IRWIN Racing’s Marcus Marshall is confident of a strong showing on his home V8 Supercar track at Tasmania’s Symmons Plains Raceway on 21-23 November.
The 13th round of this year’s V8 Supercar Championship Series sees Marshall return to a track and surroundings he knows very well. Having been borne in Burnie, Marshall spent his formative years in Tasmania, watching countless races at Symmons Plains before the family moved to the Gold Coast.
It is not just the opportunity to race in front of his family and friends that has Marshall confident, the IRWIN Racing driver has just returned from the previous round in Bahrain where he claimed 18th place overall.
“It has been quite a while since I lived in Burnie, but I still very much consider myself a Tasmanian,” said Marshall.
“This is my first trip with the IRWIN team in Tassie and we are feeling very confident.
“Last year I qualified 17th with the Jack Daniel’s team and finished 14th in two races. After qualifying 19th in Bahrain, I’m sure we have made some gains in that area.
“We raced very well in Bahrain, and I’m sure on a circuit I have a lot of knowledge and respect for, a result towards the top-10 is not out of the question.
“The track might be short, but it certainly has plenty of character. The long back straight and the tightest corner in the entire series always provides plenty of action.
“Our goal will be to get on top of things in practice and qualify well. From that point we know our race pace is very good and that should show in the final results at the end of the weekend.”
IRWIN Racing Engineer Marcus Clarke has been kept busy overseeing preparation for the trip across Bass Strait.
“It is hard to believe that in just over the past month we have raced at Bathurst, Surfers Paradise and Bahrain – now we are off to Tassie!,” said Clarke.
“We were pleased with our pace in qualifying and at the end of the race weekend in Bahrain.
“Symmons Plains is a complete contrast to that circuit, but we feel that we have a better handle on what makes the IRWIN Falcon tick and we aim to show that in Tasmania.
“The circuit itself is very narrow, but there are still two very good passing places at the end of each straight. One of those corners is the hairpin, which doesn’t leave any room for error.
“The track is also very hard on brakes. This has been one of our strengths in 2008 and it should be plus for us over the closing laps of each of the races.”
Teams hit the track for practice on Friday, before the elimination styled qualifying on Saturday. The opening 50-lap race will be on Saturday afternoon. The final two 50-lap races will be held on Sunday.
2007 V8 SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES – ROUND 13 of 14
Falken Tasmania Challenge, Symmons Plains, Tasmania
November 21-23
V8 Supercar Championship Standings - After 12 of 14 rounds
1. Jamie Whincup 2916 points
2. Mark Winterbottom 2729
3. Garth Tander 2624
4. Craig Lowndes 2367
5. Steve Richards 2178
6. Will Davison 2153
7. James Courtney 2136
8. Rick Kelly 2046
9. Russell Ingall 1908
10. Steven Johnson 1837
24. Marcus Marshall 945