Torrid
finish for SBR at Eastern Creek
Round 2, Eastern Creek International Raceway, NSW, 7-9 March 2008
Stone Brothers Racing has had a torrid final day at round two of the V8
Supercar Championship Series at Eastern Creek International Raceway,
with mechanical issues, race incidents and penalties putting paid to a
good round finish for the JELD-WEN Motorsport and SP Tools Racing teams.
JELD-WEN Motorsport’s James Courtney looked good for a possible podium
finish after yesterday’s fifth in race one.
A great start from the Gold Coast-based driver in race two saw him move
from fifth to third. However Courtney was quickly passed by Mark
Winterbottom and Russell Ingall in the early laps as he struggled with
lack of turn in the JELD-WEN Motorsport Falcon.
A problematic wheel nut extended the JELD-WEN Motorsport driver’s pit
stop on lap six, dropping him to 17th position.
Things went from bad to worse after the compulsory pit stop as Courtney
struggled to find the speed he had the previous day, unable to improve
on 15th position.
Courtney’s day didn’t improve in race three, the JELD-WEN Motorsport
driver taken out in a mid-pack incident on the first lap. Courtney took
evasive action to avoid a spinning Morris, only to find Tony D’Alberto
on the other side, the contact resulting in extensive damage and
retirement from the race.
Van Gisbergen’s day was no better, the SP Tools Racing Falcon suffering
brake problems from the start of race two causing the Kiwi rookie to run
off the circuit on the opening lap.
After an extended stay in the pits Van Gisbergen rejoined the race five
laps down, but knuckled down to reach 75 per cent race distance and be
classified as a finisher.
The SP Tools Racing Falcon started race three from the rear of the grid,
moving through the field to 17th position as the compulsory pit stop
window opened.
Van Gisbergen pitted on lap 16 for two rear tyres and rejoined the race
in 18th place only to receive a drive-through penalty for speeding in
pit lane.
The young SBR driver served the penalty, then dug deep to make several
passes in the closing laps, crossing the line in 17th place.
Courtney finished
the round in 16th place, with Van Gisbergen in 19th.
James Courtney, car #4, JELD-WEN Motorsport
“Coming into turn two at the start of the third race there was a real
bottleneck.
“Fabian (Coultard) hit me in the rear and pushed me into Paul (Morris)
and it all unfolded from there.
“Paul went into a slow spin and I had to go around the outside of him.
Then (Tony) D’Alberto came across from I don’t know where and hit me
side on damaging the steering.
“This has all happened because we had a bad second race. Once you get
down into that pack in the middle, these things happen.
“We had a good car yesterday, maybe good enough for a podium, but race
two this morning put us out of that.”
Shane van Gisbergen, car #9, SP Tools Racing
“It went backward pretty quickly today.
“In race two the pedal in the SP Tools Racing Falcon went long and I
didn’t have any brakes.
“We put new rotors on it which helped for a few laps but I ended up
pumping the pedal for the whole race.
“It became a bit more predictable at the end so we were able to give it
a got and put in a few good lap times.
“In race three I picked up about 10 positions in the opening laps but
during my pit stop I ran in the wrong gear down pit lane and overran the
limiter.
“We served our penalty then managed to sneak in a few passes after the
last safety car restart to get back up to 17th.
“The results didn’t show it this weekend but we have definitely made
some progress and learned a lot.”
V8 Supercars – Meeting Points
1. Will Davison 260pts
2. Mark Winterbottom 244pts
3. Garth Tander 242pts
4. Rick Kelly 240pts
5. Jamie Whincup 240pts
6. Craig Lowndes 210pts
7. Russell Ingall 192pts
8. Mark Skaife 184pts
9. Lee Holdsworth 168pts
10. Greg Murphy 156pts
16. James Courtney 114pts
19. Shane Van Gisbergen 88pts
V8 Supercars – Championship Points
1. Jamie Whincup 540pts
2. Rick Kelly 432pts
3. Lee Holdsworth 426pts
4. Mark Winterbottom 382pts
5. Will Davison 356pts
6. Craig Lowndes 339pts
7. Greg Murphy 330pts
8. Garth Tander 326pts
9. Mark Skaife 322pts
10. Todd Kelly 308pts
13. Shane van Gisbergen 268pts
18. James Courtney 171pts
V8 Supercars – Race 3
1. Mark Winterbottom
2. Rick Kelly
3. Garth Tander
4. Jamie Whincup
5. Mark Skaife
6. Will Davison
7. Russell Ingall
8. Craig Lowndes
9. Paul Dumbrell
10. Greg Murphy
17. Shane van Gisbergen
DNF James Courtney
V8 Supercars – Race 2
1. Will Davison
2. Mark Winterbottom
3. Craig Lowndes
4. Russell Ingall
5. Jamie Whincup
6. Rick Kelly
7. Steven Richards
8. Lee Holdsworth
9. Garth Tander
10. Paul Morris
15. James Courtney
27. Shane van Gisbergen
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