Nissan Motorsport has battled tough conditions during today’s two races at the Australian Grand Prix The team looked set for a Top 5 result before a late race downpour in Race 5 altered the outcome.
Saturday at the Coates Hire Melbourne 400 consisted of two races: a 70km sprint and a 130km race with a compulsory pitstop.
Michael Caruso looked set for a Top 5 result in today’s 130km event the Australian Grand Prix. Following on from an 8th placed result in the morning’s sprint race, the #23 Drive Racing entry ran without radio communications back to the pits for the duration of the afternoon’s longer race. So when the late race drizzle began to increase, Caruso was forced to make the call without being able to consult the team. The difficult decision saw Caruso drop from inside the Top 10, to his finishing position of P16. The Drive Racing Nissan will start tomorrow’s final race of the round from 7th on the grid.
Rick Kelly leaves today disappointed with the result, but he is optimistic about tomorrow’s 70km event. The #15 Castrol Racing entry had been chasing set-up all weekend, and the team is confident they have resolved many of the challenges faced earlier in the event. As the rain fell during Race 5, Kelly battled tough conditions as well as being forced off the track by a competitor. Keen to move on from today, Kelly will implement some further changes overnight ahead of tomorrow’s 70km sprint.
Despite only starting his second round in a Nissan, Andre Heimgartner radioed his engineer, « well, that’s no fun, » on news that a wet Race 4 would start under the safety car. The #7 Plus Fitness Racing driver displayed great car control as he battled his way in the midpack, but an issue in his pitstop saw him drop a few places late in the race. Heimgartner will utilise the setup gains made by Kelly and Caruso to tweak his car overnight ahead of the final race of the round.
A sliding Todd Hazelwood made contact with Simona De Silvestro during the first race of the day, which led to a slow puncture for the #78 Team Harvey Norman entry. The unscheduled pit stop forced De Silvestro to the back of the pack. During the day’s longer 25 lap race, the Team Havey Norman driver elected to pit for wet tyres on lap 10 and battled her way to the flag, crossing the line in 23rd.
RESULTS
Race 4 Michael Caruso – #23 Drive Racing – P8 Rick Kelly – #15 Castrol Racing – P13 Andre Heimgartner – #7 Plus Fitness Racing – P16 Simona De Silvestro – #78 Team Harvey Norman – P23
Race 5 Michael Caruso – #23 Drive Racing – P16 Rick Kelly – #15 Castrol Racing – P17 Andre Heimgartner – #7 Plus Fitness Racing – P21 Simona De Silvestro – #78 Team Harvey Norman – P23
MICHAEL CARUSO #23 DRIVE RACING : “The second race was going to plan. We only lost one spot at the start and then jumped a few guys at the first stop. We were hunting down the Top 5 really quickly. Something that wasn’t an issue until it started to rain was that I was running without a radio for the race. So I couldn’t communicate to the garage and get their thoughts on the weather. So in the end, it was a late call that I made as those around me pitted. As it turns out if we’d stayed out we might have been on for a really good result. But it really was a 50/50 call as the rain was getting heavier. So while that is disappointing, tomorrow we start inside the Top 10 and have a good chance to end the weekend on a positive note. »
RICK KELLY #15 CASTROL RACING : « It was mixed conditions today and the results on the sheet at the end of the day were poor. It’s disappointing for us from that point of view. We’d struggled with both the car and the set-up all weekend. We got it right in that last race, but unfortunately the weather played a role in the outcome. But I’m extremely happy with where we ended up with the car. It was the first time in a little while that I’ve been able to race like that. We’ve got a really racey car now. In the end, the strategy didn’t go our way and we got moved off the track, which lost us a few spots as well. So I’m heading into tomorrow really positive with how we can end the weekend. »
ANDRE HEIMGARTNER #7 PLUS FITNESS RACING : « I was really looking forward to hitting the track when I saw we might be on for wet conditions. This can be a pretty challenging circuit when it gets wet. But it was good fun sliding around. The second race was a bit of a different story. The car speed wasn’t too bad. We weren’t able to capitalise on it with a few issues in the pitstops along with some other issues. Rick seemed happy with his car, so if we combine what we know from Michael’s car, we should be in good shape for tomorrow. »
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO #78 TEAM HARVEY NORMAN : « That wasn’t my favourite day of racing. The first stint in the last race was pretty good. The car felt great and the crew did a good job with the pit stop. Then the weather decided to change things up. We made it to the flag without any major dramas, which is an improvement from what we’ve had so far this weekend. But I’m looking forward to tomorrow. Rick and Michael are both happy with their cars and we’ll make a few changes before tomorrow’s final race. It’s a great track, so hopefully the weather can hold off and allow for some clean racing. »
Press release Nissan
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