‘ONE ALL’ GOING INTO FINAL GOLD COAST RACE
9/11/2004 19:04 (Press Release) -
Jim Richards evened the ledger with Alex Davison in the Carrera Cup at the Lexmark Indy 300, taking out race two today on the Gold Coast in front of a Saturday record crowd of 85,741.
Davison (Greg Murphy Racing / Glenfords Tool Centre) won the inaugural Friday night race last night from Richards (Jim Richards Racing / OAMPS Insurance Brokers), but the experienced campaigner turned the tables today in a seven-lap sprint.
With temperatures soaring above 30 degrees Celsius, the action was hot on the track with Richards lapping it up from the start.
The 57-year-old veteran hit the lead on the first lap and was never headed, as Davison engaged in a battle with Craig Baird for third.
Early on an incident between Peter Fitzgerald and Klark Quinn proved costly for both drivers. A tap by Fitzgerald (Fitzgerald Racing / Abcor, Acer) on lap two produced enough front left damage to end the race for the Acer/Abcor-backed driver and also bring Quinn (Team VIP Petfoods) into the pits for some quick panel work.
As Richards enjoyed the clean coastal air at the front of the pack, Baird (Team VIP Petfoods) was doing his utmost to keep Davison at bay.
In a final lap scramble, Davison’s attempt to find a line past Baird backfired. A side-to-side nudge cost Davison valuable time, and ultimately created a path for a patient Fabian Coulthard (Greg Murphy Racing / Team Braun, Mossimo) to sneak through for third.
Gold Coast drivers Tony Quinn (Team VIP Petfoods) and Charlie O’Brien (Charlie O’Brien Racing / Wright Patton Shakespeare) finished fifth and sixth respectively, but today’s spoils went to Richards, who claimed his sixth race win of season 2004.
The inaugural series champion cannot catch Davison in the series standings, but is aiming to finish the season on a high by defending his Gold Coast crown.
The 2004 Australian Carrera Cup concludes tomorrow with race three at the Lexmark Indy 300 at 11.15am.
‘Trackside’ on Network Ten will telecast this final round of the Carrera Cup on Sunday November 7 at 2pm (check local guides).
The Carrera Cup is the most successful ‘one make’ championship in the world with close-to-identical Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars built by Porsche’ racing arm in Weissach, Germany set for racing in 2004. All cars have a top speed in excess of 300 kilometres per hour with a 400-horsepower, 6 cylinder Boxer engine which revs to 8000 RPM.
Full results of the Australian Carrera Cup at the Lexmark Indy 300 at www.cupcar.com.au
Release Date: 23/10/2004
Carrera Cup
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