Challenging Weekend For Caltex Drivers At Barbagallo
Mar 26, 2007
BAM Media
A series of mechanical issues plagued the Caltex supported drivers during the BigPond 400, round two of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, at Perth’s Barbagallo Raceway in Western Australia this weekend.
After finishing fourth in yesterday’s opening race Caltex Ambassador Craig Lowndes pushed around the tight 2.41km circuit during this morning’s opening race. Unfortunately though, his efforts were masked by a broken front sway bar which affected the handling of his Caltex-backed TeamVodafone Falcon and he dropped to eighth at the finish.
Lowndes maintained eighth position during the final race and finished sixth overall for the round, the multiple Champion commented he was relieved to salvage some points out of a relatively lackluster weekend.
Caltex Racing’s Russell Ingall also endured a tough weekend at Barbagallo Raceway. After being handed a post-race penalty overnight Ingall started today’s opening 50-lap encounter from 24th position. Throughout the race he moved up ten spots to cross the line 14th.
Ingall continued his movement up the order by securing a top ten finish in the final encounter. He was classified 12th overall for the round.
Jamie Whincup finished seventh in yesterday’s opening race of the round aboard his Caltex-backed TeamVodafone Falcon. Unfortunately he incurred a drive-through penalty for a pit lane infringement during this morning’s race dropping him to 23rd place at the finish.
From the start of race three through to the compulsory pitstop Whincup was unable to move forward due to severe rear oversteer. Changes made during his stop enabled him to bring his car back to 18th and 13th overall for the round.
James Courtney has left Barbagallo in search of the black cat which he believes he must have hit in the lead up to the weekend following a disastrous run of events over the three days.
Following a high-speed accident on Friday, Courtney was classified 11th in yesterday’s opening race, however an engine problem forced him out of this morning’s race.
Courtney’s problems went from bad to worse during race three when he had a left front tyre deflate, causing him to make heavy contact with the concrete wall on lap 29 of the race. The impact caused severe damage to his Jeld-Wen Falcon, Courtney emerged uninjured.
Garth Tander dominated the round by taking pole position and claiming the victory in all three races. Tander’s team-mate, Rick Kelly, finished second for the round ahead of Mark Skaife and Steven Johnson. After two rounds Kelly leads the championship ahead of Tander and Todd Kelly.
The next round of the championship will be held at Pukekohe Park Raceway in New Zealand on April 20 – 22.
