Sandown a tough run for Rod Nash Racing

It was a tough weekend at Sandown for Rod Nash Racing with a number of hurdles forcing D’Alberto to fight for every position gained. D’Alberto came away from the Sandown race with a finish in 25th position for each of the 3 races.

The team’s Sandown campaign experienced an unwelcome hitch in Race 1, 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 disconnected. 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.

Races 2 and 3 delivered a tough day of racing on Monday, with Sandown serving a host of challenges.

Race 2 opened under rain with the sure bet that a wet track would lead to some interesting racing. An aggressive opening lap fed into nose to tail driving where not so gentle taps let drivers know exactly where rivals were placed.

D’Alberto lost a few positions as the race got underway, retreating back slightly in the order to avoid major damage. From a safer position back in the pack D’Alberto manoeuvred his way around the slippery circuit, taking care not to make any unplanned detours across the grass.

The #55 Bottle-O Commodore experienced difficulty under the snap change in conditions and D’Alberto had a struggle on his hands to produce the pace needed to move forward.

As cars began to peel away to complete their compulsory stops the order refreshed, giving D’Alberto a bump up the field. The team held off for their pitstop until late in the window, eventually ducking in on lap 25.

With the compulsory pitstop out of the way it was back to racing for D’Alberto. The safety car was deployed later in the race whilst a marooned car was hauled out of the sand. When racing resumed the battle was on again and D’Alberto found himself in a precarious position with a car level on either side. After an uncomfortable crunch D’Alberto ploughed onwards, finishing the hard-fought race in 25th position.

Race 3 was more hard work for the team, with fortune not falling in D’Alberto’s favour. D’Alberto got away to a good start, holding ground in the opening laps. In contrast to the tactic employed in earlier races the team chose to pit early in the window, bringing the car in lap 7 to complete the stop. It was a struggle to move forward, but D’Alberto persisted, fighting his way through an aggressive field. With progress made, D’Alberto was dealt another blow after being shown the mechanical black flag, which necessitated a second visit to the pits. D;Alberto drove on for a finish in 25th.

It was a punishing weekend for the team with a number of challenges served up by the unpredictable Sandown circuit. The V8 Supercar Championship moves on to Darwin for the next round in the series scheduled from 4th-6th July.

Copyright © Rod Nash Racing 2008

Click here to open a Flash gallery of photos taken at Sandown.