D’Alberto battles fresh challenges at Ipswich

Queensland Raceway threw a set of challenges at Tony D’Alberto today, making the team work extra hard for a finish in 22nd in Race 2 and 26th in Race 3.

D’Alberto got away to a terrific start to Race 2, leaping up to 18th on the opening lap which he comfortably held through to lap 7. D’Alberto performed good passing manoeuvres through turns 1 and 2, but trouble surfaced when another car’s wheels made heavy contact with the wheels on the #55 Bottle-O Commodore, giving rise to a drop in steering performance.

The steering issue plagued D’Alberto for the rest of the race as holding position became increasingly difficult. D’Alberto did the best he could to support the struggling car, managing a finish in 22nd.

Race 3 presented the opportunity for a move forward. D’Alberto had made a tidy hop up to 20th by lap 5, pitting relatively early on lap 7 to settle smoothly into 19th by lap 14.

D’Alberto had an easy hold on 19th, maintaining the position for 15 laps before an unexpected dilemma arose when the brake lights seized on the #55 Bottle-O Commodore. This fresh bout of bad luck necessitated a visit to the pits to rectify the problem, costing valuable time. D’Alberto was forced to surrender his hard-fought position, finishing the race in 26th.

D’Alberto had succeeded in delivering strong drives across the weekend, unfortunately hindered by issues that complicated the campaign. The team now have a short turnaround before appearing at Winton for the next sprint round from 1st August. Winton will prove significant given that it is the last sprint round before drivers embark on the set of endurance races for the 2008 season. D’Alberto has had a lot of laps at Winton and the Winton circuit is the team’s home test track, giving D’Alberto a wealth of experience to draw from.

Copyright © Rod Nash Racing 2008

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