PRODRIVE RACING – CLIPSAL 500 SATURDAY
Prodrive Racing (Australia)'s Cameron Waters has continued his monster form on the streets of Adelaide, finishing fourth in the season's opening race. Qualifying ninth in the top 10 shootout, a good strategy and positive car speed allowed Waters to hold onto fourth position after completing his two compulsory pit stops while fending off a charging Rick Kelly in the final stage. Mark Winterbottom also looked on for a strong result which was quickly taken away after being spun by Jamie Whincup with over 30 laps to go. Sitting in sixth position, the tag pushed Winterbottom back to 15th where he would finish the race. The incident will be reviewed in a post-race investigation. Brake issues hampered Chaz Mostert's race after starting from 3rd position, with the problems causing Mostert to fall through the field in the opening laps. Able to re-strategise and make the most what he had, Mostert was able to hold onto ninth position for a solid top-10 finish. A good effort from Jason Bright in a trouble-filled race saw him finish 21st, completing the race without a cool suit after its failure on lap four. Braking dramas also plagued the number 56 throughout the race, which the crew will look to rectify overnight.
DRIVERS’ VIEW
Mark Winterbottom - #5 The Bottle-O PRA Ford:
Top 10 Shootout: 5th – 1m20.0176s
Race 1: 15th
"We had a good start and got into a good position and a good rhythm. Struggling a bit with the car but it looks like everyone's out there struggling so we pushed on and unfortunately came out in a pack of cars. I thought I left Whincup enough room to be on the inside of me and not go too wide to the next one but then I got turned around and it was game over from there. Probably should have finished fourth and got a solid result but we finished 15th and struggled to the end. Not our day but we'll try again tomorrow."
Cameron Waters - #6 Monster Energy PRA Ford:
Top 10 Shootout: 9th – 1m20.3785s
Race 1: 4th
"I'm really happy to get in the top 10. That was our goal for the day so to do that is really cool. We had a bit of a setback in practice two when I hit the tyre bundle and didn't get a run on green tyres but Brad (Wischusen) did an awesome job of tuning what we had and it ticked the box of getting into the shootout. We'll try and make it better again and give it our all tomorrow."
Chaz Mostert - #55 Supercheap Auto PRA Ford:
Top 10 Shootout: 3rd – 1m19.8687s
Race 1: 9th
"Obviously we're out there trying new things with the car and trying to find a new direction, the car has a good base but struggled with a few things braking wise out there. Locked a few fronts, made a few mistakes, ran off twice, pretty costly with position but credit to the team, they got me back into a good spot and back into the top 10 for points so the car doesn't feel too bad but we really need to fix the braking side of it for it to actually be quite competitive. We're a bit away at the moment but the good thing is that Cam had a good race, good for him and good for the team; I know he's worked hard over the off-season to get himself ready for this year. It's a long championship and I'm just really happy to have finished the race, it was a pretty hard slog out there."
Jason Bright - #56 MEGA Bulk Fuels PRA Ford:
Race 1: 21st
"Not ideal. I'm more disappointed about the pace we have than the cool-suit failing. We're struggling with braking at the moment. I had all sorts of trouble so we need to have a good look at it and try and get on top of it. If we fix the brakes and the cool suit works it'll be an easy day."
Tim Edwards – Team Principal:
"Really great to see Cam finish fourth today. He's done a great job so far this weekend and he deserved to finish where he did today. The Monster Energy crew put a great car together for him but by the same token he raced really well out there. A bit of a disappointing day on track for everyone else. Obviously a few things to look at in the 55/56 garage but we know we have a relatively good base to work from. Disappointing for Frosty as well who was also on track for a good result so we'll see what that comes to after the post-race investigation."
DUNLOP SUPER2 SERIES
Prodrive Racing (Australia)'s Garry Jacobson has made ground in race two of the Dunlop Super2 Series at the Clipsal 500, moving from 11th to seventh in a drama-filled race. Jacobson was pleased to move forward in the race but insists there is still more to improve before tomorrow. Starting from the rear of the field, Josh Kean was lucky to avoid a stalled car at the beginning of the 19 lap hit-out but encountered further trouble mid-way through after being collected by Anton de Pasquale. Kean was able to keep the car clear of the walls after also being hit on the front left of the car to finish the race in 18th. Despite the troubles, Kean's speed in improved after yesterday's efforts to move him up to 13th mid-race. The last of three 19 lap races will take place tomorrow.
Garry Jacobson - #1 McQuinn Electrical PRA Ford:
Race 2: 7th
"We made a couple of improvements today which was good. I'm still not quite where I need to be in this car at the moment. We've just been focussing on trying to improve a bit of my data with my driving and trying to make the car handle a little bit better to allow me to do my job. To be going forward from race one was a positive but still a bit to go."
Josh Kean - #5 Wynns Racing PRA Ford:
Race 2: 18th
"A disappointing day again for us. We had good car speed and made up quite a few spots but that was taken away pretty quickly which is frustrating. The car was there so we'll get it back to that, if not better and try again. Third time's a charm."
RESULTS
RACE 1
1) Shane van Gisbergen – Triple Eight
2) Fabian Coulthard – DJR Team Penske
3) James Courtney – Walkinshaw Racing
4) Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing
5) Rick Kelly – Nissan Motorsport
9) Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing
15) Mark Winterbottom – The Bottle-O Racing Team
21) Jason Bright – MEGA Racing
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1) Shane van Gisbergen – Triple Eight: 150
2) Fabian Coulthard – DJR Team Penske: 138
3) James Courtney – Walkinshaw Racing: 129
4) Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing: 120
5) Rick Kelly – Nissan Motorsport: 111
9) Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing: 84
15) Mark Winterbottom – The Bottle-O Racing Team: 60
21) Jason Bright – MEGA Racing: 42
TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP
1) Triple Eight: 252
2) DJR Team Penske: 192
3) Walkinshaw Racing: 186
4) Prodrive Racing Australia: 180