Disastrous Race One for Hi-Tech's #12 Ute
Race one of the final round of the V8 Utes Racing Series was cut short in dramatic fashion today when Hi-Tech's #12 Ute guest driver from Japan miss-judged a turn on lap 1 and made heavy contact with a tyre bundle.
The Hi-Tech team was very impressed with Ryo Orime during practice and qualifying, where he snagged 9th position on the starting grid for the opening race.
However the incident will now see Orime watching from the side lines for the remainder of the round.
"The damage is too significant to repair before the next race. There is major structural damage of the chassis rails, and everything from the wheel into the CV shaft on the left rear was ripped from the car," said Hi-Tech's Patrick Lees
"The calliper was sheared in half," he added
The Japanese Super GT regular was obviously disappointed with the outcome of the race but suffered no serious injuries.
The remainder of the Hi-Tech team had an exceptional start to the race. Jack Elsegood in the #1Coopers Clear Falcon kept his position in 2nd, while series leader Grant Johnson made his way to 4th in the #47 Falcon with Rookie Rhys McNally not far behind in 5th.
"Grant and I got a good start so we just had to play it smart coming into turn one," said Rhys.
"Car felt great after yesterday's bingle. It's a tribute to the Hi-tech team who put in a big effort last night"
Greg Willis in the #44 Grove Juice Falcon also made a top run from the start line, finishing 3 places up from his qualifying position into 21st.
The team will now wait for heavy scrutineering to be completed before preparing the Ute's for tomorrow's reverse grid at 9:05 and Race 3 at 11:40
-source: hi-tech
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