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SPECIAL

Ford Territory

SPECIAL

Ford Territory

Ford Wins Queenland 500

Staff, Monday September 16, 2002.

Page 1 of 1

In a race that featured six safety car periods and a brief shower, it came down to the final three laps when Besnard passed Greg Murphy as he ran out of fuel.

Murphy?s fuel warning light came on just before the final safety car at lap 154 of 161, but he stayed in front up until the penultimate lap when Besnard charged past and took a popular victory.

Earlier in the race the Stone Brothers Racing team decided to swap Besnard on lap 47. Wills put in an excellent stint stretching the lead before handing the car back to Besnard on lap 107.

The Caltex Havoline Racing team made its compulsory pit stop for brake pads during the second round of stops. Besnard then set off in pursuit of firstly Steven Richards and then Murphy.

The decision to make the brake pad change later was a huge advantage over the final 30 laps, as Besnard had by far the quickest car on the track, while his rivals were forced to conserve.

The win was a huge relief for the talented 25-year-old who came close to winning the event two years ago, before just missing victory at Bathurst.

?I can?t describe just what this all means,? said Besnard.

?The last 18 months have been the longest drought in any racing that I?ve done, so to win a big race like this and break through for Ford?s first win of the year is just awesome.

?I can?t say enough for the boys in the Caltex Havoline Race team, we have worked so hard for this win and I drove the wheels of this thing today and it never missed a beat.

?Simon did a great job in the middle section, he had to drive through the wet segment and kept his head and never made a mistake.?

Wills was called into the team after regular co-driver Wayne Gardner was forced to fulfil a racing commitment in Japan.

With just one test day with the team beforehand, Wills relished the opportunity to drive the #9 Falcon AUXR8.

?This is a great moment in my career,? said Wills.

?The race was just amazing, it underlines the fact that you never give up and settle for second.

?I?m sure this result has made a lot of people stand up and take notice, but right now I?m delighted for Ross and Jimmy Stone who gave me the chance to drive this weekend.?

Team Manager Ross Stone praised his drivers and race engineer Campbell Little.

?The boys drove fantastic and Campbell made all the right calls from the pit lane,? said Stone.

?It?s fair to say we?ve lost this race before by bad race management, but today we made all the right calls and the result is as good as gold.

?The next race is at Bathurst, and this result has given our entire team a massive boost, we can?t wait to get to Mount Panorama on the second weekend of October.?

Besnard moves to seventh in the championship with teammate Marcos Ambrose the best-placed Ford team in fourth.

Top-10 Results for the VIP Pet Foods Queensland 500

Top-10 Championship

For further information contact:
Ben Beazley
Media Coordinator
Ford Credit Racing
Phone: (03) 9596 9011
Mobile: 0417-262 753
Email: ben@segalmedia.com.au

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