Is Ingall the weakest Link at SBR

[Gudgeon]

At the Wednesday pre race press conference Paul Morris said that in his opinion Russell Ingall was the weakest link in the SBR 4 car and if that was the case it was a strong team
Russell arced up and took it personally blasting Morris at the Fri post Practice Press conference On Sunday after Russell put it in the sand and John Faulkners rather ordinary performance in the 29 car It seems that the Dude is a better Judge of SBR's capability than he is in choosing Co drivers

[Dazz]

Russel was unlucky, but im my opinion, went a long way to making up for it with a gritty drive in very tough conditions.

It would be easy to bag Ingall out for what he did, but I'm sure nobody will be harder on him than himself.

Except maybe Ross and Jimmy ......... Marcos ........ Campbell Little ......

[RaceTime]

It has to be asked - how many times has Ingall lost a race because of his driving ability (or any perceived lack of)?

I will admit to not being an Ingall fan, but one thing I did notice yesterday that I give him a hell of a lot of credit for - there was no tantrum, no banging of steering wheel, no dummy spit. His eyes and face said it all 'I've stuffed up - now how do I redeem myself?'

[TMS]

he did make a mistake, and it was a very costly one. However it was a good drive to still earn pos #5. Imagine how Jason Richards feels in comparison?

[Average Punter]

That wouldn't be the same Russell that threw a wobbly when Larry stuck the Castrol Common-dore in the bank at Bathurst in 2001 would it???

I thought Marcos was the one who took it on the chin best. He went up another ten notches in my book with his "I did send him out in tough conditions" call.

To be fair, Rusty stayed in the car and drove the wheels off it for 5th. Probably safer than facing a crankypants Campbell Little before he had the chance to cool down...

[Conrod Kieron]

Originally posted by Average Punter
That wouldn't be the same Russell that threw a wobbly when Larry stuck the Castrol Common-dore in the bank at Bathurst in 2001 would it???

Ingall seems to be a changed man at SBR, remember back to the beginning of the year when he punted Spud?

[kiwi_flier]

hes a racing car driver and racing car drivers make mistakes, dont just bag him coz of this 1 mistake.

Sure he lost them a probable 1st placing but hey thats racing, ingalls a very talented driver and its been shown this year by his results and where hes sitting on championship ladder.

Im sure if he bounces back and wins bathurst with ambrose for sbr he would have redeemed himself to the team ?????? as sandowns a good race to win for bragging rights and points but lets face it bathurst is the one race every driver wants to win of the year.

[Deano]

The worst part about Russell spinning was that now, on the next 10 episodes of V8 Superstars, we'll hear MS say at least 5 times per episode "Pump that brake, Rusty..." or something along those lines.

[Mattracer]

I was speechless when it happened and as an Ingall-ite thru and thru, I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

I'm with RT on this, there was no dummy-spit but a determined comeback drive saving face for himself and getting points for Marcos. Well done, Russell!

True champions know how to take the knocks and set-backs and make something out of a bad situation. Go get 'em Russell!

[GTRMagic]

Rusty and Marcos had the first of what will undoubtedly be many discussions on the subject of the crash while the SBR boys were packing away the gear last night. From the body language of the 2 participants, there will no daggars at dawn, it all seems to be sweet.

Rusty messed up, admitted it, and worked his tail off to ressurect what could have finished their race early. Marcos is still leading the championship outright so it cant be too bad huh

I somehow think Marcos was more upset at being caught eating an icecream on national television (the personal trainer will punish him!) than bearing a permanent grudge with Rusty.

In terms of Paul Morris' choice of codriver, JF did a good job in practice, being as quick as Paul in the sessions without loads of laps.

The unfortunate loss of an engine in the warmup meant that the tweaks implemented overnight never got a great run, and the car in the end was worse because of them.

A shame, because this team also works very hard, and to date hasnt enjoyed the best of luck. Perhaps a shift to 2 cars in 2004 will help the development path along

[jetsetter]

I think Marcos Ambrose handled the situation brilliantly, i don't think i would've been that friendly to Ingall after he threw the lead away. On Morris's comments while i believe that Ambrose is the better of the two drivers i wouldn't call Ingall a weak link.

[Onlooker]

Correct me if I am wrong but is this the second time in a row that a SBR car has crashed at the first time it applied the brakes after a pad change?Seems it is infact a procedure problem at the team!!!

