SP Tools Racing

It just wasn’t Toll HRT’s day today in Race 2 at Hidden Valley with Garth Tander just missing out on a podium position and finishing fifth. His team-mate Will Davison was on track for a top ten before a late race incident relegated him down the order to 18^th.

Starting from pole position after setting the fastest time in the 20 minute qualifying session earlier today, Tander leapt off the start line. He took control of the race early on before battling with Lowndes for the lead.

Dropping a few spots to cars on soft tyres Tander decided to pit on lap 11 for fuel and fresh tyres. Re-entering the race mid pack he was determined to surpass his performance yesterday and a focused Tander drove a hard fought, consistent race. He pitted again on lap 39 and from there it was a race to the end.

In a nail biting finish Tander was looking promising to finish on the podium before the safety car was called with 10 laps to go. Tander lost position on the restart to Lowndes and then another to Alex Davison who was running soft tyres. He completed the race to finish in fifth.

Tander’s team-mate Will Davison also qualified in the top ten in the second qualifying session and looked set to make it a double podium for the weekend.

Davison’s strategy had him pitting for the first time on lap 8 for fuel and tyres and then on again on lap 34. One of the silent movers and shakers Davison was sixth with just over 10 laps left in the race but after an incident with James Courtney he was left careering across the grass with only laps to go. He managed to salvage 18^th position.

Michael Caruso won the race with Alex Davison crossing the line second. Craig Lowndes was third across the line.

Tander accrued the most points for the weekend and made up considerable ground on the Championship front runners and with 954 points currently sits third. Davison managed to haul enough points to maintain second and with 1128 points only sits 144 points behind Whincup.

With Event 5 now complete the Championship Series moves to Townsville for Event 6 in three weeks time.

The Toll HRT Team will remain in Darwin over the next few days to prepare the cars for the next event.

Garth Tander – #2 Toll Holden Racing Team VE Commodore (Qualifying: 1^st, 1:09.7929; Race 10: 5^th)

“There’s a little bit of ‘ifs’, ‘buts’ and ‘what could have beens’, but considering the tyres we had to play with – all the cars in front had the soft tyres on at some stage during the race and we ran the entire 69 laps on the standard tyre – fifth was probably as close as possible to the best result. We got stuffed up at the restart by Dale Wood and that hurt as Lowndes got past and ended up third. Wood needs to go back to Formula Ford because he’s seriously out of his depth. We’ve been talking for a while about putting the lapped cars to the back for the restarts, and maybe with 10 laps to go we do that so the real cars can go racing again. Overall, if you add up the points we’d be close to winning the round using the old system, so a load of good points this weekend. We’re solidly third in the championship now and, more importantly, we showed that we’ve got a very fast car now.”

Will Davison – #22 Toll Holden Racing Team VE Commodore (Qualifying: 7^th, 1:10.1132; Race 10: 18^th)

“We had 56 laps of great racing; I was having a great race, everything was working smoothly and we weren’t making any mistakes … then the restart!  The soft tyres are ridiculous enough as they are, and to bring out the Safety Car for no reason. I had one spin on a bunch of junk brought onto the track by one of the JD cars, that put me back in the pack and then I was hit from pillar to post. Old Courtney, his reputation speaks for itself, he just fired me off. 56 really good laps and hard work ruined at the end by a disappointing series of incidents.”

Hidden Valley Race 10 Results:

1. Michael Caruso, Garry Rogers Motorsport

2. Alex Davison, Stone Brothers Racing

3. Craig Lowndes, 888 Race Engineering

4. Rick Kelly, Kelly Racing

5. Garth Tander, Toll Holden Racing Team

6. Paul Dumbrell, Team Autobarn

7. Lee Holdsworth, Garry Rogers Motorsport

8. Russell Ingall, Paul Morris Motorsport

9. Shane Van Gisbergen, SP Tools Racing

10. Jamie Whincup, 888 Race Engineering

18. Will Davison, Toll Holden Racing Team

Hidden Valley Qualifying 2 Results:

1. Garth Tander, Toll Holden Racing Team; 1:09.7929

2. Craig Lowndes, 888 Race Engineering; 1:09.9048

3. Mark Winterbottom, Ford Performance Racing; 1:09.9654

4. Todd Kelly, Kelly Racing; 1:10.0482

5. Lee Holdsworth, Garry Rogers Motorsport; 1:10.1000

6. Michael Caruso, Garry Rogers Motorsport; 1:10.1132

7. Will Davison, Toll Holden Racing Team; 1:10.1132

8. James Courtney, Dick Johnson Racing; 1:10.1368

9. Rick Kelly, Kelly Racing; 1:10.1558

10. Alex Davison, Stone Brothers Racing; 1:10.1975

Championship Points Table (after Event 5):

