Torrid finish for SBR at Eastern Creek
Round 2, Eastern Creek International Raceway, NSW, 7-9 March 2008

Stone Brothers Racing has had a torrid final day at round two of the V8 Supercar Championship Series at Eastern Creek International Raceway, with mechanical issues, race incidents and penalties putting paid to a good round finish for the JELD-WEN Motorsport and SP Tools Racing teams.

JELD-WEN Motorsport’s James Courtney looked good for a possible podium finish after yesterday’s fifth in race one.

A great start from the Gold Coast-based driver in race two saw him move from fifth to third. However Courtney was quickly passed by Mark Winterbottom and Russell Ingall in the early laps as he struggled with lack of turn in the JELD-WEN Motorsport Falcon.

A problematic wheel nut extended the JELD-WEN Motorsport driver’s pit stop on lap six, dropping him to 17th position.

Things went from bad to worse after the compulsory pit stop as Courtney struggled to find the speed he had the previous day, unable to improve on 15th position.

Courtney’s day didn’t improve in race three, the JELD-WEN Motorsport driver taken out in a mid-pack incident on the first lap. Courtney took evasive action to avoid a spinning Morris, only to find Tony D’Alberto on the other side, the contact resulting in extensive damage and retirement from the race.

Van Gisbergen’s day was no better, the SP Tools Racing Falcon suffering brake problems from the start of race two causing the Kiwi rookie to run off the circuit on the opening lap.

After an extended stay in the pits Van Gisbergen rejoined the race five laps down, but knuckled down to reach 75 per cent race distance and be classified as a finisher.

The SP Tools Racing Falcon started race three from the rear of the grid, moving through the field to 17th position as the compulsory pit stop window opened.

Van Gisbergen pitted on lap 16 for two rear tyres and rejoined the race in 18th place only to receive a drive-through penalty for speeding in pit lane.

The young SBR driver served the penalty, then dug deep to make several passes in the closing laps, crossing the line in 17th place.

Courtney finished the round in 16th place, with Van Gisbergen in 19th.

James Courtney, car #4, JELD-WEN Motorsport
“Coming into turn two at the start of the third race there was a real bottleneck.

“Fabian (Coultard) hit me in the rear and pushed me into Paul (Morris) and it all unfolded from there.

“Paul went into a slow spin and I had to go around the outside of him. Then (Tony) D’Alberto came across from I don’t know where and hit me side on damaging the steering.

“This has all happened because we had a bad second race. Once you get down into that pack in the middle, these things happen.

“We had a good car yesterday, maybe good enough for a podium, but race two this morning put us out of that.”

Shane van Gisbergen, car #9, SP Tools Racing
“It went backward pretty quickly today.

“In race two the pedal in the SP Tools Racing Falcon went long and I didn’t have any brakes.

“We put new rotors on it which helped for a few laps but I ended up pumping the pedal for the whole race.

“It became a bit more predictable at the end so we were able to give it a got and put in a few good lap times.

“In race three I picked up about 10 positions in the opening laps but during my pit stop I ran in the wrong gear down pit lane and overran the limiter.

“We served our penalty then managed to sneak in a few passes after the last safety car restart to get back up to 17th.

“The results didn’t show it this weekend but we have definitely made some progress and learned a lot.”

V8 Supercars – Meeting Points
1. Will Davison 260pts
2. Mark Winterbottom 244pts
3. Garth Tander 242pts
4. Rick Kelly 240pts
5. Jamie Whincup 240pts
6. Craig Lowndes 210pts
7. Russell Ingall 192pts
8. Mark Skaife 184pts
9. Lee Holdsworth 168pts
10. Greg Murphy 156pts
16. James Courtney 114pts
19. Shane Van Gisbergen 88pts

V8 Supercars – Championship Points
1. Jamie Whincup 540pts
2. Rick Kelly 432pts
3. Lee Holdsworth 426pts
4. Mark Winterbottom 382pts
5. Will Davison 356pts
6. Craig Lowndes 339pts
7. Greg Murphy 330pts
8. Garth Tander 326pts
9. Mark Skaife 322pts
10. Todd Kelly 308pts
13. Shane van Gisbergen 268pts
18. James Courtney 171pts

V8 Supercars – Race 3
1. Mark Winterbottom
2. Rick Kelly
3. Garth Tander
4. Jamie Whincup
5. Mark Skaife
6. Will Davison
7. Russell Ingall
8. Craig Lowndes
9. Paul Dumbrell
10. Greg Murphy
17. Shane van Gisbergen
DNF James Courtney

V8 Supercars – Race 2
1. Will Davison
2. Mark Winterbottom
3. Craig Lowndes
4. Russell Ingall
5. Jamie Whincup
6. Rick Kelly
7. Steven Richards
8. Lee Holdsworth
9. Garth Tander
10. Paul Morris
15. James Courtney
27. Shane van Gisbergen

Van Gisbergen fifth in Clipsal 500 debut
Round 1, Clipsal 500 Adelaide, Adelaide Parklands Circuit, SA, 21-24 February 2008

SP Tools Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen has put in an amazing drive in his first Clipsal 500 Adelaide to finish fifth in today’s 250km race at the Adelaide Parklands circuit.

