19 April 2009 / WOOD FINISHES 16TH ON SUNDAY IN HAMILTON

Hi-Tec Oils Racing driver Dale Wood sits 24th in the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series following a second solid finish at the Hamilton 400 in New Zealand today.

Wood finished in 16th place aboard the #16 Hi-Tec Oils Holden Commodore, his second best finish for the season.

Wood was able to race door-to-door with some of the more established drivers in V8 Supercars in today’s second race of the weekend, giving the rookie confidence heading into the next round of the championship at Winton – a circuit that Wood knows well.

Jamie Whincup won today’s second race of the Hamilton 400 in New Zealand today ahead of James Courtney and Steven Johnson.

WHAT DALE HAD TO SAY …

Dale Wood - #16 Hi-Tec Oils Holden Commodore:

“We qualified a bit better today and we played the same strategy, just to get out there and be as clean as possible,” said Wood.

“By natural attrition you are going to get spots, so come the end of the race hopefully there was going to be a safety car, which is exactly what happened and then you are in a position to race.

“That is exactly what we did. It would have been nice to get 15th and get past Shane Van Gisbergen, we couldn't do it but we're really happy with 16th.

“We're very happy to bring the Hi-Tec Oils car home straight and in a reasonable position.

“The brakes were a lot better today. We were still getting a bit of fade towards the end, but I think that was just from following cars so closely in the last few laps.”

2009 V8 Supercar Championship Standings
After Four Races (Sunday, Hamilton 400):
1. Jamie Whincup 600
2. Lee Holdsworth 498
3. Will Davison 483
4. Steven Johnson 462
5. Fabian Coulthard 354
6. Jason Richards 324
7. Rick Kelly 315
8. Garth Tander 285
9. Craig Lowndes 282
10. James Courtney 272
24. Dale Wood 159

2009 V8 Supercar Teams Standings
1. Team Vodafone 801
2. Holden Racing Team 768
3. Dick Johnson Racing 744
4. Garry Rogers Motorsport 687
5. Brad Jones Racing 555
6. Jack Daniel’s Racing 534
7. Stone Brothers Racing 534
8. Wilson Security Racing 531
9. Ford Performance Racing 441
10. Walkinshaw Racing 402
11. Kelly Racing 261

RESULTS: Race Two
1. #1 Jamie Whincup 59 laps
2. #18 James Courtney
3. #17 Steven Johnson
4. #33 Lee Holdsworth
5. #111 Fabian Coulthard
6. #34 Michael Caruso
7. #22 Will Davison
8. #51 Greg Murphy
9. #2 Garth Tander
10. #4 Alex Davison
16. #16 Dale Wood

RESULTS: Qualifying
1. #17 Steven Johnson 1:24.1606
2. #18 James Courtney 1:24.2377
3. #6 Steve Richards 1:24.2430
4. #1 Jamie Whincup 1:24.3214
5. #34 Michael Caruso 1:24.2962
6. #33 Lee Holsdworth 1:24.3214
7. #9 Shane Van Gisbergen 1:24.3568
8. #888 Craig Lowndes 1:24.3960
9. #111 Fabian Coulthard 1:24.4171
10. #5 Mark Winterbottom 1:24.4447
27. #16 Dale Wood 1:25.5536

HAMILTON 400 DETAILS:
Circuit: Hamilton Street Circuit
Location: Hamilton, NZL
Circuit Length: 3.4 kilometres
Format: x2 59-lap races
2008 Polesitter: Steven Richards
2008 Race 1 Winner: Garth Tander
2008 Race 2 Winner: Garth Tander
2008 Race 3 Winner: Garth Tander