The 20 minute qualifying session this morning was marred by three red flags, making it difficult for the whole field to complete a run of fast laps. The two Jim Beam cars qualified in 14th (Johnson) and 22nd (Fiore).
The start of the final Ford v Holden battle was always going to be tough with many teams determined to go out on a high. The absence of the usual front-runner in the Top 10 also provided extra motivation.
The start of the last race the 2012 Championship, was clean one for Jim Beam Racing, with both drivers making up places off the start.
A racing incident for Dean Fiore saw the West Australian return to the pits for damage repair and the team were able to send him back out only a few laps down.
“I got a pretty hard knock in the opening laps, breaking the rear roll bar which punctured the rear tyre. We changed the tyre and went out there again but it punctured that tyre as well. We had to pit and pull the roll bar off entirely and run the front bar on full soft and the roll centre right up. We ran the rest of the race without a rear roll bar. But at least we finished and only had one DNF all year. I’m looking forward to working on Car of the Future with my crew now and rolling out at Clipsal ready to go,” Fiore commented.
Once Fiore returned to the field, the race settled down, with Johnson holding a position just outside the top 10. Fiore sat in 22nd.
In the final stages of the race, as the teams closely monitored the rain radar, saw drivers drop back through the field with fuel issues. Johnson hung on and scored the team a top 10 finish.
“I just wanted to get to the end and finish in the top 10, which we did. In the middle stint, with people out of sync coming out of the pits on cold tyres and I wasn’t able to get passed them cleanly into turn one. Sometimes it took me half a lap. It felt like I was playing catch up all day! But getting a couple of DJR cars into the top [teammate Steve Owen came eight] is great and we’re all definitely closer to the money, which is positive. We’ll have to wait and see what happens with the new cars next year,” said Johnson.
With preparations for the new Car of the Future well underway, the team will now head back to the Dick Johnson Racing workshop in Queensland.
We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very safe and Happy Christmas and New Year. We look forward to seeing you all next year when we head to Clipsal with the brand new Car of the Future.
The start of the final Ford v Holden battle was always going to be tough with many teams determined to go out on a high. The absence of the usual front-runner in the Top 10 also provided extra motivation.
The start of the last race the 2012 Championship, was clean one for Jim Beam Racing, with both drivers making up places off the start.
A racing incident for Dean Fiore saw the West Australian return to the pits for damage repair and the team were able to send him back out only a few laps down.
“I got a pretty hard knock in the opening laps, breaking the rear roll bar which punctured the rear tyre. We changed the tyre and went out there again but it punctured that tyre as well. We had to pit and pull the roll bar off entirely and run the front bar on full soft and the roll centre right up. We ran the rest of the race without a rear roll bar. But at least we finished and only had one DNF all year. I’m looking forward to working on Car of the Future with my crew now and rolling out at Clipsal ready to go,” Fiore commented.
Once Fiore returned to the field, the race settled down, with Johnson holding a position just outside the top 10. Fiore sat in 22nd.
In the final stages of the race, as the teams closely monitored the rain radar, saw drivers drop back through the field with fuel issues. Johnson hung on and scored the team a top 10 finish.
“I just wanted to get to the end and finish in the top 10, which we did. In the middle stint, with people out of sync coming out of the pits on cold tyres and I wasn’t able to get passed them cleanly into turn one. Sometimes it took me half a lap. It felt like I was playing catch up all day! But getting a couple of DJR cars into the top [teammate Steve Owen came eight] is great and we’re all definitely closer to the money, which is positive. We’ll have to wait and see what happens with the new cars next year,” said Johnson.
With preparations for the new Car of the Future well underway, the team will now head back to the Dick Johnson Racing workshop in Queensland.
We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very safe and Happy Christmas and New Year. We look forward to seeing you all next year when we head to Clipsal with the brand new Car of the Future.