1. Jamie Whincup, 888 Race Engineering, 1272 points

2. Will Davison, Toll Holden Racing Team, 1128 points

3. Garth Tander, Toll Holden Racing Team, 954 points

4. Craig Lowndes, 888 Race Engineering, 906 points

5. Lee Holdsworth, Garry Rogers Motorsport, 897 points

6. Steven Johnson, Dick Johnson Racing, 873points

7. Rick Kelly, Kelly Racing, 807 points

8. Mark Winterbottom, Ford Performance Racing, 765 points

9. Shane Van Gisbergen, SP Tools Racing, 729 points

10. Russell Ingall, Paul Morris Motorsport, 728 points

2009 AUSTRALIAN MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

Tye Simmonds wins Rnd 6 Australian Motocross Championship

MOTOREX KTM RACE REPORT

EVENT INFORMATION

- Round six

- Australian Motocross Championship

- Wanneroo WA

- Racing format 3 x 15 minute motos in the Pro Lites

- Event date 21 June 2009

ROUND RESULTS

Rider	Class	Bike	Home Town	State	Round result
Tye Simmonds	Pro Lites	KTM 250 SX-F	Bourke	NSW	1st
Kade Mosig	Pro Lites	KTM 250 SX-F	Pearcedale	VIC	4th
Jason Reed	Under 19s	KTM 250 SX-F	Tocal	NSW	15th

ROUND WINNERS

Rider	Class
Tye Simmonds	Pro Lites
Cheyne Boyd	Pro Open
Luke Styke	Under 19s

DESCRIPTION OF TRACK:

- Sandy conditions

- Slippery and difficult to pass

POINTS OF INTEREST:

Tye Simmonds – Pro Lites

- Round results 1-1-2 resulting in first overall for the round

- Consistency paid off to win the round

Kade Mosig – Pro Lite

- Recovering well to his hand injury earlier in the season

- Round results 4-3-7 and now sits 15^th in the series

- Handled the sandy conditions very comfortably

Jason Reed – Under 19s

- Started the round riding consistently, round results 17, 15 – DNF

- Fell on a rocky surface in final moto, and was taken to hospital

QUOTES

Tye Simmonds Pro Lites

Moto 1.  “I got a horrible start in around 12^th in my opening moto,” said Simmonds.  “But on the first lap I made a heap of passes, and made my way to the front of the field to take the win.

Moto 2.  “My start was a little better in the second moto, I was in around eighth, but thankfully by the second straight I passed most of the guys and took the lead.   I think my technique of scrubbing a lot lower than most of the field really paid off.     I passed series leader Matt Moss on the first lap, and then he crashed, so I had little competition right to the finish line.

Moto 3.  “ I didn’t get a good start again in my final moto, but I worked my way to third pretty quickly.  I got stuck behind Brendan Harrison, and found passing a little difficult.  I still held my own, and by the chequered flag I was in second behind Mossy.

“I’m stoked because I have moved into second in the Pro Lites Championship, although it is only by two points it goes to show my consistency is really paying off.    I think coming over to Perth early to train with Motorex KTM Racing really helped me out.  And I also got to practice a lot with Matt Moss, and he always keeps me on the pace, so that all contributed to my success at Wanneroo.

“We have a pretty big break now until the next round at Lakes, so between rounds I have decided to get into a bit of recreational racing, and I’m going to enter the Hattah Desert Race for a bit of fun.”

Kade Mosig Pro Lites

Moto 1. “I got a bad start, in my opening moto, and then Matt Moss went down in front of me on a turn, and I nearly ran over him,” said  Mosig.   “I still held my own, and rode consistently to come home in fourth.  I felt really good on the track, it was rough and sandy, which is what I’m used to but the front runners still set a much faster pace, so I need to work on regaining my speed since my accident to match them.

Moto 2.  “I got a better start in my second moto, and tried to find a good flow.   I found myself fighting the bike a little bit, but I still managed to finish in third.

Moto 3. “I was pleased to get a good start in the final moto, but I struggled a little bit to find good rhythm.   I was holding my own, but then Dean Ferris crashed in front of me which put me off a little, but I got around him, and finished in sixth by the finish.  I was a little disappointed in this race, but I was still really pleased that my hand injury that took me out early in the series wasn’t causing me any havoc.

“Leading up to the next round at Lake Macquarie I’m hitting the road for a bit of travelling.  I’m going out to Bourke to ride with my team mate, Tye Simmonds, and then I’m heading to Newcastle to ride with Craig Anderson, and do some testing and training with him, he is local to the area, and training with him can only work in my favour.”

