Drivers' Quoteboard: Races 33 and 34

Jamie Whincup, Red Bull Racing Australia, p1:"It's always nice to gather up the Championship with a race win. It's a bit of a weird feeling to lock away the championship with a round to go because there is still a lot of pride on the line for the final races and we don't want to let ourselves down right to the very end. It's a great result and full credit to the entire team, the car was fantastic today. It's a special championship win because this year has thrown up its own challenges particularly with our mid-year slump. Had we won, lost or drawn, I'm proud of how we've been able to turn that slump around, there's a lot of grinding that goes on behind the scenes with the whole team and I couldn't be prouder to be a part of that. Having won six championships is a weird feeling that I can't describe at the moment. I'm sure it will mean everything when I look back at it and it has a chance to sink in. My motivation and love for racing is higher than ever and I'm looking forward to enjoying the next few races."

Craig Lowndes, Red Bull Racing Australia, p2:"Our car was good in the first race today. Scott McLaughlin drove really well and we put on as much pressure as possible and had a few good runs at him but he drove fast and smart and deserved the win. The second race we had another good run and managed to pull a gap from Mark Winterbottom who was in third. Our car worked really well throughout the whole day and you expect the tyre life to start going at this circuit but we managed to hold on to it to the very end. We had a good crack at both races, you have to be happy with two second places and the bonus is we've come away with some good points for the championship."

Mark Winterbottom, Ford Pepsi Max Crew, p3:"It has been a tough year and our team deserves credit for how well we started the year. We were going well there for most of the year but we dug ourselves a bit of a hole mid-year which cost us. We are on the up though and are getting there but we weren't good enough for the whole year so full credit to Jamie (Whincup) and his team. In the first race I was just trying to have a crack and I just didn't have as much grip as the people I was racing. I took all the grass from turn one to two when I went off which forced me to stop as the engine was about to go kaput. The podium was nice but winning is what we are here to do so we'll keep pushing to improve."

Todd Kelly, Jack Daniel's Racing, p5:"We made some changes to the car in between those races, and it really brought the car to life."The pace was really good, and it really hung onto its tyres, but unfortunately at the start of the race on the opening lap I flat spotted my left front tyre really, really badly, which made it really hard to get around the right handers at Honda and MG."It lost me a bit of lap time, but even with the tyre like that the race pace was pretty good."We'll tidy a few things up and not lock up tomorrow, it's shaping up to be a pretty good car."

Scott McLaughlin, Valvoline Racing GRM, p6:"It was pretty full on and I am very happy to get another win and pole. I was stoked to have one pole position earlier this year and now I have got nine, hopefully there will be more and we just got to keep pushing."The car was a bit difficult to drive and I was going as hard as I could. I knew where Lowndes had two chances to go at me on the final lap, but I had him there. It was awesome fun, a great battle with Lowndes."

Michael Caruso, Norton Hornets, p7:"The car was good in qualifying so that put us in a good position for the races."We didn't have the speed of the guys right at the front, but we seem to be in that next pack."I'm just trying to rack up as many points as I can so I can stay inside the top 10."We have a little bit of work to do overnight because tomorrow is the day you need to be there because there's so many points on offer."

Rick Kelly, Jack Daniel's Racing, p8:"I've been having a little trouble getting the old girl off the line, so our race was hindered in both races with that a little bit."We had a good car in race one, and we decided to try and improve on it for race two, just in learning for the longer race tomorrow, and it really helped."It made a good gain, and we were able to race back."I had a really good battle with David Reynolds, he's one of the guys out there you can put yourself inside, outside, wherever, and you know you will have a good battle."I settled into eighth, which was a good spot to watch Todd have his battles, with Caruso in the mix, and Moffat not far behind."A great day for Nissan Motorsport, four cars in the top-11, it's really satisfying and a good improvement, but like everyone we just want a little more."

Chaz Mostert, Ford Pepsi Max Crew, p9:"I didn't qualify too poorly, though I did make a mistake in the second session. The two 10-minute sessions limit what you can change if you need to make changes and we did so that cost us a little. I was holding fourth until (Garth) Tander went up the inside of me and he didn't give me a lot of room. The contact reefed the steering wheel out of my hands and that dropped me down the field. We didn't have many opportunities to pass in the second race and that was it. We did make some gains today and I think we can improve out pace for tomorrow."

Nick Percat, HHA Racing, p10:"To be in the top 10 in any race in this championship is a positive but I definitely want to be hunting around the top six, which would be a good result for tomorrow. The cars is nice and straight and we will give it a tune up overnight and come out firing in tomorrow's 200 kilometre race."

James Moffat, Norton Hornets, p11:"The positive for the day is that we finished both races and bagged some points so we can take that with us."All of the other Nissans have been in the top 10 all day, and unfortunately, I'm not anywhere near that."It wasn't a good enough job from myself, so I need to work out what's going on and get up near my teammates."

David Reynolds, The Bottle-O Racing Team, p12:"Today we've gone for a bit of a different set-up today, which is something we wouldn't really do except here at Phillip Island. It's been good to tick the box, and see how it goes, but it's also been frustrating because we haven't had as much pace as we've been used to. It's a bit of a one-step back, two-steps forward situation, I think. Qualifying was consistent, and had a good first race. I don't have massive pace, but I'm able to battle and hold position. I got pushed off in the last race, and then had to hold position from there to finish 12th."

