Nissan Motorsport has narrowly missed out on a Top 10 finish during the final event at the Tyrepower Tasmania SuperSprint.
Rick Kelly has survived a tough day of racing to be the leading Nissan home in 11th position today. The #15 Castrol Racing entry started this afternoon’s 200km event from 14th on the grid and battled competitively in the mid-pack for the duration of the race. Relishing the changeable weather conditions, Kelly recorded his best finish for the weekend.
Andre Heimgartner crossed the line in 19th following a dramatic 84 lap race around Symmons Plains Raceway. The #7 Plus Fitness driver started from 19th but was punted by a competitor at the hairpin. With his steering compromised, Andre was unable to attack in the fashion we’ve now come to expect from the 22-year-old.
Simona De Silvestro finished this afternoon’s event in 21st position. The #78 Team Harvey Norman entry qualified 23rd on the grid earlier in the day, as the Swiss driver was unable to reclaim the strong pace demonstrated during the weekend’s practice sessions.
Michael Caruso brought his battle-scarred Nissan home in 24th after a very challenging afternoon. The #23 Drive Racing entry had started from 20th on the grid, but Caruso copped a time penalty for contact made with Will Davison early in the race. Suffering from brake dramas after the incident, Caruso’s objective changed from attack to survival.
The 2018 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship now heads to the WD-40 Phillip Island 500, April 20-22. The Nissan Altima has always shown good speed around the fast 4.4km circuit, so the team is optimistic for a strong result.
DRIVER QUOTES RICK KELLY #15 CASTROL RACING QUALIFYING: P13 RACE 7: P11 « We didn’t quite have the race car that we had yesterday, unfortunately, and we just got pushed back a little at the start. So to come back from 16th where we were at lap one to 11th is pretty good. We had a bit of pace on Chaz but he drove really well at the end there and didn’t really give us a chance to sneak by him. So we grabbed the 11th, now we just all need to go back and re-group like all the other teams that don’t have the Holden will have to and work out how to catch them. They have come out the gate from the first three rounds with an exceptional amount of pace on us and we just have to knuckle down now to work out how to catch them back up. »
ANDRE HEIMGARTNER #7 PLUS FITNESS RACING QUALIFYING: P19 RACE 7: P19 « I didn’t get too bad a start. I was up alright and then I just got squeezed going into the hairpin and ran out of road so ended up going down the escape road a bit which cost us heaps. That was about it, then we just battled with car speed for the whole race, especially in the middle part of the race. It wasn’t too bad at the end, but just a tough day overall. »
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO #78 TEAM HARVEY NORMAN QUALIFYING: P23 RACE 7: P21 « The weekend started off well on Friday but we seemed to lose a lot of pace and it’s been a bit frustrating, especially on the older tyre, we have been struggling quite a lot. Just balance-wise it wasn’t quite there today, so we just need to figure out how to be quicker. »
MICHAEL CARUSO #23 DRIVE RACING QUALIFYING: P20 RACE 7: P24 « Unfortunately at the beginning of the race we got caught up in a few people with a bit of a concertina effect and there was a bit of damage on the car. That made it difficult, we were locking brakes from the panels rubbing. From there it was going to be tough for the next 79 laps. So we’ll go away re-set and come back stronger at Phillip Island. »
Press release Nissan Motorsport
]]>
