FOUR SEASONS IN ONE DAY FOR ORRCON RACING
Larkham -- Orrcon Racing put in a consistent performance to
rack up a bag of Championship points during the Betta
Electrical 500, round nine of the V8 Supercar Championship,
held in changeable conditions south east of Melbourne today.
Throughout the weekend the team's regular drivers Jason
Bargwanna and Mark Winterbottom were joined in the first
endurance race of the year by Swiss driver Alain Menu and
Kiwi Matt Halliday who shared the driving duties in the
number 10 Orrcon Racing Falcon.
During yesterday's qualifying Winterbottom set the 14th
fastest time while Halliday made his set the 24th fastest
time in his first qualifying session aboard a V8 Supercar.
At the start of the race Bargwanna took the wheel of the
number 20 Orrcon Racing Falcon while Menu, a dual British
Touring Car Champion, steered the number 10 entry into the
opening turn of the 161-lap race.
Running just outside the top ten Bargwanna made his first
compulsory pit stop on lap 53 allowing the crew to change
tyres and front brake pads while Winterbottom climbed behind
the wheel. Unfortunately Winterbottom encountered an
electrical problem on his out lap dropping him down seven
positions.
Menu pitted several laps later to hand the driving duties
over to Halliday who ran the majority of his stint inside the
top twenty. His consistent run was halted by a puncture on
lap 91 which forced him off the circuit and caused damage to
the radiator and front end components and into the pit area
for repairs.
The crew completed the required repairs in less than 20
minutes but unfortunately cooling and oil pressure problems
forced Halliday back into the pit area on more than six
occasions and eventually out of the race.
Meanwhile Winterbottom and Bargwanna continued to work their
way up the order in the changeable conditions and appeared to
be on track to finish just outside the top ten. Unfortunately
heavy rain several laps from home halted Bargwanna's charge
and he crossed the line 16th.
"We had our fair share of dramas but we managed to keep
recovering all day," said Bargwanna.
"Towards the end of the race we were on the right tyre
(slicks) but with about five laps to go the rain started and
we went from what was looking towards a top eleven spot to
16th which is a little disappointing.
"Our focus now turns to Bathurst where, just like last year,
I believe we will be very strong. We will have a download of
the data from this weekend and spend a lot of time dissecting
it to make some improvements."
Team Owner Mark Larkham was encouraged by the performance of
the team throughout the weekend as they prepare for the
biggest race of the year, the Super Cheap 1000 at Bathurst.
"We came here with an objective that was very important,
especially for the number 20 car, and we achieved that
objective by getting the car to the end and collecting a swag
of points," said Larkham.
"All day we were trying to call, is it going to rain? Is it
going to dry up? Some got it right, some got it wrong. I am
pretty happy with the way everything worked out.
"One of the biggest things about this race is that it is
used very much as a warm up for Bathurst and I think we will
be strong there, especially the combination of Bargs and
Frosty."
Today's race was won by Craig Lowndes and Yvan Muller. The
Ford pair finished in front of Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly
with the team of Jason Richards and Jamie Whincup finishing
third.
Marcos Ambrose remains the Championship leader ahead of
fellow Ford driver Russell Ingall. Steven Richards is third.
The next round of the Championship is the Super Cheap Auto
1000 at Bathurst on October 6 -- 9.
-or-
Race Results
1.C.Lowndes/Y.Muller (Ford) - 161 laps
2.M.Skaife/T.Kelly (Holden)
3.J.Richards/J.Whincup (Holden)
4.R.Kelly/G.Tander (Holden)
5.S.Ellery/A.Macrow (Ford)
6.D.Brabham/J.Bright (Ford) - 160
7.R.Ingall/L.Youlden (Ford)
8.P.Morris/P.Radisich (Holden)
9.J.Bowe/B.Jones (Ford)
10.C.McConville/A.Jones (Holden)
11.J.Courtney/J.Richards (Holden) - 159
12.D.Canto/G.Seton (Ford)
13.M.Ambrose/W.Luff (Ford)
14.S.Richards/P.Dumbrell (Holden)
15.C.McLean/G.Ritter(Ford)
16.J.Bargwanna/ M.Winterbottom (Ford) - 158
17.A.Davison/A.Simonsen (Holden)
18.W.Davison/S.Johnson (Ford)
19.C.Baird/D.Besnard (Ford)
20.L.Holdsworth/P.Scifleet (Holden) - 157
21.D.Brede/J.Cleland (Ford)
22.M.Marshall/A.Tagliani (Ford)
23.S.Owen/M.White (Ford) - 156
24.J.Fernandez/D.White (Ford) - 153
25.A.Tratt/T.Evangelou (Holden) - 153
26.M.Coleman/C.D'Agostin (Holden) - 152
DNF Coulthard/T.D'Alberto (Holden) - 156
DNF G.Murphy/P.Weel (Holden) - 140
DNF A.Menu/M.Halliday (Ford) 116
DNF M.Noske/T.Leahey (Holden) - 113
DNF O.Kelly/N.Pretty (Holden) - 86
DNF A.Gurr (Holden) - 56
DNF M.Porter (Holden)
Championship Points
After 9 of 13 rounds
1.Marcos Ambrose (Ford) 1486
2.Russell Ingall (Ford) 1408
3.Steven Richards (Holden) 1363
4.Craig Lowndes (Ford) 1261
5.Todd Kelly (Holden) 1253
6.Mark Skaife (Holden) 1202
7.Garth Tander (Holden) 1144
8.Jason Bright (Ford) 1096
9.Steven Johnson (Ford) 1042
10.Glenn Seton (Ford) 1038
11.Paul Radisich (Holden) 1022
12.Rick Kelly (Holden) 1018
13.Cameron McConville (Holden) 1011
14.Greg Murphy (Holden)1008
15. John Bowe (Ford) 1006
16.Jamie Whincup (Holden) 909
17.Paul Morris (Holden) 839
18.Steve Ellery (Ford) 816
19.Jason Richards (Holden) 787
20.Brad Jones (Ford) 757
21.Paul Weel (Holden) 720
22.Jason Bargwanna (Ford) 713
30.Mark Winterbottom (Ford) 490
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For further information please contact
Lee Hanatschek -- BAM Media
Orrcon Racing
Communications Manager
Phone +61 (0)7 5563 1155
Mobile +61 (0)403 531 914
[Car20_front_left_turn_thumb.jpg]
Jason Bargwanna during the early running of today's race
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Dual British Touring Car Champion Alain Menu in the Orrcon
Racing Falcon
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Menu and Matt Halliday suiting up for battle
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Halliday in action during his second Betta Electrical Sandown
500
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A post race interview with Jason Bargwanna
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Orrcon Racing
Email: lee@bammedia.com.au Website:www.orrconracing.com
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