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2005 V8 SUPERCAR: QUEENSLAND 300

2005 V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP

Round 7 of 13: July 22-24 Queensland Raceway Ipswich

CIRCUIT & RACE FORMAT:

• location: Ipswich, 1 hour west of Brisbane.
• 3.1 kilometre circuit
• built in 1998
• shares with the Willowbank Raceway drag racing facility
• RACE FORMAT:
• single race
• 90 laps
• 2 compulsory pitstops; one for fuel, one for tyres.

RACE RESULT:

• 1 Craig Lowndes, Falcon BA *** his 2nd round win of the year ***
  “I came into the weekend more confident than most but with the depth of competition in the Series everything still has to go right. We were able to be consistent and made a few little mistakes but put in a superb team effort to get through.”
• 2 Marcos Ambrose, Falcon BA +2.8
  “If you are going to get beaten you want to get beaten by a Ford and even better by a team that uses the same engines at Stone Brothers Racing. It would be good ton win races all the time but in this game it’s almost as important to make sure you finish. It’s great for Craig to get a couple of wins now and again but if I still extend my Championship lead that’s a good thing. That’s not to say I’m going to let him ever have it easy.”
• 3 Garth Tander, Commodore VZ
• 4 INGALL
• 5 S RICHARDS
• 6 T KELLY
• 7 S ELLERY
• 8 G MURPHY
• 9 BRIGHT
• 10 S JOHNSON
• 11 Glenn Seton
• 12 Mark Skaife
• 13 David Besnard
• 14 Max Wilson
• 15 Rick Kelly
• 16 Craig Baird
• 17 Cameron McConville
• 18 Paul Dumbrell
• 19 Jason Bargwanna
• 20 Brad Jones

QUALIFYING:

TOP 10 SHOOT-OUT

• 1 Marcos Ambrose, Falcon BA 1m 10.2173
• 2 Craig Lowndes, Falcon BA +0.11
• 3 Russell Ingall, Falcon BA +0.29
• 4 Todd Kelly, Commodore VZ
• 5 Steven Richards
• 6 Mark Skaife
• 7 Steve Ellery
• 8 Garth Tander
• 9 Greg Murphy
• 10 Max Wilson

2ND QUALIFYING

• 1 Marcos Ambrose, Falcon BA 1m 10.3557
  "I think claiming our fifth pole in five years is something myself and the whole Pirtek Racing operation can be proud of. I think this is also the first time we have had all Fords in the top three, so I will probably sleep a little easier tonight knowing I don't have as many Holdens around me at the start of the race. The car was nice yesterday on old tyres and it was great to convert that today."
• 2 Garth Tander, Commodore VZ
• 3 Russell Ingall, Falcon BA
  "The shootout has always been the toughest part of the weekend for me, so to be on the second row of the grid puts us in a pretty good position for tomorrow. The car is great at race pace, which is important because 90 laps around here is going to be along way."
• 4 Mark Skaife, Commodore VZ
• 5 Todd Kelly, Commodore VZ
• 6 Craig Lowndes, Falcon BA
• 7 Steven Richards
• 8 Max Wilson
• 9 Greg Murphy
• 10 Steve Ellery

FRI PRACTICE, JULY 22, 2005

• 1 Mark Skaife, Commodore VZ 1m 10.2930
  “The car was good straight away, although we didn’t initially have the speed of Russell and Marcos. For speed we’ll be up there, and we do want to start in the front row. The longer race will be more telling on Sunday and that is where the local knowledge should help others.”
• 2 Marcos Ambrose, Falcon BA +0.01
• 3 Craig Lowndes, Falcon BA +0.015
• 4 Garth Tander
• 5 Russell Ingall
• 6 Steve Ellery
• 7 Steven Johnson
• 8 Jason Bright
• 9 Glenn Seton
• 10 Steven Richards

RACE PREVIEW:

• MARCOS AMBROSE: "I could race this track with my eyes closed. This is obviously the testing track for Stone Brothers Racing and I have done more miles around here than any other track in the world. The track actually looks quite simple, but it is quite technical and is hard to extract a great time from. There is not a lot of grass on the surrounding mounds and if it is windy the track will be quite slippery."

