JELD-WEN Motorsport’s James Courtney produced a strong drive to finish fifth in the opening V8 Supercar race at Oran Park Raceway this afternoon.
In scorching conditions, Courtney was consistently quick over the 46-lap race, chipping away to climb into the top five.
The JELD-WEN Motorsport Falcon started the race from seventh and held posit ion until the first of the compulsory pit stops.
The SBR pit crew completed a super-smooth pit stop on lap 11 on the JELD-WEN Motorsport Falcon, enabling Courtney to continue on to catch Todd Kelly and make the pass on lap 20.
The JELD-WEN Motorsport driver closed the gap to Steven Richards in the final laps, finishing less than a second behind the fourth-placed driver at the chequered flag.
SP Tools Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen had a difficult day, qualifying 15th for the first race.
The 19-year-old made a good start to the race and the SBR crew’s strategy to run long looked to be working in his favour as he moved forward in the field.
Van Gisbergen made a radio call to the SP Tools Racing crew on lap 12 that he had lost engine power and was called straight into the pits.
A quick check of the SP Tools Racing Falcon revealed a problem with the ignition and signaled the end to van Gisbergen’s race.
James Courtney, #4, JELD-WEN Motorsport
“It was quite a hot day in the office today.
“It was really tough out there; it’s a pretty demanding circuit with lots of corners and when the car is not really flash it can be a lot of work.
“We did have some good speed and we’ve finished in a pretty good position with a straight car.
“We’ll do some work on traction issues and the like tonight and head back out there tomorrow.”
Shane van Gisbergen, #9, SP Tools Racing
“Qualifying was a bit tough for us; we had a good lap in the first session to put us seventh fastest but fifteenth was all we could manage in the second leg.
“We made a pretty good start to the race and the SP Tools Racing Falcon was moving forward. We had a good plan for the race but I came out of a corner and put my foot down and there was nothing, no power.
“We pulled into the pits and that was it for us.”
Jonathon Webb, #94, Teckno Autosport
“It’s been a little difficult for us this weekend.
“The car was terrible out of the box. We have made plenty of changes and seemed to be going nowhere.
“But we made a good start in that one from eleventh and the drive-through penalties that other had in front of us certainly helped get us up there.
“Hopefully we can consolidate it from here and have a good result tomorrow.”
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