Will Davison, Erebus Motorsport, p14:"I felt like we maximised everything we could today, we didn't really make any mistakes."We're certainly in the game now. The car feels quite nice, we just need to extract a bit more speed out of it."It was a productive day for the team and two clean races. The second race was a bit disappointing because I actually made three spots up on the first few laps and I think we would have stayed there but unfortunately Courtney crashed into the side of me, got tangled-up in my exhaust and I got run wide and lost three spots."Otherwise I think we would have been on for a 10th or 11th in the last race."We were in the hunt with the cars in front of us - half the field is doing the same lap times so we're in that mix but we know we need a little bit extra speed to be in front of that pack not just in the middle of it."It's a very important race tomorrow, it looks like we could have some rain so I'm certainly looking to consolidate and salvage some points tomorrow.''

Scott Pye, Wilson Security Racing, p15:"I had a great dice with Shane in the second race; we were passing each other on a number of laps. He actually let me go, but I got a bit wide and he was back in front. It is so hard to pass on some of the high speed sections here as the car in front creates so much dirty air."A ninth in the first race was good and we had the car speed to be inside the Top 10. In the second race we got back up to P15 after being caught out wide on Lap 1. We need to focus on a few areas but we did improve the car for the second race."

Fabian Coulthard, Lockwood Racing, p16:"It's so hard to pass here. Not many other people made up that many spots so I guess that's a positive. We just have to make the car better so I can be in a better position to pass more cars. That's critical from where we are on the grid."The car was better in that [second] race. We improved it a fair bit from the first race to the second, it'd just be nice to have a chance to qualify this weekend. I think we've got the pace for the top 5 but it's just too hard to pass when you start so far back. I'm impressed with the jump we made in handling from the first race to the second and if we can make a further jump again I think we'll be somewhere in the hunt."

Jason Bright, Team BOC, p17:"Early on we had a bad wobble and lost a lot of ground to the guys in front. I thought the pressure was going to be on the whole [first] race but then it seemed to settle down a bit and then we had the pace of the guys behind and started to match the guys in front - at least for a while. The car wasn't as strong as we'd like it to be but it got better after the first couple of laps, that's for sure. Generally we had a lot of oversteer in some places and understeer in other places and I just didn't have much confidence under brakes so I felt like we should've been going further back but I wasn't going backwards. You see it happen every now and again when the track's not fast and no one ends up going quickly."[Race two] We were struggling with the rear of the car. I basically can't carry speed anywhere without losing the rear. We'll have a good look at it tonight. We've got some ideas. The car's not that much worse than anyone. It's just so hard with the dirty air behind other cars. It means as soon as we get close it's really hard to make a pass. I finally got Shane and then I was on the dirty line and went back spots. It's very frustrating to race here when the track is so dirty off line!"

Russell Ingall, Repair Management Aus Racing, p19:"At the moment we don't know enough, we are struggling to know what the car is like."With the nature of this circuit you just can't hide."At the Gold Coast we were able to get around it, it suited us - you can man handle it around but the nature of this circuit doesn't allow you to."The longer races have suited us this year so we will give it our best tomorrow and see if we can get further up the field."

David Wall, Wilson Security Racing, p20:"Our car comes on well mid race so you have to bide your time a bit at the beginning where others seem faster. My car was very much the same on the last lap as it was on the first, so it does point well for the longer race tomorrow."We made a call for a one run qualifying for the second race and it did cost us as I ran a bit wide into Honda and that was the lap. If we start further up I feel we have a car that we can push on with really well."

Dale Wood, Team ADVAM/GB Gal, p22:"We weren't strong at the start of the first race. We were stronger at the end and then I passed Gis (Van Gisbergen) and for whatever reason he decided to turn me around. I think it cost us one position. It felt like I was struggling with the car but then looking around it didn't look like anyone was doing it a whole lot easier."It started a little bit better [in the second race] and then the first couple of laps looked like we'd be OK. I feel like we're working hard in the car for not much at the moment. It's an overall grip problem at the moment, sliding all over the road a lot. Others seem to be suffering from that as well to an extent but it doesn't feel like it's nearly as much."

Robert Dahlgren, Valvoline Racing GRM, p23:"We had a really tough day. I missed a bit in qualifying and we didn't get a few things that we tried to work. We tried to find what the problem was between the two races, something is not right. But I am glad that I am in a strong team with good mechanics, so hopefully we will find what we are looking for ahead of tomorrow."

Jack Perkins, Team JELD-WEN, p24:"We were consistent in qualifying, with 17th in both races. It's not where we want to be, but it's better than being in the 20s. That shows a sign of improvement, which is good. We'll look to improve that tomorrow to have a good run in the longer race. The first race was lacklustre, starting and finishing 17th. We made some great changes for the second race, and I got a great start making up a few spots, and had a bit of pace. Then I got used up by someone I respect, in car #8, and dropped right back to last. I had a lot of pace on the guys around me, but got pushed off again by someone who got over ambitious so it was just a case of hanging on after that. We'll turn it around and have another crack tomorrow."