Dick Johnson Racing Head Out For Practice On A Chilly Phillip Island Circuit
The predictably cold weather at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit did not disappoint this morning, with the Queensland based Dick Johnson Racing heading onto the track for four practice sessions.
First in the DJR Falcons this morning were Alex Davison and Paul Morris, who took part in the co-driver only session, Practice 0.
This was the second time Davison has jumped in the Team Norton DJR Falcon in the last two weeks, having completed a few laps with the team at the recent corporate rides day at Barbagallo. The short 30 minute session saw Davison march up the order and finish in 10th.Paul Morris and the V.I.P. Petfoods Falcon rolled out on old tyres and used the session to shake down the car and run in new brakes, ending the session in 24th.
The second session of the day, Practice 1, for Rookies, Lower 50% and/or Co-Drivers, saw Dean Fiore, James Moffat and Steve Owen take their first look at the circuit for the 2012 Championship season.
Fiore and Moffat finished the session mid-field in 15th and 16th respectively. With Steve Owen taking part in his first extra practice session this year, the team used the opportunity to work through various set up changes. He finished the session in 22nd.
Practice 2 for all the main drivers was red flagged after only a few minutes due to a Taz Douglas incident. The Dick Johnson Racing crew only managed a few flying laps at the restart with 3 minutes to go. Owen recovered his form from the previous session, leading the team home in 12th, followed by Fiore in 13th, Johnson in 24th and Moffat in 26th. After a short break, the team were back out for the final practice. The two Jim Beam Falcons pushed up and both recorded top 10 finishes. In his last flying lap, the Jim Beam Honey car collected Johnson's, and the team's, quickest lap of the day - finishing in 7th position. The Jim Beam Devil's Cut Falcon was also fast in this session, finishing in 9th, Fiore's best lap of the day. These times were also recorded using old tyres, as is usual for DJR during Friday practice. Both Steve Owen and James Moffat continued to work though some set up changes, finishing in 19th and 26th.
The team will head out for another practice session tomorrow morning before Qualifying for Race 10 of the International V8 Supercars at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit at 1325. If you would like to follow what is happening with the four Dick Johnson Racing Falcons live on the track, head to https://www.facebook.com/DJRLiveRacingFeed or https://twitter.com/DJRLiveRaceFeed
Homebush heartache
Monday 5 December
Dean Fiore and Triple F Racing endured a tough weekend at the office on the streets of Homebush on the weekend, in the team's last event prior to Dean moving to Jim Beam Racing in the 2012 season.
The #12 WesTrac Falcon showed promising speed in Friday's practice with the team trying a completely different setup in the four official practice sessions.
Dean started Saturday's 76 lap race in 20th position, and with a solid race car underneath him was showing extremely good race pace. This saw Dean running inside the top 10 for the majority of the race, where he was tucked up behind Craig Lowndes who went on to win the race. In the end, the race came down to a fuel management game and Dean dropped back to 11th in order to conserve fuel. Despite his and the team's best efforts, the #12 Falcon came to a heartbreaking stop 2 corners from the chequerd flag depriving the team of their best ever result.
Sunday's 20 minute qualifying session was peppered with red flag periods, one of which included Dean after he flew over the tyre bundle at the Turn 7 chicane. Despite the extensive air time that he received from the incident (including Sunday night's national news and Channel 7 Sunrise this morning), the car had a considerable amount of damage. The team did an exceptional job in getting the car turned around in the brief 3 hour timeframe between qualifying and the race, however due to the damage the car sustained from the incident the differential let go with 17 laps to go in the 250km race.
"I am disappointed we didn't go down this road with the setup earlier in the year as it was proving to give us a decent yield from the changes that we made.
"It was the best chance we had so far this year of finishing inside the Top 10 in both the races at Homebush, so I am disappointed that we didn't cotton onto this setup earlier in the year.
"I am so grateful for all of the support from WesTrac, Sitech, BMC and all my other partners throughout the 2010 & 2011 seasons.
"I also want to thank the boys at Triple F Racing who have worked tirelessly alongside of me for the past two years.
"And to the Perth based squad of my dad Frank, my brother's Todd and Paul and my marketing guru Hollie, I am eternally grateful for all their help and support."
Dean Fiore returns to the V8 Supercar Championship in the 2012 season under the Dick Johnson/ Jim Beam Racing banner which kicks off at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide from 1-4 March 2012.
