Super Black Racing’s championship debut race weekend ended in heartbreak as mechanical failure cost the team a top 20 finish in the final race of the weekend with Andre Heimgartner eventually finishing in 21st.
Lap 20 saw the front roll bar fail causing the Prodrive Racing Ford Falcon FG’s handling to be adversely affected and pushing Heimgartner further down the leaderboard as the race continued.
However, the team claims a small victory as they reached their goal of finishing every race over the weekend in front of the 285,600 strong crowd while Heimgartner scored valuable championship points to carry forward.
Heimgartner (19) also proved he had pace today, particularly during the qualifying session, by setting times less than a second behind the top runners.
Only one second separated the top 24 during the final qualifying session today, including Heimgartner who set a top time of 1:20.9, only 0.8 of a second off original pole sitter and compatriot Shane van Gisbergen.
Heimgartner now has 82 points in the drivers championship before heading to the next round in two weeks time, at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, although no championship points will be scored.