PRESS ROOM

Courtney Salvages Top Ten at Tasmania Challenge

Round 13, Falken Tasmania Challenge, Symmons Plains Raceway

Race 2 / Race 3 Report

18 November 2007

JELD-WEN Motorsport’s James Courtney has salvaged tenth position at the Falken Tasmania Challenge today in what has been a tough round for the Stone Brothers Racing team.

Courtney’s recovery was kicked off by a brilliant drive in race two this morning, the JELD-WEN Motorsport driver picking up 20 places to finish in eighth position.

After starting from 28th on the grid, the SBR crew held off on Courtney’s compulsory pit stop until lap 34. The strategy to run long paid off and he rejoined the race in ninth position.

Courtney hunted down Steven Johnson in the closing stages of the race, passing him on lap 47 to receive the chequered flag in eighth position.

The JELD-WEN Motorsport driver produced another strong drive in race three, picking up two positions to finish the race in sixth and claim tenth for the round.

Caltex Racing’s Russell Ingall also showed grit and determination today, driving from the rear of the grid in race three to finish 13th.

Ingall’s round took a downward turn in race two when the Caltex Racing driver came into contact with Paul Dumbrell on lap 37, the resulting damage causing Ingall to pit with a flat right front tyre.

Ingall rejoined the race at the rear of the field, crossing the line in 30th position.

The Caltex Racing driver finished 19th for the round.

Courtney’s two strong races today provided him with valuable points towards the V8 Supercar Championship Series, the 2006 Rookie of the Year maintaining eighth position.

Team-mate Ingall slipped to 11th position but remains in contact with the top ten, only 14 points behind Will Davison.

The V8 Supercar Championship Series moves on to the final round of the year in two weeks time at Phillip Island in Victoria on 30 November to 2 December 2007.

Russell Ingall, car #9, Caltex Racing

“It’s been a really tough weekend.

“We pulled back some ground yesterday only to find ourselves back down there having to do it all again.

“Brakes have been the big factor here. You get a few good laps and then they are gone and that makes it pretty hard to race.

“We climbed back up to 13th again today but it didn’t really help us points wise and we’ve suffered in the championship as a result.”

James Courtney, car #4, JELD-WEN Motorsport

“We finished today where we should have been all weekend.

“But with a bad qualifying session and the drive-through penalty yesterday, it really set us back.

“It’s frustrating because it’s another weekend that could have been.

“We managed to get some points from this weekend and maintain our position in the Championship.

“We will see if we can pull back a couple of more positions at Phillip Island.”

Ross Stone, Team Manager, Stone Brothers Racing

“Tasmania has been one of those weekends.

“At the end of the day we had good car speed but we had some hiccups along the way.

“You just can’t win that way anymore. Everything has to be right these days to do well and you can’t afford to have penalties or car problems.

“Still, we are looking forward to Phillip Island where SBR should be strong.”

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Courtney Salvages Top Ten at Tasmania Challenge

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