Ford hopes to dominate at Oran Park
August 15th 2007 11:43
Round eight of the V8 Supercar series at Sydney’s Oran Park is shaping up to be a fight to the death with Ford and Holden drivers alike vying for victory at this historic Raceway.
The BF Falcons of Stone Brothers Racing drivers Russell Ingall and James Courtney were tested this week at their home track in Queensland, resulting in a satisfying result for the team. Courtney’s Jeld-wen Ford has been rebuilt, ready to make it’s debut at Oran Park this weekend, while Ingall’s Caltex Falcon will also benefit from the testing of Courtney’s car, with a number of changes being made for round eight.
Oran Park holds positive memories for both drivers with Courtney achieving his first podium finish at this track in 2006, and Ingall taking out the Oran park round win in his championship year, 2005. Both drivers are currently within the top ten on the points table and are proving to be competitive this weekend.
“We’ll get the benefit from the new specifications that were run on James’ new car yesterday,” a satisfied Russell Ingall said, “and quite a few of those things will come online for Oran Park.
“Oran Park is not a bad circuit; it’s a bit unique with its undulation and makes for a good change.
“We didn’t have a great round there last year after winning in 2005. Hopefully we will have made some gains from the test and we will reap the rewards this weekend.”
James Courtney was also pleased with the day of testing, “we had a very productive day,” he said.” We ran the new car and we had no dramas all day which is a great result. The new JELD-WEN Falcon feels like it is an improvement on the old car so the guys have done a good job.
“Oran Park is quite a good circuit; there is a lot of undulation and you are climbing over the kerbs and running close to the wall coming onto the straight. It’s exciting and has a bit of everything,” he continued.
“We will head into this round quietly confident; we had a good result at Oran Park last year and we hope to do that this weekend and finish the year off strong.
Other strong contenders for this season’s Oran Park crown are the Team Vodafone drivers of Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup. Strong performances in last year’s racing saw Lowndes take out the round win, a result he’s keen to repeat in 2007. Oran Park is a favourite track for Lowndes who narrowly missed taking out the round win here in 2005 as well.
“Oran Park is without a doubt one of the top three or four circuits that we race on, it is a fantastic drivers track, has a great layout, a good variety of corners and the unique under and over bridge makes for a very challenging drive,” Lowndes said.
“It is track that throws up quite a few challenges. It is a bumpy track which can make it difficult to set the car up and the pit lane is on a decline which can make it tricky to keep under the pit lane speed limit and stop on the markers. “
“As a team we feel like we are on a bit of a roll now, and Oran Park has always been kind to us so we are looking forward to continuing our present form and hopefully coming away with another dual podium.”
“This is a very important race meeting as it is our last hitout before the endurance events,” Lowndes finished.
Whincup is also confident that his car will be competitive this weekend, “I led Oran Park last year before my engine let go so you could say I am looking for retribution this year,” he said.
“Oran Park is a great driver’s circuit that may not be around much longer, so I am looking to make the most of it and enjoying our time there.”
“The track offers some of the better sections of road that we drive on and although we dominated there last year I know the Toll guys will be much more competitive and I think the fans are in for a real battle between the two teams.”
Lowndes and Whincup will come into round eight with healthy results in the championship so far, sitting fourth and third on the points table respectively.
Another Ford driver looking to bolster his points haul this weekend is Jason Bright in his Fujitsu Racing Falcon. Bright is determined to set the pace and finish at the pointy end at Oran Park Raceway after his car proved to be one of the fastest at Queensland Raceway in the previous round. Last year saw Bright starting race one on pole position, a qualifying result Bright is looking to repeat.
"We are keen to prove that we have improved our speed with a strong result at Oran Park," said Bright.
"The speed was there at Queensland, but with us not qualifying very well we got stuck in the pack and had a very hard time of it in the races.
"I got pole at the track last year and have finished on the podium twice, so it's been a pretty good track for me.
"This is an important race heading into the endurance events at Sandown and Bathurst. We need to get a result and build momentum ahead of those big races."
Ford Performance Racing duo, Mark Winterbottom and Steve Richards, are also looking forward to competing at Oran park this weekend after previous years have seen the team finish strongly at this track. Richards has ten years experience at Oran Park under his belt with two top five finishes.
"Oran Park is a very dynamic circuit that is hard on rear tyres and its unique figure eight layout will really test our set-up skills,” Richards said. “I enjoy racing at this circuit as it features a combination of medium speed flowing corners off the bridge and the infamous dog-leg before the tight left hander onto the start finish straight - both are always exciting in a V8 Supercar. FPR was strong at Oran Park last season and we have every intention of being even stronger this weekend."
Winterbottom has also had success here, finishing fifth in his FPR debut last year.
"We had excellent car speed at Oran Park last year and I enjoy the challenges that this circuit creates from set-up to the close racing,” Winterbottom stated. “This is the second and final chance that I will get to gain a V8 Supercar win or podium result in my hometown this season and the solo V8 Supercar team victory box remains one that I still haven't ticked yet.”
