Round 4 of the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series went off track, literally, for Mark McNally when brake failure caused him to run off the circuit and withdraw from Race 1 today.
Earlier today Mark qualified 16th for Race 1 after overnight set-up changes did not have the desired effect.
“We didn’t get the gains we were hoping for with the set-up changes,” Mark said.
“But it did give us a new direction to head for Race 1 and we were hoping I could make up plenty of ground in that.”
In Race 1 Mark went downhill fast after just 1 lap after his car developed a braking problem.
“I braked hard at the end of the back straight,” Mark said.
“The pedal was good to start with and then it dropped suddenly leaving me with just rear brakes.”
Mark left the track at high speed but managed to pull the car up without damage.
The safety car was deployed and Mark was able to rejoin the track before deciding to abandon the race.
“It was not safe to continue even though the brakes seemed to be working on all but the heaviest braking corners where they were unpredictable.
“We don’t know exactly what is wrong with them but the guys will investigate it and have them repaired for tomorrow,” he said.
Starting from the rear of the grid for Race 2 tomorrow leaves Mark with only one way to head – forward.
“We didn’t really get to test our set-up changes from qualifying so I will go out again without changing it and see how it goes.”
“It has been frustrating because two mechanical issues have really held me back this weekend and robbed me of a chance at a strong overall result.
“However, we do have two races to go so I still have an opportunity to make an impact in them,” Mark said.
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