March 07, 2013
Published on tags: Superleague

 

Halcyon Racing had mixed fortunes during their Superleague debut in Melbourne
The first race of the season allowed the team to properly see where they fit in amongst the competition after the four pre-season winter tests. Adam Rouse managed to set a time that qualified him in 14th position, with Philip Cullen 17th. The two cars were separated by four tenths of a second.

The race provided mixed fortunes for a team. After the first lap scramble, the two cars were running together on track on the outside of the top-10 with Cullen leading Rouse. Trouble struck the Irish driver on lap three when an internet disconnection ended his race prematurely.

Adam Rouse continued on, making two scheduled stops on his way to finishing 11th position, earning the team its first Superleague points.

Philip Cullen: "Gutted probably sums things up nicely on how that race went. After all the hard work to get a disconnection, it's one of the worst ways to go really."

"Shit happens, as they say. We move on to Sepang. It was brilliant to see Adam get points on the board for the team. Really think a double points finish would have been on the cards if we had both cars were on the track but we can look forward to better days on my side of the garage."

Adam Rouse:"Nice to be back in the Superleague and it feels particularly great to be doing with my own team finally. We had a good solid free practice with all three drivers completing a healthy amount of laps which is key for our future ambitions, Quali I think as a team we just about maxed what was possible for us today with 14th and 17th."

"I got a decent launch at the start but couldn't really attack the car in front so I kind of braked early and took a cautious opening few corners, this lost me a few positions, including to my team mate but its a long race and I didn't fancy damage early on."

"After that I was running closely with Phillie and we were looking pretty well placed until he disconnected which was a real disappointment. I'd be lying if I didn't say it helped me push on a bit but it also damped my mood for the race as I felt we really had a chance at a double points finish on our Superleague debut."

"None the less we managed to grab some points which is great and we know we will have to work hard to stay in those types of positions in the future but the cars going to constantly improve from this point on and we look forward to the challenges that lie ahead."