Jim Beam Racing News
Courtney and Johnson stay in Top Ten in Bahrain
26 February 2010
CONSISTENCY remains the cornerstone of Jim Beam Racing in the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series, after James Courtney finished a solid sixth today in the third race of the season on the impressive Bahrain International Circuit.
Using the 5.4-kilometre Grand Prix circuit for the first time, all drivers suffered from a huge lack of grip on the dusty circuit which punished race tyres.
Courtney locked down fifth place in the Driver’s Championship with his result today coming after qualifying fifth in the single lap Top 10 Shootout.
Team-mate Steven Johnson brought the #17 Jim Beam Falcon home in 11th place from 16th on the grid – the result good enough to move him up to eighth in the championship.
The duo’s combined points haul from today’s 200-kilometre, 37 lap race has also solidified Jim Beam Racing in second place in the Team’s Championship.
And in further good news for The Team, the third Dick Johnson Racing entry of Jonathon Webb came home 14th after qualifying in the same position, leaving the reigning Fujitsu Series Champion tied with Russell Ingall for 10th in the Driver’s Championship.
The drivers and teams will return to the Bahrain International Circuit tomorrow for Race 4 of 2010, another 200-kilometre race over 37 laps.
It’s the final race of the opening Middle East adventure for the championship, with teams set to load up at the end of tomorrow and fly their cars and equipment back to Australia for the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide.
QUOTEBOOK
JAMES COURTNEY (#18 Jim Beam Racing Falcon FG)
“It really was just a case of driving around today and doing the absolute best I could do to look after the tyres because they go away so quickly around this track.
“We didn’t have the outright speed but we’re moving in the right direction. Everyone out there was wobbling around towards the end, so we’re all in the same boat in relation to tyres. This track is just so hard on them.
“The changes we made from practice to qualifying on the car were an improvement – much better.
“But we just need a little bit more speed. The main area I’m looking to find some more is from the apex of the corner onwards, but it’s just a little bit in all parts around the track that add up.
“All in all, we scored another really solid points haul and we’re consistently in the top five or six.”
STEVEN JOHNSON (#17 Jim Beam Racing Falcon FG)
“I had a really great scrap with Rick Kelly and Russell Ingall, it was really good fun actually. We ducked and dove under and over one another and I ended up getting back in front.
“I got a great start and got a few positions off the grid and then got a few of them at turn one.
“Later on we lost a few spots and again, like in Abu Dhabi, I found myself racing Lee Holdsworth in the final part of the race to the end. But I’m happier because last time I made a mistake and gave the spot away – this time I didn’t!
“We made three major settings changes for qualifying and none of them worked, hence why we were on the grid where we were.”
JONATHON WEBB (#19 DJR Falcon FG)
“Qualifying today was much better than I expected. We had a good quick car and I put together a half reasonable lap to line up 14th.
“The car was solid but Bahrain is one of those frustrating tracks where you just don’t have any grip and I struggled to keep my patience going and get a good flow as well.
“We ran long again today before making our pit stops, but we’ll have a look at that strategy for tomorrow to see if we can find any better options to make up some time.
“But otherwise, there were no dramas, it was a pretty quiet sort of a race.”
2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series
Race 3 Results – Bahrain International Circuit
1 1 Jamie Whincup TeamVodafone Commodore
2 5 Mark Winterbottom Orrcon FPR Falcon
3 888 Craig Lowndes TeamVodafone Commodore
4 2 Garth Tander Toll HRT Commodore
5 9 Shane Van Gisbergen SP Tools Falcon
6 18 James Courtney Jim Beam Falcon
7 39 Russell Ingall Supercheap Auto Commodore
8 22 Will Davison Toll HRT Commodore
9 15 Rick Kelly Kelly Commodore
10 34 Michael Caruso Fujitsu GRM Commodore
11 17 Steven Johnson Jim Beam Falcon
14 19 Jonathon Webb DJR Falcon
Championship Points After Race 3 of 26
1 1 Jamie Whincup TeamVodafone Commodore 450
2 5 Mark Winterbottom Orrcon FPR Falcon 405
3 888 Craig Lowndes TeamVodafone Commodore 378
4 9 Shane Van Gisbergen SP Tools Falcon 342
5 18 James Courtney Jim Beam Falcon 324
6 15 Rick Kelly Kelly Commodore 282
7 33 Lee Holdsworth Fujitsu Commodore 276
8 17 Steven Johnson Jim Beam Falcon 224
9 34 Michael Caruso Fujitsu Commodore 210
10 39 Russell Ingall Supercheap Auto 204
11 19 Jonathon Webb DJR Falcon 204
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