The team at Wilson Security Racing headed to the first of the Victorian rounds at Winton Motor Raceway for what will be a very busy weekend with sponsorship across three different categories, V8 Supercars, V8 Utes and Touring Car Masters. 

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Friday 14th May

V8 Supercars

Jack Perkins, WSR's newly confirmed endurance driver and Tim Slade shared today's four practice sessions.  Jacks efforts in the first two sessions had him placed inside the top ten whilst Tim's efforts in the later sessions would see him placed 9th on a 1:23:06, just over half a second off the fastest car on the track.

Tim Slade - Driver, Wilson Security Racing Car #47

"I am really pleased with how today went, I would have liked to have been a bit higher up in the times but I couldn't really get the ideal lap together.

"I knew Jack's feedback would be valuable because he has done thousands of kilometres around this place, he's been really fast here in the past, he was in the Top Ten Shootout here in his first year of the main series.

"He knows how a fast car feels around here and knows how to get around here fast. I even learnt a few things from him today which was good."

Jack Perkins - Co-Driver, Wilson Security Racing Car #47

"The car was a lot different to drive than cars I have driven in the past, but different in a good way. It was great to get a taste for it, we were pretty competitive, it was just a really good day to have my first drive and work with the team for the first time.

"The SBR guys are really accommodating, Tim and I worked really well together straight away and both said the same things about the car and both worked together with Wes to improve it.

"My first experience with SBR was a very good one.

"This is a track I have a lot of confidence in as a driver, you need to be able to prove yourself and I'm really happy with how everything ended up."

V8 Utes:

The first of two practice sessions saw the WSR Car #69, driven by Charlie Kovacs, finish the session 22nd fastest.  The second session will be all about improvement.

Charlie Kovacs  -  Driver Wilson Security Racing car #69

"We have struggled a little so far this weekend.  We only got the car back from NZ on Wednesday and didn't have time to take it back to SA so had to do repairs on the road to Winton.  We stopped overnight at a workshop to change the 2 rear shocks so we have had insufficient prep time and the two practice sessions have virtually been our prep and testing all in one."

Touring Car Masters:

John Bowe in car #18 was today the fastest man on the track with a time of 1:32:12.   JB completed 6 laps in the practice session and put down his fastest time on the 2nd lap which also broke his lap record from 09 by more than one tenth of a second.  Leanne Tander on the other hand, in the WSR car #11, had brake issues for the majority of the session and had to settle for 12th fastest.

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Saturday 15th May

V8 Supercars

Few changes were made to the #47 car overnight and Tim was confident of a strong result in qualifying.  On his 4th lap Tim put down a 1:22:85 to put him up in 9th place.  Pitting immediately after this for green tyres Tim returned to the track and improved to a 1:22:50, placing him 8th initially and ultimately 14th by the end of the session.  Tim's time was less than 2 tenths off the fastest time set by Whincup and the top 17 cars in the field were separated by only 3 tenths. 

Shootout Results  -

1.   Courtney       
2.   Tander  
3.   Winterbottom  
4.   S. Richards
5.   Lowndes 
6.   Whincup  
7.   W. Davison 
8.   Johnson  
9.   T. Kelly  
10. Caruso

The first race of the weekend for the V8's and race 11 of the Championship had plenty to keep race fans entertained.  Tim Slade in WSR car #47 made a good start maintaining his position until he was passed by team mate Van Gisbergen which created a chain reaction the result being a loss of 3 places for Tim.  Pitting on lap 18 for fuel and tyres, car #47 returned to the field in 24th place.  2 laps later on lap 20 he posted the fastest lap time for the race being a 1:23:14.  At the completion of all pit stops and around half race distance, Tim was well placed in 17th and drove consistently and patiently to move up through the field to 12th place by race end.  This result gives Tim his best individual result in V8 Supercars.  Well done Sladey!

Race 11 Results: 

1.  Courtney    
2.  Lowndes    
3.  Whincup      
4.  Johnson     
5.  Van Gisbergen       
6.  T. Kelly        
7.  Bright 
8.  Caruso        
9. D'Alberto        
10.Holdsworth

12th  -  Tim Slade

22nd  -  A. Davison

Tim Slade - Driver, Wilson Security Racing Car #47

 "Shane and I were rubbing doors in the race for the first few corners. In the end Shane had better pace and he was on my tail for half a lap or so and then he gave me a bit if a touch at Turn 10 and then again at Turn 11, he passed me and a few other cars were able to take advantage .

"I maybe went a bit too hard on the tyres early on that left us suffering a bit at the end there in the first stint. After the pit stop I came back out and the car was really fast, Wes [McDougall] came over the radio and said to push hard for a few laps and we got the fastest lap of the race.

"The lap felt good, the car was working great and it's a good feeling to finish a race with the quickest lap time."

"Towards the end there I could see a bit of a mess going on with the cars ahead so I wasn't surprised that a few of them took each other out. Obviously that helped our result and we are really happy with where we ended up."

