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14.04.2010

Wilson Brothers Unlucky in Tassy

Wilson Brothers Racing endured a trying weekend in Tasmania, as the Australian Manufacturers Championship continued at Symmons Plains.

Team drivers Sam Walter and Kurt Wimmer showed strong practice form in the Subaru WRX Sti, before their weekend started to unravel after an engine problem in qualifying forced a change to the backup power plant.

With the change completed in quick time, another gremlin emerged as the cars were due to take to the circuit for the opening hour-long encounter, forcing the crew to frustratingly watch from the sidelines.

Despite being down on horsepower, the team soldiered on in the second race to record a solid points haul with a fifth place finish.

For team principal Cameron Wilson, the gap before the next round at Phillip Island on May 1-2 will be a busy one, with the team planning to fully rebuild the car.

“The car had fantastic pace on Friday, it was going faster than the old lap record on used tyres from Bathurst, so it’s pretty disappointing to have the weekend we did after that,” Wilson said.

“Unfortunately that happens when you run a lot of the running gear left over from the Bathurst 12 Hour while you are racing on a budget.

“In qualifying we had our first ever engine failure when it dropped a valve, several other teams had engine problems out there, so we weren’t alone.

“My brother Benn (Wilson) as well as Will Orders did a fantastic job all weekend to get the car going again, and their compulsory pit stop in the second race was just brilliant.

“Our stop was 10 seconds quicker that the Mitsubishi boys, and a full 20 seconds quicker than the Holt BMW, those sort of time gains in the pits are just incredible.

“Kurt and Sam did a sensational job in the race, the spare engine had already had about 20 racing hours on it, and is definitely down on horsepower.

“Sam was running with one of the Evo 10s at the end of the race, and you could clearly see that we were better under brakes and through the corners, it was just the straight line speed that was letting us down.

“It was great having Sam on board for the weekend, and it’s a shame that Kurt didn’t get more points, but we will solider on at Phillip Island.

Wimmer will be taking on the entire Australian Manufacturers Championship with Wilson Brothers Racing, and despite the Tasmanian weekend is still upbeat about the upcoming rounds.

“It’s a shame that we didn’t get out there in race one, but that’s motorsport,” Wimmer said.

“Benn and Will were simply awesome under pressure, and the car was rocket when it was on the track.

“I’m really looking forward to Phillip Island, this car still holds the production car lap record there, so I’m confident we can turn things around.”

Local driver Walter was impressed by the team and the car.

“Apart from the problem on Saturday, the racing for the weekend was great,” Walter said.

“In the race on Sunday we were driving right on the limit, it was pretty intense, you couldn’t drive the car any quicker.

“I’m happy to be with a great bunch of guys, they are very professional, but at the end of the day, the Evos just had too much grunt.”

The team now returns to Queensland and commence preparations for the third round of the championship at Phillip Island, which will be a final hit out prior to the Australian Six Hour at Eastern Creek Raceway on July 17-18.

Wilson Brothers Racing would like to acknowledge the continued support of Gold Coast Indoor Hire Karts, Castrol, Racing Logic, Mercury Motorsport, EcuTek, Ingear Industries, Elan Mens Salons, RLS Data & Electrical, Gametraders Townsville, John Muller Tyres Plus, and Subaru Sti Australia for their assistance in team's Australian Manufacturers Championship efforts.

Wilson Brothers Racing- Racing for a Cure

Wilson Brothers Racing is proud to support Cure Cancer Australia, an organisation that has been operating in Australia for 44 years to support young researchers at the beginning of their careers across the Cancer spectrum. Wilson Brothers Racing is helping to raise the profile of this fantastic organisation through their various motorsport activities around Australia. For more information, catch up with the team trackside.

For more information regarding Wilson Brothers Racers and hi-resolution images, please contact Mark Walker on 0407 138745 or email media@wilsonbrothersracing.com