HRT: Power, performance, patience and pressure
19/9/2003 11:59 (Press Release) -
HRT Delivers the 'p' words at Sandown! The Holden Racing Team delivered at Sandown at the weekend in the Betta Electrical 500, with Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly teaming up to win a rain and time shortened thriller in the #1 HRT VY Commodore.
A key factor in the result was that for the first time this year, HRT had two, latest-spec chassis VY Commodores for round 9 of the 2003 V8 Supercar Championship, allowing the Team to tandem develop the 2 vehicles.
Skaife and Kelly survived rain, hail, Safety Car interventions, a failing electrical system and a penultimate lap desperate passing attempt by the Team Dynamik Commodore of Jason Richards and Simon Wills that forced both cars off the road. The #44 Holden beached itself in the sand with broken steering but Skaife continued on to take the chequered flag after 141 laps of the scheduled 161-lap event.
Jim Richards and Tony Longhurst brought the #2 HRT VY home in 10th after starting 26th on the grid. Richards drove a typical "Richo" race in the wet, bringing the car from 20th-plus up to 8th. However a loose windscreen wiper arm and a spin after contact from another car (#29 received a drive through penalty for the incident) stopped any further forward progress.
Drivers #1: Skaife/T Kelly # 2: Richards/Longhurst
Practice #1 7th 13th
Practice #2 First 19th
Practice #3 2nd 19th
Qualified 2nd 26th
Top 10 Shoot Out 2nd -
Sandown 500 Race First 10th
Round Points 192 (each) 138 (each)
Championship Points
Skaife: 1337 Richards: 138
T Kelly: 1106 Longhurst: 138
Championship Position
Skaife: 3rd Richards: = 38th
T Kelly: 10th Longhurst: = 38th
With three, 45-minute practice sessions, HRT used the time to fast track the set-up and development of the 2 identical chassis VY Commodores.
While the #1 Skaife/Kelly car was using the tried-and-tested Chev 18
degree engine, the #2 car for Jim Richards and Tony Longhurst was fitted with the latest Holden Motorsport V8. Skaife drove both cars to gain a "feel" for both chassis as well as the new specification engine.
The cross referencing resulted in both Skaife and Kelly commenting on
Sunday morning that they felt the car was the best package they'd driven all year, since the introduction of the Project Blueprint regulations.
The Team was of the belief that if it had the package to compete with and apply pressure to the Series-leading Stone Brothers Falcon, it could break Ford's winning sequence. With the new VY, HRT felt it had that package going into the Sandown 500!
Through practice and qualifying, the HRT car was consistently near the top of the timing monitors but again in the Shoot Out, the Stone Brothers Ford of Marcos Ambrose and Russell Ingall was able to pull a ½ second break on the rest of the top 10 leaders in the first sector to take pole. HRT still has to find that aspect of qualifying in the new VY Commodore!
The start of the race was delayed for 20 minutes while a section of Armco fencing was repaired following a crash in an earlier race and, given the weather forecast, it seemed certain that the race would not go the full distance, due to the (television) requirement to finish by 4.45pm.
The race was over almost before it had begun for a couple of key teams; the #6 FPR Ford of Craig Lowndes and Glenn Seton would start from pit lane due to a persistent miss-fire, while on lap 4, the #17 DJR Ford was turned around by the Tander/Pretty Commodore. The 2nd DJR Falcon then cannoned into the first one - effectively ruining both their chances, while Tander had to serve a drive-though penalty, taking him out of the equation too.
HRT's Todd Kelly missed the start and dropped to 5th, while Ambrose opened up a gap in the SBR car. However within 9 laps Kelly was back to 2nd and within another few laps was glued to the tail of the #4 Ford.
Rain on lap 40 changed the face of the race as different strategies were played out. The Ambrose/Ingall car pitted for wet weather tyres while the Skaife/Kelly VY stayed out in the hope the shower would be brief. 4 laps later the #1 car came in for "wets" and fuel, extending its pit window options.
Again Kelly closed the gap to the #4 Ford from 25 seconds to less than 10 before both leaders pitted on lap 68 for a change back to dry tyres as well as the compulsory pit stop for brakes and, a driver change. That was the defining moment because when Ingall came out in the SBR Falcon, he spun the car off the circuit at turn #1, bogging it in the sand trap!
That dropped the Ambrose/Ingall duo a lap down and out of the equation from a race win point of view, although Ingall drove the balance of the race and brought the car home in 5th.
At that stage, the Kmart Commodore of Greg Murphy/Rick Kelly was in the lead from Skaife, but the #51 Holden still had its Compulsory stop for brakes still to come so, the HRT crew was confident of regaining the lead.
Not only did the Skaife/Kelly regain the lead when the Kmart car made that stop, it extended the lead as Murphy had dramas in firstly gaining access to his pit bay as he was blocked by another car, and then during the stop, it was discovered that the rear wing of the Kmart Commodore was loose!
At that stage, the Holden Racing Team was quietly confident that it had seen off the "major players" and - all things being equal - a race win was on the cards. However there were two more twists to go in what had been a fascinating race!
The first was hail on lap 114 - hail so bad that the Safety Car had to be brought out due to the ice build up on the track, as well as safety crews having to repair the tyre wall at Dandenong Rd corner after the #7 Castrol Perkins Commodore had made heavy contact. While this was happening, HRT faced a nervous time as the alternator was failing on the #1 Skaife/Kelly car and the electrics were crashing.
It was a faint hope for the Team that the race would be "called" however after the tyre wall was repaired and the hailstones swept away, the race recommenced on lap 127. Could the #1 car make it to the end?
As more electrical systems either failed or were shut down, Skaife's speed slowed while the Team Dynamik Commodore of Simon Wills and Jason Richards powered through to pressure the lead car and on what turned out to be the 2nd last lap, the #44 Holden made a desperate dive for the lead at Dandenong Rd.
The move failed, with the Dynamik car making contact with Skaife and
sliding off into the sand with broken steering.
Skaife struggled back onto the track to complete the final lap and take the win - the first for the Team since the Clipsal 500 in March!
While the win was a great reward and a great relief, the final twist was a $7,500 fine from the race stewards for not having the compulsory rain light on, due to the failing electrical system! This only marginally took the gloss off the result.
The HRT victory and Ambrose's dramas have kept the 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series alive with Skaife moving to 3rd in the overall points' tally and 2nd on the adjusted table. For Skaife to win another title, the scenarios are as follows:
* Skaife must win all the remaining races, and Ambrose must finish 7th or worse.
* Skaife must win all the remaining races, and Ambrose DNF Bathurst, then finish 3rd or worse in all the remaining races.
* If Skaife finishes second in all the remaining races, Ambrose must finish 8th or worse for the defending champion to win.
Between now and the Bob Jane T-Marts 1000 at Bathurst the Holden Racing Team also has to determine whether to stay with the older '18 degree' Chevrolet engine in the #1 car or, move over to the new Holden Motorsport power plant after its successful introduction in the Richards/Longhurst #2 VY at Sandown.
That will be determined after the Team's final pre-Bathurst test at Winton later this month.
--Holden Racing Team press release
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