Pye Finishes Tenth in Second Supersprint Race
August 1, 2015
The Western Star Trucks Ford Falcon FG X has recorded a strong tenth place result in Race 2 at the opening day’s racing at the Coates Hire Ipswich Supersprint at Queensland Raceway. This was a strong recovery after a newly fitted oil cooler component failure sidelined Scott Pye in Race 1.
Qualifying again showed that the DJR Team Penske Ford continues to improve with Scott putting the car in P9 and P11 for the two 60km sprint races.
A great battle in Race 1 from fourth to tenth saw Pye right in the mix and heading for a great result. Unfortunately the oil cooler failure on Lap 10 saw Scott bring the Western Star Trucks car into the pits and retirement.
Race 2 was run on the 'soft' tyre and with the prospect of an action filled race, it turned out somewhat processional. Pye was in a good 10th position and fighting hard to keep the Nissan of Caruso behind him. He crossed the line in tenth after the 20 lap journey and immediately focused on the longer 200km race on Sunday with his DJR Team Penske crew.
Qualifying for the final race takes place on Sunday morning and the 200km final will see all cars using both compounds of Dunlop tyre.
SCOTT PYE – #17 WESTERN STAR TRUCKS FALCON FG X
"We started the day by Qualifying 9th and 11th which is a pretty solid. Our aim coming to QR was to be consistent and of course fast, and I think we did prove that today. The first race was really disappointing with the oil cooler problem. To get a Top 10 in Race 2 was great, but we lost a really good opportunity in Race 1.
"We had a good hard tyre package today and I felt very comfortable with the pace of the Western Star Trucks Falcon. It was probably better than what we had on the soft tyre as Race 2 was a real battle, and keeping Caruso behind me was tough.
"All in all a decent day, but we will really need to improve the car for the 200km race tomorrow and pick up our soft tyre pace. It turned out the hard tyre was our strong point, so I am looking forward to qualifying tomorrow and hopefully getting the car well inside the Top 10. That should set us up for a good result."