V8 Utes:

The second of two practice sessions for the utes saw Charlie in the WSR #69 car drop further back in the field to finish the session in 27th.  The lack of prep time clearly hasn't helped and the Winton circuit, being technical and tight,  is better suited to the Holden with the Ford preferring a circuit with sweeping corners and long straights.

Qualifying proved equally difficult for Kovacs who produced his fastest time of 1:41:30 on his 5th lap to be placed back in 26th.  The fastest time was a 1:38:94 set by pole sitter Johnson.

Qualifying Results  -

1.  G. Johnson
2.  C. Pither
3.  J. Elsegood
4.  D Sieders
5.  A Fisher

26th  Charlie Kovacs

Charlie Kovacs  -  Driver Wilson Security Racing #69

"We knew we had some things to fix on the car but we found a few more and that was stopping us from practicing and qualifying well.  I was happy that we went faster in qualifying, so we are sorting the car, but to find we went back to P26 was disappointing."

Race one for the weekend was far from a pleasant experience for Charlie in the WSR Ute.  After starting back in 26th, Kovacs made a great start and had made up a few positions by turn 1.  Knowing the chaos that can result from turns 1 and 2 on the first lap, Charlie was careful to avoid any issues on turn 1 but was involved in a coming together at turn 2 with car #43 which broke the steering and resulted in a DNF for Charlie.  An extremely disappointed Kovacs was not in any mood to comment after the race.

Race 1  Results -

1.  G. Johnson
2.  C. Pither
3.  J. Elsegood
4.  D Sieders
5.  A Fisher

DNF  -  Charlie Kovacs

Touring Car Masters:

John Bowe in the WSR/Westrac #18 entry was again the fastest on the track with a 1:31:42, qualifying 1st and smashing the previous lap record set by himself in 2009 by 7 tenths.  JB, along with LT, only completed 3 laps in the session but unfortunately Leanne's lack of laps was due to a flat tyre.  The Wilson Security Racing entry, car #11, suffered a flat tyre on its third lap of the session and Leanne had to settle for a time of 1:35:89 and 20th position.

Qualifying Results  -

1.    John Bowe
2.    Jim Richards
3.    Gavin Bullas
4.    Tony Edwards
5.    Andrew Miedecke

20th    Leanne Tander

The first race for the weekend had JB starting from the front of the pack on pole, a position that he didn't relinquish for the entire race.  A safety car period on lap 6 till lap 8 eroded the nearly 2 second lead that JB had established but didn't alter the result with JB finishing the shortened race (9 laps instead of 12) in first place.

Leanne Tander started from back in 20th position after a very short qualifying session due to a deflating tyre.  By lap 6 and the safety car period Leanne had climbed to 15th place and would make up a further 3 places by the end of the race to finish a very pleasing and deserving 12th.

Race 1 Results:

Yet to be finalised.

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Sunday 16th May

V8 Supercars

Sunday's qualifying saw Tim put down a 1:22:67 on his 3rd lap out placing him 2nd fastest.  Unable to improve on this time Tim dropped back through the field to qualify back in 24th.

Race 12 Qualifying Results:

1.  R. Kelly
2.  Whincup
3.  Dumbrell
4.  Lowndes
5.  Winterbottom
6.  Courtney
7.  Tander
8.  Canto
9.  Holdsworth
10. S. Richards

Sunday's race was 67 laps and required two stops.  Starting from back in 24th, Tim was travelling well, placed in the low 20's when he made his first stop on lap 25 for fuel and tyres.  Returning the field in 24th Tim stayed out of trouble for the next 10 laps at which time there was a safety car due to Bargwanna having an off road excursion into the gravel.  The team elected to leave car #47 out there and after a six lap safety car period we went green for only 3 laps which was long enough for Sladey to round up team mate Shane Van Gisbergen before an off by Whincup would again bring out the safety car.  Pitting on lap 45 under the safety car Tim returned to the field in 16th place.

Lap 57 saw Tim in car #47 moving through the field passing Johnson and Webb to move up into 9th place.    The final 10 laps saw Tim pass D'Alberto and then Championship contender Tander on the final lap to finish the race in 7th place.  This is Tim's best ever individual result equalling his efforts with co drivers at Phillip Island and Bathurst last year.

Race 12 Results  -

1. Courtney     
2.  Lowndes     
3.  Holdsworth     
4.  R. Kelly     
5.  Caruso     
6.  Winterbottom     
7.  T. Slade     
8.  Tander     
9.  D' Alberto     
10. Dumbrell

Tim Slade - Driver, Wilson Security Racing Car #47

"We definitely didn't do ourselves any favours by qualifying where we did but in the race today I guess I took a leaf out of Shane's book and just bided my time to make sure the tyres hung in there.

"At the end I was on Tander and I wasn't sure if I would get passed him, but lap after lap his car just dropped off massively so got through with one lap to go.

"The Wilson Security Racing team are thrilled to finish in the top ten, it's been a learning curve for me this year so far but it certainly feels like we have turned a corner this weekend. I'm really happy for Wes and the boys and of course James Rosenberg as well."

