Bright makes it into top-ten
Fujitsu Racing’s Jason Bright climbed from 27th to finish 10th in the second leg of the Clipsal 500, the opening round of the 2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series on the streets of Adelaide.
The round was won by fellow Ford racer Jamie Whincup, who took victory on both days.
After an overheating engine forced an early end to his charge in the opening race, Bright and the Fujitsu Racing team used a cleaver fuel strategy to move them up the order.
Two early fuel stops outside the compulsory pit stop window, meant Bright could stretch his fuel and make a quicker stop later in the race; this worked as he gained track position.
Bright steered clear of a succession of accidents; continually moving up the order to take the chequered flag in 10th position.
After a tough year in 2007, Bright was pleased to bring home a strong finish and a relatively clean car.
“The car had pretty good speed this weekend,” said Bright.
“Losing the engine in the first race didn’t help things, so we were down on power for the second race. However, it shows that outright speed is not the only thing you need.
“I was pleased with our strategy call with the early fuel stops. It really gave us track position. The late safety cars didn’t help. We were not great on re-starts, but still managed to take the fight to the opposition.
“It was a tough couple of days out there. We had our engine dramas on Saturday, but compared to the carnage others suffered, we kept our nose clean and that brought a good result.
“In terms of points, a lot of teams have taken a lick this weekend. We have points on the board and that’s important leaving this weekend.
“We have had plenty of long days heading into this opening round; even had a few late nights this weekend. There is work to be done back at the shop, but there is no major damage to repair. We can fully concentrate on preparing for Eastern Creek.
Fujitsu Racing Chief Engineer Geoff Slater was satisfied with the comeback in race #2.
“It’s good to get to the end of a race weekend with a straight car and a positive result,” said Slater
“We tried to outsmart a few guys with our strategy. A few too many safety cars late brought the others back to us, but we are happy with our early pit stop call
“This car is not too bad. There are a few issues to sort out. We are pretty confident going to Eastern Creek; it’s a track we went well at last year and feel we can do it again this year.
“It’s always good to come home with a straight car. A car in the top-10 is even better.”
Round #2 of the 2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series will be at Sydney’s Eastern Creek on March 7-9.
