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2005 V8 SUPERCAR: ORAN PARK

2005 V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP

Round 8 of 13: Aug 12-14 Oran Park Sydney

RACE FORMAT

• 2 RACE ROUND
• Sunday: 54 laps / 140km per race
• 1 compulsory pitstop for tyres
• Total attendance: 36,983

CIRCUIT: ORAN PARK, NSW

• Located 48 km from Sydney
• 2.6 km circuit; 11 turns, anti clockwise; technical circuit
• 2004 winner: Race 1, Skaife; Race 2, Ambrose
• 2003 winner: MARCOS AMBROSE, FORD
• 2002 winner: SKAIFE, HOLDEN (both races)
• 2001 winner: Mark Skaife, Holden
• 2000 winner: Mark Skaife, Holden
• 1999 winner: Mark Skaife, Holden
• Lap record: 1m 8.0631s, Lowndes, 1999

RACE 2:

• 1 Russell Ingall, Falcon BA
• 2 Marcos Ambrose, Falcon BA
• 3 Greg Murphy, Commodore VZ
• 4 Craig Lowndes, Falcon BA
• 5 Garth Tander, Commodore VZ
• 6 Rick Kelly
• 7 Jason Bright
• 8 Cameron McConville
• 9 Paul Radisich
• 10 Max Wilson
• DNF: M Skaife

RACE 1:

• 1 Steven Richards, Commodore VZ
• 2 Russell Ingall, Falcon BA
• 3 Greg Murphy, Commodore VZ
• 4 M Ambrose
• 5 Rick Kelly
• 6 Jason Richards
• 7 Jason Bright
• 8 Cameron McConville
• 9 Craig Lowndes
• 10 Steve Johnson
• DNF: T Kelly
• DRIVE THRU PENALTY: Skaife - jump start; Ambrose - speeding in pitlane; Lowndes - speeding in pitlane

QUALIFYING:

TOP 10 SHOOT-OUT, SAT, AUG 13, 2005

• 1 Marcos Ambrose, Falcon BA 1m 8.3774s
  "My shootout lap was not perfect so to still be on pole is very pleasing. I lost a bit in the second sector, but managed to make it up over the last third of the lap. The car was pretty loose and I got wide on the final turn and just clipped the wall with my side mirror. Maybe I let the car drift a little too wide! Getting the pole is pretty important here, but a couple of 54-lap sprint races are going to make the tactical battle pretty interesting. I think we have to be a little more aggressive tomorrow than we were in the last 300km race at Queensland Raceway just because of the nature of sprint races. We won't be taking too many risks, but the safest place to be is out in front and hopefully we can get out there and maintain an advantage."
• 2 Rick Kelly, Commodore VZ +0.16s
  “It was looking good on the second split, but Marcos was able to find 2/10ths in the final sector. But considering our season so far this is a great start for us. We’ve had some brake dramas in the car, but we think we got them sorted out at a recent test, so I think we’re in pretty good shape for tomorrow.”
• 3 Mark Skaife, Commodore VZ +0.26
  “It wasn’t our best performance today, so to be third on the grid is good. We made a few changes for the Shootout and they didn’t really work. I was trying to force the car too much during too much and we lost a little bit of time in the second sector. We should have been 2/10ths quicker, and that would have been interesting. The first corner is pretty important tomorrow, but whether it is more important than the pitstops depends on what strategy you choose – changing two tyres or four tyres – and the efficiency of that stop. Our starts have been good lately, they were all good in Darwin and Queensland so I’m pretty confident we’ll be in there for the first corner. What sort of risks you take there you are not going to know until it happens, that’s part of the game. But I can tell you know, I’m not going to give up spots easily.”
• 4 Craig Lowndes, Falcon BA +0.27
  "We struggled a bit through qualifying as the track conditions changed a lot from the morning's practice session. We made a lot of changes to tyre pressures and tyre combination and I was quite happy with the car by the time it came to the shootout. I got a reasonably clean lap in the shootout but didn't run the kerb enough in turn eight which cost me a bit of time. The car was good as a race car which gives us confidence for tomorrow. It is going to be imperative to get a good start tomorrow with the long drag from the start line to turn on"
• 5 Russell Ingall, Falcon BA
  "There is no doubt that I have some unfinished business at Oran Park and to get it done this weekend would be pretty good timing in respect of the championship ... There was a lot of dirt on the track and I think that is going to be an issue this weekend with the dirt that has been placed on the inside of the curbs to try and smooth them out. We made a few little changes before the shootout, but we probably went in the wrong direction. Overall I think we have a pretty good race car and a good race package. It is just a matter of having a little luck on our side and getting the job done tomorrow."
• 6 Steven Richards
• 7 Paul Morris
• 8 Garth Tander
• 9 Steven Johnson
• 10 Jason Richards

