"We did suffer a couple of car issues, with the front sway bar the biggest concern as it locked on in one position. It is a credit to the team however that our off season preparation has been so thorough, there is no better result than two cars on the podium."
The hard-charging Lee Holdsworth from the Valvoline Cummins race team was next up in fourth and easily the best of the Holdens, while Ford Performance Racing’s Steven Richards rounded out the top five, followed by Jim Beam Racing duo Steve Johnson and Will Davison.
"It was a tough race but there were certainly some missed opportunities which cost me both time and positions," said Davison. "Unfortunately there was a mishap during my first pit stop which cost quite a bit of time and I recovered from that to get back to sixth place, but then got caught behind slower traffic after the safety car which cost me three positions. I was lucky to survive the mess and recover the lost positions, cars were just going everywhere!
"Overall I think I had the speed to have a real shot at third or fourth place today but everything is good in hindsight. We just have to focus on tomorrow’s race and do the best we possibly can to get on the podium which I really believe we have a great shot at achieving."
Of the rest Rick Kelly and Mark Skaife were eighth and ninth, the former having lost time following a late collision with his HSV Dealer team-mate, Paul Dumbrell.
"Paul and I spoke after the race about what happened on Lap 67. I am not angry at him or vice-versa, it’s just one of things that happens out there," said Rick. "To be honest, with the fine-tuning we’ve been doing with the car to finish 8th is not too bad. It gives us a great opportunity to push up the order tomorrow."
James Courtney had to settle for tenth after an incident with Jason Richards ruined his chances of his first V8 Supercar race victory.
