The Crittenden Automotive Library

THREE CARS IN THE TOP TEN FOR SBR ON DAY 1 AT WINTON

Topics: Winton Motor Raceway

THREE CARS IN THE TOP TEN FOR SBR ON DAY 1 AT WINTON

Stone Brothers Racing
May 14, 2010

Stone Brothers Racing had the ideal start to a race weekend today [Friday] with all three FG Ford Falcons inside the top ten at the conclusion of Practice. It wasn’t just the SBR Series regulars that did a good job on the Winton circuit with enduro drivers, Jack Perkins and John McIntyre ending their stints on a high note.

At the end of the day Shane van Gisbergen led the way for the SBR cars posting the 2nd fastest lap time behind Craig Lowndes, the SP Tools Racing Falcon the fastest Ford on day one.

Tim Slade and Alex Davison finished the day directly behind each other in 9th and 10th respectively with both cars posting their fastest laps on soft tyres.

John McIntyre made the long trip from New Zealand to the rural Winton Circuit just to take part in the first two sessions of Practice as part of continuing his enduro season preparations in the SP Tools Racing Falcon. McIntyre struggled in the opening 30 minutes with the #9 car but soon found his feet ending the second session in 8th position.

It was Jack Perkins that surprised on debut with SBR finishing his time in the #47 Wilson Security Racing Falcon 3rd before Slade got back behind the wheel to finish the end of the second session in 5th.

McIntyre will now have to wait until a test day in September for his next drive in the SP Tools Racing Falcon, while Perkins will join SBR for a test at QLD Raceway scheduled for late May.

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

“Our plan was to just do one lap on the new soft tyres, just to check the balance on the new tyres and see how they come in for qualifying.

“We really needed to do that, we didn’t really know where we were with our first set of soft tyres, we just didn’t have the speed but the car on the new set is not too bad. We are a little bit away from Craig [Lowndes] but we can make it up.”

John McIntyre – Co-Driver, SP Tools Racing Car #9

“In the first session we had an issue with the car that cut our lap time a little bit, we struggled with setup a bit and we thought it might be tyres because like most people we were running on old practice tyres.

“In the second session we went out on a different set of tyres but the car didn’t change so we started working through a program on improving the car. I think it was a combination of improving my driving here at Winton and improving the car a lot and towards the end the car got even better. Unfortunately in the end we weren’t able to improve the lap time any further because of traffic.

“It’s really good when you go in the right direction with driver and car. I have never felt so at home in a V8 Supercar like I do at the moment.

“The long trip over here makes it worthwhile, especially when I can fly home with a good result and a smile on my face.”

Tim Slade – Driver, Wilson Security Racing Car #47

“I am really pleased with how today went, I would have liked to have been a bit higher up in the times but I couldn’t really get the ideal lap together.

“I knew Jack’s feedback would be valuable because he has done thousands of kilometres around this place, he‘s been really fast here in the past, he was in the Top Ten Shootout here in his first year of the main series.

“He knows how a fast car feels around here and knows how to get around here fast. I even learnt a few things from him today which was good.”

Jack Perkins – Co-Driver, Wilson Security Racing Car #47

“The car was a lot different to drive than cars I have driven in the past, but different in a good way. It was great to get a taste for it, we were pretty competitive, it was just a really good day to have my first drive and work with the team for the first time.

“The SBR guys are really accommodating, Tim and I worked really well together straight away and both said the same things about the car and both worked together with Wes to improve it.

“My first experience with SBR was a very good one.

“This is a track I have a lot of confidence in as a driver, you need to be able to prove yourself and I’m really happy with how everything ended up.”

Alex Davison – Driver, IRWIN Racing Car #4

“I’m not really punching the air about the end result today because I don’t think there were too many people behind us that ran green tyres. We improved the car over the day but still have a bit of work to do.

“It’s a pity we only got one timed lap with the soft tyres because it was a little bit inconclusive when we put new tyres on at the end. On my lap they weren’t really up to temperature until the end of the lap so we didn’t even get close to getting the most out of them.”

The V8 Supercars will hit the track tomorrow for qualifying at 11:20am before the 40 lap soft tyre race at 3:35pm.