AUS: Hidden Valley Saturday notes

'Davo' From Go To Whoa in Darwin

Current 2004 series leader Alex Davison (Greg Murphy Racing / Glenfords Tool Centre) won race one of the Australian Carrera Cup at Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin this afternoon.

It was another impressive performance from the 24-year-old Melbourne driver who got the jump at the start over pole sitter and defending series champion Jim Richards (Jim Richards Racing / OAMPS Insurance Brokers).

Davison edged ahead of the seven-time Bathurst champion by the first corner and was never headed throughout the 15-lap race in stifling Darwin heat.

Despite finishing second Richards claimed his first pole position for the season, clocking a best qualifying lap of 1:10.4029. This was slightly faster than his pole-setting time around the Hidden Valley circuit last year.

Richards also set the fastest lap in race one of 1:11.3030, but could not find a way past the form driver of the series in Davison who now has a record of 10 official Australian Carrera Cup starts for eight wins.

"The strategy simply was to get a good start which traditionally we have been, stay there and conserve our tyres as much as we could for the next two races," said Davison.

"Thankfully it all went to plan--we did get a good start and managed to get past Jim off the line."

Third place went to Fabian Coulthard (Greg Murphy Racing / Team Braun) for the sixth time this season in a controlled race that suggests the Melbourne-based Kiwi could press for higher honours in the 50 degree track temperature tomorrow.

One of the top performers so far throughout practice, qualifying and race one has been 20-year-old Sydney driver Jonathon Webb (Tekno Autosports).

After starting from fifth on the grid, Webb managed to claw up another place to finish fourth and showcase his potential in his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.

"We put in a few extra test miles at Queensland Raceway in the long gap between round two and round three," said Webb.

"V8 Supercar driver and experienced Porsche driver Craig Baird has also been helping with the set up, and it's all paying dividends. Let's hope we can go even better tomorrow."

International Motorsport New Zealand team mates Paul Pedersen and Kevin Bell finished fifth and sixth respectively. Lakesawn Lumber-backed Pedersen continued the good form he showed at Eastern Creek at the last round, while the G-Tech NZ-backed Bell was having his first Carrera Cup hit out for 2004.

Round three of the 2004 Australian Carrera Cup at Hidden Valley continues with race two and three tomorrow Sunday May 23. All races will be contested over 15 laps of the 2.9km anti-clockwise racing circuit.

The Carrera Cup is the most successful 'one make' championship in the world with the close-to-identical Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars built by Porsche' racing arm in Weissach, Germany. All cars have a top speed in excess of 300 kilometres per hour with a 400-horsepower, 6 cylinder Boxer engine which revs to 8000 RPM.

'Trackside' on Network Ten will telecast round three of the Carrera Cup on Sunday May 30 at 2pm (check local guides).

HIDDEN VALLEY STATS & INFO
Circuit -- 2.9km anti-clockwise
Race 2 -- 10.30am Sunday (15 laps)
Race 3 -- 1.40pm Sunday (15 laps)

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