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[V8SC] Minor setbacks for Reindler
by Karl Reindler Racing
Minor setbacks, now on to Clipsal!
1 March, 2010
Karl Reindler ended his Middle-Eastern V8 Supercar Championship Series debut with a less than perfect points tally; in part because of his recent introduction to the category, and in part due to a string of mechanical dramas which have plagued the new Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing team since it's February launch.
P29 is certainly not where Karl was hoping to end the two 'away' rounds, and his position on the championship ladder provides absolutely no indication as to just how competitive the young West Australian really was.
Three mechanical failures (header pipe and rattle-gun at Abu Dhabi, and clutch at Bahrain), and one accident caused by another competitor meant that out of four races, Karl could only manage to score points from two, and one of those after recovering from a long pit-stop; it had been an initiation of fire for Karl and the fresh young Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing team.
"It's been another tough weekend for the guys," Karl reflected after Bahrain. "We're still learning the car and this track certainly didn't do us any favours. It's been a huge learning curve for me but on the positive side, I'm feeling more confident every time I get in the car."
Despite showing a pace which put him on the tail of the top 20 at Abu Dhabi in his series debut a week prior to the Bahrain event, Karl, along with Brad Jones Racing team-mates Jason Bright and Jason Richards, struggled to find a good balance for their VE Commodores.
By the opening qualifier though, the team found almost one and a half seconds over their practice pace, whilst teams at the front of the field failed to improve. It was a step in the right direction.
A conservative start saw Karl manage to avoid the inevitable first corner melee, and he steadily rose through the field to be 11th at the first stop. Slick pit work by the Fair Dinkum Sheds team had Karl back on track and he worked his way forward once again, ultimately crossing the line in 24th position.
"Again it was another tough race but I got through without any dramas, I didn't hit anyone and wasn't hit by anyone. The tyres went away quite quickly out there; it's just so abrasive [track surface]. We only put rear tyres on at the first stop which created a huge imbalance and it started under steering quite badly, and from there, the front tyres went away very quickly.
"In hindsight we should've put a full set on at the second stop. The front tyres got so bad I had to slow the car down significantly in the corners just to get it around them. We'll have a look at the data and see what we can do for tomorrow's qualifying and second race."
Sadly qualifying #2 saw Karl drop off his Friday pace, falling again to 28th starting position, grip still a major issue for the #21 Commodore, but so too was traffic. "With the huge effect the track surface was having on tyre wear, drivers would do their roll-out lap from the pits at almost walking pace," Karl confirmed. "That meant a huge difference between those leaving the pits, and those on a hot lap. I came up on Bargwanna in the final sector of my hot lap, and just had to drive off the racing line around him to avoid contact; I was pretty annoyed at the time, because the same thing happened in the opening qualifier with Van Gisbergen. On this surface, the tyres are good for a time on just one lap, so it was all over from there."
Despite the setback, Karl started the race like a jet, taking nine cars in the opening lap (some of them as a result of the turn one incident which caught out Karl's team-mate Jason Bright).
Karl hit the pits for the first time on lap eight for new rear tyres, then continued to charge, but noticed an issue starting to develop with his clutch. It continued to hamper his progress, and almost ended his race on his second run into the pits after struggling to leave his pit box. Once going though Karl was quickly into a rhythm and making the most of his fresh rubber. Seven laps into his final stint though, it all came to a stop, the clutch exploded in the bell housing and started a fire under the bonnet which was quickly extinguished, but it was the end of Karl's race.
"We weren't too bad today pace wise, as good as the group I was racing with. Not sure what happened with the clutch, but I nearly couldn't get out of the pts after the second stop. I'll spend some time with my engineer and chat with Brighty and JR and plan to be ready for a big effort at the Clipsal 500."
Despite the setbacks over the week away, Karl was pretty happy with the overall outcome, and especially the bonding that's developed within the BJR team over the first two events. "At the first round in Abu Dhabi we were all trying to find our way, and everyone was working out where they needed to be and what they needed to be doing. We had very little overlap with the other guys in the team, but at Bahrain we had a great opportunity to debrief with the other teams, and we certainly learnt a lot. We followed the path of the BOC guys on Sunday and learnt a lot from that, but I think my style is closer to Brighty than Jason Richards, so we'll work with the Trading Post guys at Clipsal and see what we can learn from them.
"I think it's smarter at this early stage to follow what the experienced guys in the team like Brighty and Phil Keed are doing rather than heading down our own path.
"At the end of the day, there's a whole bunch of new guys in the team, and we're the third car in an experienced long-term operation, so there a variety of issues which we all have to settle into, but all up, despite the result I think we're heading in the right direction."
Karl is now back in the country and straight back into work, starting his first day back at University in the third year of his Engineering course. For the team it's back to their Albury base to repair and prepare for the first 'local' round, the popular Clipsal 500 on the streets of Adelaide scheduled for two weeks time (11-14 March).
Karl Reindler is proudly supported by Brad Jones Racing, Fair Dinkum Homes & Sheds, No Fear, Oakley, Biante, Thomson Aviation and Bostech Drilling.
2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series
1. Jamie Whincup (Holden) - 600 points
2. Mark Winterbottom (Ford) - 543
3. Shane van Gisbergen (Ford) - 471
4. Craig Lowndes (Holden) - 447
5. James Courtney (Ford) - 420
6. Rick Kelly (Holden) - 392
7. Lee Holdsworth (Holden) - 372
8. Steven Johnson (Ford) - 296
9. Michael Caruso (Holden) - 294
10. Russell Ingall (Holden) - 270
29. Karl Reindler (Fair Dinkum Homes & Sheds Holden Commodore) - 69
2010 V8 Supercar Calendar
#3 Clipsal 500, Adelaide, SA (11-14 March)
#4 AGP, Albert Park, VIC (25-28 March)
#5 ITM 400, Hamilton, NZ (16-18 April)
#6 Ipswich 300, QLD (30-2 May)
#7 Winton, VIC (14-16 May)
#8 Hidden Valley, Darwin, NT (18-20 June)
#9 Townsville 400, QLD (9-11 July)
#10 L&H 500, Phillip Island, VIC (10-12 September)
#11 Supercheap Auto 1000, Bathurst, NSW (7-10 October)
#12 Gold Coast Supercarnival, QLD (22-24 October)
#13 Falken Tasmania Challenge, TAS (12-14 November)
#14 Norton 360 Sandown Challenge, VIC (19-21 November)
#15 Telstra 500, Sydney, NSW (3-5 December)
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