Davison Manages Back to Back Top Tens while van Gisbergen Experiences a Drama Filled Day at Hamilton

Davison Manages Back to Back Top Tens while van Gisbergen Experiences a Drama Filled Day at Hamilton

Topics: Hamilton 400

Davison Manages Back to Back Top Tens while van Gisbergen Experiences a Drama Filled Day at Hamilton

Stone Brothers Racing
April 20, 2009

Qualifying 2 – 20min The new Sunday 20 minute qualifying session introduced into the racing schedule by the series after the AGP took place today at on the Hamilton streets.

An abrupt end to the session occurred when rookie Tim Slade hit the wall at Turn 7 forcing race control to call for a red flag with just two and a half minutes left on the clock.

The IRWIN Racing Team opted to keep the car in the garage until the last minutes of the session to take advantage of maximum grip on the track, the decision proved to be costly as Alex left Pit Lane to re-enter the circuit when the session was red flagged.

Alex Davison – Driver IRWIN Racing Car #4
“In qualifying today we didn’t have any green tyres which made it hard for us to get a good grid position for the race, there was probably still a bit in the tyres but most of the guys in front of us had used tyres so starting back there its always going to be tough to fight through the pack.”

Van Gisbergen happened to be on a flying lap with the quickest first two sectors when the red flag was shown making his lap time invalid. When the session was called the grid was determined as it stood at the time with the SP Tools Racing Falcon set to start the 200km race from 7th position while the IRWIN Racing Falcon lined up 21st.

Shane van Gisbergen – Driver SP Tools Racing Car #9
“We were really quick in qualifying, we found something and made a change that worked really well then I was a on a lap with a time set for the front row then we ran out of time when the session was red flagged.”

Hamilton 400 – Race 2, 59 laps/200kms

Van Gisbergen had a nightmare start to the race when he experienced problems getting the car off the line, leaving him stranded on the green light. Once the SP Tools Racing Falcon got a off the line delayed Shane found himself at the back of the field dicing for 17th position.

The first Safety Car of the race came early as Ford’s Mark Winterbottom experienced steering problems and had nowhere to go but into the wall on the first corner. The following lap gave van Gisbergen the opportunity the compose himself and discuss a strategy plan with the team.

Van Gisbergen was called to bring the SP Tools Racing Falcon in early to give him a chance at some clean space on the track to make up time lost earlier in the race.

Shane van Gisbergen – Driver SP Tools Racing Car #9
“We had a problem with the engine, its stalled at the start and once I got going it was impossible to pass and then I had Will (Davison) in front of me and I wasn’t quick enough to pass him. I was getting frustrated so I asked Paul (Forgie) to call me in to stop early so I could back out with empty track in front of me.”

IRWIN Racing’s Alex Davison drove another conservative race staying out of trouble keeping the #4 car in the mix mid-field. The scheduled pit stop helped his top ten campaign when he managed to jump Garth Tander in pit lane after changing to four new tyres.

A second Safety Car period occurred when Cameron McConville hit the wall at Turn 7. On restart teammates Shane and Alex headed to Turn 1 directly behind one another in 15th and 16th position before Shane found himself buried once again when he struggled to get power down.

With 15 Laps to go Shane had managed to catch up to Rick Kelly and stayed close on his tail for the next few laps before the two came together as Shane tried to move up the inside. The incident hurt Shane’s track position dropping him back to 23rd.

Van Gisbergen continued to battle his way through the field once again when in the closing stages of the race Craig Lowndes made an error that forced him to retire the race putting Alex inside the top ten and Shane into 15th.

At his second V8 Supercar Event Davison crossing the finish line in 10th was a dream result for SBR as his smart and mature driving style placed him 7th overall for the Hamilton event.

Alex Davison – Driver IRWIN Racing Car #9
“In the race today you could see guys like Will (Davison) and Garth (Tander) weren’t able to push through that much further than I was so it was difficult to pass even though we had reasonable car speed for most of the race and we were faster than the cars in front of us. I found it difficult to get close enough to have a dive so I had to keep my patience as there were times where I was tempted to have a lunge even though I wasn’t close enough but you could see a few people tried that and got into trouble.

“To finish in the top ten twice was good for points but I’m not excited just yet, I want to be in the top five consistently before I get excited.”

Van Gisbergen although disappointed on his weekend’s result is confident a podium finish is close.

Paul Forgie – Engineer Car #9 (In-car Radio – End of Race)
“Hard luck mate, we will put this weekend down as experience and take what positives we can out of if. We will head to Winton and show them what we are all about.”

The Stone Brothers Racing Team will head to Winton in two weeks to compete at Winton Raceway in Victoria

POS	DRIVER	TEAM	VEHICLE	FASTEST LAP
1	Jamie Whincup	Team Vodafone	FORD	1:24.5334
2	James Courtney	Jim Beam Racing	FORD	1:24.4944
3	Steven Johnson	Jim Beam Racing	FORD	1:25.0312
4	Lee Holdsworth	Garry Rogers Motorsport	HOLDEN	1:25.9864
5	Fabian Coultard	Wilson Security Racing	FORD	1:25.1187
6	Micheal Caruso	Garry Rogers Motorsport	HOLDEN	1:25.1985
7	Will Davison	Holden Racing Team	HOLDEN	1:25.0698
8	Greg Murphy	Sprint Gas Racing	HOLDEN	1:25.3826
9	Garth Tander	Holden Racing Team	HOLDEN	1:25.1667
10	Alex Davison	IRWIN Racing	FORD	1:25.4208
15	Shane van Gisbergen	SP Tools Racing	FORD	1:24.8362