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Oran Park Victory On Neutral Territory Could Unlock Door To V8 Supercar |
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Monday, 07 August 2006 |
| Attachment 16813 |
| Mark Skaife began a streak in 2000 that could continue thisweekend. Ever since he won at Oran Park in that year, the winner of theround at the Sydney track has gone on to win the championship. |
FOR the past six years, the winner of the Oran Park round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series round in Sydney’s outskirts has gone on and managed to lift the championship trophy at the end of the year.
Unfortunately for Holden though, that streak has meant arch-rivals Ford have won there for the past three years before clinching the championship in the 13th and final round.
But the fact that the circuit is neutral territory, due to none of the V8 Supercar teams being based in Sydney after Tasman Motorsport moved to Melbourne at the end of 2004, gives Holden’s line-up of Commodore drivers a real sniff of success this weekend.
At the forefront is Toll HSV Dealer Team driver Garth Tander, who leads the championship at what is effectively its halfway point.
The 29-year-old is fresh from a crushing victory at Queensland Raceway, where he ran rings around the five Ford teams that use the circuit as their official testing venue.
And the fact he was strong at Oran Park last year, where he rocketed from 26th on the grid to finish fifth in the second race, gives the 2000 Bathurst champion an extra little boost of confidence that his team will be on the pace from the outset.
“I love the track, but I have never actually won anything up there,” Tander says.
“I really enjoy the layout because it is one of the true classic racing
circuits left in Australia that hasn’t been changed that much.
“This weekend we need to claw some more points back off Craig
(Lowndes), because we need to lead in both unadjusted and adjusted
points prior to the endurance races. That way we can be a bit smarter
with what we do about finishing in the endurance races before dropping
our worst round after Bathurst.
“Coming off our win in Queensland, we are looking forward to resuming
the battle, especially as we have just had probably our best test day
of the year at Winton. We just concentrated on two or three main items
of the car, and it went very well.”
Jack Daniel’s Racing’s Steven Richards was a winner at Oran Park last
year, taking victory in Race 1 after putting the Perkins team into the
Shootout for the first-ever time at the circuit.
His namesake, Jason Richards from Tasman Motorsport, has special reason
for feeling confident heading to the Sydney venue, even after a
puzzling weekend in the last round at Queensland Raceway where his team
simply couldn’t find any speed.
Oran Park was the Tasman team’s test circuit in 2004 when it was based
in Sydney, and was previously home to the Lansvale team that Tasman was
formed from.
Richards has had a solid run there in the past. He finished fifth with
Team Dynamik in 2003 and was seventh in Tasman’s 2004 debut year after
qualifying fourth.
But perhaps most notable was his efforts last year. In a car quickly
repaired from its roll-over at Queensland Raceway three weeks prior,
Richards flew to third fastest in practice, a spot in the Top 10
Shootout and sixth in Race 1.
“Apart from Bathurst, it’s my favourite circuit without doubt and has
become something of a ‘pet’ track for us,” says Richards, who currently
sits 12th in points in the V8 Supercar Series.
“I had my first Shootout appearance there for Team Kiwi in 2002 and
from then on I’ve had some of my best sprint event qualifying and race
performances.
“A win in a round of the V8 Supercar Series is next on the list for me
and if our run at Oran Park continues into this weekend, we could be a
dark horse among the championship contenders.
“I like the way the circuit flows. There’s a lot of medium to high
speed corners that suit my style. Coupled with the fact that it has
been a test track of Tasman in the past, plus the fact my engineer
Wally Storey has a good grasp on the setup, it gives us far more
strengths than weaknesses.”
Returning to the cockpit of the #39 Team Sirromet Wines Commodore this
weekend is a former team-mate of Richards, Holden Young Lion Fabian
Coulthard.
The Kiwi raced the car at the Australian Grand Prix, Pukekohe and
Winton and will return from his base in Auckland to get in vital
experience prior to the endurance events.
Oran Park is the last round until the end of October where all V8 Supercars drivers have their destiny in their own hands.
The teams will switch to ‘endurance mode’ for the Sandown 500 and
Bathurst 1000 before returning to ‘regular’ racing at the Gold Coast
Indy event a fortnight after Bathurst.
