How Holdsworth wheeled his way through the field

Lee Holdsworth was relieved to piece together a comeback drive from 24th to 11th in Perth.

The Grove Racing driver qualified 24th for Race 10 at the Bunnings Trade Perth SuperNight.

A decision to run long on Dunlop Soft compound tyres paid dividends for Holdsworth.

The Bathurst winner made up 13 positions by the chequered flag.

Holdsworth had struggled with one-lap pace, but the #26 Penrite Mustang came alive in race trim.

Holdsworth gained four positions in the opening stint; however, he was unable to pass Nick Percat and focused on tyre conservation.

As front-runners began to pit, Holdsworth was able to capitalise on his race pace, climbing as high as eighth by lap 21.

One of the last three drivers to head to pit lane, Holdsworth emerged a corrected 11th.

He held the position across the line, two seconds behind Andre Heimgartner.

The result comes after the Grove Racing veteran finished third at Albert Park last month.

For Holdsworth, the comeback performance was a relief after "the worst start in the world".

"I sat there wheel spinning like it was Summernats," he joked.

"Once we got going though, I had really good speed.

"I couldn’t get past the group of cars at the start, so I sat there and saved tyres.

"Then when they peeled off, I could make use of my pace to gain a few positions.

"We hung out for a long time, we always had the plan to come home strong, and we made it up to 11th, so awesome for the team."

Teammate David Reynolds came home fourth, recording his sixth top five finish in seven races.

Although buoyed by the team’s efforts, Holdsworth admitted he is irked by his current lack of qualifying speed.

"It’s so frustrating, it’s a qualifying game and if you don’t qualify well, you make your weekend hard," he said.

"There’s something not quite connecting with me and the car in qualifying at the moment.

"We are sort of in no man’s land, but at least we have Davey’s car to look at and learn from that."

Cars will return to the track on Sunday morning for dual qualifying sessions.

The Bunnings Trade Perth SuperNight will conclude with Races 11 and 12.

Holdsworth is 15th in the points, with Reynolds ninth.