DUMBRELL DOES IT AGAIN
Friday, November 18th, 2011
Ford Performance Racing (FPR) has picked up where it left off last weekend with Paul Dumbrell and Mark Winterbottom again heading the timesheets on a hot, humid and windy day at Sandown.
Dumbrell took part in the opening two sessions and immediately continued his late-season form by going straight to the top of the times in the opening minutes.
Winterbottom and Will Davison joined the running along with the remainder of the top half of the field for the final two sessions as ambient and track temperatures soared.
The pair were never far from the ultimate pace as high winds made it tough to set consistent times.
Dumbrell again topped the times in session three, setting a time that would not be bettered for the rest of the day, while Winterbottom ensured FPR was the dominant team on Friday, setting the fastest time in the final session.
Dumbrell and Winterbottom ended the day with the two fastest times, replicating their qualifying effort at the last race in Tasmania.
The expected storm has now hit the circuit and temperatures have dropped significantly as heavy rain showers set it. The change ensures Saturday’s qualifying and race will be run in very different conditions.
DRIVERS’ VIEW
Mark Winterbottom – #5 Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon
Practice 3: 1m11.18s – 8th
Practice 4: 1m10.60s – 1st
Winterbottom:
“It wasn’t a bad day today. I think we all struggled early adapting to the strong wind, the soft tyre and the low-grip surface. They all really unsettled the car and while we were thankfully competitive I believe everyone struggled with the conditions today. We put some fresh tyres on late in the day and that transformed the car, it felt great. If these conditions continue it will make it hard for everyone but I whatever the weather it will be tough racing this weekend.”
Will Davison – #6 Trading Post FPR Falcon
P3: 1m11.24s – 10th
P4: 1m10.88s – 7th
Davison:
“It was tough today. Very high track temperatures and the really strong wind really made things hard. It was difficult to make any meaningful changes to the car as tyre degradation was massive. Obviously our cars are quite quick despite the conditions so we have to be happy, though I only had one timed lap on my best tyres before the red flag came out. Had it not been for that I would have been right up there. I think we are better off than the majority but the weather will likely change so tomorrow could be different again.”
Paul Dumbrell – #55 The Bottle-O FPR Falcon
P1: 1m10.74s – 1st
P2: 1m11.26s – 4th
P3: 1m10.40s – 1st
P4: 1m10.93s – 9th
Dumbrell:
“When the car rolls out of the truck like it did today you can’t have too many complaints. We did a bit of tuning of the car for the race but I think everyone was struggling on long tyre runs. I didn’t have the best final run but that was more driver-induced than anything else when I asked a bit too much of the car. That aside it was more than a reasonable day for FPR.”
Tim Edwards – FPR Team Principal
“Today was certainly a typical Melbourne day as the weather was anything but consistent. Despite the testing conditions we had another good day and Paul showed that the closer he gets to retirement the faster he gets. It was difficult to get a good read on the car with the winds and high track temperatures but I think we are not too far away from where we need to be. Though with dark clouds looming I think we will be facing a very different set of circumstances.”