The Holden Racing Team have been working hard to ensure that Mark Skaife’s VZ Commodore would be fully repaired after his double shunt in Adelaide. The HRT team boss has not yet scored a point, however his and teammate Todd Kelly’s strong performance at the Albert Park circuit bodes well for a good showing – and possibly a win – at Pukekohe Park this weekend.
“We will still be going as hard as possible in qualifying and the first race where the
majority of points are up for grabs,” said Todd Kelly.
“The reverse grid and fewer points in Race 2 means you can take a conservative approach and pick off a few slower guys, and hopefully obtain a good starting position for the run to the flag in Race 3.”
Steven Richards and Paul Dumbrell both sit inside the championship top ten and both drove very well at Albert Park, with the former clinching two race wins. The Perkins Engineering prepared cars have certainly gone up a notch during the off season, and at a circuit which has been good to them in recent times, the pair will look to solidify their top ten standing.
Stone Brothers Racing has had a difficult start to 2006. Despite winning the last three championships, the Ford heroes from Yatala are well behind the eight ball this year. An encouraging test session has provided some optimism for the team, as Russell Ingall aims to deliver team bosses Ross and Jim Stone a hometown victory, whilst James Courtney continues to learn the tracks of the championship.
“There is no doubt that an outright win at Pukekohe is one box that Ross and Jimmy (Stone) have not ticked yet and I desperately want to help them achieve that,” said Ingall.
“I finished second in every race last year, but still couldn’t knock off Murph (Greg Murphy). I thought we had lost the chance to collect a win here when there was talk of running an Auckland street race, but I guess we have just a couple of more chances.
“I would rather get the job done this weekend, than having to wait until next year.”
“I know Pukekohe is in New Zealand and that’s about it,” said Courtney.
“I have been driving the circuit on the V8 Supercars 3 game, so I know when to turn left and right, but that’s about it. I am looking forward to a good result this weekend because we did not get off to the best of starts in Adelaide.
