CAT Racing Calder Park race notes

Cat Racing's John Bowe fought back from engine problems in the opening race at Calder Park to finish the day with a great dog-fight with fellow Ford star Craig Lowndes.

Bowe's opening race only lasted one lap before he was forced to retire with an engine failure.

"Losing the engine was pretty disappointing because the engine was brand new," Bowe said.

"We think it actually dropped a valve, but it must of had some kind of component failure because it had all new parts.

"To make matters worse, I also copped a fine for speeding in the pit lane - the limiter doesn't work if the engine isn't actually running!"

Bowe moved from 31st on the grid to finish 18th in the second race and made further ground in the final event to finish 13th.

"We made a bit of improvement in the second race but the car still wasn't putting its power down very well at all," Bowe said.

"We made some dramatic changes for the last race in the rear of the car that really made a difference."

The final 21-lap sprint event included a tough battle with fellow Ford driver Craig Lowndes

"I had a great fight with Craig in the last race and it was really a lot of fun," Bowe said.

"We ended up swapping a lot of paint, but I managed to get through.

"But having to come from so far back in the field, our chances of a strong finish were pretty slim.

"The positive side was the fact the car was fast at the end of the day."

Bowe and the Briggs Motorsport squad will now focus on the next round of the championship at Oran Park in Sydney in two weeks time.

"We have to keep working hard to try to make the car fast from the start of the weekend - not just the end," Bowe said.

"The entire team was really motivated to do well this weekend because it is a home race for Caterpillar, but things didn't go our way."

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RACE ONE - 21 laps 1. - Johnson (Ford) - 20:11.639 2. - Morris (Holden) - 20:15.415 3. - Ambrose (Ford) - 20:16.899 4. - Ingall (Holden) - 20:17.010 5. - Radisich (Ford) - 20:17.674 DNF BOWE (CAT FORD) - 1 lap

RACE TWO - 21 laps 1. - Morris (Holden) - 20:19.365 2. - Ingall (Holden) - 20:19.708 3. - Bright (Holden) - 20:20.429 4. - Radisich (Ford) - 20:20.721 5. - Ambrose (Ford) - 20:23.776 18th BOWE (CAT FORD) - 20:39.905

RACE THREE - 21 laps 1. - Morris (Holden) - 24:45.458 2. - Radisich (Ford) - 24:45.605 3. - Ingall (Holden) - 24:45.833 4. - Johnson (Ford) - 24:46/089 5. - Bright (Holden) - 24:46.347 13th BOWE (CAT FORD) - 24:54.242

-Paul Ryan