V8 Supercars Race 3 Quoteboard

Jamie Whincup (#88 TeamVodafone Commodore VE II – 1st)

“We generally categorise our wins. There’s driver wins, team wins and then there’s pure arse. This one was definitely a team win. They called the strategy perfectly and that was that.

“As we keep saying even though it’s not championship points we always drive to a different scenario and there’s a heap of craziness out there.

“You never want to see damage like that. I couldn’t believe what I saw coming around the next lap with complete rear ends torn apart. I’m sure there will be a few people on the hill who liked it but that’s going to be quite a big job for a couple of teams.”

Greg Murphy (#11 Pepsi Max Commodore VE II – 2nd)

“I hadn’t comprehended that strategy and when I got called in I thought 'well, this crash is going to take a while to clean up and we are on a time limit’. So we rolled the dice a little bit but it paid off. When I went past the crash it was two cars involved and we got through no problems. But then it got a lot bigger, resulting in probably two more laps behind the Safety Car.

“That was the thing that turned the race. We finished the race on reserve on the fuel tank and managed to have a really good run. “Obviously we had two cars out of Kelly Racing's four Commodores pretty badly damaged, which is disappointing and means a lot of work for everybody getting ready for Hamilton. It's a real shame and I'm thinking of the boys on the crew.

“But the positive side is that it's taken us a little while to get on top of things, and I wouldn't say we are all the way there yet, but today has given us a really good confidence boost.”

Garth Tander (#2 Toll HRT Commodore VE II – 3rd)

“We came here to have a straight car and a lot of development which we achieved. It was a real shame though that Jason Richards went out in that race because it would have been good to have him here (at the press conference) with us.”

Todd Kelly (#7 Jack Daniel’s Commodore VE II – 5th)

“It was a hell of a race at the end there. The tyres fell off the back of my car and I did everything I could to keep those blokes behind me.

“It was on for young and old so where we ended up was the best job we could do. But overall for all four cars it has been a really good weekend for Kelly Racing as a whole.

“Murph was great today in the Pepsi Max car, the way that thing hooked up in that last race was really impressive so we’ve got some good data from him to look through to keep pressing on.

“It’s good to have good drivers in all our cars. If one has a bad day there is generally one, or two, or three others running really strong. It’s certainly shaping up to be a good year for all four of our cars.”

Michael Caruso (#34 Fujitsu Racing/GRM Commodore VE II – 6th)

From Twitter: “Not a bad way to finish up the weekend in 6th from 13th. Good work from my boys this weekend. Happy to go home with a straight car.”

Fabian Coulthard (#61 Bundaberg Commodore VE II – 8th)

From Twitter: “Good test weekend.. Finished 8th again. Learnt what worked & what didn’t, looking forward to heading home for NZ round across the ditch!”

Jason Bright (#8 Team BOC Commodore VE II – 10th)

"I went to go down the inside of Will Davison; he'd left enough room but as soon as we got on the brakes he shut the door. I was already committed so had to mash the brake pedal pretty hard to avoid a pile up. It destroyed my right-front tyre. There'll be a flat spot on it like never before.

“I considered pitting but it held in for a lap so I thought I would hold onto the pack in front but ended up more competitive than I thought. Having said that, it certainly wasn't as strong as what we've come to expect after Abu Dhabi and Adelaide.”

Mark Winterbottom (#5 Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon – 11th)

“Today was a better result and the car improved but we lost too much ground yesterday when a cross-threaded wheel nut at our pit stop dropped me down the order. Had it not been for that unfortunate incident it would have been a much better result overall. We now shift focus to New Zealand which is only a few weeks away so it will be good to get back to championship racing there.”

Will Davison (#6 Trading Post FPR Falcon FG – 13th)

“The team made a great call to switch me to the soft tyre early. They realised the safety car would be out for a while so we took full advantage and made up a lot of ground by the time the other teams caught up. I then had a great battle with a big pack of cars and we were a chance for a place on the event podium until we were hit coming into the second to last turn.

“While this isn’t a championship round, we still try our hardest, though some were going a little too hard out there today. Thankfully the Trading Post Falcon is OK and the team can fully concentrate on NZ.”

Paul Dumbrell (#55 Bottle-O Falcon FG – DNF)

“There isn’t much I can say about today. I made a good start, the car was back to where it should have been pace-wise and then I got hit from behind. That was game over. Thankfully the car isn’t too damaged so we will be ready and fully fit for Hamilton.”

Jason Richards (#14 Team BOC Commodore VE II – DNF)

“It would have been beautiful to stand on the podium, and I had a very real chance today, but the way the race unfolded with the safety car early on went against our strategy.

"I'm disappointed in a micro way. Spearing off at Turn One was not ideal but I got out of the weekend what I came here to get; I got more out of it. I got the energy that I wanted and my fan base is growing from all the supporters here this weekend. It's broken down all the barriers between Ford and Holden and I have to thank everyone for their support. It's been unreal.

"I've had a fantastic weekend; it's been amazing."

Rick Kelly (#15 Jack Daniel’s Commodore VE II – DNF)

“From my point of view I’m extremely disappointed. The Jack Daniel’s Commodore has been ace the last two weekends and the team deserves to be on the podium. An aggressive move by (Craig) Lowndes has ended with me in the fence and then obviously drivers ignoring yellow flags means that someone has collected us.

“At the end of the day everyone has got their point of view. I’m pissed off about getting run into the wall and I’m looking forward to the Steward’s hearing. They will look at all the evidence and make a decision and we will be part of that process.

“Both Murph and Todd deserved to be up the front and they showed that with their pace, but we needed to be up there with them.”

Steven Johnson #17 Jim Beam Falcon FG - DNF)

"What a weekend! It just went from bad to worse. The accident was a huge hit and could have been worse. My new car looked very second hand and the boys will have a lot of work to do before NZ. I just could not take a trick this weekend. Hopefully the bad luck is over here!"

Craig Lowndes (#888 TeamVodafone Commodore VE II – DNF)

“I got a really good start in that race and the car was very strong. I was definitely aiming for a top three finish. The contact with Rick Kelly caused both cars to hit the wall and the end result was some badly damaged cars.??

“I’m taking a positive out of an ordinary weekend – hopefully we have all our bad luck out of the way before Hamilton.”

David Reynolds (#16 Stratco Commodore VE II – DNF)

“I got the call on the radio to be careful on the exit of Turn 9 and 10. I could see up ahead what had happened. I rolled out of the throttle to avoid the accident then someone drilled me from behind and turned me hard left into the fence.

“I smashed the fence hard and then someone hit me as they were going past as well. I copped a few big hits so I'm a bit sore. The Stratco Commodore also looks very sore.”

-source: v8 supercars