Mark Porter [M-Sport Racing]
"Adam (Macrow) has been driving really well. Our couple of mistakes have cost us dearly, but we have always had good car pace. But all it takes is one bad weekend, and that can happen to anyone. It is so important that you don't drop a race or a round. If you just keep going you can win the championship. Obviously I got a good start. With Adam behind me, I knew that he has a bit of a lead in the championship. Rather than make a mistake I drove a little bit more conservatively. I knew if I held my line and didn't make a mistake I'd be a chance."
Adam Macrow [Howard Racing]
“It was a very solid run today, starting on a high with the pole position and then a strong second place in the race, I’m very pleased. We made some significant gains in lap speed since yesterday and I knew we would have one of, if not the fastest racecar out there. My start was fairly average, we drew even there for a few hundred metres before I settled back into second and just maintained the pace for the duration of the race.”
Michael Caruso [Decina Racing]
“I’ve been working really hard on my starts in testing because this track doesn’t allow too much passing and we got a good jump on it and showed we can definitely mix it with the big boys. It’s a learning game for me out there but we’re trying things and making some good gains so the weekend is shaping well. We’ve got really good race pace and will be able to compete out in front. After the dramas last round I’m happy with where we are and know we can go on with the job.”
Grant Denyer [Summit/Jax Tyres Racing]
“Yesterday I felt a mild case of depression realising that four months out of the car is like relearning how to walk! I was all at sea in the earlier session but managed to edge forward for a good result in race one. Coming away with the fastest lap is good, it pumps your chest out a little bit when the chips are down. This weekend isn’t really about trying to go out there and beat anybody. I’m still learning how to learn how to drive one of these beasts, I’m not really looking forward the reverse grid. The good thing about the Fujitsu series is that it gives everybody a chance to drive in the most popular class in Australia… but it also opens itself up to up varying degrees of ability. And when 40 guys are out there ready to kill each other, and some of them have only just started… well lets just say reverse grid racing is probably going to be one of the greatest shambles in motor racing history!”
Andrew Thompson [Latitude Developments]
“It’s a bit of a buzz being in the top ten. It’s good to have your teammates up there with you, you always want to beat your teammates, you push to be in front of them so it’s an extra motivation. I didn’t have a great start, I had a bit of wheel spin then struggled with rear drive but in the later part of the race we were quite strong and had good speed. I managed to move back up through the field, which means we’re going to be right in the action with the reverse grid race tomorrow. If we can make it cleanly through the first few laps and perform similarly to how we did today, I’ll be happy.”
Marcus La Delle [FirstRock Home Loans]
“It’s sort of like the first race of the year again. We didn’t get too far through in Adelaide but we did have competitive speed initially, so it’s good to get back in the car and show everyone that it wasn’t just a flash in the pan. I moved forward today, and the FirstRock Falcon is a great car…everyone regards the AU as the underdog so it’s been nice to show what it can do, we’ve shown we can run in the top ten. Running five cars is a massive effort, it just shows the strength of DJR that its three Fujitsu series cars are in the top ten.”
