SHORT RACE FOR AUSDRILL FORD RISING STARS RACING AT HAMILTON
19/04/2008

After a disappointing qualifying at Hamilton the Ausdrill Ford Rising Stars Team race one was cut short by an accident on lap four.

“Qualifying V8 Supercars is a real art that takes most drivers at least a year to get on top of”, FRSR Team Owner, Jim Morton said today. “The tyres at their absolute peak for a very small window of only a couple of laps so getting it right is very hard for even experienced drivers. Today it was made even harder when the session was a mix of wet and dry laps. Michael ended up twenty seventh but could easily have been inside the top fifteen without a small mistake towards the end of his best lap when the tyres were on”.

Race one was full of drama from the start with the track almost totally blocked at turn two after some optimistic driving in front of the FRSR Falcon. Michael Patrizzi not only found his racing line fully blocked but suffered some front bar damage as a result of the incident.

On lap three the car was pulled into the pits under a safety car to replace the front bumper bar. A quick change saw Michael back on the track without losing a lap but about three quarters of the way around his slid off and into the tyre barriers. Unfortunately damage was substantial and that was the end of our race.

“My data shows that my entry speed was similar to normal,” Michael Patrizi said. “It’s a bitter disappointment to end the race so early and give the team an all nighter to get it back on the track”, he said.

With so much carnage on the first few laps its possible Michael picked up something on the tyres.