QLD 500...can ford win this one

[gomick]

i wont be able to watch it until monday night (foxtel), going to australian superbikes at the island....go the "go show"

[marcus]

have fun at the Island Gomick.

but the question is can ford win ???

who knows but if they dont I will put my money on a Holden to win

predictions people..
HRT will do well as will the shell team i think..and Russell and larry will be a force..but I will stick my neck out and say Seton and Crompton may just possibly win !

[gomick]

besnard / longhurst quickest after first days practice. cleland / forbes around 18th....

[redback]

I had a copy of Auto Action at work a while ago. It had a story about David Besnard signing with Stone Bros. When my workmates asked "who's he" I said he is the "chosen one" and he will beat Lowndes. To finish second at Bathurst in a Formula Ford with a broken leg takes more than guts. I was stoked to see he qualified 3rd fastest. I hope he and Tony have a good day tomorrow.

I like your predictions Marcus, if Ford don't win then Holden will. Very funny.

Looks like you may be on the mark with Ingall (Q2), I don't think Tander (Q1) has had much luck with long distance races, I can't remember for sure though, has he?

I wish I was at the superbikes. I'm jealous.

[gomick]

superbikes were good today, bar the weather...met anthony gobert, top bloke....alex gobert, what a madman, red hair!
as for the v8's, david besnard, what a champ, really do hope that he wins qld500, although i am not a big fan of longhurst...pity besnard didnt have the finances for toyota atlantics when you see how well dan wheldon is going.

[marcus]

Besnard has surprised me a bit ..i knew he was a good driver and very quick but he has adapted to V8's so quickly and I didnt think he would be right up the front this quick ..but full credit to him and I bet Tony is a bit annoyed at this young guy who seems to be miles quicker than him..now lets see how he goes in a pack today.
i think Larkham and Geoff brabham will do well today too..only time will tell..2 hours to go and I carnt wait

[gomick]

i'll miss the first 30 minutes, got cricket training sunday morning, damn....love the shell chicks

[gomick]

no they cant, lowndes/skaife win...holdens 1,2,3 & 4.

[redback]

Looks like the Fords can't win a trick. I was tinkering around with racecars today with the tv on in the background so I didn't see what happened with the Longhurst/Besnard driver change. Does anyone know what happened?

Full credit to HRT they drove a smart race but were lucky to be able to pit under yellows. This sort of thing makes Indy cars great to watch too. I was sorry for Todd Kelly too he is also a very underated openwheeler racer.

[fogz]

How much more prestigious and exciting would this event been if todays field were competing in the SANDOWN 500!
What do you think?
and no I am not a Victorian!

[marcus]

I agree fogz..i was born in melbourne but now live in NSW ..but if it was Sandown things would or should i say could have been much better..QLD doesnt seem like a great place to me bt i am oing there in a few weeks so i guess i will have to wait uil then to make any real judgements

[Crash Test]

I'm absolutely rapt that i went to Oran Park instead of QR!! What a weekend....very long story to follow...

Besnard- Hmmm, he hasn't proven himself to me yet...of course he is going to sweep the Lites, look at the competition....with reference to Lakeside, why he didn't win by several laps, is totally beyond me. Wakefield's engine is the engine that Terry Finigan used at Bathurst last year, and from what i gather, it was his spare engine as his number one was blown up in practice. I think you'll all have to agree that that engine would be no where near the quality of an SBR engine (albeit if it is an old donk, it would still have 5 years of development done to it).

Also WRT his driving. At Lakeside Wakefield and Besnard were carving each other up, fantastic stuff. But when Wayne pulled his last big move on David in the kink it scared the **** out of him. From that lap on he would brake a good 100m before the kink, and backed right out of the throttle. NOBODY else in the field was lifting, let alone braking. I've told this to drivers, and they have said that they would do the same if they were in that situation. My response to that is that Wakefield gave as good as he got, and he didn't back off. Also the fact that the only way Besnard could get by Canto and Wakefield was be rubbing panels...well....ummm, it will catch up with you in time.

He has done well at Mallala and QR, woopty doo...they aren't exactly difficult tracks. Have a look at the time sheets of local events at least at QR, and the quick drivers there have quick engines, and aren't necesarily on the pace at Lakeside.

I say throw the Mountain at him, if he is good he will kill it, and I will have to eat my words. As a Ford fan, I'd love to eat my words on this one...