Townsville: Hi-Tec Oils Racing weekend summary

MCNALLY SURVIVES V8 DEBUT WITH 21ST PLACE

Hi-Tec Oils Racing driver Mark McNally has successfully completed his debut V8 Supercar event with another solid finish in the Dunlop Townsville 400 in far north Queensland yesterday.

McNally finished in 21st place in the #16 Hi-Tec Oils Holden Commodore on a weekend where the West Australian concentrated on learning as much as possible and keeping out of trouble.

Still recovering from a stomach bug, McNally was able to drive a sensible race and survive the rigours of a second 200-kilometre race for the weekend.

McNally will be in more familiar surroundings at the Norton 360 Sandown Challenge in Melbourne on July 31 to August 2, with previous Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series and Formula Ford experience at the circuit.

James Courtney won the second race at the Dunlop Townsville 400 ahead of Jamie Whincup and Garth Tander.

WHAT MARK HAD TO SAY ...

Mark McNally - #16 Hi-Tec Oils Holden Commodore:

On the race ...

"The approach was always to stay out of trouble," said McNally.

"We set some goals and made it pretty clear that it's a big ask to jump in with a new circuit, new car and new team to learn.

"It's such a huge step up to the main series, I thought it was best to finish both races and learn as much as I could along the way, bringing the Hi-Tec Oils Commodore home in one piece.

"I'm not really happy with my pace but given I've been so sick over the last two days the preparation hasn't been ideal. I think all I've eaten this weekend is a few Vegemite sandwiches.

"I was down on energy and today's race was really tough but I've got the first event under our belt now and I'm pretty happy that I can take what I've learned here to a track that I already know in Sandown and hopefully be a lot more competitive."

On making his V8 Supercar debut ...

"I had prepared myself for the worst in terms of the ability of the drivers and the tough nature of the racing in the main series," said McNally.

"The heat of the races, the length of the races and everything like that is new. It was pretty much as expected and I've come through this weekend despite how sick I was. I was happy to work so well with the Hi-Tec Oils Racing crew and I'm looking forward to putting in the hard yards to move forward."

-credit: h-tor