WORK MAN LIKE EFFORT BY ORRCON RACING

A work man like effort by Larkham -- Orrcon Racing in the Bigpond Grand Finale at Phillip Island, the final round of the 2005 V8 Supercar Championship, ensured the team finished the year with a solid result today.

After a good performance in yesterday's opening 23-lap race Jason Bargwanna moved up the order to be challenging for a position just outside the top ten by the midway point of today's opening 32-lap journey.

When Bargwanna made his compulsory pit stop to allow the crew to change the rear tyres on his Orrcon Racing Falcon he was engaged in a tight battle with five other competitors who were separated by only a handful of seconds.

Unfortunately when Bargwanna stalled his engine exiting the pits he lost a couple of seconds and several positions but clawed his way back to 17th at the finish.

Another consistent performance in the final 32-lap journey enabled Bargwanna to finish 14th for the round.

"We improved the car every time I hit the track and got to the end of the round unscathed, which after everything else that has happened this year is a pleasing result in itself," said Bargwanna.

"In a way it is good to finally get this year behind us. It is now time to knuckle down and focus on building towards a very strong year next year."

Bargwanna's team-mate Mark Winterbottom also put in a solid performance to finish 22nd overall in his final drive with Larkham -- Orrcon Racing.

"There is no hiding the fact that it has been a tough year but we ended the final round with a straight car and some consistent pace," said Winterbottom.

"I have appreciated the time I have spent at Larkham -- Orrcon Racing and the opportunities which Mark (Larkham), the guys in the team and everyone at Orrcon have provided me with over the past couple of years."

After finishing runner-up in the championship on four occasions fellow Ford driver Russell Ingall lead a Ford trifecta in the championship taking the crown ahead of Craig Lowndes and today's round winner Marcos Ambrose who won both of today's races.

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