Super Black Racing, the only New Zealand team in the V8 Supercar Championship (V8SC), has today proven they can challenge the front runners with their 19 year old driver, Andre Heimgartner, finishing 8th in the final race of the weekend after qualifying in 7th.
“I’m am so stoked with the result. It was a challenging and long race but I learnt a hell of a lot and couldn’t have asked for a better race really,” said an excited Heimgartner.
“The FG X is a lot more stable in the rear which gave me the confidence to push it, so a huge thanks to the guys who gave me an awesome car this weekend. But it was obviously good for the team to get our first top 10 finish and I can’t wait for the next round to get stuck into it again.”
It was a race of firsts for Heimgartner, with the round being the first time the youngster had raced the new Prodrive Racing FG X, the first time he had ever competed at the Symmons Plains raceway, and the first time he had ever competed on soft tyres, making the top result even more significant.
It was definitely a strong weekend for V8SC rookie Heimgartner, who also qualified as high up as 5th for on Saturday’s race, which Super Black Racing team principal Paul Radisich says is an incredible feat.
Radisich said: “Andre [Heimgartner] is a great young talent and for him to finish in eighth today after never driving the track before the practice on Friday is just fantastic.
“The team is very happy with how everything went this weekend in terms of where we finished, the progress we’ve made with the FG X and how Andre [Heimgartner] has developed as a driver. We had a plan but I think Andre [Heimgartner] has proven today why he is the team’s first driver.”
The two races on Saturday also saw Heimgartner, originally from Auckland, qualify in 11th and a career-best 5th position, before finishing in 11th and 25th in the two races.
The next round in the V8SC calendar is the Perth Supersprint, set to be held on the 1st to 3rd of May at Barbagallo Raceway in Western Australia.