Jason Reed Under 19s

Jason Reed was taken to hospital in final moto after falling on a rocky surface.  At the time this race report was distributed Jason was not available for quotes.  Updates on Jason’s injury level will be reported on www.ktm.com.au, however Motorex KTM Race Team Manager, Ross McWatters suspects it will only be major bruising, as it was paramedics who insisted he go to hospital, not Jason.

ROSS MCWATTERS Race Team Manager

“Motorex KTM had a great race meeting at Wanneroo in the Pro Lites, with Tye Simmonds taking the overall with two wins, and a second, said McWatters.  “ Tye now moves into second place in the Championship, and 20 points separate Tye and series leader Matt Moss, as the title moves back east.

“The next round will be at Lakes in NSW, and both Kade and Tye really like that track, so we’re hopefully of Tye closing the gap on Mossy further.

“Kade was also very strong at Wanneroo just missing out on a podium, he is getting closer to 100 percent every week, and I hope he can challenge for a win at the next round.

“The team has worked very hard over the last few weeks with Tye and Kade both training and testing all week with their Motorex KTM mechanics to get ready for the sand.   I have to thank all the guys in the team for their efforts.   Glen Makepeace our truck driver for staying on the road, and keeping everyone going, Mick Carusi, Kade’s mechanic, and Ken Wheeler for some excellent suspension work, and Ian Wright for preparing the motors for this event – they performed perfectly all weekend in what I consider the toughest track in Australia.

“Dunlop supplied us some new Geomax tyres for Tye to use this weekend, and they really helped in the sandy conditions.  We have a few weeks off, and we plan to test and train with the boys to go into the last two rounds in the best possible position.

“Unfortunately Jason Reed had a fall in the last moto, and was taken to hospital to be checked out.   Paramedics insisted he go once he was on the flat bed, but Jason wanted to get up.  Understandably they have to follow regulations, as Jason did fall pretty hard on a rocky surface.   I’m still waiting on final news from doctors on his condition, but it’s likely he is just bruised and battered with no breaks.    Our goal is to get Jason a wildcard entry into the Pro Lites for Lakes if he is fit and able.”

FUTURE RESULTS

www.ktm.com.au

NEXT ROUND

Sunday 26 July Lakes NSW

CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

Top Ten Pro Lites Championship Points

Position	Rider		Team	Points
1	Matt Moss		Suzuki	300
2	Tye Simmonds		Motorex KTM	280
3	Luke George		Kawasaki	278
4	Kirk Gibbs		Serco	211
5	Lawson Bopping		Suzuki	210
6	Mitchell Hoad		Serco	180
7	Lewis Stewart		Privateer	175
8	Adam Monea		Insanity Kawasaki	145
9	Lewis Woods		Insanity Kawasaki	144
10	Wade Thompson		Privateer	123

Top Ten Under 19s Championship Points

Position	Rider	Team		Points
1	Luke Styke	GYTR Yamaha	296
2	Harley Quinlan	GYTR Yamaha	253
3	Josh Cachia	MX Rad	243
4	Luke Arbon	Kawasaki	238
5	Ross Beaton	GYTR Yamaha	237
6	Dylan Peterson	Thor Honda	207
7	Josh Kilvington	Privateer	138
8	Jason Reed	Motorex KTM	136
9	Alex Morris	Privateer	106
10	Kieran Tisdale	Privateer	99

Qualifying didn’t go as planned for SP Tools Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen, carrying over yesterday’s problems with grip into today’s 20 minute session. Starting from 21st position Shane had his work cut out for him and recovered well in the race to finish 9th.

Shane van Gisbergen – Driver, SP Tools Racing Car #9

“We changed a few things with the car from yesterday and got the balance a little better but on the new tyres we just didn’t have any grip and were struggling to get anything out of it.

“We had good speed in the race, the car felt better but still not 100% right, we still had no grip on the hard tyres. We put on the softs in the middle of the race and were quick but as soon as we changed back to hard tyres we had no grip again and were having problems with brakes, the pedal was going to the floor.

“It is great to see Alex up on the podium to put a smile on the teams face. Hopefully you will see us both up there at Townsville.”

