Some 34 laps later and following a driver change, the addition of more fuel and a tyre change, the car eventually returned to the track, with Dumbrell and Kelly pressing on for the remainder of the race without much hope of a reward beyond useful points for their respective championship campaigns. In all the team made eight stops during the six-hour 161-lap event and, without a high rate of attrition elsewhere, had to be content with 20th place, the last of the classified finishers.
“It has been an up-and-down weekend for us all, with Paul injuring himself and Dave missing out today," Dumbrell reflected, "The ups were qualifying eighth - and then fourth in the Shoot-out - so we had all the momentum there but, unfortunately, those small mechanical dramas at the start of the race put us back.
“It is hard to maintain your concentration and focus when you are that far down but, at the end of the day, we are here to do a job, and we still managed to get 90 points, so I guess that is the best result of the weekend."
