Courtney and van Gisbergen make comeback in WA
Round 4, Bigpond 400, Barbagallo Raceway, Western Australia
Stone Brothers Racing drivers James Courtney and Shane van Gisbergen have carved their way through the field in the second race at round four of the V8 Supercar Championship Series at Barbagallo Raceway today, making up 30 positions between them in the 50-lap race.
The JELD-WEN Motorsport and SP Tools Racing Falcon’s clawed their way back to seventh and tenth respectively after starting from 20th and 27th on the grid courtesy of Courtney’s drive-through penalty and a bruising first-lap incident for van Gisbergen yesterday.
Courtney began his charge through the field early, a clean pit stop on lap 14 helping him into ninth position by lap 32. The JELD-WEN Motorsport driver continued to make progress following his stop, passing Andrew Jones and Todd Kelly on his way to seventh place.
Van Gisbergen also produced a fantastic drive to pick up 17 positions in the 50-lap race. The young Kiwi driver showed great speed, particularly in the wet conditions, crossing the line in 10th position.
Race three proved to be a little tougher, with both Courtney and van Gisbergen struggling to make headway in the pointy end of the field. Both drivers maintained their starting positions early but had to settle for eighth and 12th at the chequered flag.
JELD-WEN Motorsport’s James Courtney claimed eighth for the round while SP Tools Racing’s Shan e van Gisbergen was 17th, his race one retirement proving costly in the points haul.
Courtney is currently ninth in the V8 Supercar Championship standings; van Gisbergen is 16th.
Round five of the V8 Supercar Championship Series is at Sandown Raceway on the Queens Birthday long weekend, 7-9 June 2008.
James Courtney, #4, JELD-WEN Motorsport
“We had a big improvement in the JELD-WEN Motorsport Falcon today.
“The car was faster than a couple of the cars in front of me in the last race but this is a tough circuit to pass on.
“I could have had a lunge but there was a good chance that that would result in contact and I just can’t afford to do that.
“The drive-through yesterday killed our weekend; you get a good finish in race one and you can be up in the top five in race two and three. The result yesterday hindered us today.
“Still it was a good recovery today and we are slowly crawling back and chipping away at the championship. There is still a long way to go.”
Shane van Gisbergen, #9, SP Tools Racing Falcon
“The SP Tools Racing Falcon was as good as new today with the repairs the guys did last night.
“We started third to last and came right through to tenth; the car was really fast in the rain. We picked up a lot of track position then.
“We pitted late and had really good tyres because we didn’t finish the first race so that helped us too.
“In the last race we ran into a bit of a wall; it’s a lot harder to pass those guys who have close to the same pace as you.
“We had a slow stop which cost us a couple of spots but overall, I’ve had a pretty good first race here; a top ten in qualifying and good speed.”
Meeting Points
1. Mark Winterbottom 300 pts
2. Garth Tander 270 pts
3. Jamie Whincup 236 pts
4. Craig Lowndes 234 pts
5. Rick Kelly 210 pts
6. Will Davison 202 pts
7. Steve n Richards 200 pts
8. James Courtney 154 pts
9. Fabian Coulthard 138 pts
10. Andrew Jones 132 pts
17. Shane van Gisbergen 98 pts
Championship Points
1. Garth Tander 896 pts
2. Rick Kelly 882 pts
3. Mark Winterbottom 872 pts
4. Jamie Whincup 776 pts
5. Steven Richards 721 pts
6. Craig Lowndes 711 pts
7. Will Davison 640 pts
8. Lee Holdsworth 626 pts
9. James Courtney 577 pts
10. Fabian Coulthard 569 pts
16. Shane van Gisbergen 464 pts
Race 3
1. Mark Winterbottom
2. Garth Tander
3. Jamie Whincup
4. Craig Lowndes
5. Will Davison
6. Rick Kelly
7. Steven Richards
8. James Courtney
9. Fabian Coulthard
10. Cameron McConville
12. Shane van Gisbergen
Race 1
1. Mark Winterbottom
2. Garth Tander
3. Jamie Whincup
4. Craig Lowndes
5. Rick Kelly
6. Will Davison
7. James Courtney
8. Todd Kel ly
9. Steven Richards
10. Shane van Gisbergen
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