The 18 year-old Kiwi kept his nose clean throughout the 78-lap race, picking his way through the field from 12th on the grid.

A tentative start saw him lose five positions, however van Gisbergen steadied, emerging from his two compulsory pit stops in 12th place.

The SP Tools Racing driver settled into a rhythm, keeping out of the late-race mayhem to pick off another seven positions in the closing stages of the race.

JELD-WEN Motorsport’s James Courtney had another horror day at the 3.22km circuit, retiring from the race on lap 56 after a passing move by Craig Lowndes at turn ten drove both cars into the concrete barrier, neither car able to continue.

Courtney was in second place at the time, having raced his way from 16th on the grid.

The JELD-WEN Motorsport driver was on a mission, having made his way to eighth before his compulsory tyre stop on lap 31 and third by lap 43 when he stopped for fuel.

Courtney took advantage the scrap between Lee Holdsworth and Craig Lowndes on lap 45, ducking up the inside of the pair at turn nine to move into second position, where he remained until the incident with Lowndes.

After round one of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, Shane van Gisbergen is sixth in the championship standings, with James Courtney in 24th following today’s retirement.

The V8 Supercar Championship Series moves to Eastern Creek in two weeks time.

James Courtney, car #4, JELD-WEN Motorsport
“Craig (Lowndes) had been hitting people in the rear all day at that turn and then he did it to me. He wasn’t able to get right up beside me after the corner but he still turned in on me.

“I had nowhere to go, I don’t know if he thought I was going to disappear but it’s just disappointing. It could have been avoided if he had given me some racing room and we could have both made it around

“We had a really good car all weekend and to have two stupid incidents put us out of the races is very disappointing.

“Obviously I’m not happy and I’m sure Ross and Jimmy are pretty upset; we’ve got a badly damaged car on our hands and a lot of work to put it back together.”

Shane van Gisbergen, car #9, SP Tools Racing
“There was a lot going on today during the race, plenty of desperate moves from a lot of the guys out there.

“For me, it was a matter of keeping it really clean and straight. We had very consistent lap times right through the race and it was just a great job from the boys, the SP Tools Racing crew really deserve it.

“I guess there were a lot of unfortunate drivers out there today, but we just tried to stick with the front bunch and we came away with the result.

“I really didn’t think we would be in the top five this early. It’s just awesome; I passed people like my childhood hero Murph (Greg Murphy) and Rick Kelly, a V8 Supercar champion. I just can’t wait to get up there on the top step of the podium.”

Ross Stone, Team Manager, Stone Brothers Racing
“Shane’s effort today was absolutely outstanding. To pass drivers such as Rick Kelly and hold him off for a number of laps was very impressive.

“The SP Tools Racing Falcon had good race speed and Shane’s race craft was excellent.

“Jimmy and I felt that a top 15 finish would be a good result here so a top five result is just a bonus.

“James had great speed this weekend and some good stops and strategy today got him into second position.

“I am sure the Stewards will have a long, hard look at the incident between James and Craig (Lowndes) and I will be very interested to see the result of the hearing.”

V8 Supercars – Leg 2
1. Jamie Whincup
2. Lee Holdsworth
3. Cameron McConville
4. Todd Kelly
5. Shane Van Gisbergen
6. Rick Kelly
7. Greg Murphy
8. Jason Richards
9. Steven Johnson
10. Jason Bright
DNF James Courtney

V8 Supercars – Warm Up
1. Rick Kelly 1:21.9056
2. Jamie Whincup 1:22.0739
3. Mark Skaife 1:22.0976
4. Craig Lowndes 1:22.2433
5. Cameron McConville 1:22.2520
6. Garth Tander 1:22.2830
7. Paul Dumbrell 1:22.4135
8. Will Davison 1:22.5522
9. Andrew Jones 1:22.5540
10. Steven Johnson 1:22.5589
13. James Courtney 1:22.7230
25. Shane Van Gisbergen 1:23.6709

V8 Supercars – Driver Championship Points
1. Jamie Whincup 300pts
2. Lee Holdsworth 258pts
3. Rick Kelly 192pts
4. Steven Johnson 186pts
5. Todd Kelly 180pts
6. Shane van Gisbergen 180pts
7. Greg Murphy 174pts
8. Steven Richards 171pts
9. Jason Richards 156pts
10. Mark Skaife 138pts
24. James Courtney 57pts

V8 Supercars – Team Championship Points
1. Team Vodafone 429pts
2. Garry Rogers Motorsport 330pts
3. Tasman Motorsport 330pts
4. Ford Performance Racing 309pts
5. Jim Beam Racing 282pts
7. Stone Brothers Racing 237pts

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