Erebus Motorsport will take the experiences from a challenging day at Barbagallo Raceway to deliver stronger results in two weeks time.
David Reynolds started the day as the highest qualifier, with the #9 driver set to start Race 8 in tenth. The result would have meant Reynolds fourth top ten start this year, however, an unintentional incident with team-mate
Dale Wood saw him cop a five-place grid penalty for the 83-lapper.
Wood encountered traffic on all three of his fastest laps and started from P24, but the quicker of the two, jumped into 20th in the early laps of Race 8
Smooth, consistent laps by Reynolds also saw him make a few moves before he was instructed to find clear air. Stuck in a train, he made his first pit stop as early as lap 17.
Set for a long 32-lap stint on those tyres, the #9 Holden reached as high as 7th before pitting again on lap 51.
Unlike his teammate, Wood stopped on laps 23 and 54 and spent majority of his race managing the tyres on the #99 Commodore. He later crossed the line in 21st.
Severe tyre degradation towards the end of the race also resulted in Reynolds finishing 16th.
The team now head back to the East coast ahead of the Winton SuperSprint, May 19 – 21.
David Reynolds – #9 Erebus Penrite Racing
“It wasn’t the best day for our whole team, it all started when I was on my first set of tyres in qualifying. I was weaving and ruined Dale’s first tyre run. I didn’t know he was on a hot lap and got in his way and copped a five-spot penalty after qualifying tenth.
“In hindsight, we probably should have done the alternate strategy and done three stops. We went two stops and wasn’t able to gain any ground. I don’t think the car was as good as it was in the race yesterday, I think the track may have changed a bit overnight. Al and I will have a look at it and learn from what went wrong.
“We tried to pit early and undercut everyone which worked for a bit but I lost the spots at the end when my tyres wore off. I reckon if we went the alternate strategy we could have ended further up but you just never know.”
Dale Wood – #99 Erebus GB Galvanizing Racing
“It was a qualifying to forget but plenty learnt in the race today. We had quite a good car in the early stages of the race and were able to get through a heap of cars and stay in the mid-pack for a while but it didn’t seem to eventuate after everyone took their final stops.
“Unfortunately, when the tyres wore off we couldn’t continue that sort of form and fell back in the pack. It was an interesting race strategy wise but I’m not sure we got it quite right today. There’s always plenty to learn so we’ll put our heads together and come up with something better for the next one. Winton is our home track so I’m certainly looking forward to that one.”