Stoner: First Day 'A Lot Of Fun'
LESS THANtwenty-four hours before his first ever car race, Casey Stoner believes he ison the right path to success in his V8 Supercars debut this weekend at theClipsal 500, in Adelaide.
The two-timeMotoGP champion impressed amongst the 30-strong field contesting the Dunlop V8Supercar series’ two, 30-minute practice sessions today (Thursday).
His Pirtek /Red Bull-backed Holden, sporting his iconic #27, ended the day 8thoverall, just 0.69s behind overall pacesetter Dale Woods’ FG Falcon.
Stoner loppedmore than a full second off his best lap time from the first to second sessiontoday, ending the day with a strong 1m23.4282s lap that was just 0.1s slowerthan second-year driver George Miedecke, and the same margin quicker than theexperienced Daniel Gaunt.
Havingbattled the best of the best on two wheels, Stoner told media today that hefelt his first true day at the office was ‘less daunting’ than he expected.
“In general,it wasn’t as daunting as I thought it would be, it’s a bit more easy to dealwith,” he said.
“I’m prettyhappy to be honest. We still need to make some improvements with the car, butit’s also me getting used to the car, getting used to the track, getting usedto having cars around me and not being able to turn around and check who’sbehind me, having to use the mirrors instead.
“Everyone hasbeen really good to us today. There are all sorts of things to contend with,but in general it’s been a lot of fun today.”
Stoner said today continued his learning experience – his first true look at astreet circuit a dramatic difference the now Queensland-based driver hasexperienced in his private testing at Queensland Raceway.
“It was alittle bit different to begin with, going from a bike to a car, but you learnto run with it – that’s the edge of the track and that’s all you’ve got.
“There’s obviouslystill work to do and I’m not placing any expectations on the weekend, but I’mcertainly having fun and looking forward to the race tomorrow.”
Red BullRacing Australia team principal Roland Dane was suitably impressed with theperformance.
“We’re prettyhappy with that,” Dane said.
"He finished top-10 with plenty of experienced guys all around him and behindhim. So he is in the thick of the action. He didn’t touch anything, he didn’thit anything. He did a great job first run out and I’m sure he’ll be morerelaxed now.”
In a highlycompetitive field, Dale Wood edged out Chaz Mostert and Andrew Jones in today’sDunlop V8 Supercar Series practice, the three covered by just 0.0991s. GeoffEmery and Ash Walsh completed the top five – with the group covered by aremarkably competitive 0.16s.
KristianLindbom, George Miedecke, Stoner, Daniel Gaunt and Formula Ford graduate GarryJacobson completed the Top-10. Chris Pither and main-game regular Taz Douglascompleted the top 12.
The first V8Supercar race of the season will be contested by the Dunlop V8 Supercars, setfor 5:45pm local time.
Check back toV8Supercars.com.au across the day for more updates and coverage details fromthe Clipsal 500 Adelaide.
