A Great Weekend On Home Circuit For Rupprecht Motorsport
24/3/2004 0:32 (Press Release) -
Round Two of the Konica Minolta V8 Supercar Series was part of the high profile Clipsal 500 event in Adelaide. In perfect race conditions, the two-race programme included a twilight race on Friday night, with race two the following morning at 9.45am.
As expected, the three-car Rupprecht Motorsport team had an eventful weekend, but when it counted there were some great results. At the completion of Round two, Adam Wallis is in 8th position and Phil Scifleet just out of the ten in 11th spot.
Phil Scifleet in Car #90 is making a big impression in his rookie year. A reasonable qualifying time put him 12th on the grid for race one, but a gentle nudge while trying to avoid a major pile-up in lap one caused some body damage. Following repairs, Phil rejoined and finished the race, but was well out of contention and had to start the second race at number 21.
Race 2 - a new day, a new race and a new opportunity for the 26-year-old Sydneysider. An aggressive start mixed with some patience saw Phil survive the customary lap one carnage, and then he settled in to working his way through the pack. Without any incidents apart from a bit of missing paint, some great driving saw him quickly picking off the cars in front of him to finish in eighth spot.
“I ran out of laps”, said Scifleet. “The car was fantastic and I was really enjoying it. I am looking forward to an opportunity to start nearer to the front next time. Being just out of the top ten for championship points, I can’t wait for Winton”.
Car #89’s Adelaide based pilot Adam Wallis again proved successful with his fast, but not furious style, to bring home yet another consistent result. Adam’s quiet but determined approach doesn’t attract a lot of ‘hype’, but 253 points sees him sitting comfortably in 8th position for the series so far.
Not a big qualifier, Adam was relegated to number 21 on the grid for race one, but managed to work his way through to finish 15th. By keeping out of trouble, but still grabbing every available opportunity, Adam finished the second race in 12th spot. Some good results in round one helped to keep Adam in the points, and he has only slipped one position to 8th.
“I had a great weekend”, said Adam. “Ralf and Nick did a great job preparing the car, and I finished the weekend without a mark on it.”
“I am still in the top ten after two rounds so I’m really pleased.”
“I know that my qualifying is letting me down, so I’ll have to work on that.”
Ross Halliday in Car #55 also flew the flag for South Australia, joining the team for his first outing in 2004, taking over the Round One race-winning AU Falcon from Mal Rose. Championship points have little impact because of the car sharing arrangement.
Ross struggled during qualifying with a brake problem and getting used to his V8 Supercar after more than a year off. Starting near the back at 26th position in Race One, Ross looked better and better during the 28 lap race and consistently made up ground to finish in 16th position.
In race two he only managed two laps before being rear-ended at turn nine and found himself facing the wrong way. A few anxious minutes followed as he sat in the middle of the track, frantically trying to restart the car. The race stayed at full pace and Ross had to endure a very dangerous situation as cars swerved to avoid his AU Falcon. An electrical problem prevented him starting the car and officials pushed him off the track. He managed to start the car and return to the pits, but was unable to rejoin the race.
“I had some bad luck”, said Ross, “but that’s motor racing, and I know I need some more time in the car”.
Telecast Times: Round 2, Clipsal 500 Adelaide, Sunday 28th March 2.00pm on Network 10's Trackside program.
Release Date: 21/03/2004
Rupprecht Motorsport
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