Ford Performance Racing Phillip Island preview

FPR completes first major test leading to home V8 Supercar round.

April 7, 2003 - Ford Performance Racing (FPR) plans to make the most from valuable test data gained at the team's home circuit, Victoria's Phillip Island, ahead of this weekend's second round of the 2003 Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series.

Craig Lowndes, Glenn Seton and David Besnard completed a full day's testing at the fast seaside circuit last Thurdsay, further developing the high speed balance of two of the team's FPR Falcons.

The team placed particular emphasis on the promising performance of Craig Lowndes' CAT FPR BA Falcon, which has proven to be a top ten package very early in the season.

Significant time during the comprehensive test day was also devoted to improving the performance of David Besnard's FPV Falcon. Besnard and his Ford Credit Falcon team mate Glenn Seton will continue to compete with AU Falcons during the early stages of the season.

The 4.4 kilometre Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit features an undulating layout that rewards highly courageous driving. As a consequence of this, it has all too often been the scene of many major spectacular V8 Supercar accidents through the years, along with many exciting race battles.

The V8 Supercar race format at Phillip Island changes this year, with the 35 car field competing in a tough 300 kilometre race on Sunday with a minimum of two compulsory pit stops. It will be hard work behind the wheel and in the pits, but according to the FPR drivers and crew, this is one of the best rounds of the year.

#6 Craig Lowndes - "I love this circuit, the 300km race will be very challenging and we will need to develop a great strategy combined with quick pitstops. We had our first proper full test day last week with the BA Falcon and this adds confidence towards a strong performance at Phillip Island."

#5 Glenn Seton - "This is my second favourite circuit, I have done a lot of racing and testing miles at Phillip Island in the past and I am looking forward to our cars finishing on the podium. This is the first 300km V8 Supercar race at Phillip Island and it will be very demanding on tyres and drivers."

#19 David Besnard - "Now that we have a round of the Championship completed, along with an encouraging test day, we know what we have to do to improve the FPV Falcon. The team has worked solidly on making changes for the long race this weekend and we'll know once we mix it with the rest of the field how much we have improved. I'm looking forward to it."

John Russell, Chief Engineer - "We completed over 900 km of testing last week and worked through a number of changes that evolved following our data gained at the Adelaide races. We look forward to seeing how these modifications translate to our performance in this Sunday's race."

Memorable sections of the Phillip Island circuit from each of the FPR drivers:

Glenn Seton - Turn 12 - "This is one of the most exciting corners on the circuit but it has bit me in the past, on Septemer 20, 2000 I left the road there at 198kph and hit the outside bank. This put me out of action for two months."

Craig Lowndes - Turn 8 / 9 - "Before the circuit was resurfaced it was very bumpy through there, John Bowe and myself crashed on the first lap in 1996, one of the biggest crashes I've had, I consider myself lucky to have walked away from it."

David Besnard - Turn 9 - "Lukey Heights is one of the most challenging corners in Australia, the car gets light there and if you fall off the road there is no where to go but into the fence."

-fpr-