Ford Performance Racing’s (FPR) Paul Dumbrell has put on a dominant display of driving on the opening day of action in Tasmania to top the time sheets with a new lap record following a busy day of practice at Symmons Plains near Launceston.
Dumbrell was on the pace immediately in the #55 The Bottle-O FPR Falcon, setting the quickest time in the opening 30-minute session on the tight and fast layout.
He then went second-fastest in the next session before the entire field joined the action for the final two runs of the day.
Mark Winterbottom and Will Davison were among the frontrunners when they hit the track, with Winterbottom finishing fourth in both sessions, never more than a few tenths from Dumbrell.
Dumbrell went second in the penultimate session and while Davison was 13th he too was within mere tenths, highlighting just how critical qualifying will be on Saturday.
Davison ended the day ninth with a better lap time than his first effort though the entire field was dwarfed by Dumbrell’s final effort.
PD substantially lowered the lap record and ended the day more than two-tenths clear of the field – a substantial margin for the short 2.4-kilometre layout.
DRIVERS’ VIEW
Mark Winterbottom – #5 Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon
Practice 3: 51.76s – 4th
Practice 4: 51.57s – 4th
Winterbottom:
“The car isn’t too bad it just has some understeer at the slow speed corners which is where I was losing time. While I never like being fourth, it is great to have a team-mate in first as we can compare data and make some improvements. All we really need is a bit more turn out of the car and we should be right at the front. I was surprised I was fourth considering we have a lot left to gain, though it looks like a few people might be struggling. There isn’t much in it up and down the field so if we get qualifying right we can get a gap and have a clear run.”
Will Davison – #6 Trading Post FPR Falcon
P3: 51.91s – 13th
P4: 51.68s – 9th
Davison:
“I can feel the potential in the car though we didn’t get all the planets aligned today. The base set-up of the car is really good, we just didn’t get the cleanest run at the end when the track was at its best. It wasn’t the best day but we know we aren’t far off. PD put in a stunning lap at the end which shows the car is quick and to be that much faster shows we have the ability to be at the front. Tomorrow when we have a couple of good cracks at a lap in qualifying I’m sure we will be up there.”
Paul Dumbrell – #55 The Bottle-O FPR Falcon
P1: 51.90s – 1st
P2: 51.77s – 2nd
P3: 51.68s – 2nd
P4: 51.29s – 1st NEW LAP RECORD
Dumbrell:
“The car was really hooked up today and I am actually a little surprised with the lap time we achieved, but nevertheless I am very happy. Our improved soft tyre pace of late has transferred to Symmons Plains which is really encouraging and when you look at our achievements last year with Frosty winning and me finishing second, we are obviously very strong here. It was a good day for the team so we now need to carry our speed into qualifying.”
Tim Edwards – FPR Team Principal
“We couldn’t really ask for a better start to proceedings than what we achieved today. Paul was just on another planet. While it was only practice he was impressively quick no matter the session and ended the day with a new lap record. The important thing is that Frosty and Will were not far off and while the field is close, with a few minor adjustments and some insight from what worked for Paul, we are confident all three cars will be vying for pole tomorrow.”