IRWIN Racing will go into Saturday qualifying and races with a feeling of optimism following an encouraging opening day of the Armor All Gold Coast 600.
After Lee Holdsworth set the seventh fastest time in the opening practice, Frenchman Simon Pagenaud then set the second and third fastest times in the following co-driver only sessions.
Holdsworth climbed back aboard the IRWIN Ford for the final 40-minute session of the day and was on the pace. As all the teams switched to fresh tyres in the final 10 minutes, Holdsworth waited a little longer and unfortunately didn’t get the best of the track conditions.
Despite the final time not being a representation of the IRWIN Falcon’s true pace, both Holdsworth and Pagenaud were pleased heading into Saturday’s qualifying and opening 300km race.
Plenty of other teams are showing the scars of the tough Surfers Paradise street layout, but the IRWIN Ford finished the day with a scratch.
WHAT THE IRWIN RACING DRIVERS HAD TO SAY
Lee Holdsworth
“We have been running well inside the top-10 until the very end of that last session, when we didn’t get a good run on fresh tyres because there was oil down on the track,” said Holdsworth.
“Simon has been one of the fastest of the international drivers and overall things are looking pretty good at this stage.
“The car is in the window and my engineer Brad (Wischusen) and I made a rule this weekend that we would stick with what we have and let the track come to us. From what we have seen today that has worked out.
Simon Pagenaud
“The balance in the car is really nice,” said Pagenaud.
“I have worked on better understanding how the car needs to be driven. It is nice to see my name near the top in the co-drivers session and I feel that I still have more to come heading into the races.
“Great to be back at Surfers. It’s such a fun track to drive and it’s a place where you need to attack, which I enjoy.”
V8 SUPERCARS – Practice 4
1. #34 Fujitsu Racing GRM Michael Caruso 1:11.6912
2. #5 Orrcon Steel FPR Ford Mark Winterbottom +0.0979
3. #55 The Bottle-O Racing Team D.Reynolds/N.Heidfeld +0.2468
4. #3 Team Hiflex Tony D’Alberto +0.3841
5. #1 TeamVodafone Jamie Whincup +0.4074
6. #6 Trading Post FPR Ford Will Davison +0.4564
7. #47 Lucky 7 Racing T.Slade/D.Brabham +0.4674
8. #18 Team Norton DJR James Moffat +0.4972
9. #22 Holden Racing Team J.Courtney/D.Turner +0.5922
10. #888 TeamVodafone Craig Lowndes +0.6273
13 #4 IRWIN Racing Lee Holdsworth +0.6617
V8 SUPERCARS – Practice 3
1. #19 Tekno Autosports Marc Lieb 1:12.4673
2. #2 Holden Racing Team Ryan Briscoe +0.2307
3. #4 IRWIN Racing Simon Pagenaud +0.2363
4. #8 Team BOC Stephane Sarrazin +0.4387
5. #888 TeamVodafone Richard Lyons +0.5556
6. #47 Lucky 7 Racing David Brabham +0.6337
7. #6 Trading Post FPR Ford Mika Salo +0.6474
8. #1 TeamVodafone Sebastien Bourdais +0.6589
9. #91 Tekno Autosports Lucas DiGrassi +0.6712
10. #55 The Bottle-O Racing Team Nick Heidfeld +0.7093
V8 SUPERCARS – Practice 2
1. #19 Tekno Autosports Marc Lieb 1:13.0563
2. #4 IRWIN Racing Simon Pagenaud +0.0678
3. #1 TeamVodafone Sebastien Bourdais +0.1951
4. #55 The Bottle-O Racing Team Nick Heidfeld +0.2182
5. #2 Holden Racing Team Ryan Briscoe +0.3346
6. #3 Team Hiflex Tonio Liuzzi +0.3356
7. #34 Fujitsu Racing GRM James Hinchcliffe +0.3937
8. #22 Holden Racing Team Darren Turner +0.7339
9. #47 Lucky 7 Racing David Brabham +0.7738
10. #8 Team BOC Stephane Sarrazin +0.8742
V8 SUPERCARS – Practice 1
1. #6 Trading Post FPR Ford W.Davison/M.Salo 1:12.0639*
2. #33 Fujitsu Racing GRM Greg Ritter +0.3961
3. #5 Orrcon Steel FPR Ford M.Winterbottom/W.Power +0.5285
4. #888 TeamVodafone Craig Lowndes +0.5868
5. #22 Holden Racing Team James Courtney +0.6010
6. #15 Jack Daniel’s Racing Rick Kelly +0.6729
7. #4 IRWIN Racing Lee Holdsworth +0.7314
8. #34 Fujitsu Racing GRM Michael Caruso +0.7980
9. #3 Team Hiflex Tony D’Alberto +0.8830
10. #49 VIP Petfoods Steve Owen +0.9324
