After mechanical failure (broken header) robbed him of a finish in the first of two 14-lap races signalling the sixth round of the 2008 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series, Marcus Zukanovic has put in a strong recovery to claim 14th in today’s second race despite a freak rain storm that drenched the bottom end of the circuit..
“That was a blast,” Marcus grinned afterwards. “It would have been nice to complete the full quota of laps under racing conditions, but to gain 20 positions in that short a run was awesome – I reckon I could have cracked the top ten without too much drama, but we just didn’t have enough laps.
“The car was a jet, plain and simple. It was from the time we rolled it off the truck – the header failure was just a freak, but we showed that we had a good pace and I started to get really comfortable with the car again, so it was a good result considering.”
It was a slow start to the race, with the pace-car controlling the field after the rain shower caught all cars in pit lane on slicks – the top of the circuit dry, the bottom of the circuit, wet!
Marcus though was unphased and quick to work his way forward, taking ten cars in the first lap of racing, and another nine within the next two laps.. But that was about it!
“Yeah, once the pacecar appeared I thought we’d be right because the field bunched up, but it didn’t work out that way, every time I got a run, they’d show the SC board again, and we were back to crawling.
“Overall though I’d say it was a good weekend for us, and I’m pretty confident about Oran Park – that’s another of my favourite tracks, so I’m looking for a strong result there to end what’s been a pretty frustrating season.”
Race 2 – Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series, Mount Panorama, Bathurst – October 11
Race 2 (14-laps): 1. Dean Canto (BA Falcon), 2. Jonathon Webb (BA Falcon), 3. Steve Owen (VZ Commodore), 4. David Reynolds (VZ Commodore), 5. Dale Wood (VZ Commodore), 6. Jack Perkins (VZ Commodore), 7. Damian Assaillit (BA Falcon), 8. Jay Verdnik (VZ Commodore), 9. Michael Trimble (VZ Commodore), 10. Matthew White (BA Falcon), 14. Marcus Zukanovic (Action Racing VZ Commodore)
Fujitsu Series Championship points (after five rounds of seven*)
1. Steve Owen (1348 points), 2. David Reynolds (1080), 3. Dean Canto (1054), 4. Jonathon Webb (1008), 5. Karl Reindler (882), 6. Jack Perkins (880), 7. Dale Wood (843), 8. Michael Trimble (834), 9. Grant Denyer (816), 10. Tim Slade (779), 11. Marcus Zukanovic (730)
* Bathurst points unavailable at time of printing.
Action Racing is proudly supported by AMI Collision Centres, No Fear, DBA Brakes, Kevin Dennis HSV Centre, Motor Cars International, Mercedes Benz Trucks, Dandy Pre-Mix and Pirtek Dandenong.
For more information please contact Sean Henshelwood on 0419 143 267 or email: 321ignition@austarnet.com.au