Race Results

1	34	Michael Caruso	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Holden VE
2	4	Alex Davison	IRWIN Racing	Ford FG
3	888	Craig Lowndes	Team Vodafone	Ford FG
4	15	Rick Kelly	Jack Daniel’s Racing	Holden VE
5	2	Garth Tander	Holden Racing Team	Holden VE
6	10	Paul Dumbrell	Team Autobarn	Holden VE
7	33	Lee Holdsworth	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Holden VE
8	39	Russell Ingall	Supercheap Auto Racing	Holden VE
9	9	Shane van Gisbergen	SSP Tools Racing	Ford FG
10	1	Jamie Whincup	Team Vodafone	Ford FG

The Sky City Triple Crown dished out some cruel blows today when Alex Davison lost an engine four laps onto the first part of Qualifying. His Teammate, Shane van Gisbergen didn’t fare much better starting on the grid in 23rd after failing to record a lap quick enough to make it into the next elimination leg.

The tracks temperature was at 46 degrees on the starting grid with the first seven cars fitted with ‘sprint’ tyres. The decision for SBR to use hards tyres only in today’s race was made in order to keep them in reserve for tomorrow’s double length feature.

On the first lap Shane was forced out wide after Jack Perkins made contact with him at turn 1. The early incident saw Shane drop back to last place and forced Perkins to retire from the race. Davison’s efforts moved him up five places before the first car of the field pitted on lap 5.

The IRWIN Falcon made its way down Pit Lane on Lap 18 for two new rear tyres and fuel, one lap later the SP Tools Falcon stopped for the same combination, Shane re-entered the race behind Alex in 27th.

The following laps remained free of Safety Car interruption and at the chequered flag Alex and Shane crossed the line 19th and 20th.

The 35 lap race was called short by one lap due to Channel 7 telecast scheduling.

Shane van Gisbergen – Driver, SP Tools Car #9

“We thought in qualifying we would be really strong because we were good here yesterday on fresh tyres. When we went out we picked up a whole lot of understeer, the track had changed quite a lot over night. It was the first time we didn’t make it into the top twenty with no problems which was a real shame.

“We continued to struggle in the race with understeer and couldn’t tune it out with the bars or the break bias so we just drove around the back the whole race.

“I am confident we can come back from this and make good use of the soft tyres tomorrow.”

Ross Stone – SBR Team Principal

“After having such a strong performance yesterday to qualify badly with Shane and lose an engine in Alex’s car was pretty devastating. One of the things that keeps you going in racing is there is always tomorrow, we have fresh sets of tyres for both cars in qualifying and the soft tyres that we know will give us a 1.8 to 2 second a lap advantage.”

Race Results
TODAY’S RESULTS
POS CAR # DRIVER TEAM VEHICLE
1 1 Jamie Whincup Team Vodafone Ford FG
2 5 Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing Ford FG
3 22 Will Davison Holden Racing Team Holden VE
4 2 Garth Tander Holden Racing Team Holden VE
5 7 Todd Kelly Jack Daniel’s Racing Holden VE
6 888 Craig Lowndes Team Vodafone Ford FG
7 8 Jason Richards Team BOC Holden VE
8 18 James Courtney Jim Beam Racing Ford FG
19 4 Alex Davison IRWIN Racing Ford FG
20 9 Shane van Gisbergen SP Tools Racing Ford FG

SBR’s strong track record at the Hidden Valley circuit was alive again today when both SP Tools Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen and IRWIN Racing’s Alex Davison finished in the top ten for Practice.

The Darwin heat proved to be no issue for New Zealand born van Gisbergen as he remained at the top of the times, when with less than two minutes to go Will Davison set the fastest lap of the day pushing Shane back to second.

Alex Davison struggled for balance in his IRWIN Ford but recovered well when the team changed to a better set of tyres. Finishing the session 10th overall was a rewarding result after having problems with grip and understeer earlier in the day.
Shane van Gisbergen – Driver, SP Tools Racing Car #9

“We struggled for balance for a while there, the first half of practice was a long fifty minutes. We made quite a few changes during the break and as soon as we moved to better tyres it was bang and we were up there.

“It’s great to be here, in the top three. After we set our quickset time we still had some really strong laps that followed which proved we have things right with the car. It’s always good for the team to have both drivers up there, Alex finishing in the ten is a great result for SBR.”

TODAY’S RESULTS
POS CAR # DRIVER TEAM TIME
1 22 Will Davison Holden Racing Team 1:09.7269
2 9 Shane van Gisbergen SP Tools Racing 1:09.8329
3 888 Craig Lowndes Team Vodafone 1:09.8864
4 1 Jamie Whincup Team Vodafone 1:09.8899
5 15 Rick Kelly Jack Daniel’s Racing 1:09.8953
6 5 Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing 1:09.9851
7 6 Steven Richards Ford Performance Racing 1:09.9887
8 7 Todd Kelly Jack Daniel’s Racing 1:10.0733
9 34 Michael Caruso Garry Rogers Motorsport 1:10.1419
10 4 Alex Davison IRWIN Racing 1:10.2270

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