Melbourne Performance Centre Press Release
MPC make surprise driver announcement ahead of NZ
Melbourne Performance Centre Audi R8 LMS ultra
Rnd#6 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli
Highlands Motorsport Park, NZ (November 8-10)
Melbourne Performance Centre Audi R8 LMS ultra
Rnd#6 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli
Highlands Motorsport Park, NZ (November 8-10)
The Melbourne Performance Centre [MPC] team has made a surprise eleventh
hour addition to their driver lineup for the double-header Australian
GT/Highlands 101 event in New Zealand next weekend, revealing that 2014
Bathurst 12-Hour recruit Jason Bright will join them for the Highlands 101
enduro for some valuable miles in the Skwirk.com.au Audi R8.
“It was very much a last minute deal put together by MPC, but important
ahead of next year’s 12-Hour,” car owner Rod Salmon confirmed.
“It’s ideal for me,” Bright agreed. “It’s valuable laps in the car ahead
of next year’s 12-Hour, so it’s important to do it.
“Unfortunately by not doing the AGT race [Salmon and team-mate Liam
Talbot are already scheduled to share the car in the two 40-minute AGT races],
I won’t get any laps till qualifying on Sunday ahead of the race, but it won’t
be the car I’ll need to worry about, it will be learning the circuit.
“I’ve seen footage of the track, and it looks fantastic - very busy.
There’s nothing like throwing yourself in the deep end, but I’m sure by the end
of the race I’ll be comfortable in the car and that will be important ahead of
the 12-Hour.”
“It was too good an opportunity to pass up,” Salmon admitted.
“We’re committed to the 12-Hour campaign, and have a great driver
lineup, so this will only further our progression by having Jason up to speed
in advance.”
As for Salmon and Talbot, they too have been doing valuable preparation
ahead of the final round of the championship on a simulator in Sydney.
“Liam and I have been going to Race Centre in Darling Harbour to log
some laps on the Highlands circuit,” Salmon explained.
“I know it’s not the same as being there, but I’m glad I did it, it
gives me a good idea of what to expect. James Winslow has been with me coaching
me along the way which has been good, and he’s given me a few tips on how to
approach those tricky corners - and there are a number of tricky corners.
“In the end I got down to a 1:31 [Craig Baird’s lap record set in the
Tony Quinn McLaren MP4-12C is set at 1:41.90] which I thought was pretty good,
but I have to admit I cheated.. I used a Ferrari F1 car.. (laughs).
“The Audi they used in the simulator was an old car, and it didn’t feel
quite right, so James suggested the F1 car, because for most of the simulators
a lot of work has gone into setting the F1 cars up properly, so they really
handle well. At the end of the day I wanted an idea of how the circuit felt and
I think that can only help.
“It looks very tight, and there doesn’t appear to be a lot of overtaking
opportunities so qualifying is going to be critical.
“There’s five or six of us in the hunt for third in the championship as
well, so we’ll be working hard to be quick, but also keep our noses clean. The
fast way around Highlands if the simulator is to be believed is to really ride
the kerbs, and kerb compliance is one of the strong points in the Audi, so we
could well be in the box seat.
“I’ll have my eyes on in Cromwell, I have to beat my team-mate Dean
Koutsoumidis and the Bowe/Edwards combination in order to grab the final step
on the championship podium, and I’m pretty pumped up. Bring it on!”
MPC will have a busy weekend ahead of them at Highlands, managing the #6 Skwirk.com.au R8 LMS ultra of Salmon/Talbot/Bright
along with the #71 Equity-One R8 LMS of Dean Koutsoumidis/Andrew McInnes, and
assisting with the Dodge Viper Competition Coupé of Steve McLaughlan and former
car owner Greg Crick.
SCHEDULE (NZDT)
Friday, 8 November
Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli
Practice #1 - 9:30am (20-minutes)
Practice #2 - 11:35am (30-minutes)
Qualifying - 2:00pm (40-minutes)
Race #1 - 3:45pm (40-minutes)
Saturday, 9 November
Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli
Warm-up - 9:25am (20-minutes)
Race #2 - 12:20pm (40-minutes)
Sunday, 10 November
Highlands 101 (Qualifying) - 9:25am (40-minutes)
Highlands 101 (Race) - 1:25pm (101-laps)
Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli
Practice #1 - 9:30am (20-minutes)
Practice #2 - 11:35am (30-minutes)
Qualifying - 2:00pm (40-minutes)
Race #1 - 3:45pm (40-minutes)
Saturday, 9 November
Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli
Warm-up - 9:25am (20-minutes)
Race #2 - 12:20pm (40-minutes)
Sunday, 10 November
Highlands 101 (Qualifying) - 9:25am (40-minutes)
Highlands 101 (Race) - 1:25pm (101-laps)
Melbourne Performance Centre is proudly supported by Skwirk.com.au, One World
Bar, The Audi Race Experience, PH Motorsport Trailers - supplier of the
new Audi Sports Customer racing transporter, BluFi Wireless Australia and
Questek Australia.
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To find out more, call Melbourne Performance Centre today.
Melbourne Performance Centre
521 Mountain Highway,
Bayswater VIC 3153
Phone: 03 9738 2294
Fax: 03 9738 2296
info@melbourneperformance.com
www.melbourneperformance.com
www.facebook.com/MelbournePerformance521 Mountain Highway,
Bayswater VIC 3153
Phone: 03 9738 2294
Fax: 03 9738 2296
info@melbourneperformance.com
www.melbourneperformance.com
Photo credit: Melbourne Performance Centre