results:
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?13/10/2002.MOUN.P8
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