The Crittenden Automotive Library

VAN GISBERGEN, THE FASTEST FORD ON DAY 1 IN ADELAIDE

Topics: Clipsal 500

VAN GISBERGEN, THE FASTEST FORD ON DAY 1 IN ADELAIDE

Stone Brothers Racing
March 12, 2010

SP Tools Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen has managed to continue his fine form on the opening day of the Clipsal 500 ending up 2nd quickest at the conclusion of the three practice sessions. Coming off two podiums in the Middle East, van Gisbergen made a smooth transition from the wide, flowing tracks of Abu Dhabi and Bahrain to the tight and sometimes torturous street circuit of Adelaide Parklands to finish one tenth of a second behind Team Vodafone’s Jamie Whincup in the times.

It was a solid day all round for Stone Brothers Racing with all three cars finishing inside the top twelve. Wilson Security Racing’s Tim Slade was a little hot under the collar at the end of the session after an incident with Jason Bargwanna that potentially cost him a top five time on his final flying lap, the end result was a respectable 10th. IRWIN Racing’s Alex Davison also had his frustrations with traffic but was pleased to be 12th at the conclusion of the day.

Shane van Gisbergen – Driver, SP Tools Racing Car #9

“We actually were struggling with the car a little bit to start with today, we made a spring change and it got a lot better. Thanks to the tyres at the end there we made a good gain and set a good lap time.

“For the short twenty minute qualifying session tomorrow it will be pretty hectic out there but you just have to find your own clear track, switch your headlights on so everyone knows you’re on a fast lap and go for it.

“This is a great circuit that you can really get into, from the first run you scrape your mirror on the walls , it’s a cool feeling you can just push the car hard and bounce around a bit.

“The car feels great and it’s good to be consistently quick, I think the difference is this year that I am just making better choices on the track. I’m not as desperate to make passes and I know the car is capable of winning so I am more comfortable to just hang in there for a few laps before making a move on someone.

Alex Davison – Driver, IRWIN Racing Car #4

“We didn’t go quite as well as we would have liked today, but we really improved the car quite a lot towards the end and that is something I am particularly happy about. At Bahrain we somehow managed to make the car feel worse as the session went on but we made good changes today and between the three of us drivers worked really well as a team.

“Today was the first time the cars started out setup 100% the same and I think that’s an important thing we need to continue in the future, I know it really helped us today.

“Coming off such big free flowing circuits like we raced on in the Middle East it certainly took a little while to build up confidence today, it can be quite daunting around here and you don’t want to get too close to the concrete walls but once we made the car better it was easier to really push hard and suddenly you don’t notice they are there anymore. It’s always good fun around here!”

Tim Slade – Driver, Wilson Security Racing Car #47

“It’s been a successful day, the cars out of the truck were a little bit away but it wasn’t a big problem, we worked really well and on every change we made good progress.

“Shane changed his car a little bit based on what we said, and it was good to see that Alex, Shane and I were all complaining about the same stuff. When our feedback is the same it allows us to all move forward when making changes to the cars.

“We ended up tenth overall which should have been better but I was held up by Bargwanna which was disappointing. I should have been closer to Shane if it wasn’t for what happened with Bargwanna on my last flying lap but I’m really looking forward to getting out there in qualifying tomorrow.”

Ross Stone – SBR Team Principal

“It’s great to have all three cars in the top twelve. When we arrived in Adelaide the cars were all setup identically so were worked really well together today with feedback which allowed all three drivers to make gains.

“Shane is obviously doing well, he has grown up a lot and is driving much smarter, I felt for him today as he has been feeling a bit crook but it didn’t seem to cause him any dramas as far as driving fast goes!”

The V8 Supercars will take to the track for qualifying tomorrow at 10:30am before the first of the 250km races at 2:35pm.

ADELAIDE Clipsal 500, Practice 3 – RESULTS

1 1 TeamVodafone/Jamie 1:21.3729
2 9 SP Tools Racing/Shane van Gisbergen 1:21.5271
3 55 The Bottle-O Racing Team/Paul Dumbrell 1:21.7511
4 8 Team BOC/Jason Richards 1:21.8410
5 888 TeamVodafone/Craig Lowndes 1:21.8708
6 2 Toll Holden Racing Team/Garth Tander 1:21.9576
7 24 Bundaberg Red Racing Team/Fabian Coulthard 1:21.9641
8 6 Dunlop Super Dealer/FPR Falcon/Steven Richards 1:22.1188
9 3 Centaur Racing/Tony D'Alberto 1:22.1237
10 47 Wilson Security Racing/Tim Slade 1:22.1515
12 4 IRWIN Racing/Alex Davison 1:22.2944

ADELAIDE Clipsal 500, Practice 2 – RESULTS

1 2 Toll Holden Racing Team/Garth Tander 1:22.2698*
2 17 Jim Beam Racing/Steven Johnson 1:22.3627
3 1 TeamVodafone/Jamie Whincup 1:22.4068
4 7 Jack Daniel's Racing/Todd Kelly 1:22.4551
5 3 Centaur Racing/Tony D'Alberto 1:22.4714
6 888 TeamVodafone/Craig Lowndes 1:22.5022
7 8 Team BOC/Jason Richards 1:22.6044
8 5 Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon/Mark Winterbottom 1:22.6075
9 33 Fujitsu Racing/GRM/Lee Holdsworth 1:22.6133
10 9 SP Tools Racing/Shane van Gisbergen 1:22.7596
16 47 Wilson Security Racing/Tim Slade 1:23.0265
17 4 IRWIN Racing/Alex Davison 1:23.0437

ADELAIDE Clipsal 500, Practice 1 (Rookie Session) – RESULTS

1 7 Jack Daniel's Racing/Todd Kelly 1:22.9205
2 3 Centaur Racing/Tony D'Alberto 1:23.2477
3 2 Toll Holden Racing Team/Garth Tander 1:23.2812
4 51 Castrol Edge Racing/Greg Murphy 1:23.3045
5 24 Bundaberg Red Racing Team/Fabian Coulthard 1:23.6811
6 6 Dunlop Super Dealer/FPR Falcon/Steven Richards 1:23.7104
7 10 Bundaberg Red Racing Team/Andrew Thompson 1:24.1212
8 19 Dick Johnson Racing/Jonathon Webb 1:24.2343
9 47 Wilson Security Racing/Tim Slade 1:24.2684
10 4 IRWIN Racing/Alex Davison 1:24.2775