A scorcher in Adelaide

David Reynolds and Dale Wood showed strong pace at the Clipsal 500 today, despite their race being overshadowed by late dramas.

When the lights went out at the start, Reynolds got away quickly and swiftly made up two spots off the start line. Further back, Wood was also quick, jumping to 18^th after just a few laps.

As the first round of pit stops began, both drivers flew up the order. Behind the top three, Reynolds held fourth ahead of Wood in ninth.

On lap 18 Reynolds pitted, and moments later the first and only Safety Car was deployed. Wood responded, following his teammate into the lane and stopping for soft tyres and fuel.

Racing resumed and Reynolds attacked Holdsworth and Tander for 11^th, while Lowndes in front resisted. Getting the job done, the #9 driver kept moving through the field to fifth before taking his second stop.

As teams continued to shuffle through their second round of stops, Wood rose to as high as fourth before he would take his, later re-joining in 18^th spot.

Not long after, the team’s newest member was forced to retire from the race, after gear box issues brought him into the garage.

Reynolds was working his way through a two-stop race until he served a pit lane penalty for overuse of the kerbs at turn two; ultimately returning to 18^th.

David Reynolds – #9 Erebus Penrite Racing

“It was all going really well; I got a good start and had reasonable pace in the race, but fell untoward in the later parts of the stint with a bit of car balance and it became a little edgy to drive.

“We had a massive drama with getting a drive-through penalty from too many kerb hops, which was very disappointing, especially after being told drivers would no longer receive the penalty unless it was something horrible because it ruins your day, and it ruined our day today.”

Dale Wood – #99 Erebus GB Galvanizing Racing

“I thought the race was going OK, we picked up a few early on in the race and as the race went on, was able to pluck a few more spots. The pit stops were quite good and I think we were about a 15^th or 16^th car, I don’t know that we were a top ten car, but it’s not a bad start.

“If we could have come in and finished there I would have thought that was a good start and would have been able to bank a good amount of points; I certainly didn’t want to DNF with a gear box mount failing.

“It’s disappointing but we’re able to take positives from the day – I did more laps in the car and it came home straight so we’ll be alright for tomorrow.”