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Ingall Prepares For New Speed Thrill |
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Tuesday, 30 January 2007 |
V8 Supercar champion and two-time Bathurst winner Russell Ingall took the first steps towards his chance of experiencing a totally new speed sensation outside of his regular Caltex V8 Supercar ride today.
Ingall completed a “dunk test” with CareFlight Safety Services, the training arm of RACQ CareFlight, at the Miami pool on the Gold Coast. This is compulsory underwater escape training required before Ingall is taken for a ride next month in the Maritimo race boat of legendary Class-1 off-shore racer Bill Barry-Cotter.
Ingall is set to join Barry-Cotter for a 250kmh-plus ride off the shore
of the Gold Coast in his famous Lamborghini-powered Maritimo craft.
Ingall will then reciprocate the ride by taking Barry-Cotter for a
blast in his Caltex Falcon at similar speeds around the Queensland
Raceway.
“The whole dunk test process is an interesting one and I have to thank
the CareFlight crew for all their help and professional tuition today,”
said Ingall.
“The one thing that my Caltex Ford crew and Bill’s Maritimo crew have
in common is that safety is always a priority. You always hope you
never have to use any of the things were learnt today, but it is always
imperative to have the skills. I own one of Bill’s 48 Maritimo’s which
myself and the family absolutely love, but I think the race boat is
going to be a little bit different to what we usually experience
boating around the Broadwater. For one, it will be about 200kph faster!”
Barry-Cotter, who is a multiple national Class-1 champion and regarded
internationally for his racing and boat-building skills, was happy to
see Ingall get through the first stage of his “off-shore experience”.
“It is always fantastic to have people go for a ride in the Class-1
Maritimo, especially someone the caliber of Russell, who has created a
career out motorsport,” said Barry-Cotter.
“It does not happen very often because of the processes you have to go
through, but I was delighted when Russell said he was prepared to do
the safety courses required to put himself in the boat. I am sure he is
in for one hell of a ride, as I am sure I will be when he returns the
favour in the Caltex Falcon. I don’t think I will be stirring him up
too much, because he will get to fire the last shot when we head to
Queensland Raceway.”
Ingall will contest the first round of the 2007 V8 Supercar championship, the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide on March 1-4.
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