Gold Coast (Queensland) , Australia (October 24-26, 2014) - After qualifying just outside the top 10, Fiore drove the #36 Norton Nissan Altima into a competitive position before Caruso picked his way up to third place in the main race of the Gold Coast 600, a round of the Australian V8 Supercars which was held over the 24th-26th October at the Gold Coast street race track in Queensland.
Caruso and Fiore placed the Altima V8 in ninth during the top 10 shootout on Saturday and followed this up with a fifth in race 31. For Sunday's main race, race 32, they put pressure on Scott McLaughlin for second, but lacked the outright speed to mount a passing move. The podium result is Caruso's second for the year after finishing third overall at the non-championship Australian Grand Prix event. It also leaps Caruso into 10th place in the championship fight. And to top off a strong day, the podium is a V8 Supercars first for Dean Fiore, who celebrated his 150th race start today.
The next-best Nissan was Rick Kelly and David Russell, who had to dig deep in their Jack Daniel's Altima. An early race pit stop put the pair a lap behind the leaders, but smart strategy and driving saw the duo climb back into 10th place.
For the other two Nissans, it was a day to forget. Todd Kelly and Alex Buncombe finished 20th after an extended pit service to repair the front of the car after early race contact.
For James Moffat and Taz Douglas, their race ended in significant damage when Moffat clipped the inside wall at Turn 11 and heavily clouted the outside wall. Moffat emerged from the incident with no injuries.
The next event on the V8 Supercars Championship will be held at Phillip Island over November 14th-16th.
QUOTES:
Michael Caruso, #36 Norton Nissan Altima
"It's great to get my second podium of the year. We've had some strong results this year and we've been gradually improving the car. To come here this weekend, it's great to finish with a trophy. Everyone in the team is working hard and it shows, because we're progressing. It's payback for everyone in the team, but particularly the guys who work on my car."
Dean Fiore, #36 Norton Nissan Altima
"This feels pretty good. Caruso's form going into the enduros was pretty good, so I knew we had a good chance of getting a podium at some point. It's been great to work with Michael and his engineer (Steven Todkill). They've got a special working relationship, they've been working together a long time and they definitely know how to dial a car in."
Rick Kelly, #15 Jack Daniel's Racing Nissan Altima:
"We actually went a lap down there, and we were last for a long while. The team did a really great job to get us back there, after that unfortunate stop at the start where we stacked and lost time. The car was pretty good, I'm so happy with our progress, to have those mistakes and get ourselves back into the top ten is encouraging."
David Russell, #15 Jack Daniel's Racing Nissan Altima:
"To be honest, at the start of the race, some of the guys were driving quite erratically, and we just had to be patient for some of those positions to come to us. We were patient, we had a good pitstop, and that got me clean air, and then I was really quick. I handed over to Rick, and he did a fantastic job to bring it home. "
Pos | Machine | Driver | Team | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Holden Commodore VF | Shane van Gisbergen Jonathon Webb |
Team Tekno VIP Petfoods | 2:13:24.0986 |
2 | Holden Commodore VF | Jamie Whincup Paul Dumbrell |
Red Bull Racing Australia | 2:13:26.3540 |
3 | Holden Commodore VF | Tim Slade Tony D'Alberto |
Supercheap Auto Racing | 2:13:47.2676 |
4 | Ford Falcon FG | Mark Winterbottom Steve Owen |
Ford Pepsi Max Crew | 2:13:47.2460 |
5 | Nissan Altima | Michael Caruso Dean Fiore |
Norton Hornets | 2:13:47.3975 |
6 | Ford Falcon FG | Chaz Mostert Paul Morris |
Ford Pepsi Max Crew | 2:13:55.9385 |
7 | Volvo S60 | Scott McLaughlin Alexandre Premat |
Valvoline Racing GRM | 2:14:02.7495 |
8 | Ford Falcon FG | Scott Pye Ash Walsh |
Wilson Security Racing | 2:14:02.9980 |
9 | Holden Commodore VF | Russell Ingall Tim Blanchard |
Repair Management Aust Racing | 2:14:27.8975 |
10 | Holden Commodore VF | Gart:Tander Warren Luff |
Holden Racing Team | 2:13:58.8057 |
14 | Nissan Altima | James Moffat Taz Douglas |
Norton Hornets | 2:14:23.1235 |
20 | Nissan Altima | Rick Kelly David Russell |
Jack Daniel's Racing | 2:14:24.3164 |
DNF | Nissan Altima | Todd Kelly Alex Buncombe |
Jack Daniel's Racing | 2:14:02.1543 |
Pos | Machine | Driver | Team | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Holden Commodore VF | Jamie Whincup Paul Dumbrell |
Red Bull Racing Australia | 2:13:00.3105 |
2 | Volvo S60 | Scott McLaughlin Alexandre Premat |
Valvoline Racing GRM | 2:13:03.1616 |
3 | Nissan Altima | Michael Caruso Dean Fiore |
Norton Hornets | 2:13:03.7580 |
4 | Holden Commodore VF | Tim Slade Tony D'Alberto |
Supercheap Auto Racing | 2:13:11.5234 |
5 | Holden Commodore VF | Shane van Gisbergen Jonathon Webb |
Team Tekno VIP Petfoods | 2:13:18.3403 |
6 | Ford Falcon FG | David Reynolds Dean Canto |
The Bottle-O Racing Team | 2:13:19.0070 |
7 | Holden Commodore VF | Fabian Coulthard Luke Youlden |
Lockwood Racing | 2:13:19.1010 |
8 | Holden Commodore VF | Russell Ingall Tim Blanchard |
Repair Management Aust Racing | 2:13:21.4910 |
9 | Nissan Altima | Rick Kelly David Russell |
Jack Daniel's Racing | 2:13:21.6850 |
10 | Holden Commodore VF | Nick Percat Oliver Gavin |
Walkinshaw Racing | 2:13:21.9010 |
20 | Nissan Altima | Todd Kelly Alex Buncombe |
Jack Daniel's Racing | 2:13:45.0117 |
DNF | Nissan Altima | James Moffat Taz Douglas |
Norton Hornets | 1:27:14.6978 |
- 2014 V8 Supercars Championship Race 31 - 102laps (October 25)
- 2014 V8 Supercars Championship Race 32 - 102laps (October 26)
<Related Link>
NISSAN MOTORSPORTS Web Site
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