Jim Beam Racing News
If your number is up..
11 July 2009
There is no doubt that motorsport is a tough gig and and Jim Beam Racing found that out today during Race 11 of the V8 Supercar Championships in Townsville.
When it comes time to describe what happenned using only words, its tempting to try and talk it up or even make the written story sound better than it really is. But today was simply frustrating...
Saturday 11th July 2009 began with promise; centred on disappointment but ended with ...hope.
Jim Beam Racing drivers James Courtney and Steven Johnson, both qualified this morning for the Top Ten Shoot Out for the inaugural Townsville Dunlop 400. Johnson was first up for The Team and finished in P8 for Race 11. Courtney had qualified fastest in the first two qualifying sessions but relinquished P1 to Lee Holdsworth from Garry Rogers Motorsport who held it together during the flying lap to pip Courtney by one one hundreths of a second.
With both JBR drivers in the Top 10 on the grid, it set the scene for a good result for the weekend on a street circuit that many drivers had described as "a being a tough track to pass on"...
Courtney got off to a flying start from the front row of the grid but that, unfortunately, was where things ended. With a mechanical problem that overtook any chance of finishing Race 11, Courtney put his Car #18 into the garage only five laps into the Race. While the true extent of the issue has yet to be identified, Courtney described the car as losing a cylinder on the warm up lap before the start of the Race. While it took some time to identify the issue, Courtney was still in the lead when he pulled into pit lane and retired for the Race.
Johnson on the other hand was well up on the pace and slowly moved through the field as some drivers took the gamble of an early pit stop. After moving up to 3rd after 10 laps, Johnson hit pit lane on lap 11 and then re-joined the field in 13th position. Johnson stayed out there until the end of lap 28 in 10th position, when he came in for fuel. That's when the day would be shortened for Steve as when he stopped for fuel it turned out that he was some 0.2 secs of fuel short of the required 80l which meant that he needed to come back in to get the required amount in order to finish the Race without penalty.
There is some point in looking at the "whys" and "how's" but at the end of the day Johnson finished the Race in 13th position and Courtney did not. But that is what motorsport is all about - there are some great highs and there can be some great lows, but you still come back the next day and give it everything that you to get that much better!
It's another day tomorrow and anything could happen in a 200km Race.
Qualifying is at 11am with Race 12 scheduled to start at 135pm.
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