• RUSSELL INGALL: "I have had some pretty good results at QR over the years and that always helps when talking about whether you like or dislike a circuit. It is not the most excitingly designed circuit in the world, but it takes plenty of concentration to extract that final fraction of a second to give you the edge over the opposition."

• JASON BRIGHT: "I enjoy racing at Queensland Raceway - I drove countless test miles there in 1999 and I have almost won it twice but was let down by mechanical problems each time. What the circuit lacks in excitement, in makes up for in technical challenges. It is particularly hard on brakes and if you have rear traction or power down problems, you are in major trouble. The circuit rewards a well set up car over the long distance."

• GREG RITTER: "Even though it is not the most challenging of circuits, I like racing at Queensland Raceway. I have had some strong results there and I know the place very well. We have made some major gains with my car in the first half of the season and we're planning to be stronger again at this round."

• TIM EDWARDS (FPR Motorsport Director): "In preparation for this endurance race we have completed an exhaustive programme of re- fuelling and general pit stop practice. Unfortunately we cancelled our test day before this round due to bad weather, but based on our car speed in China and Darwin, we head to Queensland with the goal of achieving a podium result."

• GREG RUST (V8 Supercar): " How fast is this year going? The Queensland 300 marks the
  halfway point in the 2005 V8 Supercar Championship Series. Recent rounds have been shorter, multi-race formats but at Willowbank it's a mini enduro. One race - 280 kilometres - with pit stops for tyres and fuel. This event also marks the reintroduction of a Sunday morning warm-up. After a huge outcry over the cancellation of this 20-minute session officials agreed to reinstate it at races that require stops for fuel. Queensland Raceway has been criticised over the years but it always seems to produce exciting racing. Marcos Ambrose has an 87-point championship lead over Steven Richards. Russell Ingall is just 16 points behind Richo and Todd Kelly, only seven off the Enforcer's tally. My colleague Neil Crompton has a great theory about the need for drivers to "Buy a ticket" to the last 30 laps or so. There's a long way to go in this championship and with only one shot at the 192 points on offer next weekend watch how they the play the game. It'll be a ripper! "

• JASON RICHARDS: "We've shown we're quick and hopefully we can give those Queensland-based teams a run for their money on their home track. We debuted our current model car there last year but, in all honesty, we were miles away from the pace. At least for this year we know where not to go with our setup, which can be just as good as actually knowing where to go! This race is the longest race of the year we've had so far. It's a mini Bathurst. It puts a lot of pressure on making sure you're there at the finish. You need to stay out of trouble and keep calm, which is going to be a good approach to look after the tyre wear."

DEVT SERIES

• D'ALBERTO FLIES THE HOLDEN FLAG (Tony D'Alberto Racing)
  Tony D'Alberto is the top Holden driver in a position to win the 2005 HPDC V8 Supercar Series going into Round 4 at Queensland Raceway this weekend. Currently sitting third in the points Tony has been a regular front runner in 2005 mixing it with the more fancied teams and drivers.
• TDR (Tony D'Alberto Racing) took on the challenge of running its own team in 2005 and, despite the steep learning curve Tony has been one of the form drivers of the series to date. "We are getting closer to winning each time we go racing. The competition this year is really tough with drivers who have a lot of experience at the highest level of V8 racing. I am enjoying racing against the likes of Dean Canto, Warren Luff and Adam Macrow, I think it just improves the standard for everyone," Tony said.
• TDR team manager, Al D'Alberto feels the team is making inroads with set-up, tyre management and race strategy. "It is very difficult when you are competing against highly experienced teams, although I think it gives us a goal to aim for and makes us all the sharper," he said. Being the top Holden team has only strengthened Tony's ambition to win the series. "There is a certain pressure but it is also an opportunity I look forward to. The stakes are high but our goal has always been to win races, and in turn the series. Achieving this for Holden would be an added bonus to us," Tony said.
• Practice and qualifying is this Friday, with Races 1 and 2 on Saturday, and Race 3 on Sunday.