Team Betta Electrical tour South Australia

TEAM BETTA ELECTRICAL EMBARK ON A WHIRLWIND TOUR OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Team Betta Electrical drivers Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup have embarked on a whirlwind tour of duty in South Australia in the lead up to the V8 Supercar season opener, the Clipsal 500 Adelaide, March 23-26.

Lowndes and Whincup, who were the first of the thirty-two V8 Supercar drivers to converge on South Australia, arrived in Adelaide on Saturday 18th March for a series of fundraising appearances, school visits and a special visit to the Moonta Hospital before heading to Whyalla Betta Electrical to meet fans on Tuesday March 21 and Domino's Plympton store to meet fans on Wednesday March 22.

With sponsor commitments concluding on Wednesday it will then be down to business for the drivers, who for the first time will be under the watchful eye of all four Triple Eight Race Engineering partners.

Leaving no stone unturned in the team's preparation for the Clipsal 500 UK operatives Derek Warwick (former F1 driver) and Ian Harrison (former Williams F1 Team Manager) will join Team Principal Roland Dane and Peter Butterly for the opening round of the season.

Lowndes who finished runner-up in the 2005 V8 Supercar Championship Series is confident of good result at the Clipsal 500 and said the team's early arrival allowed them to concentrate on racing in the later half of the week.

"We are all very excited first race has come around," Lowndes said. "We are coming off a very successful test day and will be looking to start 2006 the way we finished 2005.

"This is without a doubt one of the toughest races both on and off the track and traditionally it has one of the busiest promotional schedules as we only visit Adelaide once a year.

"We have come down early to ensure that our off track commitments are as successful as we hope to be on the track.

"There will certainly be no shortage of support for myself and Jamie with all four principals attending the Clipsal 500 this weekend," Lowndes added.

Team Betta Electrical's new kid on the block Jamie Whincup is also looking to cement a solid result when he makes his much anticipated debut with the front running Ford team

"I am really looking forward to finally getting down to business and getting my first race with Triple Eight under my belt," Whincup said.

"We had very successful test day where we ran through a lot of procedures we will use on race weekends and I felt really comfortable in the car.

"We have had a great off season to prepare for our assault on the championship in 2006 and I am sure that this will show next weekend," Whincup added.

Team Betta Electrical will first take to the track on Friday for practice, qualifying and the Top Ten Shootout.

-tbe-