SP Tools Racing

It was another missed opportunity today for SBR when a problem during a scheduled pit stop cost van Gisbergen time dropping him from a competitive top ten position to one lap down. After this morning’s 20 minute qualifying session the SP Tools Racing Falcon and IRWIN Racing Falcon lined up on the grid in 11th and 19th respectively. Unhappy with their starting positions SBR’s drivers, van Gisbergen and Davison had some work to do, and with half the field still having their soft tyres on reserve it looked to be a long hard race ahead.

At the green light all 30 cars got off the line and made it cleanly through the tight hairpin without incident. The first of the pit stops took place on Lap 1 before the SP Tools Falcon entered Pit Lane on Lap 4 for a new set of rear tyres and fuel. Van Gisbergen re-entered and spent the next few laps dicing with Lowndes before settling into a race rhythm.

IRWIN Racing’s Alex Davison was to stay out for much longer before his first stop as part of the team’s strategy. Davison remained the highest placed driver on hard tyres before pitting on Lap 36 for rear tyres and fuel.

The race continued without incident when on Lap 53 van Gisbergen was called in to pit again after Murphy spun at the hairpin. The team were hoping for a Safety Car but that was not to be as Murphy eventually rejoined the race without assistance.

Car #9 came in for another top up of fuel and four tyres but when the engine stalled on exit the SP Tools Falcon remained stationary as Shane battled to restart the car. The SBR crew looked on powerless to help as the 30 second struggle cost him dearly, dropping him from 10th to a lap down.

Just seven laps later the IRWIN FG Falcon was in for fuel and four new tyres, the following lap would throw the field wide open when Courtney crashed and failed trying to limp his wrecked car back to Pit Lane.
The beginning of a Safety Car streak began on Lap 60, this was to be the first Yellow of three over 15 minutes.  One lap after the restart the Safety Car was again deployed to retrieve Jason Richards’s car stranded at the hairpin.

After the 2nd restart the field had reshuffled into race position with Davison sitting in 9th. With 7 laps to go Fiore was buried at the hairpin forcing the Safety Car to re-enter the track for the third time.
Davison struggled with rear grip for the remaining laps unable to hold onto position and keep out those behind him on soft tyres. At the end of 84 laps Alex had dropped back three positions to finish in 12th, van Gisbergen crossing the line 20th.

Paul Forgie – Car #9 Engineer

“It was a potential top 5 result today lost. It’s cost us two Championship positions which is frustrating when we had a car worthy of a solid result.

“Shane did a great job in the middle stint and the boys did a good job of the pit stops.
“We are getting closer and closer to a podium it just hasn’t fallen into place for us yet.  All the ingredients are there ………….we’re looking to Darwin now.”

Race 2 – Falken Tasmainia Challenge

Pos	Car#	Driver	Team	Vehicle
1	1	Jamie Whincup	Team Vodafone	Ford
2	22	Holden Racing Team	Wil Davison	Holden
3	111	Wilson Security Racing	Fabian Coultard	Ford
4	5	Ford Performance Racing	Mark Winterbottom	Ford
5	33	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Lee Holdsworth	Holden
6	39	Supercheap Auto Racing	Russell Ingall	Holden
7	25	Fujitsui Racing	Jason Bright	Ford
8	3	Sprint Gas Racing	Jason Bargwanna	Holden
9	67	Supercheap Auto Racing	Tim Slade	Holden
10	333	Wilson Security Racing	Micheal Patrizi	Ford
12	4	IRWIN Racing	Alex Davison	Ford
20	9	SP Tools Racing	Shane van Gisbergen	Ford

SP Tools Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen took part in his second ever Shootout after finishing 4th quickest in the second leg of Qualifying earlier today. The SP Tools FG Falcon started from 7th position on the grid for the 42 lap race at the Symmons Plains International Circuit.

