Shane Lawrie
The smiles on faces were there for all to see as Penrite Racing captured an exciting double podium result in championship Race 7 at the Melbourne 400 today.
David Reynolds captured P2 while Lee Holdsworth stormed through the field from P15 on the grid to join his teammate and claim the the last spot on the podium.
Reynolds slotted into P3 off the start line in race 7, then took advantage of fortunate timing with the safety car combined with a hasty pit stop allowed Reynolds to jump Will Davison into P2.
After the second safety car, Reynolds held court with leader Shane Van Gisbergen for pace to claim back-to-back second places.
Holdsworth put in his best performance of the year in Race 7, with an impressive podium. After making his way through the battle pack at the start, he pitted on lap 5 under safety car and found himself in P9.
From here Holdsworth went on a charge as his rivals clashed in front of him, most notably James Courtney and Chaz Mostert on the last corner of the last lap, leaving Holdsworth to capitalise on good car speed and swoop to secure the double podium for Penrite Racing.
The result was Holdsworth’s first podium as a single driver since Sydney Motorsport Park 2020.
Reynolds added to the Melbourne 400 silverware collection in this afternoons championship Race 8, keeping his run of three consecutive podiums going at the undercard event for the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.
The Race 7 and Race 8 results today made it a birthday to remember for Team Owner Brenton Grove.
“I’m really happy, the last five races I’ve had a top four car so it’s fantastic for our team.” Said David Reynolds.
“The dual podium was amazing this morning. The team is ecstatic. The investment from the Grove’s has been paramount and it’s starting to pay off.
“Of course I’m disappointed to not win but we’ll take what we’re getting at the moment.”
Lee Holdsworth was a bit more vocal with his family trackside making it that little bit extra special for the #10 driver.
“I’m so happy with the podium today, starting P15 it was a hard task but we made the right call on strategy and I got my way through the drama ahead with good car speed.”
“I could see trouble brewing between Courtney and Mostert at the last corner, I kept wide so I could just squeeze by and sneak onto the podium.
“I had my family here at the track today which made the podium result even sweeter because it’s been a long time for us to all be together while I’m racing, now we’ve got a trophy to take home.
“I’ve got a car that is top four on pace in the races but I’m paying the price for our Qualifying results. At least I know what we need to improve and then I’m confident once it all clicks we’ll be able to compete for more podiums this season.”
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