Drivers' Quoteboard: Race 12

The Chill Perth 360 came to an end this afternoon. See what your favourite driver had to say.

Jamie Whincup, Red Bull Racing Australia, first: 

“We’ve been saying we’re slowly improving and that we’re going to get there, so it’s good to be able to finally prove we can go quick and hopefully this is the start of something big and we can continue this form onto Texas and the rest of the year.”

Craig Lowndes, Red Bull Racing Australia, second:

“We have had an up and down weekend really but I’m happy.

“The car was good in the last part of the race but we just didn’t have the tyres to keep Jamie at bay. It was tooth and nail right at the end. He had a full set at the end and I only had half a set, so I think that might have hurt us a little bit but we’re happy. It’s a Red Bull one-two for the second time this weekend.”

Jason Bright, Team BOC, third:

"I made a really bad start in the first race. I don't know what's going on with our clutches. Something went drastically wrong and it was the ugliest getaway ever. I dropped back to fourth but we had good pace and ended up getting back up to second by going long and having good tyres for the run to the end.

"In the second race I had a great first ten laps. We got five or six cars in that first stint and the car felt great. I thought we were looking good for the run to the flag because we had two green tyres on after the pit stop; I thought we could give Red Bull Racing a real run for their money.

"Unfortunately though something's gone wrong. I haven't found out exactly what yet but the car started locking the right-front really badly and under-steering to the right. I thought I was going to have to give up a couple of positions because I was really struggling for the first couple of laps and nearly crashed into Craig. I think we were lucky to get third in the end considering that but I think we deserved better."

Will Davison, Pepsi Max FPR, fourth:

“It was a bit of a frustrating day especially the first race given I qualified on the front row. I lost out a little in the pit stop cycle with track position but the weekend was by no means a disaster. The car was much better in the second race today but I got stuck behind Jason Bright at the end and couldn’t get by. Overall solid points and I’m looking forward to Texas.”

David Reynolds, The Bottle-O FPR, fifth:

“We improved the car a lot overnight and that meant we qualified better and enjoyed much better race pace. The first race wasn’t quite as strong but in the second race we gained three places and showed improvement. The crew put in a great effort and gave me great pit stops and that allowed me to race my own race and the result was much better.”

James Moffat, Norton 360 Racing, eighth:

"It has been a good weekend. To come away with three top 10s has made for a really solid event.

"The car was very good in all the races. It's a great race car, and we know where our weaknesses are, and the team is working as hard and as fast as they can to improve them.

"This is by far the best result that I've had here at Barbagallo. It's one of the hardest places on tyres, which shows how well the chassis is performing.

"I had a good battle with GT (Garth Tander) in both of today's races, so to be racing against a former series champion and someone of his calibre is very encouraging.

"I think with the ongoing development of the car, I see no reason why we can't be more of a threat up the front of the field. You don't want to count your chickens too early, but the signs are good."

Chaz Mostert, Wilson Security Racing, p10: 

“A fantastic start with DJR. The guys have put the car together really well for me and I had a strong run in all three races. It is great for all the backers like Wilson Security, Shell & Crimsafe who have hung in there this year. I’m glad to get them a result today. I was really happy with my qualifying pace over the weekend and I’m sure it helped our race results. I still have to learn more about the tyre management in the next few rounds, but overall I am really pleased.” 

Mark Winterbottom, Pepsi Max FPR, p12:

“The last race obviously didn’t turn out as we wanted due to the pit stop issue. I was right on Jamie (Whincup) when I came in from second but I dropped to 21st and that was our race done. 

"We had two podiums from three races here and without that issue in the last race it would’ve been three, so we know we’ve got pace. It is frustrating that we’ve had a lot of little things happen throughout the year so far as they are all points we are losing. It is disappointing but we aren’t doing much wrong, we just need a bit of luck.”

Lee Holdsworth, IRWIN Racing, p14:

"It was nice to finish on a bit of a high. I was happy with the qualifying this weekend, we qualified in the top 15 for every session so I think that was a great effort. 

"Brad (Wischusen, engineer) gave me an awesome car in qualy and today’s race it was quite good as well, but it’s hard work racing in your mirrors and trying to defend down the straight. Hopefully we’ll fix that area soon. 

"The upgrades worked wonders this weekend – I think we would’ve been well back if we didn’t have them so a lot of positives this weekend and I’m looking forward to Texas."

Alex Davison, JELD-WEN FPR, p16:

“Overall we had another very good weekend and I was particularly happy with our upturn in qualifying pace as I was fifth yesterday and sixth both times today. We wanted to be consistent and we are starting to get a much higher overall level of performance which is satisfying. 

"We’ve definitely made a step forward this weekend which is great. The first race today wasn’t as strong as I would’ve liked and the final race was turning out much better but we had to double-stack in the pits under the Safety Car and that dropped us right back. It was the only thing we could’ve done but when you have two team cars so closely matched it does happen occasionally.”

Rick Kelly, Jack Daniel's Racing, p18:

"We just had a fair bit of drama getting the pace out of the car in qualifying. In the races we made a huge step forward compared to the rest of the year with the race pace and the car handling and it was really the most comfortable I've been in the car in the race.

"It's just too difficult to make up that many positions. We managed to move from 26th to 16th which was great and a few more laps would have been more again, and the same in the second race.

"We continued to move forward, but everything was stacked against us, the safety car didn't go our way, we got ran off the track a couple of times and unfortunately the way the pits payed out put us a fair way back.

"We can take a lot from that, but we need to get on top of getting a little bit more out of the car and myself in qualifying and then we'll start to see some really good results." 

Todd Kelly, Jack Daniel's Racing, p21:

"We changed the car a little bit for the last race and it didn't really help the issues that we were having and I had a puncture early on in the race, so that put me a lap down and we just dead set ran out of tyres.

"We were still hanging on to the back of the field and attacked and passed guys at the end who had quite a bit better quality tyre on, so there is a lot of potential there, we just need to have a good clean weekend and get it out of the car.

"It wasn't the best result, but certainly the car has got a fair bit left in it."

Tim Blanchard, Wilson Security Racing, p23:

“The pace was really good today in the races and we were making up a lot of spots. It was frustrating to be turned around as I felt we were in for a really good result today. We need to push on to get the Top 15 results and having one slip away today was rough. The encouraging thing is the car is getting better and better so I really need to focus on Qualifying to get those spots early in the race. Chaz did the job in qualifying and it did show in his results.”

Michael Caruso, Norton 360 Racing, DNF:

"We had a strong car this weekend and that showed in Saturday's race.

"Once the pit stop element came into the attack, it cost us good result.

"(James) Moffat did a fantastic job all weekend, running inside the top 10, and that's where the capability of our car is at. We were running there in the last race, but a small mistake cost us the result.

"In such a short period between here and Texas, we need to access because there's four compulsory pit stops there and we'll need to improve."

 Maro Engel, SP Tools Racing, DNF:

“I have to say a massive thank you to the team as our qualifying positions clearly show that we have taken a big step forward.  Getting all three cars in the top 15 for the start of the final race was great.  Obviously I’m still also very pleased with that top 9 qualifying yesterday and that really was a milestone.

“Unfortunately in the races things didn’t quite go to plan and we were a little bit unlucky with some of the battles, but lots of positives to take away from the weekend.  Most importantly, we take away new information that we can put to good use in order to make further progress.”