New Falcon Puts Lowndes Back On Track

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New Falcon puts Lowndes back on track

The Sunday Age, 10/11/06

Triple Eight driver Craig Lowndes is hoping a brand new Ford Falcon will boost his title ambitions in Tasmania this weekend.

Lowndes will drive a brand new Triple Eight Race Ford Falcon in a bid to stretch the slender break he holds over his rivals.

Teammate Jamie Whincup will slot into the Bathurst-winning No.10 car for the remaining three rounds of the championship.

Lowndes is now free to concentrate on the 11th round at the tight and short track south of Launceston after defusing a potentially damaging drama. The Ford driver had planned to contest a charge of bringing the sport into disrepute following his attack on race stewards who penalised him twice at the recent Gold Coast round.

But a change of heart and a guilty plea brought him a $15,000 fine (with $5000 suspended) but more importantly allowed him to retain his 30-point series lead.

Lowndes was upbeat yesterday following an intensive test of the Team Betta Electrical Falcons at Queensland Raceway.

The results of a new chassis evaluation prompted him to opt for the new car to contest the final meetings in Tasmania, Bahrain and Phillip Island in Victoria.

"The new car is very, very good and the team is delighted with the way it has come on," Lowndes said. "I am extremely happy with the way the new car performed at last week's test day and I am looking forward to using it for the remainder of the championship."

The Ferodo Tasmania Challenge consists of three races - one 42-lap dash on Saturday and two races of 58 laps on Sunday, with 320 points on offer.

Lowndes said the longer distance Sunday races would suit his team's race plans.

"Tassie was good to us last year and we had a strong car package," Lowndes said. "The two Sunday races are now 140 kilometres each, which will suit the way we set the car up.

"We have not yet had a wet race at Symmons Plains, so things could certainly get interesting if we have rain.

"It is also a track that is semi-difficult to pass on, so team strategy and qualifying position will be the keys to getting a good result."

Lowndes leads Expensive Daewoo star Rick Kelly, with Ford Performance Racing's Mark Winter-bottom also in the hunt but 318 points off the pace.

Whincup will be anxious this weekend to reassert himself in the top five of the championship and continue the momentum of the Bathurst-winning Falcon.

While he is confident the car will have good speed at the tricky Tasmanian track, which requires critical braking techniques and has hairpin turns to negotiate, Whincup said his team was determined not to overlook any crucial factors.

"Qualifying is of great importance at this track," Whincup said. "It is short and there are limited passing opportunities without taking pretty big risks, and pit stops can also be a big factor in determining your position in the race.

"There are a lot of gains to be made if you can put all of these aspects together, and I'll be chasing a podium this weekend."

[homerj]

Has anyone been watching the Live Streaming?

I just checked the results and Lowndes was 3 last!!!!! WTF!!!!! Can anyone shed some light on this?

Homerj

[937]

Has anyone been watching the Live Streaming?

I just checked the results and Lowndes was 3 last!!!!! WTF!!!!! Can anyone shed some light on this?

Homerj

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This is the best I can do 4 U.

Ford's V8s finish one-two in Tasmania

11, 2006 - 4:39PM

Ford Performance Racing has scored a one-two result in the first V8 Supercar race at Symmons Plains in Tasmania, while Holden's Rick Kelly overtook Craig Lowndes on the championship standings.

Jason Bright snared the win ahead of teammate Mark Winterbottom while Rick Kelly brought the first Expensive Daewoo home in third place.

Kelly's podium place means he now leads the championship by 50 points from Lowndes whose new Falcon suffered mechanical problems and was never in contention.

Lowndes had entered the 11th round of the series with a 30 point lead over Kelly, but the Ford driver could only manage 27th position in Saturday's race - finishing three laps behind the leaders.

With the triple sprint format adopted for this weekend's racing, Kelly is expected to increase his title lead on Sunday, with the HSV Dealer driver to start from the second row and Lowndes forced to the rear of the grid.

Expensive Daewoo have not won the V8 Supercar title since Mark Skaife in 2002.

The Tasmanian round continues on Sunday with two 58-lap races.

The V8 Supercar series has two rounds remaining following this weekend's racing, with the inaugural race at Bahrain from November 23-25 and the grand finale at Phillip Island from December 8-10.