THE RACING LINE – ORAN PARK, NSW, ROUND 7
| Circuit Length |
2.62 kilometres |
| Circuit Direction |
Anti-Clockwise |
| Average Speed |
139 km/h |
| Maximum Speed |
250 km/h |
| Qualifying Lap Record |
Mark Skaife, Holden Commodore VT, 1m07.4806s, 1999 |
| Current Lap Record |
Craig Lowndes, Holden Commodore VT, 1m08.0631s, 1999 |
| 2005 Pole Position |
Marcos Ambrose, Ford Falcon BA, 1m08.3774s |
2005 Results:
| Pos. |
Driver |
Team |
Car |
| 1 |
Russell Ingall |
Stone Brothers Racing |
Ford Falcon BA |
| 2 |
Marcos Ambrose |
Stone Brothers Racing |
Ford Falcon BA |
| 3 |
Greg Murphy |
Supercheap Auto Racing |
Holden Commodore VZ |
| 4 |
Rick Kelly |
HSV Dealer Team |
Holden Commodore VZ |
| 5 |
Steven Richards |
Castrol Team Perkins Racing |
Holden Commodore VZ |
Race Format: A three-race weekend featuring a 100-kilometre race
on the Saturday with a compulsory tyre stop. Two races on Sunday, each
of 140-kilometres in length and also each with a compulsory tyre stop.
Race 2 on Sunday a full reverse grid race.
Television Coverage: Network Ten will telecast the Oran Park
action beginning with Race 1 on the evening of Saturday August 12 at
11pm AEST after its AFL coverage. It will resume on Sunday August 13,
airing between 2pm and 5pm AEST.
Previous Results
| Year |
Driver |
Car |
| Previous Winners |
| 1993 |
Jim Richards |
Holden Commodore VP |
| 1994 |
Glenn Seton |
Ford Falcon EB |
| 1995 |
John Bowe |
Ford Falcon EF |
| 1996 |
Craig Lowndes |
Holden Commodore VR |
| 1997 |
Greg Murphy |
Holden Commodore VS |
| 1998 |
Craig Lowndes |
Holden Commodore VT |
| 1999 |
Mark Skaife |
Holden Commodore VT |
| 2000 |
Mark Skaife |
Holden Commodore VT |
| 2001 |
Mark Skaife |
Holden Commodore VX |
| 2002 |
Mark Skaife |
Holden Commodore VX |
| 2003 |
Marcos Ambrose |
Ford Falcon BA |
| 2004 |
Marcos Ambrose |
Ford Falcon BA |
| 2005 |
Russell Ingall |
Ford Falcon BA |
| Pole Position Winners |
| 1993 |
John Bowe |
Ford Falcon EB |
| 1994 |
John Bowe |
Ford Falcon EB |
| 1995 |
John Bowe |
Ford Falcon EF |
| 1996 |
Peter Brock |
Holden Commodore VR |
| 1997 |
Peter Brock |
Holden Commodore VS |
| 1998 |
Craig Lowndes |
Holden Commodore VT |
| 1999 |
Mark Skaife |
Holden Commodore VT |
| 2000 |
Mark Skaife |
Holden Commodore VT |
| 2001 |
Craig Lowndes |
Ford Falcon AU |
| 2002 |
Marcos Ambrose |
Ford Falcon AU |
| 2003 |
Marcos Ambrose |
Ford Falcon BA |
| 2004 |
Mark Skaife |
Holden Commodore VY |
| 2005 |
Marcos Ambrose |
Ford Falcon BA |
FAST FACTS
• A tight, twisty and undulating 2.62-kilometre circuit, Oran Park has
hosted a round of the V8 Supercars ever since the category first began
in 1993.
• Ten of the last 13 Oran Park round winners have gone on to win the
Australian Touring Car/V8 Supercar Championship Series that year.
• This weekend is the final time the reverse grid format will be used in the 2006 championship.
• The Holden Racing Team won seven straight rounds at Oran Park between
1996 and 2002 and the last three events have all been won by rivals
Stone Brothers Racing. 1995 was the last time a non HRT or SBR car won
at Oran Park.
• Oran Park was the site of Cameron McConville’s first appearance in a
Top 10 Shootout in V8 Supercars and also his best-ever qualifying
performance. He qualified fifth driving for the Lansvale team in 2002
and didn’t appear in another Shootout again until Barbagallo in 2005
when he also qualified fifth fastest.
• The circuit is unique in Australian motor racing – it is the only
circuit on the V8 Supercar calendar that crosses under and over itself.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 06 January 2007 )
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