Disappointing start for Seiders Racing
THE Sieders Racing Team has endured a disappointing start to the 2008 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series at Adelaide, with both Colin and David Sieders taking only a handful of points away from the round.
For Colin Sieders, the round was made worse when he witnessed (and was almost involved in) the tragic incident involving Ashley Cooper at the street circuit’s infamous turn eight.
Colin was passed by Cooper earlier in the lap before Cooper lost control of his Commodore and collected the concrete wall.
After Cooper slammed the wall, Sieders¹s Falcon was the first on the scene and was lucky to avoid the out-of-control vehicle.
At the time of writing, Cooper was in a critical condition Royal Adelaide Hospital.
Colin, 26, said the crash was “biggest accident” he’s ever seen at that point of the track.
”We were having a battle for the first part of the race,” Colin said.
”It looked like he’s just gone in too shallow and clipped the inside wall.
He went in hard against the outside concrete and shifted the wall back a good metre. The first I saw, Ashley was skidding along the wall and the car was coming back across the track. I don’t know how I didn’t hit him.
”I’ve known since we’ve been racing against each other over the past year. I hope he’s alright. It was the biggest accident I’ve seen at that point of the track. I want to pass on my best wishes to Ashley and his family and
friends.”
Colin sits in 20th place in the series, having finished 21st and 20th in the two races.
The story on the other side of the Sieders garage wasn¹t much better.
Driving the Gulf Western Oils Falcon BA, David Sieders finished the two races in 25th and 22nd after earlier qualifying in 10th place.
His weekend started to go down hill immediately after the start of Race 1 when he stalled on the start line. Lucky not to be hit by the cars from behind, Sieders stormed back to 14th place before suffering a flat-spotted tyre. It necessitated a pitstop, causing his non-result.
From the back of the grid in Race 2, Sieders made good inroads until a front brake problem slowed his progress.
Regardless, David remains confident that the remaining six rounds of the championship will be more fruitful than this weekend¹s opening event.
”This is certainly a top 10 season, or better, but we couldn¹t capitalise on our qualifying result,” David Sieders said.
”Our goals are to be well and truly inside the top 10, maybe top five. A few issues this weekend means we’ve got some work to do before we can realise those expectations. We’ve got things to do before the next test day and next round but the team is going to rectify them and we¹ll be back up the pointy end.
”In Race 1, I just basically stuffed up. I slipped off the clutch, stalled the car at the start and was lucky to get it going and not slip back to last. I thought it was a good fight back to get to 14th, but I was locking the inside front which meant I couldn’t push as much as I would have liked.
The car eventually flat spotted the tyre and I was getting a major vibration.
”Starting from the back in Race 2, I had major front brake drama. We think it could have been a cracked front disk, which isn’t uncommon in hot street racing.”
The next round of the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series will be at Wakefield Park on April 6.