RACE PREVIEW:

• AMBROSE: "This is a great venue with a challenging track. With so many directional changes and the hills it is a pretty exciting place. It is also terrific for the fans because of the seating and the mounds around the track ... It was a nice feeling to collect the winner's trophy for Ford here in 2003 after an eight-year dry spell and then back it up again last year."

• INGALL: "I used to race karts at the place and I think we have been there every year since I began in the series, so I guess it is about time this weekend in the Caltex Ford. The way the championship is positioned, obviously a big result is going to be important for all the front runners if they want to stay in the championship race. I have had car speed there the last couple of years, but things just have not fallen our way. We need to capitalize this weekend. There is no doubt that we have to go for race wins at every outing, starting this weekend ... We said before the last race that the gloves are off and let me tell you they are still in the cupboard:"

• NEIL CROMPTON: "The 2005 V8 Supercar Championship Series has reached an intriguing moment. We're now into the second half of the Series and while reigning Champion Marcos Ambrose continues to sail along leading the Championship, there's still no truly clear picture as to who will nail the Series victory this year. So here we are heading towards the enduro events on the eve of this weekend's 8th Round at Oran Park Raceway. At each Round I shake my head when I witness just how intense the battle is. This is without doubt, one of the very toughest Series in the world of motorsport right now. It's brutal, it's close and a variety of people can win. Well done AVESCO and TEGA. Oran Park is one of my favourite venues. I expect a mega crowd and I'm sure we'll all be treated to something special."

• BRIGHT: "Oran Park is a very challenging circuit in that it has a good layout but the surface is very different in comparison to any other circuit that we race at. This is also one of the bumpier circuits in the series. We have done a lot of work to ensure that our car remains stable on bumps following the problems we encountered at Queensland Raceway, so this should help us over the weekend."

• RITTER: "I am honoured to be playing a part in celebrating Ford's 80th Anniversary and their 80 year partnership with the Geelong Football Club at Oran Park. The car looks great and with some reliability and our ever improving car speed, we should be in the hunt for strong result. This will be my first V8 Supercar race at Oran Park but I am very familiar with the circuit, having won my Formula Ford title there. I think that this will be a very challenging round and it would be great to play our part in celebrating Ford's 80th with an all Ford podium result."

• FPR Motorsport Director, Tim Edwards: "We have focussed our attention on damper development to overcome the problems that we faced in Queensland. We expect to see a significant improvement in this area with both cars at Oran Park. The team has done well at this circuit in the past so we are looking forward to the challenge ahead of us."

• McCONVILLE: "Oran Park is a place I'm very familiar with. It's an exciting little circuit with plenty of rise and fall - there's a particularly fast 'dog leg' section which rises and falls and is completely blind as you crest the rise - it certainly grabs the attention pretty quickly if you make a mistake! We've slipped back in the championship points over the last few rounds. A lack of speed has hurt us but at least we've been able to plug away and collect points and reliably finish the races. The endurance races are really looming up fast, so this is our last race before we switch to 'enduro mode' and have two drivers in each car."