SP Tools Racing

Round 6, SKYCITY Triple Crown, Hidden Valley, Darwin, NT

Stone Brothers Racing drivers have made a gutsy comeback in the third and final race at round six of the V8 Supercar Championship Series in Darwin this afternoon after taking a battering in race two this morning.

SP Tools Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen recovered to take ninth for the round, closely followed in the points by team-mate JELD-WEN Motorsport’s James Courtney in tenth.

Courtney produced a brilliant drive in race three to take seventh position after starting from a lowly 24th on the grid.

Race two was forgettable for Courtney, the JELD-WEN Motorsport driver looked certain to hold on to eighth position until he lost the rear end of his SBR Falcon and slid into the tyre wall at turn eight two laps from the chequered flag. Courtney was able to finish the race, but dropped to 24th position.

Courtney was in need of a clever strategy in race three and he got one, the JELD-WEN Motorsport driver holding off on his compulsory pit stop until lap 25, providing him with a clear track to pump out consistently fast lap times and make ground on the rival pack.

The JELD-WEN Motorsport Falcon rejoined the 42-lap race in tenth position, Courtney passing team-mate Shane van Gisbergen the following lap to claim ninth.

Following the safety car period on lap 30, Courtney made a move on Jamie Whincup for eighth and picked up one more positio n when Craig Lowndes retired from the race on the final lap suffering an engine problem.

Like his team-mate, SP Tools Racing’s van Gisbergen was also showing good form in race two until he made contact with Will Davison at the hairpin, turning the number 18 Falcon around. The resulting drive-through penalty saw the SP Tools Racing driver drop from eighth position down to 23rd.

In the closing laps of the race, van Gisbergen was able to push on and pick up seven positions to finish in 16th place.

Race three produced a hectic start and van Gisbergen slid to 20th place on the opening lap but he quickly put his head down to regain three positions before his compulsory pit stop on lap eight.

Van Gisbergen pushed hard following his stop, a swag of passing moves earning him ninth place by lap 26. The young Kiwi relinquished only one position to team-mate Courtney, dropping to tenth before crossing the line in ninth position as he benefited from Lowndes? ?? retirement.

Both Courtney and van Gisbergen retain their positions in the V8 Supercar Championship standings, seventh and eleventh respectively. Stone Brothers Racing remains in fourth position in the teams championship.

Stone Brothers Racing will next race at their ‘home’ event in two weeks time when round seven of the V8 Supercar Championship Series returns to Queensland Raceway, 18-20 July 2008.

James Courtney, #4, JELD-WEN Motorsport
“It was good to finish the weekend on a positive note with a really solid race.

“The JELD-WEN Falcon was quite a handful at the start of the second race today but we ran around and worked our way into the race and got inside the top ten.

“With two laps to go I lost the rear at turn eight and there was no getting it back.

“In the last race the JELD-WEN Falcon was fantastic, easily the best it’s been all weekend. It was great to find that cha nge that made the difference and have some success with it.

“We were down on power in the last race with an engine problem from lap eight onwards so to have the pace that we did despite that shows that we really got on top of the car at the end.

“We have some good knowledge now of the tyre after the third race as well and we will have some good direction at Queensland Raceway.”

Shane van Gisbergen, #9, SP Tools Racing
“It was a weekend full of ups and downs but in every race we had very good pace and we were able to pass a lot of cars.

“The handling and balance of the SP Tools Racing Falcon was good this weekend and the brakes were really strong when following other cars, they didn’t fade.

“The incident with Will (Davison) today was one of those things in racing; he moved over and I wasn’t far enough up. I went and apologised to him after the race as it affected both our races.

“We will have a new car at Q ueensland Raceway, James’ car from Clipsal, so we will be focusing on that in the next week and we hope that we can improve even further.”

