Mixed fortunes for the HSV

It was a horror end to the HSV Dealer Team’s weekend in Bahrain overnight with the final two 32 lap races testing the Dealer Team duo of Rick Kelly and Paul Dumbrell, both drivers finishing race three outside the top ten.
After struggling with setup issues earlier, Kelly and Dumbrell fought through the practice and qualifying sessions.

With carnage in the first race, both the #15 and #16 Dealer Team cars managed to avoid any race ending incidents. Come race two the pair weren’t so lucky.

Dumbrell got tangled up in an early race skirmish when he was turned around on lap 2, dropping to last in the field and having to fight back position for the rest of the race. He managed to recover to 18th position.

Dumbrell’s team-mate was also feeling the heat. Starting ninth on the grid Kelly succumbed to the first lap dash through turn one, losing a few positions. With clean driving and a smooth pit stop from his crew Kelly was making his way towards the pointy end of the field.

His luck soon ran out when he was tagged and spun by Van Gisbergen. Similar to his team-mates earlier incident, he dropped down the order. Van Gisbergen was later awarded a drive through penalty, however Kelly’s race was done. With a handful of laps left Kelly put on a brave face and was able to make it to 22nd position.

Race three was the teams chance to try and salvage points and position for the weekend. Dumbrell was able to drive cleanly in the final race, pitting early for his compulsory pit stop for tyres, another smooth effort from his pit crew put him back out in the field with new rubber to fight for position. By half race distance he had made his way to 14th position and crossed the final chequered flag eleventh.

Kelly looked to be on pace in the third and final race, he pitted for tyres late in the compulsory pit stop window, re-entering the field just ahead of Dumbrell. With the final laps closing in Kelly thought he was home, having recovered from a less than desirable race two. But late in the race Kelly was tagged again, spinning and losing race position. At the chequered flag he was twentieth.

It all flowed smoothly for Ford’s Jamie Whincup, leading the weekend from the onset and taking out all three race wins and the Round. Team-mate Craig Lowndes was second for a Ford 1-2 and Holden’s Russell Ingall finished third.

Dumbrell finished a credible 11th, collecting 128 Championship points, Kelly with 112 was 17th. Whincup leads the Championship over Mark Winterbottom and Garth Tander.