Big haul of points with podium run for Laser Racing at Sandown
Laser Racing – Porsche Carrera Cup Australia
Rnd#6, Sandown Park Raceway, Melbourne (16-18 September, 2016)
Steven Richards endured a busy weekend at Sandown Raceway, the 2014 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia champion contesting both the sixth event of the one-make Porsche series, whilst also doing co-driver duty with fellow 2015 Bathurst 1000 winner Craig Lowndes, the Laser Racing driver emerging as one of the leading contenders in both categories.
Ultimately the #12 Laser Plumbing & Electrical Porsche emerged from the event with a podium finish, earning three top five finishes and a big haul of championship points, putting the experienced Victorian campaigner right in the box seat for an assault on the top three over the final two events of the year.
Practice saw Richards right in the Porsche mix with the rising young stars of the category. Third in session one to points leader Matt Campbell and Ashley Walsh, Richards emerged second fastest in the second session, his pace carrying over to V8 Supercars where he topped the timesheets in the co-drivers only session that afternoon.
That pace saw Richards emerge as one of the drivers to beat in qualifying, but sadly, despite sitting at the top of the timesheets early in the Laser Racing Porsche, a slight off on the wide Sandown kerbs mid-session saw Richards forced to return to the pits to repair minor damage to the front aero, at the same time forcing him to watch his rivals leap-frog his benchmark time.
“It was looking good there for a while, but I didn’t manage to get the advantage I was looking for from my second set of tyres,” Richards lamented. “With the two long straights at Sandown, there’s limited opportunities to get away from the pack, the trick is using the kerbs to get a good time, but there’s often a price to pay, and I paid it. Ultimately the top teams went quicker on their second set of tyres, so I could have expected the same, but despite the setback, we still qualified third and in a position to attack.”
And attack he did, Richards right in the battle for the lead of the opening race before contact at turn three dropped him back down the order, but he quickly regrouped to cross the line fifth, hot on the heels of the battle for second.
“It was disappointing to be pushed wide early, but that’s the price you pay at Sandown, it’s very tight through the opening few corners. From there we had great pace, as quick as the leaders, but sadly, with no room to get past.”
For Saturday afternoon’s second race, Richards was again in the battle for the lead throughout the race, grabbing a position early from David Wall to be fourth at the flag, but again unable to move forward in the tight battle pack.
“We had a good look at the data after both races, and decided to make some changes ahead of race three on Sunday, hoping that the weather wouldn’t change too dramatically, and it paid off, I made second by turn one and spent the whole race pressuring race leader Alex Davison for the top spot.
“Sadly a late race Safety Car intervention saw the race declared early which prevented any chance of the win and we crossed the line second, but that put us third overall for the round which gave us a good haul of points heading to Bathurst in three weeks.
“Overall it was a great weekend in what were often challenging conditions, and to make things even better, James Bergmuller – who runs a customer car with Steven Richards Motorsport – won the TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge for the round, so that really finished the event off for us perfectly, with two straight cars going back into the transporter.”
The penultimate round of the 2016 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia season will see Richards return to the scene of his 2015 Bathurst 1000 victory on 6-9 October ahead of the final round of the season on the streets of the Gold Coast two weeks later.
To keep up with Steven Richards Motorsport and the 2016 Porsche Carrera Cup
Australia Championship visit www.laserracing.com.au and www.facebook.com/LaserRacing or www.facebook.com/steve.richards.motorsport for updates as they emerge.
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2016 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship
Rnd#6 – Sandown Park Raceway, Melbourne (16 – 18 September, 2016)
Qualifying (25-minutes) – 16 September
1. 7. Matt Campbell (Porsche 991 GT3 Cup) – 1:09.6782R
2. 77. Nick McBride (Porsche 991 GT3 Cup) – 1:10.3250
3. 12. Steven Richards (Laser Racing Porsche 991 GT3 Cup) – 1:10.4751
4. 26. Michael Almond (Porsche 991 GT3 Cup) – 1:10.4827
5. 38. David Wall (Porsche 991 GT3 Cup) – 1:10.5424
Race#1 (16-laps) – 17 September
1. 7. Matt Campbell (Porsche 991 GT3 Cup)
2. 77. Nick McBride (Porsche 991 GT3 Cup)
3. 38. David Wall (Porsche 991 GT3 Cup)
4. 25. Alex Davison (Porsche 991 GT3 Cup)
5. 12. Steven Richards (Laser Racing Porsche 991 GT3 Cup)
Race#2 (13-laps) – 17 September
1. 7. Matt Campbell (Porsche 991 GT3 Cup)
2. 25. Alex Davison (Porsche 991 GT3 Cup)
3. 77. Nick McBride (Porsche 991 GT3 Cup)
4. 12. Steven Richards (Laser Racing Porsche 991 GT3 Cup)
5. 38. David Wall (Porsche 991 GT3 Cup)
Race#3 (18-laps) – 18 September
1. 25. Alex Davison (Porsche 991 GT3 Cup)
2. 12. Steven Richards (Laser Racing Porsche 991 GT3 Cup)
3. 38. David Wall (Porsche 991 GT3 Cup)
4. 8. Dean Fiore (Porsche 991 GT3 Cup)
5. 77. Nick McBride (Porsche 991 GT3 Cup)
2016 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia (points after six rounds of eight)
1. Matt Campbell (856.5-points), 2. Alex Davison (819), 3. Nick McBride (801), 4. David Wall (747), 5. Steven Richards (622.5), 6. Dean Fiore (501), 7. Ashley Walsh (482), 8. Michael Almond (426.5), 9. Duvashen Padayachee (367.5), 10. Fraser Ross (346.5)
2016 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship
Rnd#1 – 3-6 March, Clipsal 500, Adelaide, South Australia*
Rnd#2 – 17-20 March, Australian Grand Prix, Albert Park, Victoria
Rnd#3 – 29 April-1 May, Porsche Rennsport, Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW
Rnd#4 – 17-19 June, Hidden Valley, Darwin, NT*
Rnd#5 – 26-28 August, Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW*
Rnd#6 – 16-18 September, Sandown 500, Melbourne, Victoria*
Rnd#7 – 6-9 October, Bathurst 1000, NSW*
Rnd#8 – 21-23 October, Gold Coast, Queensland [FINAL]
* with V8 Supercars
Steven Richards Motorsport is proudly supported by Laser Plumbing & Electrical, BP Ultimate Diesel, Price Pressure, Shannons Insurance, DAF Trucks, Snap On Tools and Mosley Mining.
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