The Fujitsu Racing team took the decision to withdraw from last Sunday’s racing and had the car sent directly to a specialised panel beater in Brisbane.
That work was completed late Sunday, when the team transporter loaded the car and headed back to Melbourne.
To give the crew four days of preparation in the workshop, the Fujitsu Racing team contracted a second transporter driver to partner regular driver Mark Beveridge and guarantee it returned on Monday evening.
“Racing is an expensive game, but we didn’t anticipate a damage bill this high, ” said Bright.
“Big hits in Perth, Bathurst and on the Gold Coast have alone equated to 70% of the total damage bill. Plus we run a second car for Alan Gurr and IRWIN Industrial Tools which has also had its fair share of hits.
“The damage bill clearly hurts, but it’s more about giving the crew enough time to properly prepare for Bahrain.
“In this game you can’t do things by halves. That will mean the guys will work pretty much without rest to make sure everything is delivered this weekend.
“Being a modern Formula One circuit the Bahrain International Circuit has a lot of great features and facilities. It’s pretty hard on tyres, but we feel that our car will be a good package on the track.
“Defending my title from last year will be a tough ask. However, a strong overall performance could bring us a finish well inside the top-10.
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Bahrain has a different race schedule to all other rounds with practice on Thursday, qualifying and race #1 on Friday and the final two races of the weekend on Saturday.
Team Manager Adam Laws has had to manage the entire process.
“The Bahrain event is a massive logistical exercise without having any complications like we have faced. Then to add-in our Indy issues really has us up against it, ” said Laws.
“We have no alternatives; we simply have to meet the timeline.
“One of the real spanners in the works is the crew travel to Bahrain. Everyone, and that’s not just us, is leaving on Sunday. The cars and equipment leave on Monday, but obviously we have to deliver everything ahead of our departure. So in effect our crew only gets to rest on the long flight over, plus a couple of days in Bahrain itself.
“Only once the cars and crew arrive at the track in Bahrain on Wednesday will I feel like we have made it. “
Teams hits the track for an extended practice session on Thursday, Friday includes the elimination styled qualifying plus the opening 31-lap race. Saturday concludes the schedule with two more 31-lap races.
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