Team Vodafone image courtesy of Team Vodafone
Steve Richards image courtesy of Dunlop Tyres
The BF Falcons of Stone Brothers Racing drivers Russell Ingall and James Courtney were tested this week at their home track in Queensland, resulting in a satisfying result for the team. Courtney’s Jeld-wen Ford has been rebuilt, ready to make it’s debut at Oran Park this weekend, while Ingall’s Caltex Falcon will also benefit from the testing of Courtney’s car, with a number of changes being made for round eight.
Oran Park holds positive memories for both drivers with Courtney achieving his first podium finish at this track in 2006, and Ingall taking out the Oran park round win in his championship year, 2005. Both drivers are currently within the top ten on the points table and are proving to be competitive this weekend.
“We’ll get the benefit from the new specifications that were run on James’ new car yesterday,” a satisfied Russell Ingall said, “and quite a few of those things will come online for Oran Park.
“Oran Park is not a bad circuit; it’s a bit unique with its undulation and makes for a good change.
“We didn’t have a great round there last year after winning in 2005. Hopefully we will have made some gains from the test and we will reap the rewards this weekend.”
James Courtney was also pleased with the day of testing, “we had a very productive day,” he said.” We ran the new car and we had no dramas all day which is a great result. The new JELD-WEN Falcon feels like it is an improvement on the old car so the guys have done a good job.
“Oran Park is quite a good circuit; there is a lot of undulation and you are climbing over the kerbs and running close to the wall coming onto the straight. It’s exciting and has a bit of everything,” he continued.
“We will head into this round quietly confident; we had a good result at Oran Park last year and we hope to do that this weekend and finish the year off strong.
Other strong contenders for this season’s Oran Park crown are the Team Vodafone drivers of Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup. Strong performances in last year’s racing saw Lowndes take out the round win, a result he’s keen to repeat in 2007. Oran Park is a favourite track for Lowndes who narrowly missed taking out the round win here in 2005 as well.
Lowndes and Whincup, Team Vodafone
“Oran Park is without a doubt one of the top three or four circuits that we race on, it is a fantastic drivers track, has a great layout, a good variety of corners and the unique under and over bridge makes for a very challenging drive,” Lowndes said.
“It is track that throws up quite a few challenges. It is a bumpy track which can make it difficult to set the car up and the pit lane is on a decline which can make it tricky to keep under the pit lane speed limit and stop on the markers. “
“As a team we feel like we are on a bit of a roll now, and Oran Park has always been kind to us so we are looking forward to continuing our present form and hopefully coming away with another dual podium.”
“This is a very important race meeting as it is our last hitout before the endurance events,” Lowndes finished.
Whincup is also confident that his car will be competitive this weekend, “I led Oran Park last year before my engine let go so you could say I am looking for retribution this year,” he said.
“Oran Park is a great driver’s circuit that may not be around much longer, so I am looking to make the most of it and enjoying our time there.”
“The track offers some of the better sections of road that we drive on and although we dominated there last year I know the Toll guys will be much more competitive and I think the fans are in for a real battle between the two teams.”
Lowndes and Whincup will come into round eight with healthy results in the championship so far, sitting fourth and third on the points table respectively.
Another Ford driver looking to bolster his points haul this weekend is Jason Bright in his Fujitsu Racing Falcon. Bright is determined to set the pace and finish at the pointy end at Oran Park Raceway after his car proved to be one of the fastest at Queensland Raceway in the previous round. Last year saw Bright starting race one on pole position, a qualifying result Bright is looking to repeat.
"We are keen to prove that we have improved our speed with a strong result at Oran Park," said Bright.
"The speed was there at Queensland, but with us not qualifying very well we got stuck in the pack and had a very hard time of it in the races.
"I got pole at the track last year and have finished on the podium twice, so it's been a pretty good track for me.
"This is an important race heading into the endurance events at Sandown and Bathurst. We need to get a result and build momentum ahead of those big races."
Ford Performance Racing duo, Mark Winterbottom and Steve Richards, are also looking forward to competing at Oran park this weekend after previous years have seen the team finish strongly at this track. Richards has ten years experience at Oran Park under his belt with two top five finishes.
Steve Richards
"Oran Park is a very dynamic circuit that is hard on rear tyres and its unique figure eight layout will really test our set-up skills,” Richards said. “I enjoy racing at this circuit as it features a combination of medium speed flowing corners off the bridge and the infamous dog-leg before the tight left hander onto the start finish straight - both are always exciting in a V8 Supercar. FPR was strong at Oran Park last season and we have every intention of being even stronger this weekend."
Winterbottom has also had success here, finishing fifth in his FPR debut last year.
"We had excellent car speed at Oran Park last year and I enjoy the challenges that this circuit creates from set-up to the close racing,” Winterbottom stated. “This is the second and final chance that I will get to gain a V8 Supercar win or podium result in my hometown this season and the solo V8 Supercar team victory box remains one that I still haven't ticked yet.”
Team Vodafone image courtesy of Team Vodafone
Steve Richards image courtesy of Dunlop Tyres
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Comment by David
Now there's a great name for a sportsman.
David ...
Comment by Andrea
V8 Supercar Pitstop
hahahahahahahaha
I guess the name Jamie Whinchampionship would be taking it a little bit too far.
A.xx