The SBR team were happy with Alex Davison’s efforts qualifying the IRWIN Tools Falcon in 17th. (more…)

MOTOREX KTM RACE REPORT

EVENT INFORMATION

- Round four

- Australian Motocross Championship

- Mackay QLD

- Racing format Pro Lites 2 x 30 minute motos & Under 19s 2 x 20 minutes

- Event date 24 May 2009

PICTURES ATTACHED

- Tye Simmonds # 42

- Jason Reed # 82

ROUND RESULTS

Rider	Class	Bike	Home Town	State	Round result
Tye Simmonds	Pro Lites	KTM 250 SX-F	Bourke	NSW	5th
Kade Mosig	Pro Lites	KTM 250 SX-F	Pearcedale	VIC	Out injured
Jason Reed	Under 19s	KTM 250 SX-F	Tocal	NSW	4th

ROUND WINNERS

Rider	Class
Matt Moss	Pro Lites
Cheyne Boyd	Pro Open
Harley Quinlan	Under 19s

DESCRIPTION OF TRACK:

- lots of tight sections circuit

- no dust, great weather

POINTS OF INTEREST:

Tye Simmonds – Pro Lites

- struggled with shoulder injury, which had an impact on his results during racing

- maintained third in the Pro Lites Championship

Kade Mosig – Pro Lite

- out injured

Jason Reed – Under 19s

- secured best result to date with a fourth in second moto

- struggled with food poisoning leading up to the round hindering his results

QUOTES

Tye Simmonds Pro Lites

Moto 1: “I didn’t have the best of days, starting with my opening moto,” said Simmonds.  “I had a bad start, and rode off the pace.  I was pushing hard, but just wasn’t making up any ground.   The best I could bring home was fifth.

Moto 2: “The second moto was better with my start, but a shoulder injury played havoc on my racing, and the pain almost caused me to crash.  This race turned out to be another horrible run for me, it was just a horrible day, and again I pulled fifth place, but thankfully I have maintained third in the Pro Lites Championship.”

Jason Reed Under 19s

Moto 1: “I got the holeshot in my first moto, and I was leading for the first lap, but unfortunately faded as the race continued,” said Reed.  “I was getting over food poisoning leading up to the race which didn’t help with my fitness in the race.  I ended up battling for fourth and fifth, but couldn’t hold on to the guys in front and I rode home in sixth.

Moto 2: “In between motos I was feeling that crook that I had to sleep, and my mum woke me before the race, gave me a Gatorade, and I got going.  I got another good start, and was in around seventh.  I got my second wind, and passed a few guys and moved into sixth.  Then a rider crashed, and I was in fifth place zoning in on fourth, which is where I finished.

“Towards the end of the race I was dizzy and lethargic, so I’m stoked to have secured my best result of the season when I wasn’t well.  It goes to show my best results are yet to come.”

ROSS MCWATTERS Race Team Manager

“Both Tye and Jason struggled at Mackay,” said McWatters.  “Tye had trouble with his shoulder, and Jason was getting over food poisoning, which damped both of their spirits and results.

“The end results saw Jason maintain seventh in the Under 19s Championship and Tye maintained third, so we haven’t lost any positions which is a positive coming out of Mackay.

“The Mackay venue was magnificent, and the weather was picture perfect.  In promoting the event, Mackay Motorcycle Club, plus John Hand and his family pulled out all the stops, with whole circuit looking more like a golf course than a Motocross track.   Mackay is a long way north, but the series organizers WEM, and the people up here always make the trip worthwhile.”

FUTURE RESULTS

www.ktm.com.au

NEXT ROUND

Sunday 14 June Murray Bridge SA

CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

Top Ten Pro Lites Championship Points

Position	Rider		Team		Points
1	Matt Moss		Kawasaki		190
2	Luke George		Kawasaki		180
3	Tye Simmonds		Motorex KTM		173
4	Lawson Bopping		Suzuki		145
5	Kirk Gibbs		Serco		144
6	Mitchell Hoad		Serco		121
7	Adam Monea		Insanity Kawasaki		114
8	Lewis Stewart		Privateer		105
9	Lewis Woods		Insanity Kawasaki		99
10	Ryan Marmont		MX Rad		90

Top Ten Under 19s Championship Points

Position	Rider	Team		Points
1	Luke Styke	GYTR Yamaha	181
2	Josh Cachia	MX Rad	172
3	Harley Quinlan	GYTR Yamaha	171
4	Luke arbon	Kawasaki	169
5	Dylan Peterson	Thor Honda	149
6	Ross Beaton	GYTR Yamaha	143
7	Jason Reed	Motorex KTM	114
8	Josh Kilvington	Privateer	95
9	Kieren Tisdale	Suzuki	91
10	Dylan Gosling	Honda	80