Garth Tander – Toll HSV Dealer Team
“I am happy about everything today – the car was absolutely awesome. We changed it a little bit from practice yesterday and the car was flowing beautifully right from the outset. It was probably a little too good to drive at the start and I was a little concerned that it might go off a little bit as the race went on, so we made a tyre pressure change at the stop. The car wasn’t as blisteringly quick after the pit stop – we had a little bit of understeer – but the longevity of the tyre after that was awesome. That’s a real credit to the team. It ended up being one of those nice, boring races that you love to have.”
Rick Kelly – Toll HSV Dealer Team
“I had big plans of getting Garth off the line and leading into turn one. That all went pear-shaped about one second in, so I got a reasonable start and slotted in behind Garth. I had pretty much the same pace as Garth at the end there, but at the start he tripped away a bit and I couldn’t quite get him. I think he was just teasing me a bit. I drove as hard as I could the whole race and couldn’t quite do it. We’ll look to make a couple of changes over night and see how we go tomorrow.”
Mark Skaife – Holden Racing Team
“Once I got past Lowndes the balance of the car worked really well, although it will need to go better tomorrow to make up on GT and Rick. It was great racing with Lowndes - he criss-crossed me a couple of times when I got ahead. All the Clayton cars went well today, which proves the mechanical carryover between VZ and VE has worked well. Cars are flowing better meaning better lap speed. Nice to get into racing mode after the last month.”
Craig Lowndes - TeamVodafone
“I got a great start and had a really good battle with Mark (Skaife) but our cold tyre speed was not the best. The car balance from the middle to the end of the race was really good and we were able to match pace with the front runners. All-in-all the car is working well and I am confident we can find some more improvements for tomorrow’s races.”
Steven Johnson – Jim Beam Racing
“It’s great for the team and our new sponsor Jim Beam to be consistently running in the Top 10. Our qualifying results are improving which is extremely encouraging, and we can now look forward to being a serious contender for a Top 5 result in the championship. I have a good starting position for tomorrow’s races and will certainly be looking to improve on my position and get as many championship points as I can”.
Will Davison – Jim Beam Racing
“The race was great fun today and it’s fantastic to have a competitive car to get the results. Unfortunately I made a small mistake at Turn 1 just prior to my pit stop which allowed Steve and Jamie Whincup past but I just kept my head down and finished the race strongly. I had some treatment on my back last night and didn’t have any problems today, in fact, I felt really great in the car. I’ll be looking to move forward tomorrow and challenge the guys in front of me; we certainly have the pace to stay with the leaders.”
Jamie Whincup – TeamVodafone
“I think it is a true indication of the experience I have gained working with a fantastic team. We have met with the IPO over the incident with Will (Davison) and we are now waiting for the stewards to review it.”
Steven Richards – Ford Performance Racing
“I was pretty much in the right place at the right time and took advantage of every opportunity to move forward during today's race. The car was quite good once the tyres neutralised, but we have got to find some more pace - particularly when our tyres are green. We moved forward, which is the only way to go when you start that far down. If we can improve the car a little bit I'm sure we'll progress even more in the races tomorrow.”
