News: Ingall's Top 10 Finish For SCAR At 'Creek
Supercheap Auto Racing's Russell Ingall has finished seventh overall for the second round of the 2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series at Sydney's Eastern Creek Raceway.
Ingall made two incredible starts in today's races, finishing the first 31 lapper an excellent fourth - and the first Holden home - after charging from 11th to sixth by the first corner at the start, and the second eighth to claim the first top 10 finish for the new look SCAR team.
The #39 had excellent speed in both races, although Ingall struggled with tyres before the pit stop in race 3, losing track position before the compulsory pit stop.
A potential top 10 overall finish for team-mate Paul Morris was lost when Morris was punted by Ford driver James Courtney at the beginning of the decider, unsettling the #67 SCAR Commodore and pushing it into the path of following cars.
Like Ingall, Morris made a strong start and produced a solid Race 2 drive to come from 18th on the grid to finish 10th.
Ford's Will Davison won the round from Mark Winterbottom, the Toll Holden Racing Team's Garth Tander third.
Jamie Whincup continues to lead the championship, with Ingall moving to 14th and Morris to 23rd.
DRIVER QUOTES
Russell Ingall, #39 Supercheap Auto Racing Holden Commodore VE (Qual: 21st, Race 1: 12th, R2 - 4th, R3 - 7th, Overall - 7th)
"This weekend's been great for the team; we didn't qualify well, but we learnt a lot about the cars and what we need to do to go faster. The #39 Supercheap Auto Commodore was consistent in the races and we got a good result. There's a lot of potential, we just need time to extract it. In the last race we didn't have the tyres early and had to hang on for the first 5-6 laps. After that we had good speed again, but I couldn't get past Davison. I had him lined up, but then a Safety Car came out when Richards crashed and that was it. We'll use the Grand Prix as an opportunity to test more as we haven't had the opportunity. We'll try hard, we're there for a show, but a lot of idiot things have happened there in the past and we don't need to be spending our time fixing the car. We're looking at the bigger picture; the championship and the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, they're our priorities."
Paul Morris, #67 Supercheap Auto Racing Holden Commodore VE (Qual - 24th, Race 1 - 14th, R2 - 10th, R3 - DNF, Overall - 22nd)
"It was a disappointing end to a promising weekend, Courtney just drilled me twice. I really feel sorry for [Courtney team owners] Ross and Jimmy [Stone] because all he does is trash their cars. He ain't no Marcos Ambrose! Aside from that, and our qualifying speed which was lacking, our weekend was strong and we're definitely making ground. Race 2 was a highlight and there's more to come."
Race 2 Results
1. Will Davison, Jim Beam Racing Ford Falcon BF
2. Mark Winterbottom, Orrcon Ford Falcon BF
3. Craig Lowndes, Team Vodafone Ford Falcon BF
4. Russell Ingall, Supercheap Auto Racing Holden Commodore VE
5. Jamie Whincup, Team Vodafone Ford Falcon BF
6. Rick Kelly, HSV Dealer Team Holden Commodore VE
7. Steven Richards, Castrol Edge Ford Falcon BF
8. Lee Holdsworth, Valvoline Cummins Holden Commodore VE
9. Garth Tander, Toll Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore VE
10. Paul Morris, Supercheap Auto Racing Holden Commodore VE
Race 3 Results
1. Mark Winterbottom, Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon BF
2. Rick Kelly, HSV Dealer Team Holden Commodore VE
3. Garth Tander, Toll Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore VE
4. Jamie Whincup, Team Vodafone Ford Falcon BF
5. Mark Skaife, Toll Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore VE
6. Will Davison, Jim Beam Racing Ford Falcon BF
7. Russell Ingall, Supercheap Auto Racing Holden Commodore VE
8. Craig Lowndes, Team Vodafone Ford Falcon BF
9. Paul Dumbrell, Autobarn Racing Team Holden Commodore VE
10. Greg Murphy, Sprint Gas Racing Holden Commodore VE
DNF. Paul Morris, Supercheap Auto Racing Holden Commodore VE
2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series Standings (after 2 of 14 rounds): 1. Whincup - 540; 2. R. Kelly - 432; 3. Holdsworth - 426; 4. Winterbottom - 382; 5. Davison - 356; 6. Lowndes - 339; 7. Murphy - 330; 8. Tander - 326; 9. Skaife - 322; 10. T. Kelly - 308; 14. Ingall - 255; 23. Morris - 143.
