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Konica: Winton round three preview

Konica Minolta V8 Supercar Series Battle Continues At Winton Motor Raceway Round three of the 2004 Konica Minolta V8 Supercar Series at Winton Motor Raceway this weekend marks the half way point for the series and a round that a number of Konica ...

Published: Apr 15, 2004, 4:52 AM

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Konica Minolta V8 Supercar Series Battle Continues At Winton Motor Raceway

Round three of the 2004 Konica Minolta V8 Supercar Series at Winton Motor Raceway this weekend marks the half way point for the series and a round that a number of Konica Minolta competitors will be looking to win in order to be a contender for the 2004 championship title.

The first round of the series was won by Smiths Truck's youngster Alan Gurr who looked like he was going to be a force to be reckoned with this year until a major crash at the second round of the series at the Clipsal 500 early last month put a dampener on any chances of the number 70 Commodore to take two round wins in a row.

Dick Johnson Racing backed Team Fujitsu went on to win the second round in Adelaide with Owen Kelly dominating the two races over the event weekend and pushing his way up the points table after a disappointing first round at Wakefield Park left Kelly with only 78 points out of a possible 192.

Kelly's team-mate and driver of the second Team Fujitsu Ford Falcon in this year's series Jose Fernazndez is also sitting in a competitive position going into the weekend. In what was to be his development year with the level one backed team Fernandez has impressed, currently sitting fifth on the championship point's table one position ahead of Kelly and looking to maintain his spot after the Winton round this weekend.

The odds of a new round winner has also increased with Round One winner Gurr having had to withdraw from the third round of the series due to the ex Paul Morris Motorsports Commodore that Gurr is campaigning this year, not being ready in time from the crash in Adelaide to compete at Winton.

The withdrawal has improved the chances of current Konica Minolta V8 Supercar Series leader Matthew White to take out his first round of the year after consistent performances of a third and a second in the first two rounds have placed him at the top of the points table going into the third round of the championship.

White has been using Winton Motor Raceway as his test track for this season and since competing in Adelaide at the second round of the championship has completed a two-day test session at the track, making some changes to the suspension and improvements to the brakes on his Gulf Western Oil/Jayco sponsored Ford Falcon. The combination helping propel White to his fastest ever lap around the Winton circuit, further adding to his confidence going into the weekend.

Another driver who will be looking for an impressive performance is Team BOC's Andrew Jones. The local Albury driver will be looking to repeat his performance at the same round last year when he won it convincingly ahead of White and eventual 2003 champion Mark Winterbottom.

Despite having a disappointing first two rounds, Jones is confident that a win this weekend will put him in a good position to take out the 2004 championship.

"Although I'm sitting in 12th position in the standings at the moment, it's still well and truly feasible for me to win the championship from where I am. I'm only 128 points behind the leader and there's 192 points for a round win, so with a good result this weekend, we can really close the gap," said Jones.

Make sure you Experience all of the Excitement of the Konica Minolta V8 Supercar Series at Winton Motor Raceway Benalla this weekend, located approximately one hour south of Albury/Wodonga.

<pre> Konica Minolta V8 Supercar Series Program

Saturday 17th April 10.00am - 10.35am Konica Minolta V8 Supercars Practice One 12.00pm - 12.35pm Konica Minolta V8 Supercars Practice Two 2.15pm - 2.35pm Konica Minolta V8 Supercars Qualifying (Lower 50%) 2.40pm - 3.00pm Konica Minolta V8 Supercars Qualifying (Upper 50%) After Qualifying Konica Minolta V8 Supercars Media Conference

Sunday 18th April 9.30am - 9.50am Konica Minolta V8 Supercars Warm Up 11.25am Konica Minolta V8 Supercars Race One - 14 Laps 1.20pm Konica Minolta V8 Supercars Race Two - 14 Laps (Full Reverse Grid) 3.10pm Konica Minolta V8 Supercars Race Three - 24 Laps Race End Konica Minolta V8 Supercars Podium Presentation After Podium Konica Minolta V8 Supercars Media Conference

Konica Minolta V8 Supercar Series Championship Points - Top Ten

1.  #28      Matthew White         Gulf Western Oil/Jayco      343pts
2.  #30      Luke Youlden          Super Cheap Auto Racing     331pts
3.  #111     Mark Porter           TKR/Hydraulink Racing       303pts
4.  #27      Cameron McLean        Howard Racing               299pts
5.  #81      Jose Fernandez        Team Fujitsu                293pts
6.  #71      Owen Kelly            Team Fujitsu                270pts
7.  #46      Michael Caruso        Holden Young Lions          256pts
8.  #89      Adam Wallis           Rupprecht Motorsport        253pts
9.  #98      Grant Elliot          Sydney Star Racing          218pts
10. #66      Gary MacDonald        Rod Lynch Motorsport        218pts

-avesco-

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