On only his second V8 Supercar outing for the year young Kiwi Chris Pither endured a tough day at the office in Round 4 of the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Championship.

Qualifying:

Chris’s summation:

‘I’m a bit puzzled. I did the same time as in the last practice session yesterday.

‘The car is oversteering [breaking loose at the rear] just about everywhere. As soon as I step on the throttle the back just tries to get away.

‘It didn’t feel as nice as yesterday, so we’ll go back and have a chat about it and make a few changes.’

Results: 1 Caruso, 2 D’Alberto, 3 Marshall, 4 O’Brien, 5 Youlden, 6 Scott, 7 Zukanovic, 8 Fernandez, 9 Thompson, 10 Sharpe, 21 Pither

Race 1:

(16 laps)

Grid Position: 21

Things didn’t begin well. When the field was told to move off for the warm-up lap, the Kanga Loaders Commodore refused to come to life. A helping hand from the marshalls got it under way.

Under the category’s rules, however, Chris was forced to come to the pit lane, switch off the engine and then prove to stewards that it would start under its own power. Car 44 fired up the first time, but of course Pither was forced to start from pit lane, effective losing 16 positions before the red lights had gone out and starting 37^th.

But it was a case of never say die for Pither. He was a demon under brakes into turns 3 and 6, his favourite passing places. By the end of lap 1 he was 33^rd; lap 2, 31^st; lap 3, 26^th; lap 7, 27^th; lap 9, 23^rd; lap 10, 22^nd; and lap 12, 21^st, his finishing position.

The physical exertion of the drive showed on the face of the clearly disappointed Kanga Loaders young gun when he returned to the pits.

All he could add was: ‘The car is handling better than it did in qualifying.’

Results: 1 Caruso, 2 O’Brien, 3 D’Alberto, 4 Youlden, 5 Scott, 6 Marshall, 7 Fernandez, 8 Sharpe, 9 Slade, 10 McIntyre, 21 Pither

Chris Pither and the Kanga Loaders Commodore will attack Race 2 from grid position 21 (16 laps; top 10 Race 1 finishers in reverse order) and Race 3 (26 laps) tomorrow.

In Oz, catch the Queensland Raceway Fujitsu V8 Supercar Races on Channel 7 at 1.30 pm on Saturday, 28 July. Check your local guides for details.

In New Zealand, the Queensland Raceway Fujitsu V8 Supercar action will be broadcast on the TVONE Fujitsu V8 Supercar show on Sunday, 12 August. Check your local guides for details.