Co-Drivers' Quoteboard: Wilson Security Sandown 500
Paul Dumbrell, Red Bull Racing Australia, p1:
"Car was good, obviously enjoyed it, made only a few small mistakes out there which was better than last year - so, so far, so good."
Greg Murphy, Holden Racing Team, p2:
"The start was everything. Yesterday was a bit average and today was really good. Managed to get that right although a couple of blokes in the first couple of corners didn't like giving their spots away so it was a bit of a handful through the first couple of corners and then got into a good rhythm.
"PD and Webby had some good speed so we worked our tyre strategy for the first couple of stints. The last stint was better. We had good tyres and we settled into a much better pace.
"The car's really good, there's just a few little things James said we need to do that will make a sizeable difference but making it happen will be the hard part.
"I enjoyed it. Did a lot more laps than what I thought I was going to do but it was nice to be in the he car for that period of time and doing the job."
Warren Luff, Holden Racing Team, p3:
"I got boxed in well and truly at the start and had to fight our way back.
"Obviously double stacking's never ideal but you've just got to roll with it.
"It's been a massive effort by all the guys at the factory and even this weekend we really transformed the car. We battled early on with car speed but the boys just kept chipping away and soldering on and this result is a true testament to them.
"Any time you're on the podium you're happy but we've still got a few places to get up in a few weeks' time."
Ash Walsh, Dick Johnson Racing, p5:
"It was great to hand the car back to Scott inside the Top 10. It was long stint for me (79 laps) but I was still feeling OK when I jumped out.
'There was a fair bit going on out there with all the co drivers going at it very hard. I tried to ensure we kept our nose clean and backed out of a few silly moves by others. It meant that we had a good car at the end of the stints and Scott proved that as he was one of the fastest cars out there in the final 20 laps.
"It is a great result for the team and I am thrilled to get a Top 5 result in the Championship."
Alex Premat, Volvo Polestar Racing, p8:
"We should have finished in the top five easy, but I was stuck behind Gavin. It is due to the pit lane, it is so tight. I tried to push him twice, but I didn't want to damage the car. I overtook a lot of cars after that and we proper speed, I am just disappointed about the result. But we will definitely go for the podium at Bathurst."
Tony D'Alberto, Supercheap Auto Racing, p12:
"It was a tough day. We didnt have the Commodore quite where we would have liked it setup-wise.
"My start was pretty good, and so I felt happy with my first stint. At the first pit stop, we only put new rear tyres on and that hurt the balance.
"However, given we qualified ninth and we finished in 12th its not too bad."
David Russell, Jack Daniel's Racing, p13:
"For us it's bitter sweet, towards the end when we had that safety car period we were set to capitalise.
"It's really tough, everyone is having their own battles, and we got held up lap after lap with cars that were a lap down, and it just separates the field.
"To be honest, our pace was better than some of the guys in front of us.
"For me though, I'm happy with my stint, but I didn't think I would be doing half the race!
"It was good, I feel good, now I can't wait til Bathurst, bring it."
Steven Johnson, Dick Johnson Racing, p16:
"We did we could today, the car doesn't feel it is doing anything really badly, it just is just down a bit everywhere. We just lacked the outright pace and that cost us time over the lap.
"I started on worn tyres then left the fronts on for the second stint. It ensured David had a new set, but the car did not really respond with any more speed. We have got plenty to think about before we arrive at Bathurst."
Greg Ritter, Volvo Polestar Racing, p17:
"We found more speed overnight which was good. We had an eventful race with a few clashes, dive-bombing and rubbing of door panels going on. Robert managed to stay reasonably consistent as well, so roll on Bathurst."
Dean Fiore, Norton Hornets, p18:
"There was a top 10 finish there for us, no drama, but for the first time in my life, I left the car in first gear when we pitted. That's what cost us a pit lane penalty and, ultimately, a good result. All of the good work from the team was gone from that one mistake, and that's reasonably disappointing."
Chris Pither, Team Advam, p19:
"I was pretty happy with the way the car was going today. I think we made some pretty big improvements overnight from how the car felt yesterday so I was happy with the pace. It's a little bit disappointing that the pitstop cost us a lot of time but we definitely had a lot of potential today - it just wasn't our day. Hopefully we can take some positives away from this and hopefully get a result at Bathurst."
Alex Buncombe, Jack Daniel's Racing, p20:
"I ended up doing 80 odd laps, but that's just how it worked out with the safety cars," said Alex Buncombe.
"At the start of the race, my first lap wasn't as good as yesterday's, I bogged a bit at the start and got passed by a couple into turn one.
"I settled down into a bit of a rhythm, I made a few little mistakes here and there, a couple of lockups, and a couple of guys got past.
"I'm quickly learning that if you make a mistake in one of these cars, you pay for it and you pay for it big.
"I'm learning every time I get in the car, which is the main thing, but things didn't really work for us today.
"The safety car came out and we got called to the pits.
"Unfortunately we had to stack up behind the other Jack Daniel's car, and we had to wait probably 15 to 20 seconds for that.
"Then Todd got out there and unfortunately got turned around going into the last corner by Lee Holdsworth, who ended up having the massive shunt.
"It just went from there really, we've finished P20, which is a tough day, things didn't really go our way, but we'll be back at Bathurst.
Oliver Gavin, Walkinshaw Racing, p23:
"Today was pretty good and once we got into clear air the car ran well. The starts were action packed as I expected and I think I had my elbows out a little bit more today and wasn't going to get smacked about like yesterday.
"I lost both mirrors and scrunched the bonnet a bit and got hit in the back, which happens starting mid pack in a series like this. I was making time on everyone and the safety car came out at the wrong time for us and scuppered our chances of a potential top ten finish.
"Nick (Percat) was making good progress and was coming in for his final stop when he got nailed from behind by Will Davison and that put an end to a good result, which is a great shame for Nick and I, especially on his birthday."
Andrew Jones, Team BOC, DNF:
"I got a pretty good start. Oliver Gavin was a little cheeky with his move on me at turn 2 so I gave him a little tickle up at turn 4. It wasn't anything massive, it was just a little rubbing racing to be honest then when we got to the end of the straight I thought his serve up from directly behind (tapping Jones) was pushing the envelope too far I felt. He slid down the side of us and plucked the door (skin) off the car.
"On the restart there was a bit of a concertina effect coming into the second to last corner. It felt like I slowed just enough to avoid making contact with the Volvo (of Ritter) but it felt like I got a hit from behind which pushed me into him and damaged the radiator. We'll just need to have a look to find out exactly what happened.
"(Overall) It is what it is, you can't change what happened now, we've just got to head to Bathurst and we're always strong at Bathurst and delete today out of our system and see what we can do up there."
Taz Douglas, Norton Hornets, p25:
"I felt that we marginally improved the car from yesterday. We were able to fight better. I got a decent start and made up a couple of positions. We decided to pit on Lap 10 but unfortunately something happened in the pits and we took no further part in the race. It's pretty disappointing - not just for myself but the team and Moff - his championship has taken a dint. There's not much else we can do other than move onto Bathurst."
