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More Progress Made By Alajajian In Supercar Debut |
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Saturday, 22 July 2006 |
| Attachment 16732 |
| Protecnica Racing's Chris Alajajian had another positive day in his debut in the Fujistu V8 Supercar Series at Queensland Raceway, despite coming unstuck on a trail of oil late in Race 1. |
It was another positive day for Protecnica Racing and Chris Alajajian in their Fujistu V8 Supercar Series debut at Queensland Raceway, despite a late race off which saw Alajajian finish down the order.
Coming off a promising, albeit shortened, pair of practice sessions on Friday at the Ipswich circuit, the Sydney team continuing to make ground as they come to grips with the Jack Hillermans / Elf Lubricants Commodore and V8 Supercar competition.
In Qualifying, Alajajian improved his times throughout the session to eventually record a fastest lap of 1:13.0545. The time, seven tenths of a second faster than his Friday best, secured a respectable 23rd place on the grid for his first start in the series.
“We’re getting quicker each time we go out onto the track, which is
what this weekend is all about,” said the 19 year-old. “Yesterdays
incident put us behind and bit and cost us some track time, but the
Protecnica guys and the TAFE crew did a great job fixing the car.
“I know there’s still a lot of time in the car which is positive. We’re
getting there, it’s just a matter of getting the laps under our belt.”
In his first V8 Supercar race, The Chris made an impressive start,
picking his way through to 16th place by Lap 5. Alajajian was on-course
for a Top 15 finish, until he was caught out on the penultimate lap by
a trail of oil on the circuit, dropping to finish in 30th position.
“I saw the smoke and assumed it was tyre smoke,” he said. “I slowed
down and braked really early into the corner [Turn 4], but the oil
started some way out from the corner. When I hit the brakes, I was
pretty much sliding the whole way into the corner and went off.”
While the end result didn’t reflect the strong showing, the team remain
upbeat. Alajajian’s fastest lap - 1:13.4433, recorded on Lap 4 of 16 -
was nine-tenths of a second behind the fastest lap of the race, closing
the gap from previous sessions.
“We were gaining throughout the race,” Alajajian enthused. “Passing the
cars in the early laps helped me gain confidence and it was going well.
“I flat-spotted a tyre on Lap 5 which cost us a bit of time and slowed
us a little bit in the remaining laps, but once I got back into a
rhythm I was able to put in some consistent times, close the gap to the
cars infront of me and open the margin behind me.
“We’ve got two more races tomorrow and two more opportunities to learn.
It’s been good so far, so hopefully we can stay out of trouble and
continue to improve.”
Protecnica Racing team owner Scott Anderson was also pleased with the
progress the team and Alajajian have made throughout the weekend.
“I’m pretty happy with how it went,” he said of the team's first race
in the series. “Chris drove well. Unfortunately I told him it was tyre
smoke and not oil smoke when he went off, but he’s learning all the
time and bringing his times down. We didn’t have any problems with the
car, and the guys have done really well.”
Round 3 of the Fujistu V8 Supercar Series concludes tomorrow, with the
16-lap reverse grid Race 2 at 10am and Race 3, 28 laps, at 1:20pm.
Protecnica Racing thanks the ongoing support of Jack Hillermans Smash, Elf Lubricants and Nudie Juices.
For more about Chris Alajajian, check out www.TheChris.com.au
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 06 January 2007 )
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