Driveline Failure Costs IRWIN Racing

Lee Holdsworth after a drive-line failure prior to the start in Sydney

IRWIN Racing’s Lee Holdsworth has had his afternoon at the opening race of the Sydney Telstra 500 end before the race officially began.

When the green flag was waved for the formation lap, Holdsworth was left on his 17th grid position with a driveline failure.

The car was pushed to the pit exit, but it was soon apparent it was not to be a quick-fix and the IRWIN Falcon was retired from the race.

Fortunately for Holdsworth his championship position of eighth remains intact after his rivals David Reynolds and Fabian Coulthard also experienced tough outings. Reynolds finished 17th, while Coulthard had his afternoon end in the garage.

Holdsworth and the IRWIN Racing team will re-group for tomorrow’s final race of the season.

What Lee Holdsworth had to say……

“Something broke there in the drive-line when I tried to take off from the line,” said Holdsworth.

“I was selecting gears and it was spinning-up, but it was not driving the wheels.

“We are trying to hold onto eighth in the championship and this certainly doesn’t help. We have come off the back of a podium at Winton and now to an absolute low here.

“We have a straight car for tomorrow and hopefully get some good points to round-out the year.”

V8 SUPERCARS – Race 29
1. #888 TeamVodafone Craig Lowndes
2. #47 Lucky 7 Racing Tim Slade
3. #22 Holden Racing Team James Courtney
4. #19 Tekno Autosports Jonathon Webb
5. #1 TeamVodafone Jamie Whincup
6. #15 Jack Daniel’s Racing Rick Kelly
7. #11 Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing Karl Reindler
8. #18 Team Norton DJR James Moffat
9. #5 Orrcon Steel FPR Ford Mark Winterbottom
10. #34 Fujitsu Racing GRM Michael Caruso
DNF. #4 IRWIN Racing Lee Holdsworth

V8 SUPERCARS – Qualifying Race 29
1. #6 Trading Post FPR Ford Will Davison 1:29.5356*
2. #15 Jack Daniel’s Racing Rick Kelly +0.6003
3. #66 Supercheap Auto Racing Russell Ingall +0.7202
4. #47 Lucky 7 Racing Tim Slade +0.7365
5. #34 Fujitsu Racing GRM Michael Caruso +0.7535
6. #17 Jim Beam Racing Steven Johnson +0.8624
7. #33 Fujitsu Racing GRM Alexandre Premat +0.8762
8. #18 Team Norton DJR James Moffat +1.0639
9. #9 SP Tools Racing Shane Van Gisbergen +1.1660
10. #3 Team Hiflex Tony D’Alberto +1.3340
17. #4 IRWIN Racing Lee Holdsworth +1.5088

SERIES POINTS REPORT
1. Jamie Whincup 3750
2. Craig Lowndes 3409
3. Mark Winterbottom 3406
4. Will Davison 2899
5. Tim Slade 2670
6. Shane Van Gisbergen 2554
7. Garth Tander 2405
8. Lee Holdsworth 2120

9. David Reynolds 2091
10. James Courtney 2024