Sieders and Fisher take debut 20th at Phillip Island
THE Sieders Racing Team has scored a fantastic 20th place in the L&H 500 at Phillip Island this weekend. The Jesus, All about Life-supported team, driven by David Sieders and Andrew Fisher, stayed out of trouble during the 113 lap endurance race and claimed an excellent result on their V8 Supercar Championship Series debut.
The Sieders Racing Team now heads to the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 brimming with confidence. By finishing 20th, it meant that they were the first 'Wildcard' entry to cross the finish line. The Sieders secured an entry slot in the two V8 Supercar enduros thanks to the new-for-2009 'Wildcard' system (where three cars were picked from V8's Development Series for the enduros). The Sieders team has leased a Triple Eight Ford Falcon BF for the meeting - the car which Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup took to victory in the 2006 Bathurst 1000. The unique Phillip Island format gave Sieders and Fisher plenty of laps before the start of the 500km rac. Fisher qualified 31st (out of 32) for his 'Qualifying Race' and finished in 29th (including taking the one compolsory pitstop that has to be taken in either one of the Qualifying races. Sieders qualified 28th for his race and finished an encouraging 15th. Sieders started the Phillip Island race and handed the car over to Fisher in 10th position. It was the highest the car ran during the event. Fisher played a solid role in the result by keeping a cool head, despite the fact that he only has limited experience in a V8 Supercar. The only real issue for the team was during the final pitstop. A seat belt mix-up saw them lose about 20 seconds, potentially costing them 17th place.
By finishing 20th, it places Sieders and Fisher in equal 52d in this year's V8 title - but more importantly, gives them championship points on their debut race. The result also ensures that the Sieders Racing Team keeps its 100 percent finishing record in 'Main Series' V8 Supercar races in tact. This was the team's second endurance race - the first in the 2000 Bathurst 1000 where it managed to get both its cars home that day. The Jesus Racing Team is now focused on the Bathurst 1000 (October 11), hoping to secure an even better result at the famous Mount Panorama circuit.
TEAM QUOTEBOOK: David Sieders, driver"This result nearly feels like a win!"
Sieders says."We accomplished what we came here to do, which was finish, we were the best of the Wildcard entries and we had no problems and finished 20th. It's a great effort."We had a problem in our last pit stop which cost us about 20 seconds. That meant we lost a few spots. The car just sat there for ages while we fiddled with the belts. The strap came out of my hand and the team was trying to get it. In hindsight, we needed to stay calm and get it fixed, but we've learned something from that experience which will help us at Bathurst.
"I thought Andrew did a perfect job. He didn't go off the track once, his times improved through the whole weekend and he wasn't that much slower than me."We head to Bathurst now with a great bunch of knowledge. Both Andrew and I have driven V8s there before, this car obviously knows its way around the track so hopefully we can get another good strong result there." Andrew Fisher, driver"The whole team worked very well together and we couldn't be happier with the result," Fisher said. "For me, it was all about getting miles in the car. I came into this meeting having only done two V8 races. It was a steep learning curve for anyone but you've just got to have confidence to apply yourself to the way you need drive the car.
"Our race pace was really good. We had to drive the car differently to what we're used to, learning a new style of driving to suit the car. That was a challenge, but this whole experience has now put us in a good position heading to Bathurst.Both David and I have got good experience around Bathurst, so we'll turn up there having a better understanding.
"Phillip Island was always going to be tough, just being the first race. The team gelled together really well, everyone was focused. We know we can do it now so it's just a matter of applying that to Bathurst." Chris Blomfield-Brown, team manager"We absolutely exceeded our expectations," he said."We're really a privateer effort and this whole deal kind of came together in the last minute. Everyone really worked together and it's just a great result.
"We didn't expect to finish as high as we did but we pulled together."Andrew was racing faster than he qualified. Neither of these guys had ever been to Phillip Island in a V8 Supercar, and realistically, we had barley done any miles in this car."We've got things that we can work on but all the boys here did a really great job." Steve Robertson, Triple Eight Race Engineering, chief mechanic"For a first attempt at the main V8 Supercar Series, they did a great job,"
Robertson said,"I think the driver line-up they had was a good combination, and with the Triple Eight car and the team they put together, it all helped towards the result."Triple Eight cars are engineered very well and they are easy to work on. We had them out at a test day recently at Willowbank and they got some miles in the car and since then, they've just built up to a good pace and have been rewarded with this result."