Meeting Points
1. Steven Richards 284 pts
2. Mark Winterbottom 278 pts
3. Garth Tander 272 pts
4. Jamie Whincup 214 pts
5. Russell Ingall 212 pts
6. Will Davison 186 pts
7. Rick Kelly 180 pts
8. Craig Lowndes 154 pts
9. Shane Van Gisbergen 140 pts
10. James Courtney 138 pts

V8 Supercar Championship Points
1. Mark Winterbottom 1402 pts
2. Garth Tander 1344 pts
3. Jamie Whincup 1276 pts
4. Rick Kelly 1208 pts
5. Steven Richards 1123 pts
6. Craig Lowndes 1051 pts
7. James Courtney 949 pts
8. Will Davison 938 pts
9. Lee Holdsworth 876 pts
10. Todd Kelly 834 pts
11. Shane Van Gisbergen 832 pts

V8 Supercar Team Championship Points
1. Ford Performance Racing 2525 pts
2. Team Vodafone 2327 pts
3. Toll Holden Racing Team 2088 pts
4. Stone Brothers Racing 1781 pts
5. HSV Dealer Team 1774 pts

Race 3
1. Steven Richards
2. Mark Winterbottom
3. Garth Tander
4. Russell Ingall
5. Will Davison
6. Rick Kelly
7. James Courtney
8. Jamie Whincup
9. Shane Van Gisbergen
10. Greg Murphy

Race 2
1. Garth Tander
2. Steven Richards
3. Mark Winterbottom
4. Craig Lowndes
5. Jamie Whincup
6. Russell Ingall
7. Jason Richards
8. Mark Skaife
9. Rick Kelly
10. Will Davison
16. Shane Van Gisbergen
24. James Courtney

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Round 6, SKYCITY Triple Crown, Hidden Valley, Darwin, NT

Stone Brothers Racing drivers were on the move in race one at the SKYCITY Triple Crown this afternoon, with JELD-WEN Motorsport’s James Courtney rounding out the top ten and SP Tools Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen finishing in 12th.

Van Gisbergen made an exceptional recovery from a disappointing qualifying session where under-steer and a failed shift cut made hard work for the 19-year-old, placing him in 22nd position on the grid.

The SP Tools Racing driver had a steady start, picking up three positions in the opening laps. A lightening quick stop by the SBR pit crew on lap seven gave van Gisbergen the advantage he needed to make his way to 13th.

Van Gisbergen hustled Mark Skaife for a number of laps before the HRT driver slid off the track with a flat tyre leaving the way clear for the SP Tools Racing Falcon to cross the line in 12th place.

Shane van Gisbergen, #9, SP Tools Racing
“We had a good start to the race today but I got pushed out at the first corner so we lost what we had gained.

“The SP Tools Falcon was really good and we made up places early.

“Once I got behind Skaife I didn’t have enough to pass. This track is not great for passing but we tried our hardest and made up some spots so it was good. Ten places from 22nd is pretty satisfying.

“We found the tyres went away quickly after the pit stop. It seems to be a characteristic of these new tyres and everyone will be experiencing the same thing. We will learn from that and be ready for it tomorrow.”

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Round 6, SKYCITY Triple Crown, Hidden Valley, Darwin, NT

SP Tools Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen has had his first taste of Darwin’s Hidden Valley Raceway, hitting the track for today’s two-and-a-quarter hour practice session in the SP Tools Racing Falcon.

The 19-year-old Kiwi had a steady debut, posting the 11th fastest time after using the first 30-minute rookie session to learn the track and get a feel for the new Dunlop tyres.

Van Gisbergen enjoyed his first tour of the 2.9km circuit, adapting quickly to the new track and hot conditions.

Shane van Gisbergen, #9, SP Tools Racing
“I was out there on a new track with new tyres early today, there was a fair bit going on!

“I didn’t find the track too hard to pick up and it wasn’t too long until we were able to get stuck into tuning the SP Tools Falcon.

“We didn’t notice too much of a difference with the new tyres but we’ve only had a short time on them so it is hard to know what to expect.

“To be up there close to the top ten is a good start to the weekend for us.”

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