Bundaberg Red Racing’s Fabian Coulthard and Craig Baird have made a promising start to the L&H 500 weekend putting the #24 VE Commodore fourth on the timing sheets after three practice sessions today.
Their team-mates, Andrew Thompson and Nick Percat, were not far behind with the #10 Commodore finishing in 19th place at the conclusion of practice.
The mixed weather conditions made it difficult to perfect car setup with intermittent rain during the afternoon sessions. The combination of Coulthard and Baird appeared to get on top of things quickly with the #24 Commodore fast in both wet and dry conditions.
Coulthard and Baird were positive about their progress and proved that their car was a strong contender after rolling it straight out of the truck. They will make minor improvements overnight before qualifying tomorrow.
On the other side of the Bundy Red Racing garage, Nick Percat experienced his first laps around the Phillip Island circuit in the #10 Commodore. Today’s sessions were all about getting the young gun up to speed and allowing him to gain valuable miles.
Thompson was reasonably happy with their preparation in the lead up to tomorrow’s qualifying races however he said that the balance of the #10 Commodore wasn’t quite right today. With data from practice on hand, he and Percat will sit down tonight and assess their day in order to make further progress tomorrow.
SP Tools Racing’s Shane Van Gisbergen and John McIntyre were fastest with Triple Eight’s Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife second and Kelly Racing’s Rick Kelly and Owen Kelly third.
The L&H 500 continues tomorrow with each driver participating in their own practice, qualifying and qualifying race.
Fabian Coulthard - #24 Bundaberg Red Racing VE Commodore (Practice: 4th, 1:33.4214)
“Today has been a very productive day. It all coincides with the successful test we had last week and we have actually been able to make positive improvements. The car has been in the window all day which has made Craig’s and my job a little bit easier. We haven’t had to make any dramatic changes but have just had to fine tune the car. Craig and I are both reporting similar issues with car setup which is good because it means we are both on the same page. I am happy with where we are at the moment. “
Craig Baird - #24 Bundaberg Red Racing VE Commodore (Practice: 4th, 1:33.4214)
“We had a good day and we are quite pleasantly surprised at how good the car actually was straight out of the box. The good part was that car was great in all conditions. Both Fabian and I were quick in the wet and the dry which was nice because sometimes the car can be a handful in changing conditions. I think it is going to important come Sunday to have a car that is strong over the distance and in all weather conditions because Phillip Island can be extremely variable. I am pretty happy, Fabian had a good run, so all good so far.”
Andrew Thompson - #10 Bundaberg Red Racing VE Commodore (Practice: 19th, 1:34.6912)
“It was a bit of a mixed bag at the end of the day because weather conditions were wet and dry throughout those sessions and in that last part of practice the rain cleared up. That made it a bit difficult to get a good balance in the car and get the setup right. We made adjustments to the car today and we have some data to look at overnight so we can work on improving further. We will also have a look at what Fabian (Coulthard, #24 driver) and Craig (Baird, #24 driver) have done today and try to piece together something for practice and qualifying tomorrow.”
Nick Percat - #10 Bundaberg Red Racing VE Commodore (Practice: 19th, 1:34.6912)
“I was in the car during that wet session this morning and then for a few laps in drier conditions this afternoon which are all valuable miles for me. We are progressing, although slowly, which is probably our biggest issue at the moment. It was good to get in the car and hopefully we get a better run tomorrow because there were quite a few red flags in those sessions this afternoon.”
