SP Air Tools and SP Hand Tools Official Racing Blog
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. [Read more...]
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.
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.
After successfully completing their 20 lap pre-test ‘shakedown’ the new SBR Ford FG Falcons took to the track at Queensland Raceway yesterday for the first official test of 2009. Rain from the fringe of cyclone Hamish, off the Queensland coast, produced varied track conditions resulting in mixed outcomes for the team.
David Stuart – Team Manager “The weather made things hard for us, but it was the same for everybody. We weren’t able to get through our whole program as planned, however, in the long run we managed to do some important system checks for Adelaide. The test was an opportunity to confirm the balance from the 20 lap shakedown and to learn more information on the FG aero kit.”
In his first test for SBR, IRWIN Racing’s Alex Davison posted the 7th fastest time while his young team mate SP Tools Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen finished 9th of the 18 car field on track from both the V8 Supercars Championship Series and Development Series.
Alex Davison – Driver IRWIN Racing Car #4 “Overall looking at the big picture, the day was pretty good, considering the weather conditions. I feel very confident in the team, we have some small changes to make with the IRWIN Racing Falcon, being that this was its first time out of the box it was just good to get out there and work out where we are at.”
Shane van Gisbergen – Driver SP Tools Car #9 “It was just good to be back out there driving again after such a long off season. The car was good and I was really comfortable in it. We worked not so much on the pace of the car but more on trying to find a good balance.
My new engineer Paul and I are working well together; I could feel a big difference in the car after each change we made yesterday which was good.
I can’t wait for Clipsal; we went well there last year so I am hoping for a strong top ten finish and plan to return home with a straight car as a good solid start to the championship.”
Jason Bright in the SBR prepared #25 BF Falcon persevered with setup changes in the difficult conditions finishing 11th quickest. SBR are keen to utilise the testing capabilities and experience of Bright to assist with the development of its young drivers.
After a busy off season readying the new FG Falcons for the 2009 series, the team were pleased with the gains from the test and are eager to race at the Clipsal 500 round next week (March 19 – 22).
Ross Stone – Team Principal “When a new model is introduced, preparing two new cars in time for the first test is a big job. At least 1200 to 1400 hours go into the chassis’ before they move into paint and assembly. The team have been working around the clock on these cars.
We were only able to get through a quarter of the test program we had planned. But, that being said we have done enough laps around the Clipsal circuit to know what is needed and I know we will be strong there.”
|
Pos |
Car |
Driver |
Fastest Lap |
Gap |
|
7th |
4 |
Alex Davison |
1:11.8996 |
0:00.7877 |
|
9th |
9 |
Shane van Gisbergen |
1:12.0792 |
0:00.9673 |
|
11th |
25 |
Jason Bright |
1:12.2240 |
0:01.1121 |
SP Tools Racing 2009 Livery
Round 13, Falken Tasmania Challenge, Symmons Plains, Tasmania
It was a weekend without fortune for SP Tools Racing Shane van Gisbergen and his team-mate James Courtney (JELD-WEN Motorsport) in the penultimate round of the V8 Supercar Championship in Tasmania today.
Both drivers found excellent speed but both suffered mishaps out of their control that thwarted their attempts to play a strong part in proceedings.
Today there were high hopes for van Gisbergen who started fifth on the grid following his outstanding drive in the greasy conditions yesterday.
After charging up to fourth he suffered a fuel pump problem and was forced to withdraw, leaving him to come from the back of the grid for the final race.
He was making progress in race three but a drive through penalty negated his progress.
Shane van Gisbergen, #9, SP Tools Racing Falcon:
“We settled into a good rhythm in race two and were running in the top five easily. Then we had a fuel pressure problem and while we were able to switch to the reserve for a while we knew it wasn’t going to last.
“We had good speed and good tyres for race three and we knew we could come through. I went to pass Marcus Marshall but he moved across on me. I couldn’t stop and turned him around. And then was give a drive through penalty.
“We know we have the speed but we had some bad luck.
“I’m looking forward to Oran Park. It’s my favourite circuit and where I made my debut last year. I’m pretty confident there. We’ve just got to put a full weekend together.”
Round 13, Falken Tasmania Challenge, Symmons Plains, Tasmania
SP TOOLS Racing Shane van Gisbergen produced a stunning performance to finish fifth in the first race of the Falken Tasmania Challenge at Symmons Plains today.
The 19 year old van Gisbergen again produced a display that belied his age, bursting through the pack in the wet conditions from 16th on the grid up to third after only four laps.
He stayed out as the weather worsened before pitting on lap 23. However he made a slight mistake on his first corner with cold tyres which pushed him back to 11th. Making up ground as the track improved, van Gisbergen again produced an eye-catching performance to finish fifth and challenging Will Davison for fourth.
Shane van Gisbergen, #9, SP Tools Racing Falcon:
“We made up quite a few spots at the start and got into third pretty quick when Tander went off. The car seems to suit those conditions and I seem to be able to go alright in them.
“The wet is good fun as well. You can throw the car around and get in to it, so I was enjoying myself out there. There’s a lot more variables in it and I was able to try a few things.
“We were seeing it getting wetter and wetter and the guys with wets started to put times in to us. Unfortunately I sent off leaving the pits so that cost us a bit of time. I just under-steered there on cold tyres.
“Whe n it was at its wettest we were holding position and when it started to dry I was able to make some gains.
“Fifth is a great start for the weekend. Hopefully we can stay up there tomorrow and finish off the weekend strong.
V8 Supercar young gun Shane van Gisbergen will take time out from his Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 preparations to visit the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane tomorrow.
The Stone Brothers Racing driver will arrive with tool box in hand in the hope of raising funds to help brighten the lives of more than 100,000 sick kids every year.
Van Gisbergen’s major sponsor, SP Too ls, has produced a striking one-off SP Tools Racing tool box, wrapped in V8 Supercar imagery and signed by the Stone Brothers Racing team, to be auctioned off to raise funds for the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation.
“The guys at SP Tools came up with the idea of a one-off special tool box but they wanted it to be more than just an item for sale. With the partnership between SBR and the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation, the charity auction idea was a no-brainer,” said van Gisbergen.
“Visiting the kids tomorrow will be a real eye-opener. They have a lot on their plate but the staff and the hospital do such a great job of keeping them smiling; it will be great to give out some posters and make their day a bit brighter.”
The SP Tools Racing tool box contains a full range of SP hand tools and comes with a Bosch ROCK Box and a ‘money can’t buy’ V8 Supercar ride with van Gisbergen in the SP Tools Racing Falcon.
With the package estimated to be worth up to $10,000, the SP Tools Racing auction opened for bids on Friday 12 September and will close at 5:00pm on Wednesday 15 October 2008.
Bids can be made in person at SBR Merchandise at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama from 9-12 October 2008.
For those that can’t make it to the track, bids can be placed online via the Stone Brothers Racing website (www.stonebrothersracing.com.au) or via email auction@stonebrothersracing.com.au. The current highest bid will be displayed on the home page of the SBR website throughout the auction.
To find out more about SP Tools and their range of hand tools and tool boxes, visit www.sphandtools.com.
All proceeds from the charity auction will go to the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation (RCHF) which is the fundraising arm of the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane – Queensland’s leading paediatric critical care fa cility, which touches the lives of more than 100,000 sick kids every year.
Funds from the RCHF assist with groundbreaking medical research and equipment to find better treatments and cures for childhood illnesses.
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
