Bad Luck for Wood, but Fortunately Fabian Finished

Another race, another big incident for Brad Jones Racing with Dale Wood's car involved in carnage yesterday. But today the team will focus on Jason Bright and Fabian Coulthard, after throttle cable dramas affected both cars in Race Three. 

“We’ve had a little bit of an issue with a sticking throttle,” Jones told v8supercars.com.au after yesterday’s race.

“Happened for Fabian on the warm up lap.

“That’s what put the #8 car out of the race, the Team BOC car.

“And now we’ve gone back, we’ve seen that unfortunately the spec has been changed on the throttle cable and unfortunately engine shop weren’t advised about that.”

Fortunately the team has some of the older cables, and Coulthard didn’t suffer terminal issues yesterday, continuing to race on to take second in yesterday’s Race Three.

“We’re really lucky Fabian got to the end of the race, and we’ve put the old spec back on so everyone should be fine with that (today), but it’s very unfortunate.”

Jones and the crew hadn’t assessed the #21 car in depth when talking to v8supercars.com.au, but Jones initially though the damage looked similar to what was sustained when Andrew Jones shunted the #8 at the Gold Coast PIRTEK Enduro Cup event last season.

The Commodore was sent back to the workshop last night so the crew could get on with the job today, ahead of the next event in Tasmania.

“We’ve only got a week to get it ready for Symmons Plains and it’s going to be a lot of work to be done.”

Jones had nothing but warm words to say about his crew, after their around the clock efforts building #8 for this event after Bright’s rollover at the Clipsal 500 opener.

“Amazing job from the crew – they really worked together and it was great to have the car so fast.

“It’s arguably one of the three fastest cars here this weekend and after the bad start in the first race and Brighty running off the road, to have the Team BOC car back up in fourth – it was just so unfortunate we couldn’t finish the job off because I really think we might’ve had a couple of cars up fighting for a podium position.”

While each car has its own crew to complete the majority of the work, everyone helps out when time is so tight, meaning many of the same guys will pitch in for the #21 repair.

“The majority of the work will be done by the crew of that car, but all the fabrication work’s done by the same people, the painters are the same painters, it’s just when it comes to bolting the thing together.

“But we have to prep the other two cars so we’re going to be more time poor in the workshop.

“Of course, we’re going to have to cut that car apart and then weld it back together… there’s a lot of work to be done a lot of parts damaged.

“So still living the dream.”

Wood was, as expected, unhappy about the result.

“It’s pretty hard to say what happened – when I arrived there was a car turned sideways,” he said.  

“By the time the car in front of me peeled away I was left with trying to go right, which I couldn’t because I had someone next to me, and by that time it was all too late and I was in the side of Chaz, I think it was.

“Definitely not the way we wanted to do this round and not what I wanted to do to my car or Chaz’s car.” 

The V8 Supercars will be on track from 1.20pm today for the final MSS Security V8 Supercars Challenge race.