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Here is a media release from one of our Ambassadors Jack Perkins
Oh and see more about our Diabetes Counsellors and Ambassadors here
http://www.diabetescounselling.com.au/support/counsellor.html
14th March, 2010
MEDIA RELEASE
Jack Perkins secures two podium finishes in Aussie Racing Car debut
On the Wednesday morning of the “Clipsal 500”, Jack Perkins never thought he would be racing an Aussie Racing Car in Adelaide for Round 1. He received a late phone call from Aussie Racing Car Series owner, Phil Ward, with an invitation to drive the #14, factory backed Toyota Aurion Aussie Car.
Enduring a tough summer period, having not secured a full-time drive, Perkins immediately got on a flight to Adelaide, with extreme eagerness to get back behind the wheel of a car and go racing in 2010.
With just one sole practice session before qualifying, and with Jack never driven an Aussie Racing Car before the weekend, track time was critical. However a clutch failure after just three laps meant an engine change for the #14 Toyota, although still finishing the practice session in an encouraging 11th position.
Jack would head into qualifying with only minimal experience in the car, and a fresh engine, following a tremendous effort by the Aussie Racing Car team to change engines in between on-track sessions.
The qualifying session saw the #14 Toyota qualify in 11th position, but another engine change was in order, as the new replacement wasn’t running 100%.
The run of engine changes continued, following another clutch failure at the start of race 1, the result was 4 different engines in as many on-track sessions.
Finally the bad luck ceased, and Perkins drove a commanding race 2, starting from 27th on the grid to pass an incredible 22 cars and finish in 5th place.
Race 3, a reverse grid top 10, saw the #14 Toyota start from 6th position on the grid. Jack made an excellent start to the race, moving into the lead by lap three. The lead changed several times throughout the seven lap race, providing excellent viewing for the large Adelaide crowd. Heading into the final lap, Perkins was in lead and landed awkwardly off the “curb” at the famous turn one “Senna Chicane”. This allowed two cars passed and Jack would cross the finish line in 3rd place.
The grid positions for Race 4 are determined by the total number of points accumulated in the first three races. With Jack not finishing race one earlier in the weekend, he would start the final seven lap race from 10th position.
Moving quickly up to third by lap three, Perkins started hunting down the two leaders, who had “broken away” from the rest of the field. Due to a late race crash, the race was cut-short to just five laps, and the #14 car would finish in third place. Jack set the fastest lap in Race 4, and the fastest racing lap of the entire weekend.
Here’s what Jack had to say….
“That was awesome fun! These cars are so much fun to drive and the racing is fantastic. I really have to thank Phil Ward, everyone at Aussie Racing Cars and Toyota for letting me race the car. We had a few little mechanical issues early in the weekend, but to pass 22 cars in race 2, and finish in the top 3 twice was a great way to finish the weekend.
Everyone raced hard, I think the lead changed 3 or 4 times one lap and it’s a credit to the guys who race these cars all year long. It reminded me of being back in go-karts where we all had great fun as kids, and you couldn’t wipe the smile of my face when I was out there racing!
I’m hoping to get back into a V8Supercar full-time next year, but this year hopefully I can race a few Fujitsu Series races and secure a good ride in the Endurance races later in the season. The Aussie Racing Car Series is also a good way to keep “race fit” so if another opportunity came up this year I would love to race again!”
Jack Perkins is proudly supported by:
Accu-Chek – www.accu-chek.com.au
Aussie Racing Cars – www.aussieracingcars.com.au
Multitex – www.multitex.com.au
Castrol – www.castrol.com.au
Dude’s Race Shop #67
