FPR paint PI Orange with Pole

18 September 2011

Frosty races well from 13th to 4th

Ford Performance Racing (FPR) duo Will Davison and Luke Youlden have claimed pole position for the L&H 500 at Phillip Island after accumulating the most points from today’s two 14-lap Grid Sprint races.

The team driving the #6 Trading Post FPR Falcon mixed aggression with smart strategy to claim the highest total of points after Davison claimed a pole position and a race win in his segment and Youlden scored enough points to outscore all other combinations.

Davison claimed his second pole since joining the factory Ford team and Youlden became the 50^th driver in Australian touring car history to score a pole position when he grabbed the first of his career.

Team-mates Mark Winterbottom and Steve Richards will start the 500km race ninth after a strong recovery drive from Winterbottom in his race after a difficult run in qualifying for both drivers.

Winterbottom stormed through the field from 13^th to claim fourth which was thanks largely to two well-judged passing moves on Rick Kelly and defending champion James Courtney.

Paul Dumbrell and Dean Canto also showed a strong turn of speed and will start tomorrow’s race fifth.

Dumbrell finished second in his Grid Sprint race thanks to the excellent work of his crew which made a precautionary engine change in just 55 minutes in between the day’s two 14-lap races.

The change was finished just ahead of the race where Dumbrell moved from fifth to fourth on lap one before claiming the runner-up place behind fellow Ford driver Shane van Gisbergen giving Ford a clean-sweep of both races.

Teams will contest the 113-lap L&H 500 feature race tomorrow afternoon following the morning warm-up session.
DRIVERS’ VIEW
Mark Winterbottom & Steve Richards- #5 Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon
Qualifying – A: 21st – Richards

Qualifying – B: 13th – Winterbottom

Grid Sprint – A: 20th – Richards

Grid Sprint – B: 4th – Winterbottom

L&H 500 Grid Position: 9^th

 

Winterbottom:

“We should have qualified further up than we did so those two races were more about recovery than anything else. We pitted Richo in his race and that meant we needed a strong result in mine. I had a good start and the car was great, I passed a few cars and if we had an extra lap or so I’m sure we could have got a few more which would have helped our grid position for tomorrow. It was obviously a good day for the team with Will and Luke on pole and PD and Dean not far back and we are in the top 10 so I think we are all a chance tomorrow.”

 

Richards:

“I think everyone should be pleased considering how we started the day as we are now heading in the right direction. Car five is inside the top 10 which is lower than we wanted so if we keep our nose clean and press on we should find ourselves in a good position. The changes we made after my race clearly made the car better as Frosty had a lot of pace in his race so if we can keep making adjustments like that we should be strong tomorrow.”
Will Davison & Luke Youlden – #6 Trading Post FPR Falcon
Qualifying – A: 1st – Davison 

Qualifying – B: 11th – Youlden

Grid Sprint – A: 1st – Davison

Grid Sprint – B: 15th – Youlden

L&H 500 Grid Position: 1^st

 

Davison

“I am really happy to be on pole. It is a great effort from everyone at the team and I am ecstatic to claim my first ever win for FPR – we all deserve this great result. Tomorrow is pay day so we have to take what we learnt today and use it tomorrow to make the most of our great position. The race was much tougher than I expected and I think tomorrow will be even more so, so we’ll need to be at our best. But this result is a great reward for the team and for Luke who drove really well today under immense pressure. I’m happy with what we achieved today and with a bit of tinkering tonight we and the other FPR cars will be in the mix tomorrow.”

 Youlden:

“I didn’t get a chance to run on new tyres yesterday as we concentrated on race pace and I wasn’t entirely happy with my qualifying effort, though Will was very impressive and I’m not quite sure how he managed a lap like that. Although we had a trouble-free race it was hard to know with the points system if what I was doing was okay but the engineers kept saying we were on for pole so I am happy to score my first career pole. I’ve done well here in recent years and finished second last year so I hope Will and I can go one better tomorrow.”

 

Paul Dumbrell & Dean Canto – #55 The Bottle-O FPR Falcon
Qualifying – A: 17th – Canto  

Qualifying – B: 5th – Dumbrell

Grid Sprint – A: 20th – Canto

Grid Sprint – B: 2nd – Dumbrell

L&H 500 Grid Position: 5^th

 

Dumbrell:
“Yesterday we were a little unsure how quick we would be so to come out today and have a good qualifying and then a good race was a credit to the team and the changes they made to the car. Dean made the most of challenging conditions as a slight engine issue hampered him a little. However, the team did an amazing job to change the engine in 55 minutes between the two races, make the necessary adjustments and get me out for my race. Their effort was well worth it as second place was a great result and a testament to their abilities. Tomorrow will be a long day and tyre life will be the main thing we’ll need to ensure we manage. All FPR cars have been quick at different points today and Will starts from pole so we are in the best position possible as a team to take full advantage of it.”

Canto:

“It was quite a good recovery by the team considering all the ups and downs we’ve had today so to be fifth for the main race tomorrow is a great result. We are starting higher tomorrow than we did last year and we did well then, so I have higher expectations for tomorrow. There is a lot to go through tonight as we need to make a good race car as we are probably a little harder on our tyres at present than we should be so if we can nail the race set-up like we did last year we are in with a shot. Will and Mark were strong so if we combine what they did with what we have things should be ok.”
Tim Edwards – FPR Team Principal
“Today was the team’s day and all their hard work paid off. Congratulations to Will and Luke for taking pole for the L&H 500. Will took his first win for the team and while we want the same result in the big one tomorrow, we are well-placed to make the most of our speed. It is also nice to see Luke become the 50^th driver in the history of the sport to claim a pole position. Frosty and Richo did well to qualify in the top 10 after a tough start to their day, though Mark’s speed in his race shows they will also be in the mix. However, the car 55 crew really showed their worth today. To change an engine in 55 minutes and have the car finish second shortly after was a brilliant effort. All three cars are in the top 10, the team is on song so we want nothing less than to win tomorrow.”

L&H 500 PHILLIP ISLAND

STARTING GRID

1) Will Davison/Luke Youlden – Ford Performance Racing

2) Garth Tander/Nick Percat – HRT

3) Shane van Gisbergen/John McIntyre – Stone Brothers Racing

4) Jamie Whincup/Andrew Thompson – Triple Eight

5) Paul Dumbrell/Dean Canto – Ford Performance Racing

9) Mark Winterbottom/Steve Richards – Ford Performance Racing