SATURDAY WRAP: DARWIN TRIPLE CROWN

It was a challenging day for Penrite Racing at Hidden Valley Raceway with the three part Qualifying kicking things off.

Dave was eliminated in Part 1 after he was not sent out for a second run and we were caught out with the circuit evolving more than expected. Matt finished Part 2 of Qualifying in P14; missing out on a top ten finish in his Penrite Racing Mustang.

Dave ran wide on lap 2 at turn one after contact which resulted in a left front puncture and an early stop putting him a lap down.

A safety car was deployed after Cam Water’s car caught fire during the race which led to a lengthy safety car period allowing Dave to stay out and unlap himself. Our team and the entire Supercars paddock were glad to see Cam emerge safely.

Matt raced hard early but drifted through the back held of the pack to finish P20. Dave nursed his car home in P21 after battling overheating brakes following his lap 2 incident.

Matt Payne said:

“I think I maximised everything I had in Quali today. There was plenty of action in the race in the mid pack where i was battling for position. I made a couple of good moves but lost out towards the end of the race. We will work on the car setup tonight and look to find some additional pace for tomorrow. I am looking at the positives and I am focussed on trying to get a better qualifying position tomorrow.”

David Reynolds said:

“A disheartening day. We made a small mistake in qualifying which cost us but we will take steps to not make that same mistake again tomorrow. In the race I got a reasonable start and I was just buried in the pack and had a small collision. I got back out there but it was very hard to drive with the damage I sustained. All in all it was a very trying day but tomorrow is a new day with two qualifying sessions and two races. I think my car is good, it just didn’t happen for us today.”

Sunday will see two Qualifying sessions and the final two races of the weekend to cap off the Betr Darwin Triple Crown.