Solid result for SBRs McIntyre and Gaunt at Phillip Island

The only all-Kiwi driver pairing in this weekend’s Phillip Island 500 V8 Supercar race, John McIntyre and Daniel Gaunt finished 17th driving the #4 Irwin-SP Tools Ford for Stone Brothers Racing.

SBR team-mates Shane van Gisbergen and Alex Davison finished the 113-lap race in tenth position, with McIntyre and Gaunt completing one less lap in what was a relatively fault-free drive.

“It was a solid result,” said Nelson-based McIntyre after the first endurance race of the 2009 Australian V8 Supercar season. “But things didn’t go quite to plan and it’s a little disappointing for Daniel, me and the whole team, actually, after qualifying strongly in eleventh. We thought we had a very good chance of holding that position or closer to it to the end.”

McIntyre said the conditions were hotter than they were expecting and they didn’t have cool suits, so the heat created an additional challenge for the Kiwi duo. There were also issues with the race car radio.

“But these races can throw up things you weren’t expecting. On the positive side, we found out a lot of things about how Daniel and I run with the team and the car. We bought the car home in one piece in front of a number of regular V8 Supercar drivers. We’ve all learnt a number of things that will help at Bathurst in October, so I think we’ll go away from Phillip Island with things to review and learn from.”

McIntyre and Gaunt will next tackle the infamous Mount Panorama west of Sydney for the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 over the weekend of 9 to 11 October before McIntyre recommences his challenge for the New Zealand V8 touring car championship during the first weekend of November.

ENDS/

John McIntyre’s current 2009-10 racing schedule

11-13 Sept 2009 – Phillip Island 500 – Stone Brothers Racing Ford

8-11 Oct 2009 – Bathurst 1000 – Stone Brothers Racing Ford

7-8 Nov 2009 – Pukekohe Park Raceway – John McIntyre Racing Ford

28-29 Nov 2009 – Powerbuilt Raceway at Ruapuna Park – John McIntyre Racing Ford

16-17 Jan 2010 – Teretonga Park, Invercargill – John McIntyre Racing Ford

23-24 Jan 2010 – Timaru International Motor Raceway – John McIntyre Racing Ford

13-14 Feb 2010 – Manfeild Autocourse – John McIntyre Racing Ford

13-14 Mar 2010 – Taupo Motorsport Park – John McIntyre Racing Ford

17-18 Apr 2010 – Hamilton 400 – John McIntyre Racing Ford

Further details can be found on the website www.jmr.co.nz