Tony D’Alberto experienced a difficult weekend in his first visit to Perth ‘s Barbagallo Raceway on the weekend for Round 4 of the V8 Supercar Championship.
Tony eventually finished 22nd for the round after qualifying 28th and finishing 21st, 20th and 23rd in the three races respectively.
The crew had their work cut out from the start when an engine problem was discovered on Friday morning while warming it up and had to be changed prior to the practice session.
A gearbox problem towards the end of qualifying, and suspension changes had the crew working hard to get the car on the grid for the first race.
Race 1 went well with Tony starting to come to grips with the circuit and making up seven places over the course of the 50 lap race.
“It was good to just get out there and race,” Tony said.
“We didn’t have the fastest car and it was pretty hard work but I kept out of trouble and pushed as hard as I could.”
The second race was shaping up well for Tony, as he was as high up as 17th position after the pit stop.
Unfortunately a pit-lane speeding infringement meant a drive-through penalty was issued dropping him down to 20th at the end.
“The speed limiter didn’t engage properly and I crept over the pit lane 40km/h limit,” he said.
“We were just plugging away out there, making a few place as we went; it’s unfortunate to get a drive-through but they are the rules.”
Race 3 had little highlights for Tony, unable to make a lot progress up the field in the 50 lap event.
A late race passing attempt on Marcus Marshall punctured the left front tyre causing Tony to leave the circuit, and having to pit for repairs before finishing 23rd.
“The meeting didn’t have many highlights for us,” Tony said.
“There will always be tough meetings, we just have to learn what we can from our experience and move on.”
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