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The Bottle-O Racing Team delivers on plan for success |
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The Bottle-O Racing Team enjoyed a sensational day at Townsville this afternoon where driver Paul Dumbrell powered through the race for a finish in 4th.
 The team managed to improve on the car's qualifying position, notching up their fastest lap in a time of 1:13.3851, which moved the car forward for a race start from 14th.
Dumbrell kept a level head as cars scrambled off the grid. He guided the #55 Bottle-O Falcon through the field to reach 10th on the opening lap.
Competition was fierce and it wasn't long before tempers boiled over, with 3 cars tangling in a snarl of traffic. The safety car emerged to herd the field under control whilst the debris was cleared. Dumbrell stayed out of the fray, moving forward into 9th on the restart.
As Dumbrell neared the front of the field he found himself pitched into a heated battle with 2 other cars. Dumbrell defended his ground, determined to maintain the momentum that carried his climb through the field.
The team performed their first pit stop of the race on lap 18, changing rear tyres and taking a quick top-up of fuel. Dumbrell returned to the field in good time, slotting into 6th.
Dumbrell kept a hold near the front of the field as the laps flew by, ducking back to the pits on lap 44 to change all 4 tyres.
A second safety car appearance on lap 47 reminded the field to be cautious. Dumbrell was in a good position with a clean car that still had the strength to push forward and put pressure on those in front. His persistence earnt him another gain in position and Dumbrell eased into 4th on lap 54, which he held to the end of the race.
It was a textbook drive for Dumbrell and a fantastic result for the team who had put in the hours to ensure the car was prepared to perfection.
The V8 Supercars are scheduled to regroup in September at Phillip Island for the next round in the v8 supercar championship.
"Once again I was disappointed to qualify back in 14th," Dumbrell said. "We didn't maximise our opportunity there, but then we were pretty confident that we could move through the field."
"The first stint actually felt average. We had to put two flat spotted front tyres on the rears to get them through the cycle so that we had enough tyres to get us through to the end.
"From there we soldiered on, -We had a lot of clear air and good speed to be able to pass a few people. We also had a good strategy, performed a good stop and we popped out in 5th and got Brighty. I nearly thought I would have a crack at Garth but had trouble with brakes and just glanced the fence as well which made it interesting."
Copyright Rod Nash Racing 2010
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