|
[Aussie V8 Supercars] Holden sets sights on Manufacturers' Award in Phillip Island fi |
|
|
|
|
Monday, 21 November 2005 |
Holden sets sights on Manufacturers’ Award in Phillip Island finale
GARTH Tander’s victory in the penultimate round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series at Symmons Plains has brought GM Holden one win away from clinching yet another Champion Manufacturers Award in the top touring car category in the world.
The Manufacturers Award is determined by the most number of round wins by a manufacturer in the championship. It was first awarded by AVESCO in 1999 and Holden has clean-swept it ever since, save for 2003.
If the same method were applied to the early years of the V8 Supercar category from 1993 onwards, Holden was been the Champion Manufacturer nine out of 12 times.
In a further confidence boost to Holden, the final round of the series will be run at Phillip Island, which is the test track of Tander’s HSV Dealer Team, the Holden Racing Team and Super Cheap Auto Racing.
All three teams have plenty of recent experience of the flowing 4.45-kilometre layout, a circuit that hasn’t hosted a V8 Supercar race since early in 2003.
It’s another venue that has truly been Holden country. From 1996 to 2002 Holden drivers won every time at Phillip Island, the seven-year streak only broken by changeable weather in 2003 that helped Craig Lowndes steal a win for Ford.
Tander and HSV DT teammate Rick Kelly head to the final round with plenty of confidence following their double-podium result at Symmons Plains as well as wanting to wrap up the crown for Holden on their home track.
The HSV team tested at Phillip Island last Thursday along with the Holden Racing Team and are confident that their track knowledge, particularly on the current generation Dunlop control tyre, will put them in a strong position.
|
News