Mechanical trouble impedes D’Alberto in Race 1

D’Alberto’s Sandown campaign experienced an unwelcome hitch in Race 1 this afternoon, with a loose plug sending the #55 Bottle-O Commodore to a finish near the back of the field.

The incident came after a top start by D’Alberto where he jumped two positions on the opening lap, making the most of the confusion as other drivers traded paint. D’Alberto easily held his ground in 18th during the early laps and as the compulsory pit window opened he continued to surge forwards, nearing the front before ducking in to complete his compulsory stop on lap 9. Upon returning to the track D’Alberto proceeded to clock a series of tidy laps, showing no sign of dropping in pace. On lap 14 the car began to experience an engine miss and was brought into the garage for closer inspection. The airbox had to be removed for the crew to reach the source of the problem -a plug lead that had fallen off. After a lengthy stay in the garage the car was returned to the track where D’Alberto attempted to salvage what he could from the race.

D’Alberto’s effort wasn’t in vain, with his fastest lap of the race recorded on lap 19 in a time of 1:11.9839.

D’Alberto finished in 25th position having given the car a decent run around the Sandown circuit and producing some gutsy lap times. Monday offers the car a chance at redemption, with two more races yet to be contested. Race 2 begins from 12:15pm and will be followed by Race 3 at 4:05pm. Both of tomorrow’s races will feature the same 39 lap format as today’s race and offer a real chance for the team to move forward and secure a good result.

Copyright © Rod Nash Racing 2008

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