SP Tools Racing

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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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

V8 Supercars are fun no questions asked but racing just wouldn’t be the same without beautiful women…

We take great pleasure and pride in introducing you to the SP Tools Racing Grid Girls.

From Left to Right:

Jenny Kellett, Elise Griffiths, Jess Plush,  Kristen McKenzie.

Thankyou – Sensational Job.

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TOUGH DAY FOR SBR ON THE STREETS OF ADELAIDE
22/03/2009

It was a frustrating day for the SBR team, after finishing with strong positional gains on track in yesterday’s race, the SP Tools Racing #9 car started 12th and the IRWIN Racing #4 car lined up 26th, due to the new qualifying start rule introduced by V8 Supercars for this years championship series.

In front of a huge crowd, in excess of 270,000 over the four day race weekend, the SBR Ford FG Falcons battled it out for valuable championship points in tough conditions. A slow start from van Gisbergen in Race 2 lost him a few positions in the first lap putting him back into 15th before an early safety car period interrupted the race to remove Jack Perkin’s car after an incident at turn 8.

In the following laps Shane managed to fight his way through to be inside the top ten with lap times matching the speed of the leading drivers. Encouragement from his engineer, Paul Forgie, helped to keep Shane alert and focused for the chase into his second stint.

Paul Forgie – Race Engineer Car #9 (In Car Radio – Lap 30)
“Good work, get back into your rhythm and make every corner count.”
After two more restarts Shane communicated to the SBR crew complications with the throttle reporting it was sticking.

Shane van Gisbergen – Driver SP Tools Racing Car #9
“The race was okay today, I stuffed up the start and let a few guys through but we went on a bit of a charge, the car was awesome and the guys did a great job preparing it. We were on the case and passed a lot of cars and at the end of our first stint we were looking good. We managed to keep the pace then later in the second stint the butterfly had bent so it was carrying throttle into the corners so I couldn’t pull it up and it wouldn’t turn, I had to clutch it every corner which cost us a lot of time.”

IRWIN Racing’s Alex Davison experienced another drama filled day in the #4 FG Falcon struggling with the car as well as a foot injury sustained during Saturday’s race. On lap 44 after a perfect pit-stop Alex clipped the tyre wall at turn one causing the centre of his front left tyre to shred forcing him to return to the pits the following lap.

Once Alex returned to the track he managed to post his fastest time of 1:23.7722 on lap 55. The IRWIN Racing car went a lap down after the race leader, Jamie Whincup, passed the #4 car on the main straight. In the later stages of the race Alex reported he was struggling with severe foot pain and the overall handling of the car. The race telemetry alerted the team to an engine problem with SBR’s engineers diagnosing there was an issue with the alternator. As Alex lost track position throughout the following laps it was decided to bring the car into the pits for the remainder of the race before re-entering to complete the last lap for championship points.

Alex Davison – Driver IRWIN Racing Car #4
“I made a mistake and clipped the tire bundle at turn one, I was behind another car and sort of blinded a bit by it and clipped it and cut the tire and we had to come in a change it. Then not long after the alternator had a problem and the battery started going flat so we had to stop, we charged it up enough at the end so I could do the last lap.

“My foot is not so good at the moment, apart from that I feel brand new, there wasn’t an issue at all as far as comfort levels go. I felt more acclimatised today; my cool suit worked the whole race so there were no dramas fitness wise.”

Davison’s debut for SBR wasn’t what the team or Alex himself had hoped for.

David Stuart – Team Manager
“These cars are unique compared to anything else anybodies ever driven, anybody that comes into the category from open wheelers to Porches will have a small period of adjustment. Alex has the determination and the ability and he will be harder on himself than we could ever be, he’s determined to make it work here at SBR. I was with his brother Will in his first race in ’06 here at Clipsal and he had the same sort of results but look at him today he’s standing on the podium so I believe Alex has every bit the potential that Will has as long as he doesn’t beat himself up too much we can enjoy celebrating a podium with him in a few more years.”

A tough race weekend for the team ended with SP Tools Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen finishing equal 6th on 168 points while IRWIN Racing’s Alex Davison finished equal 17th with 90 points overall.
Ross Stone – Team Principal

“It was a tough race and a tough place today. To have two 250km races to start off the season is always hard but I think we can take some positives out of it being that we have really good car speed and great chemistry within the team. We will move forward from here.”

The SBR crew will stay in Adelaide to work on the #4 and #9 cars on Monday in the lead up to the ‘Non-Championship’ Race 2.

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