VICTORY FOR THE BLUE OVAL AT THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

VICTORY FOR THE BLUE OVAL AT THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

Topics: ING Australian Grand Prix

VICTORY FOR THE BLUE OVAL AT THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

Stone Brothers Racing
March 30, 2009

Winning all three races and leading 45 laps around the Albert Parklands Street Circuit Ford has won the Manufacturers Challenge by a landslide at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

After Saturdays race IRIWN Racing’s Alex Davison lined up on the grid in 15th while his teammate, SP Tools Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen started from 9th position.

On the first lap van Gisbergen was hot on the tail of Steven Johnson before passing him with ease to jump up to 8th position. Davison, caught up in the mid-field dropped back to 17th staying out of trouble in the initial stages of the race.

A safety car period was deployed on lap 14 when Jason Bright was forced to limp his SBR prepared BF Falcon back to the pits after hitting the wall at turn 15. The impact causing damage to his front left proving how challenging and demanding street circuits can be.

Alex Davison – Driver IRWIN Racing Car #4
“The most important thing this weekend for us was to come away with a straight car, which we managed so we are happy with the outcome of the weekend. We tried to use this round as a test session to iron out any problems with the IRWN FG Falcon before we move onto Hamilton.

I am confident we will do well in New Zealand. Clipsal and the AGP gave me time to settle into my new team and get back into a race season rhythm.”

Quickly becoming one of the most entertaining drivers in the field, Shane van Gisbergen received plenty of attention as he worked his way up to 7th racing Steven Johnson once again and Garth Tander for position.

Paul Forgie – Engineer Car #9 (In Car Radio)
“Love your work mate, keep it nice and smooth and concentrate on what you’re doing.”

After completing 14 laps the SP Tools FG Falcon was out of tyres and van Gisbergen was unable to hold on, finishing in 8th.

Shane van Gisbergen – Driver SP Tools Racing Car #9 (In Car Radio)
“Sorry about that guys, I made a couple of mistakes on the last lap and couldn’t keep him out. It was hard work.”

The Stone Brothers Racing team travelled back to the Gold Coast last night after two weeks away for the Clipsal 500 and Melbourne Grand Prix. The team will enjoy the next two days off, returning back to the Yatala workshop Wednesday to make the final preparations to the cars for the upcoming Hamilton Championship Round in April.

Race 3 Results – 15 Laps

POS	CAR #	TEAM	DRIVER	VEHICLE
1	888	Team Vodafone	Craig Lowndes	FORD
2	5	Ford Performance Racing	Mark Winterbottom	FORD
3	39	Supercheap Auto Racing	Russell Ingall	HOLDEN
4	22	Holden Racing Team	Will Davison	HOLDEN
5	8	Team BOC	Jason Richards	HOLDEN
6	17	Jim Beam Racing	Steven Johnson	FORD
7	2	Holden Racing Team	Garth Tander	HOLDEN
8	9	SP Tools Racing	Shane van Gisbergen	FORD
9	111	Wilson Security Racing	Fabian Coultrard	FORD
10	1	Team Vodafone	Jamie Whincup	FORD
16	4	IRWIN Racing	Alex Davison	FORD

Australian Grand Prix Manufacturers Challenge Points Total
Ford 1856
Holden 1574