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Van Gisbergen Has First Hidden Valley Hit Out

Round 6, SKYCITY Triple Crown, Hidden Valley Raceway, Darwin NT

04 July 2008

SP Tools Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen has had his first taste of Darwin’s Hidden Valley Raceway, hitting the track for today’s two-and-a-quarter hour practice session in the SP Tools Racing Falcon.

The 19-year-old Kiwi had a steady debut, posting the 11th fastest time after using the first 30-minute rookie session to learn the track and get a feel for the new Dunlop tyres.

Va n Gisbergen enjoyed his first tour of the 2.9km circuit, adapting quickly to the new track and hot conditions.

JELD-WEN Motorsport’s James Courtney was ninth fastest today, satisfied with his performance but certain that there is more time in himself and the JELD-WEN Motorsport Falcon.

Courtney struggled with traffic in the closing stages of the session and was unable to get the most out of his new tyres.

Both Courtney and van Gisbergen were non-committal about the new Dunlop tyres introduced at round six of the V8 Supercar Championship Series. Both Stone Brothers Racing drivers said that they did not notice much of a difference but they needed more time to get a feel for them.

Courtney and van Gisbergen will be back on track at 11:30am for the three-leg elimination style qualifying session, followed by race one at 3:00pm.

James Courtney, #4, JELD-WEN Motorsport

“We had a trouble-free session today, it’s good to have a low- key steady start.

“We didn’t get the best out of the tyres at the end of the session. With such a short lap, it’s hard to get a clear spot in the traffic and we got held up a bit.

“It’s hard to know what to think of the new tyres at this stage. Until we do a race on them it’s all a bit up in the air with which way to go.”

Shane van Gisbergen, #9, SP Tools Racing

“I was out there on a new track with new tyres early today, there was a fair bit going on!

“I didn’t find the track too hard to pick up and it wasn’t too long until we were able to get stuck into tuning the SP Tools Falcon.

“We didn’t notice too much of a difference with the new tyres but we’ve only had a short time on them so it is hard to know what to expect.

“To be up there close to the top ten is a good start to the weekend for us.”

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