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Following
three days of monumental effort from Ford Performance Racing, both Falcons will be out for this weekend’s
Melbourne races,
despite the loss of the #6 chassis in a shunt last
Sunday.
In total, 357 working hours* have been put into preparing a car for
Steven Richards after a mechanical failure saw him hit the wall at 160kph at
Eastern Creek last week.
Drivers and crew say the loss will not affect their
performance as part of the Australian GP line-up, but with no points up for
grabs they will not be taking any unmeasured on-track risks.
Teams will be out
on the Albert
Park street track for
practice from 14:20 tomorrow
(Thursday).
Tim Edwards
Team Principal
“Richo's accident couldn’t have
happened at a worse time as this particular round only had one week between
races, giving us practically no turnaround.
“The real effort came in having to put that whole 2007 car back together.
The shell was stripped for up-grades over the summer break, which were finished
while we were in Clipsal. Obviously we’ve had to work around the clock to put
the car back together and it’s great that we’ve done it.
“Now we’re focussing on the weekend and we’ll be as
competitive as ever. We’re racers; we’re not just going to go out and drive
around to make up numbers. If we’re fielding a car, we’re on track to
win.”
Steven Richards
#6 Castrol FPR Falcon
“You can feel the difference between one chassis and another because each
one the team builds incorporates new design principles making them all a little
bit different. This one is slightly older but it’s got a proven history; it’s
had four pole positions in Frosty’s hands so it won’t stand in the way of
getting results.
“It’s great to be back on the F1 line-up; last time I raced here I won!
We’ve seen for ourselves last year that the F1 event without the V8s isn’t the
same. Everyone appreciates what F1 is, how fast and exciting they are. But the
crowd really enjoys the V8s thundering around the place, passing and mixing it
up for the crowds.”
Mark Winterbottom
#5 Orrcon Ford Credit FPR Falcon
“This round isn’t for points; just for ego! You get to show off what you
can do in front of an international crowd that don’t necessarily know much about
V8s. Hopefully it’ll give us a good confidence boost in front of family and
sponsors, but we won’t be taking any risks to do it.
“I’ve walked the track already this year, which has
refreshed my memory. It’s really good; fast, wide and you’re right in the middle
of town. It’s a shame it’s not for points.”
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