Rick Kelly – Toll HSV Dealer Team
“The team is really going well at the moment. I guess everyone was a little uncertain as to what was going to happen there (with the shortened race finish). For us, it was just a matter of thinking about having more laps rather than less in case we had to push for a little bit longer and conserve our tyres. To be honest, I was surprised to be in the lead after our pit stop. After Garth’s wheel nut drama, we got quite lucky there. We had really good pace in Race 3, and I think we could have won the race if we had to go on longer. Garth and I were on equal points in a couple of rounds last year, and it looks like it is happening again. I think I will need to pull my finger out to keep up with him this year. He was quicker than us all weekend here as well as in Perth, so we have some work to do.”
Garth Tander – Toll HSV Dealer Team
“It (the pit stop) just took too long – simple as that. It was a jammed wheel nut. You can hear both rattle guns going, and I then I could hear one going but I couldn’t hear the second one, so I knew we were in a lot of trouble. There was a lot of traffic in pit lane and I had to wait a fair time to move, so I lost a lot of time, then spent a lot of time in the pack trying to get through. There was some pretty average driving going on, so I had to try to get through that and get up towards the front somehow. We were behind Paul Radisich and I knew that if I got that spot we would have the round win. But there was confusion over whether it was going to be a one-lap dash at the end there. I thought it was going to be eight laps. I had a crack (at Radisich) at the hairpin anyhow, but it wasn’t enough. To my surprise, the chequered flag was waving as I came around. I am disappointed not to get the sixth race win in a row and win the round, but like Rick said, our car has been very, very good all weekend and it has been a great start to the year for the team.”
Jamie Whincup - TeamVodafone
“It is great to be back on the podium, it shows we are well on track with our plan to get back to the front. I had a great first race today where I finished second but we did use up our best tyres so I just had to do the best I could in Race three. My start in the final race was not great I got a little bit too many revs and dropped back which cost us some positions early on. I had a good pitstop and hung on to finish fifth and it was enough to get us back onto the podium.”
Todd Kelly – Holden Racing Team
“The car raced well all weekend. The tyres held on well and our final race speed was good compared to other runners, but I guess I ran out of time to catch Rick. He out pit stopped us early in the race and that made the difference. I reckon we are on par with the Toll cars performance wise and will give them a run for their money at Winton.”
James Courtney – Stone Brothers Racing/Jeld-Wen
“The JELD-WEN Motorsport Falcon was pretty competitive today. I was able to make some clean passes and catch the guys in front. The team had a couple of great stops today particularly in the last race. They got me out in third just behind Todd (Kelly) and we were pushing each other pretty hard. Parts of the weekend could have been better. Problems with one set of tyres really set us back in qualifying and the delay in the pit stop yesterday probably cost us in terms of results. But in the end we had good car speed and it was great to come home the first Ford in the final race.”
Craig Lowndes - TeamVodafone
“We made some good progress today after my mistake yesterday put us on the back foot. I got a great start in the final race today and was able to make up a position. We also decided to stay out a bit longer than normal and made up more positions in the pitstop. We saved our best tyres for the last race which is why I was able to pass Jamie. If the race had run full distance I am sure I could have caught James (Courtney) as well. The car balance was definitely the best it has been all weekend in the last race.”
Mark Skaife – Holden Racing Team
“We will miss Pukekohe because it was a real driver’s circuit with the fastest average lap speed of anywhere we race. Today was unlucky for us with things not quite working out although race pace was encouraging. Being served off at the Race 3 at the hairpin stopped our progress through the weekend although I was pleased I could run competitively with Tander during the latter stages.”
Will Davison – Jim Beam Racing
“The car certainly feels better than yesterday, I was able to push forward and finish Race 2 in 8th place which put me in a good position for the final race. It’s good to be back on the pace again, we had good car speed so it was a little frustrating not to qualify as well as we would have liked. Jamie Whincup was struggling for tyre grip in the final race and if the race had run full distance, I would have been able to make a move on him to finish 5th.”
![Rick Kelly - Toll HSV Holden Commodore [pic credit: Toll HSV media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/294494.jpg)
