Drivers' Quoteboard: Bathurst 1000
12 Oct 2014
"What a crazy, crazy day. It is a dream come true to win the Peter Brock Trophy as Bathurst is the biggest race in this country and is just so special. For our team to go back-to-back is an incredible achievement and now we all want to come back for a hat-trick of wins next year. The constant safety cars helped get us back into position and from 26th I never thought I would get into the top 10, let alone win. This is my third win and for that to come at the Bathurst 1000 is very special and it is very emotional and I can't wait to take the trophy home to our team and share this moment with everyone."
"What an amazing day.
"The red flag, in a way, saved us because we were able to repair the car, and from that point on, it just about staying out of trouble.
"The cars were really sketchy to drive. I was screaming on the radio to the engineers, giving them an ear bashing, but the result is unbelievable.
"I can't thank the team enough for the amount of work they've done on this program to get it to this point. I know every team in V8s works hard, but I haven't been involved with a harder working bunch of guys.
"We're definitely making ground, and to finish second is hopefully a reward for all of their hard work, as well as our great supporters Nissan, Norton, Toshiba, Steadfast and all our team partners.
"And finally, a special thanks to my good mate Taz Douglas. He brought me back a car that looked like it had come out of a scene from Dukes of Hazard, but it would good enough for me!"
"Our car was pretty speedy all day and I kept telling Ollie (Gavin) we had a good car, even though I handed it to him massively detuned at times. I also want to say a massive thank you to Alex (Somerset - Percat's Car Manager) who got me through the last 60 laps. We had the cool suit stop working so I was opening the door during the safety car periods to try and cool down. We just pushed on to the end and had a great dice with Winterbottom towards the end and there was no way the Ford was going to pass us or we were going to miss out on a podium, so it was pretty hectic."
"What a race. We started at the back, got to the front, went to the back and got to the front again but ran out of fuel on the very last lap. We are in the entertainment industry, hopefully it was entertaining for the crowds and I gave it my absolute all like I always do. It looks like I didn't manage the fuel like I needed to but I did the best I could, there wasn't much more left to do. I knew I was in trouble when we hit the pot earlier than expected, I got a number to stick to and I thought I was doing pretty well but it didn't work out that way. I did what I could today and it didn't pay off but we're hoping next time it will."
"We did everything right and got no reward. It is a great day for the team though with Chaz winning - it keeps the Peter Brock Trophy at our workshop. It was a crazy day and I can't believe how it all worked it. The priority was to bring the trophy back to our headquarters and we've done that. For a 22-year-old to win Bathurst and in such a fashion is amazing. I am really proud of him."
"We had our highs and lows today. We had an issue early on with a cross-threaded nut but that wasn't so bad, losing us about thirteen seconds. The car wasn't too fast at that stage but we were hoping that it would come to and it did. With all of the safety cars, our strategy, like everyone else, was all over the place and we decided to make a splash and dash at the end but there was a lot of sun glare and I made a mistake and tapped the back of Mark Winterbottom and got a drive through penalty for it. It's a pity about Jamie, he deserved to win it and of course they had their ups and downs as well but they just didn't make that last few hundred metres. It was a disappointing end to a day that should have been. We move on from now, we know we have good car pace and we're encouraged by that."
"Firstly, it was an outstanding result for my great Norton team-mate James Moffat.
"I know how much this place means to him, so it see him on that podium was awesome.
"Our morning started really well. We topped the warm-up and I felt we had a car that could have challenged for a really strong result.
"But it wasn't to be. My #36 Norton Nissan suffered a power steering problem in the opening stages and we dropped down four laps.
"Back in the old days of the Bathurst 1000, you could almost make up that ground, but these days, there's no chance.
"We plugged away for the rest of the day, but really, all we were doing was burning up fuel and tyres!"
"I am very disappointed with the result, we had a really strong car that was good enough to win the race.
"I didn't know he was there until the last second and paid the price. I just got caught in the marbles, couldn't back out of it. It was a fair move, but I couldn't turn in or hang around the outside."
"Everything went our way at first and Greg did a great job. We climbed from 20th on the grid and were definitely in for a top ten finish. Unfortunately I made a mistake that was really costly and I am sorry for the team."
"It is so disappointing for the whole team to see the car run so high and then end up in a crash. The tyre delaminated. It wasn't a flat as you would know straight away. I arrived at the end of Conrod and the whole right rear tyre had come off the rim and turned me hard left into the wall. Nothing was rubbing so I must have cut it on something.
"I think the Red Flag should have been called earlier as it was obvious that there was a major issue at Turn 2 as there were a lot of cars hitting the wall. The track had changed so much from my first stint it was like hitting oil.
"Really disappointed as Ash and I had a really good car and we were up the front on merit."
"A very disappointing finish to Bathurst. The race to that point had gone really well. We pitted early and it paid dividends. We were in good shape when I handed over to Steve and we were in third place at the Red Flag.
"To grab the lead in the retro livery Wilson Security Falcon was great and it looked like we could hold that position before the problem Steve had. We need some luck to swing our way but we will know we take a competitive car to the Gold Coast."