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Championship Standings  -

1.    Courtney           1467       
2.    Whincup            1353       
3.    Lowndes           1245       
4.    Van Gisbergen  1164           
5.    Tander              1116
6.    Holdsworth       1110       
7.    R. Kelly              1079       
8.    Winterbottom   1056       
9.    Caruso             1035       
10.   Johnson            932

18th -    Slade      609

2oth -    Davison  549

Teams Championship  -

1.    Team Vodafone    2598      
2.    Jim Beam Racing   2409       
3.    Fujitsu/GRM          2150       
4.    Toll/HRT                1836       
5.    SBR                       1713

15th  -  WSR  -  609

V8 Utes:

After a very disappointing DNF in yesterday's race,  Charlie Kovacs in the WSR #69 ute started race 2 of the weekend from position, well last.  A fantastic drive showing great maturity and consistency would see Charlie work his way through the field to finish the race up in 13th, an overall gain of 19 places in 12 laps.

Charlie Kovacs - Driver Wilson Security Racing #69

"Starting way back in Shepparton in P32, we only had one way to go from there!"

"Jnr said 'the car will be good' and it was.  We came from P32 to P13 in 12 laps.  I was passing cars where you would not normally try and they paid off.  We had a tyre strategy to start off low so the car was a bit squirmy at first but came on when everyone else's was going off.  On ya Jnr!  I guess we may have to do it all again as I would only have enough points to start mid pack.  Fingers crossed for Race 3."

Race 2 Results -

1.  Baxter
2.  Fisher
3.  Pither
4.  Carson
5.  Elsegood

Race 3 saw WSR car #69 starting back in 27th for race 3 after a DNF in race 1 seriously diminished the combined results so far for the weekend.  Another good start saw Charlie passing a number of cars, a trend which continued throughout the race.  Car #69's tyres were really feeling the pinch late in the race but Charlie pushed on to finish a fantastic 16th, ii places ahead of where he started.

Charlie Kovacs - Driver Wilson Security Racing car #69

"Jnr said to drive it like I stole it so I did!"

"I got some on the start again and kept passing cars.  The tyres were shot but we massaged them to the finish.  To finish P16 and pass 11 cars in 10 laps I suppose wasn't a bad effort.  Silv, Jnr and the crew were all rapt, especially as the car is still in one piece after an effort like this.  I have taken it home in a string bag after a lot less."

Race 3 Results -

1.  Johnson
2.  Fisher
3.  Baxter
4.  Elsegood
5.  Sieders

16th Charlie Kovacs

Touring Car Masters:

Race 2 of the weekend saw the first ten cars start the race from reverse grid positions, putting JB back to 10th and LT started from 12th, her finishing position from yesterday's race.  Both JB and LT made up positions early and were well placed in 4th and 8th respectively after an early safety car period.

John battled in out for 1st place with Gavin Bullas for a number of laps and eventually took the lead with a couple of laps to go and then ultimately the chequered flag.

Leanne crossed the line in the WSR car #11 in 5th place but an incident during the race had officials move her back to 22nd on the timing screens with an enquiry pending.  The enquiry didn't change the results at all although a penalty issued to Bullas for a weight discrepancy put Leanne up into 4th place.

Race 2 Results -

1.  John Bowe
2.  Jim Richards
3.  Andrew Miedecke
4.  Leanne Tander
5.  Trevor Talbot

The third and final race for the TCM for the weekend was more of the same for JB who lead the entire race to come away with a clean sweep of three race wins from 3 races. 

Leanne Tander who started the final race from 8th place drove a sensational stint to move up into 3rd for her first appearance on the podium in the series and a fantastic finish to the weekend after some car issues early on.

Race 3 Results -

1.  John Bowe
2.  Gavin Bullas
3.  Leanne Tander
4.  Andrew Miedecke
5.  Bill Pye

John Bowe  -  Wilson Security Racing/Westrac car #18 Driver:

"I am absolutely wrapped, what a terrific weekend after the mishaps in Adelaide!   The car was perfect all weekend.  It was fast and great to drive.  I am just delighted.  I am equally delighted for Leanne Tander.  After working closely with Leanne I feel half responsible for her 3rd place which is fantastic.  Andrew Miedecke is a very tough and experienced competitor and to see her beat him on the last lap - well I am as happy for her as I am for me!  There is still some work to do on the car but it can only get better."

Leanne Tander - Wilson Security Racing car #11 Driver:

"I am really really happy with 3rd especially after qualifying back in 20th.  Everytime we went out the car was better and faster.  Still have a bit of work to do to catch the likes of JB and Bullas but this is a great result for the entire team."

The next round of the Touring Car Masters is at Hidden Valley in the Northern Territory on June 18th - 20th.

The next round sees the V8 Supercars also head to Hidden Valley for round 6 of the Championship, the SKYCITY Triple Crown on 14th - 16th May.  

WSR Contacts:

Debbie McMellan
+61 419 324 658
debbie@wsrnet.com.au

Emily Tomkinson
+61 3 9224 0219
etomkinson@wilsonsecurity.com.au