TOWNSVILLE 500: SATURDAY HIGHS AND LOWS
SATURDAY 8 JULY
Penrite Racing started the day off strong with stellar Qualifying performances from both Matt and Dave where they solidified their place in the shootout; a first for rookie Matt Payne placing his Penrite Racing Ford Mustang in an impressive P7 on the grid for the Race 16. Dave was on the front row in P2 recording a mega lap.
Race 16 began with chaos at Turn 1; Dave dropped back to P5 after Van Gisbergen had the advantage off the line and the expected crush at turn 1. Matt maintained position in P6 with the Penrite duo running together for the first stint.
On lap 21, Dave made a move on Mostert to place himself in P4. The following laps saw Van Gisbergen pass Matt to take P5. Matt made his first stop of the race from P5 on lap 28 and Dave followed on Lap 30 from P2. By lap 34 Dave was P4 and Matt P5 after the first round of stops were completed.
Both cars had fuel filler issues on the first pit stops which limited the fuel we got into both cars. By the half way mark of the 88 lap race, Dave was sitting in P2 and Matt P4.
Dave pitted on Lap 57 and Matt on 59, both stops were longer due to the longer fuel fill time. Lap 71 and the saw a safety car where Dave and Matt were in P6 and P13 respectively. The restart proved costly for Dave where he was passed by Pye, Mostert and van Gisbergen. The resultant rear right damage caused a loss of rear grip dropping him back through the field in the closing laps.
Matt also lost his tyre strategy advantage which had seen seen him build a gap to those behind him, the restart leaving him vulnerable to those behind who had fresher tyres.
A tough way to end the day, we will see the same format tomorrow with Qualifying for Race 17 followed by the Shootout and another 250km race in the afternoon.
CONTACT:
Alison Powell | PR, Media, Marketing Coordinator | Penrite Racing
+61 0542 518 061
