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Ozemail car swap???
Taken from V8X.
This is very strange and I have reason to beleive it will not happen. Some people who I would think would know about this knew nothing until I mentioned it to them on the phone about 1 hour ago. And this person is really in the know about the two cars.
OzEmail Racing To Change Bathurst Arrangement
OzEmail Racing have today made their most controversial decision of the year by swapping their driving arrangements for next weekends Bob Jane T-Marts 1000 at Bathurst.
In a last minute assessment, team principal Brad Jones has announced that he and co-driver John Bowe will swap cars and pilot the black #888 OzEmail Falcon (campaigned by Bowe throughout the 2002 season) with John Cleland and Tim Leahey taking charge of the newer #21 Falcon.
"It may seem a strange decision but we think it will give us a more competitive two car option," said Jones.
"After testing earlier this week we feel that by putting John [Bowe] and myself in the older #888 car and John Cleland and Tim [Leahey] in the new car, we will maximise our chances of having two cars capable of excellent results. Which is obviously better for us and our sponsors," he added.
"John [Bowe] proved at the Queensland 500 that the #21 OzEmail Falcon is one of the fastest Ford’s at the moment but let’s not forget that the #888 car is the one that I finished second at Bathurst with last year and has proven itself around the ‘Mountain’, Jones said further.
Jones believes that multiple-car V8 Supercar outfits should concentrate more on a team focus rather than putting all their energies into just one car - "We are a two car team and we should give both driver pairings the best possible chance to win the race, no matter where the drivers sit in the championship. That’s why we have made some tough decisions."
"It’s simple, at OzEmail Racing, if one of our cars doesn’t finish the race we want the second one to be right up there with the leaders," Jones concluded.
For multiple Bathurst champ John Bowe, the decision is the right one – "V8 Supercar racing these days is far more complex than it’s ever been before. Bathurst is not only the race that every driver and team wants to win but it’s commercially the biggest race of the year as well."
"It’s important for all concerned that you optimise every opportunity and I totally agree with giving both cars every chance," Bowe concluded.
The changes have forced the OzEmail Racing Team to conduct an unscheduled test session at Winton Raceway on Monday with all drivers to use the day to familiarise themselves with their new cars.
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