Bahrain: Bottle-O Racing Team event summary

BOTTLE-O'S BAHRAIN A MIXED BAG

Bottle-O's Bahrain a mixed bag To download high-res image, click here.

The Bottle-O Racing's Paul Dumbrell ended the 2010 V8 Supercar Middle East double-header on a high note with a 10th placed finish in the fourth race of the series over the weekend. But Friday's third race had not been so kind, with the Bottle-O Falcon a distant and frustrated 27th with heavy damage after a first lap altercation. "A mixed bag, really," was how Paul Dumbrell summed up his weekend at the Bahrain International Grand Prix circuit.

"We had the pace to run at the front, the car was good, but our luck wasn't there; when you qualify toward the back you put yourself in harm's way, and that's what happened. "I am looking forward to getting back to Australia and to Clipsal, one of the best events of the year, I think we will do very well there.

Practice

Eighth in the Championship pointscore after Abu Dhabi's first two races meant the Bottle-O Falcon had to sit out the first two practice sessions in Bahrain's desert sands, but Paul was quickly into his stride when he hit the track. Sixteenth in his first session, Paul slipped to 22nd in the second session as he sought to find the right chassis set-up to save his tyres on a track notorious for high wear rates. "Others bolted on new tyres to get their times but we didn't, we were more interested in getting our (chassis) balance right and saving the tyres," Paul explained.

Race 1

Though the FPR-run Falcon looked to have the pace to be in the top half of the field Paul found himself in traffic on both his qualifying runs and ended up a disappointed 22nd, though confident he had a great race package. Race 1A good start boded well but halfway through the opening lap Paul became embroiled in a multi-car altercation, copping a very heavy blow to the car, forcing him to limp around until his first pitstop on lap 9 to change rear tyres. From there the Bottle-O Falcon was back on the pace and charging again, climbing to 20th position by lap 17; he pitted again on lap 23 and maintained position until another brush with a rival broke the steering arm. A long stop for repairs cost him three laps, Paul returning to the track with just two laps to go to finish a frustrated 27th.

"That's never any fun ... your race is effectively over before the end of the first lap. It was just a long, hot and unrewarding hour and 20 minutes ... tomorrow will be better," Paul said. Qualifying -- Race 2With the car fully repaired overnight and Paul on a mission, the Bottle-O Falcon was flying on its best Qualifying lap and looked set for a top 10 start ... until he ran wide at the very last corner and lost sufficient time to drop him to 24th on the grid.

Race 2

Once again there was an altercation on the opening lap but this time it worked in the Bottle-O Falcon's favour, Paul moving up an impressive eight positions by the end of lap one. From there he made steady progress, through the usual two rounds of pitstops, and ran strongly and competitively throughout, 13th by mid race and 10th by the end of 37 laps.

"Yep, great run, the car was good, I was able to race the guys around me and the work we did earlier in the weekend helped save the tyres, I am pleased to finish the weekend with a good result,"

-source: bottle-o