Season Best For Wilson In New Zealand

WOW Racing driver Max Wilson has earned the best round result of the season for the WPS Racing team with 15th overall at the PlaceMakers V8 Supercars at Pukekohe Park Raceway in New Zealand today.

Wilson drove the #8 WOW Racing Falcon to two points scoring finishes today at Pukekohe, netting the Brazilian driver eight points towards his championship tally.

Wilson now sits 18th in the championship standings after three rounds. Wilson was 12th in Race Two and 14th in Race Three today to give him 15th overall for the round.

Wilson moved steadily forward over the course of Race Two, starting from 16th on the grid and taking advantage of strong car speed to gradually move up the order to finish 12th.

The final race of the weekend saw Wilson run in 12th in the early stages before losing two spots during the pit stop sequence. Wilson’s stop was actually very fast, but traffic on his out-lap allowed two cars to leap ahead of the #8 WOW Sight & Sound machine.

WPS Racing pilot Jason Bargwanna had an unlucky day in New Zealand. The former Bathurst winner was running in 22nd position with engine troubles in Race Two when he had a new bolt in the steering assembly break, sending Bargwanna into the wall exiting the final corner.

The damage to the car was sufficient to rule Bargwanna and the #10 WPS Racing Falcon out of the weekend. Bargwanna, while slightly stiff, was uninjured.

Rick Kelly won today’s round to maintain his championship lead in what is the final V8 Supercar round to be held at Pukekohe Park Raceway. Garth Tander was second for the round and Jamie Whincup third.

Round Four of the V8 Supercar Championship Series will be held at Winton Motor Raceway in rural Victoria on May 18-20.

WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY …

Max Wilson – #8 WOW Racing Falcon

“It was good to score some points and run in the front half of the field,” said Wilson.

“It’s a shame we started the first race so far back. If we had started the first race closer to the front we would have been right up there in all three races.

“I’m happy we are in the points again. That really has to be our aim in every race this year.

“The car is getting better and better and we are developing it into a stronger package. We should certainly be running in the top 15 regularly from now on.”

Jason Bargwanna – #10 WPS Racing Falcon

“Things really didn’t go our way this weekend,” said Bargwanna.

“In qualifying we missed out on our first flying lap when the red flag came out and then a coil came off under the bonnet on my second flying lap.

“That put us back, but yesterday we managed to climb up the order to set ourselves up a little better for today.

“On the second lap of Race Two the car dropped onto seven cylinders, but we still had enough to keep driving around and circulate to give us a decent grid position for the final race.

“Then we had the crash and there was considerable damage done to the car, meaning we did not start the final race.

“It’s never a good feeling to watch a race from the sidelines after a hit like that.

“My left shoulder and the left side of my neck are a little sore but it not too bad at all.

“We’ve got to turn it around because the pace is there with both our cars.

“We’ve had good results at Winton in the past so we’ll have the car back and running to get some good results down in Victoria.”

Craig Gore – Team Owner

“We are aiming at top 15 or better at this stage and Max did that today,” said Gore.

“We’re in the fastest 50 percent of the grid and we were definitely there today.

“We don’t have the car quite right yet. We are trying things and we will get on top of it all with time. We are getting quicker and everything is moving in the right direction.

“We definitely have the team structure better now and the guys are all doing an outstanding job in all aspects of the team.

“I feel sorry for Bargs. We had a new bolt give way at exactly the wrong moment. It was nobody’s fault, sometimes these things happen.

“A great job by all the guys this weekend. We need to continue this on with both our cars at Winton.”

2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series
Standings after Round 3 of 14
1. Rick Kelly 173
2. Garth Tander 160
3. Todd Kelly 132
=4. Jamie Whincup 104
=4. Mark Skaife 104
6. James Courtney 100
=7. Craig Lowndes 79
=7. Mark Winterbottom 79
=9. Steven Johnson 78
=9. Will Davison 78
11. Russell Ingall 75
12. Greg Murphy 57
13. Steve Richards 55
14. Lee Holdsworth 36
15. Paul Radisich 27
16. Jason Richards 25
17. Jason Bright 17
18. Max Wilson 12
=19. Cameron McConville 8
=19. Dean Canto 8
=21. Steve Owen 5
=21. John Bowe 5
=23. Paul Morris 4
=23. Shane Price 4
25. Jason Bargwanna 3
26. Fabian Coulthard 2

RESULTS: Round Points
1. Rick Kelly 58
2. Garth Tander 58
3. Jamie Whincup 48
4. Todd Kelly 47
5. James Courtney 39
6. Craig Lowndes 29
7. Mark Skaife 29
8. Will Davison 28
9. Russell Ingall 27
10. Mark Winterbottom 26
11. Paul Radisich 21
12. Steve Richards 18
13. Greg Murphy 15
14. Jason Richards 11
15. Max Wilson 8

RESULTS: Race Three
1. Rick Kelly 36 laps
2. Todd Kelly
3. James Courtney
4. Craig Lowndes
5. Jamie Whincup
6. Will Davison
7. Paul Radisich
8. Garth Tander
9. Mark Skaife
10. Russell Ingall
11. Mark Winterbottom
12. Steve Richards
13. Greg Murphy
14. Max Wilson
15. Cameron McConville
DNS. Jason Bargwanna

RESULTS: Race Two
1. Garth Tander 43 laps
2. Jamie Whincup
3. Rick Kelly
4. Todd Kelly
5. James Courtney
6. Mark Skaife
7. Craig Lowndes
8. Will Davison
9. Russell Ingall
10. Paul Radisich
11. Greg Murphy
12. Max Wilson
13. Lee Holdsworth
14. Cameron McConville
15. John Bowe
DNF. Jason Bargwanna 35 laps

2007 V8 Supercar Teams Championship
Standings after Round 3 of 14
1. Toll HSV Dealer Team 333
2. Holden Racing Team">Holden Racing Team 236
3. Team Vodafone 183
4. Stone Brothers Racing 175
5. Jim Beam Racing 156
6. Ford Performance Racing">Ford Performance Racing 134
7. Tasman Motorsport 82
8. Garry Rogers Motorsport 44
9. Team Kiwi Racing 27
10. Britek Motorsport 17
11. WPS Racing 15
12. Supercheap Auto Racing 8
13. Team Sirromet Wines 6
14. Autobarn Racing 5
15. Glenfords Racing 5
16. Jack Daniel’s Racing 4
17. Team BOC 0

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