Subscription

Car Racing

Motorcycle Racing

Racing in Oz

Shop

2005 V8 SUPERCAR: HIDDEN VALLEY

2005 V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP

Round 6 of 13: July 1-3 Hidden Valley Darwin

CIRCUIT

• Hidden Valley, Darwin, NT
• 2.9 km circuit; 5 km from Darwin airport
• 1.1 km main straight
• 2004 winner: Todd Kelly , Commodore
• 2003 wineers: M Skaife, M Ambrose, M Ambrose
• 2002 winners:M Skaife, M Skaife, J Bright
• 2001 winners: R Ingall; G Murphy; M Skaife
• 2000 winner: M Skaife/Holden - overall winner

RACE SCHEDULE:

Saturday July 2, 2005

• 11.30am-12.15pm Qualifying
• 12.30pm-1.00pm Top Ten Shootout
• 3.00pm Race 1 (17 laps)

Sunday July 3, 2005

• 11.50am RACE 2 (48 laps)
• 2.50pm RACE 3 (48 laps)

RACE RESULT :

• Overall winner: T Kelly: "We are right up there now instead of playing catch-up. Now that the team at the top of the field has had a bad weekend it really gives us great confidence."
• 2nd: Tander: "We are hoping it is a turning point in the Championship but we are not beating our chests just year. Now we are in the top 10 we will start looking to the top five and then hopefully the top three. That would be special."
• 9th AMBROSE (Race 1: 4th; Race 2: DNF; Race 3: 9th): "What an amazing weekend. There were just so many highs and lows on both the Pirtek and Caltex sides of the SBR garage this weekend. "This championship is the most competitive it has ever been and it's great to still be in the lead, although there are plenty of others trying to make it hard for us. "When the tyre let go in the second race I actually thought I had lost a wheel because I had just done a pit stop. The car just went straight ahead and I guess we were lucky not to do more damage. In the second race I had a great start, but then flat spotted both front tyres. The car was just "shuttering" later in the race and I really had to dial the brakes to the rear to ensure I did not nip the tyre again and blow it. I guess luck was on our side when you consider the tyre did go a couple of turns from home on the cool down lap. It is going to be a cracking second half of the season and I can't wait."
• 19th INGALL "To say today was disappointing would be an understatement. We had a couple of great recoveries after starting from the back of the grid in the opening race and then not being able to start the last race was shattering for everyone. This certainly isn't going to help our championship chances, but it is far from over. We could not let Marcos get too many points ahead of us and we had the chance to really close the gap after race two.I have been relatively conservative in my approach to races this season, but now that's about to change. If we are going to win this championship we need to win races. It's time to get serious and that start's at the next round in three weeks time on our home track in Queensland."

RACE 3, SUN, JULY 3, 2005

• 1 Garth Tander
• 2 Todd Kelly
• 3 Rick Kelly
• 4 Steven Richards
• 5 Glenn Seton
• 6 Steve Ellery
• 7 Johnson 8 Bright 9 10 Dumbrell

RACE 2, SUN, JULY 3, 2005

• 1 Todd Kelly, Holden Racing Team 48 laps
• 2 Mark Skaife
• 3 Garth Tander
• 4 Russell Ingall
• 5 Rick Kelly
• 6 Jason Richards
• 7 Seton 8 Radisich 9 Bright 10 Bowe

RACE 1, SAT, JULY 2, 2005

• 1 Todd Kelly, Holden Racing Team 17 laps
• 2 Mark Skaife
• 3 Craig Lowndes
• 4 Marcos Ambrose
• 5 Garth Tander
• 6 Paul Radisich
• 7 Paul Morris
• 8 Glenn Seton
• 9 Rick Kelly
• 10 John Bowe

QUALIFYING:

TOP 10 SHOOT-OUT

• 1 Mark Skaife, 1m 8.73s
• 2 Todd Kelly +0.29
• 3 Craig Lowndes +0.3
• 4 Marcos Ambrose +0.53
• 5 Steven Richards +0.57
• 6 Garth Tander
• 7 Paul Radisich
• 8 Paul Morris
• 9 Jason Bright
• 10 Mark Winterbottom

RACE PREVIEW:

• Jason Bright - "The Darwin round is one of the best events of the Championship, I really enjoy the atmosphere of this round, even though it is a very tough event heat wise - but we are a bit more prepared following the humidity we competed in at Shanghai. I have had some great races at Hidden Valley in the past and following the pace we displayed in China, Darwin should also suit us. The team has made some engine and chassis improvements ahead of the round so we look forward to being very competitive there."
• Greg Ritter - "Following our strong result in China I am looking to continue this form in Darwin. Both the Hidden Valley and Shanghai circuits share quite a few similarities including climate, the long straight, smooth surface and the same race format. Considering all that we learned in China about my car, I am confident of a good result. We are getting a true grasp of the car and the way I like it to be set-up - so a podium finish is just around the corner."