[MHDT]

Even the best make mistakes, take Senna for instance.

Having said that, I would think Bathurst will be a make or break race for Rusty in this tight-knit team.

[GTRMagic]

Different problem Onlooker, Rusty didnt pump the pedal after the pad change. Rusty wasnt the only one to have not checked the brakes before arriving at the first corner it seems, but had the most public of results.

Anyone who says Rusty is under pressure is succumbing to the Holden PR machine

[Alan Jones]

You gotta feel a lil sorry for Russell, the pressure is on and the poor bugger was too busy tightening his belt to remember to pump the pedal. Do you guys think Marcus should also share a lil of the blame as he didn't ensure russell's belts were tight ?
Just a thought, not an accusation.
Marcus was once again outstanding when interviewed and although I was not suprised, I bet Russell was.That was the longest wait to get pulled out of the gravel Russell has ever endured and one hopes his mistakes for this year are a thing of the past.

[Quested]

I don't think you can blame any individual for this event... the driver change is something that ought to have been practiced again and again and again so that it became second nature... if Russell had to think about belts and brakes and... anything... maybe they didn't practice enough? It ought to be 2nd nature.

Practicing those things is not the responsibility of any one individual - it is the responsibility of the team.

[A9X05]

About Ingall going off, it just proves to me the bloke is HUMAN like the rest of us, and makes mistakes like us too! I too noticed he didnt do the bug dummy spit, like some others have done in the past, , and just got back on track, and made the best of a bad situation!
Also about the same time do I recall, some other cars spearing off at the same corner?? was there some oil down around that time?
Another point mentioned before, was how well MARCOS handled the situation and he also just copped it on the chin, and at the end of the day, it was a fairly good result, without too much agro for the cameras!
To all the FORD/SBR supporters out there, There is still hope as there are not that many teams that go on and take the big ENDURO DOUBLE it could just be a reversal of last years results SBR -HRT 2002 HRT- SBR 2003?

[Sol]

Everyone makes mistakes and Ingall did a super job after he got out of the sand to recover a solid result from a bad situation.

Russell has been on the receiving end of similar mistakes from his co-drivers before - Larry hit the pit entrance at Bathurst 2 years ago throwing away a likely win.

[Archer]

RUSSELL IS NOT A WEAK LINK!

He has got a new lease on life on his team/manufactuer switch to SBR.

His results speak for themselves. I'll say that again, HIS RESULTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES!

Sandown was a bummer, but how well Marcos, Russell and the whole team handled it was credit to the proffesionalism of the outfit. Everone buggers up, but ending up 5th after that has gotta be something for the team to cheer about, an amazing performance!

[woodbine]

Is it me or was Paul Morris just paying SBR a huge compliment. After all if Ingall is the weakest link in the team how much stronger is it than a team like Morris's where Ingall would be the strongest link?

[dsg]

Most team managers go through the check list of things to do as the cars is trundling down the pit lane on the way in and out. Did anyone hear any radio chatter from Ross or Jimmy to reset the bars or pump the brakes etc.

[xrystl]

If nothing else , the incident and the drive to fifth place shows the strength of the SBR # 4 vehicle - had the incident not occured and with the problems the other front runners had , a win for the # 4 car would have been certain. I think the team should be happy with their result and the performance of the car . I don't think Ingall's ability behind the wheel should be questioned .

[Gudgeon]

Woodbine you have caught on to what I thought Paul Morris was saying when he said that Russell was the Weakest Link in the SBR team in fact he was paying them a compliment but they did not choose to take it that way Interestingly Morris's car was the car ahead of Ingall when Russell speared off could it have been that Ingall was going to pass him as soon as possible and was playing the man and not the race.I bet Morris would have Russell as a co driver any day I don't know about the reverse

[Acj 428]

I too think that this incident has just shown everyone including SBR, how strong and professional the whole SBR team are. They could have all spat the dummy and let it get too them, but no they put it behind them and are looking forward to a WIN at bathurst...: )

[GTRMagic]

Here's hoping Paul Morris finally gets some luck himself and translates some of that awesome car speed into a strong race result. Even with the less powerful spare engine aboard, there were glimmers of speed, despit ethe car not being set up to the drivers' liking in the changing conditions