Stone Brothers Racing drivers Russell Ingall, Luke Youlden, James Courtney and David Besnard all agree on one thing; the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama is something special.
That may be where the agreement between the two SBR driver pairings ends at round ten of the V8 Supercar Championship Series next weekend.
The Caltex Racing and JELD-WEN Motorsport teams will be keen rivals on track after being separated by only 0.005 of a second at the chequered flag at last year’s Bathurst 1000, the JELD-WEN Motorsport team ultimately claiming third place.
Caltex Racing’s Ingall and Youlden have strong motivation to improve on last year’s result. The pair have waited 12 long months to have another shot at the podium and are determined to be in the mix on lap 161 this year.
For JELD-WEN Motorsport’s James Courtney and his new co-driver David Besnard, a strong performance at Sandown, marred by pit stop delays and fumes in the cabin, proved that they have the right ingredients to make it to the top step.
The pair, who have been friends for 20 years, showed good pace to qualify on the front row at Sandown and are confident that they can run at the front.
The V8 Supercars will hit the Mount Panorama circuit on Thursday 4 October at 10:40am for a two-and-a-half hour practice session, followed by practice and qualifying on Friday, the Top Ten Shootout on Saturday and the 161-lap race on Sunday.
Points of Interest…
Stone Brothers Racing won the Bathurst 1000 in 1998 with Jason Bright and Steven Richards. It was the teams first year of operation.
JELD-WEN Motorsport’s James Courtney claimed third position at the Bathurst 1000 last year (with Glenn Seton), crossing the line 0.005 of a second ahead of team-mates Russell Ingall and Luke Youlden in the Caltex Racing Falcon.
Russell Ingall will make his 16th Bathurst start this year. Ingall has won the event twice, in 1995 & 1997.
Co-drivers Luke Youlden and David Besnard have plenty of experience at Mount Panorama, having raced in the Bathurst 1000 on seven previous occasions.
This year will mark the Stone Bothers Racing team’s tenth Bathurst 1000.
Russell Ingall, car #9, Caltex Racing.
“The Bathurst 1000 has a strange kind of enjoyment to it. It can be such a tough race, both on cars and on drivers, and it can feel like hell on the Sunday, yet you can’t wait to get there and have another go.
“There rewards are so great if you win, it can wipe all the hard work from your mind in a second.
“Luke (Youlden) and I have a lot of motivation to come away from Bathurst with a result this year.
“It was gut-wrenching to be so close to a podium last year only to miss out by the smallest margin on the line.
“We will be giving it absolutely everything; there will be nothing left at the end of lap 161.”
Luke Youlden, car #9, Caltex Racing
“The Mount Panorama circuit is just an amazing piece of road.
“When you first arrive, it always seems narrower that you remember. The first couple of laps out, you feel like you are flying and then you realize that you still have a couple of seconds to find.
“It’s definitely a track where the more times you race there, the more laps you do, the quicker you can be on the ball.
“Racing in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series gives me twice the miles so I can hit the ground running when I jump in the Caltex Falcon. Doing the two categories definitely gets your confidence up.
“The Caltex Falcon has improved a lot since last year so we are looking forward to going better than our fourth last year.
James Courtney, car #4, JELD-WEN Motorsport
“It always seems that there is a bit of hang time before getting to Bathurst and getting onto the circuit.
“There is a big build up and everyone looks forward to this event all year.
“The key to Bathurst is to have a fast consistent car that is easy to drive. The work that the SBR guys put in early in the week is so important to getting that right.
“The JELD-WEN Falcon showed really good speed at Sandown so David (Besnard) and I are in with a great shot if we can take that with us to Bathurst.
“We know we have the right ingredients, we just have to get all the little bits right to get on to that top step.”
David Besnard, car #4, JELD-WEN Motorsport
“Mount Panorama is one of the best tracks in the world.
“Unlike America where just about every track has a long history and lots of famous moments associated with it, Australian circuits generally haven’t been around long enough to have that.
“Bathurst is the exception. It’s got history and it’s got atmosphere; you can feel it when you cruise into town.
“Based on our performance at Sandown, James (Courtney) and I should be up in the top four or five at Bathurst. We’re a good driver combination, very even and we like the same set up in the JELD-WEN Falcon.
“Without the dramas we had at Sandown, we have every chance of a podium finish, and a good shot at winning.”
| 
|