Rick Kelly took out his first race win of the season, taking the chequered flag in the first 14 lap race which will allow him and team-mate Radisich to start from second position on the grid for the 500km race.
After starting from sixth position Kelly leap-frogged the field on the start picking up three positions on the opening lap and placing him in third. Kelly opted to stay out for his race while others in front chose to pit. Kelly’s team-mate Radisich put in a perfect drive to finish in 17th position after making a pit stop for tyres.
On combined points Kelly and Radisich finished the day on 68 points putting them on the first row of the grid beside the Ford duo of Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup.
Kelly was surprised today by the car speed he and Radisich had, he was also quick to point out he is not getting too excited about his race win given the different dynamics that existed in the endurance format.
Paul Dumbrell and his team-mate David Reynolds had a tough start to racing today. Dumbrell contested the first 14 lap race and opting to pit, taking on two new tyres. He finished in 20th position and handed the car to Reynolds for the second race.
Reynolds struck some rear end dramas before the start of the race, forcing him to start from pit lane. He managed to recover to 14th position before having an off at the back of the circuit causing him to pit to clear the front of the car. His stop then put him back in 28th position where he finished the race.
Dumbrell was confident about tomorrow, given the variables that an endurance event can throw up. The Autobarn car will have the field in front of them, but are planning on using some of their car speed today to move forward in the 500km race tomorrow.
Earlier today Kelly and Dumbrell steered their cars in the first qualifying session, both drivers consistently placing times inside the top ten. Kelly qualified in sixth position for his first race, Dumbrell in 17th.
The pair’s endurance co-drivers Paul Radisich and David Reynolds took control of the car for the second qualifying session, Radisich putting in a time of 1:33.9705 to place him in eighth position. Reynolds posted a time of 1:34.4218 and qualified in 15th position for the second 14 lap race.
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