V8 Supercar driver Tony D’Alberto stormed home on Sunday at Sandown Raceway for a season-high seventh place, giving him the confidence to launch a big assault on the second half of season 2009.
After setting new personal best lap times during practice and qualifying, D’Alberto started from 19th on the grid and immediately made his presence felt by storming through the field to take the race lead as others around him pitted.
With a new set of sprint tyres up his sleeve, D’Alberto pitted with 24 laps left and dropped to 20th position when he returned to the track, but with quick rubber underneath his green machine a dynamic drive was about to take him charging back to the pointy end of the field.
In a dash to the finish line, D’Alberto steered his Bottle-O Commodore past some of the sports leading drivers, including Russell Ingall and James Courtney, at times reeling them in with superb manoeuvres that produced exciting racing around the Melbourne circuit.
The final few laps were filled with thrills and spills, however D’Alberto kept his car on line and drew high praise from those around him as he showed why at 23-years of age he is earmarked for more success in the future.
“The car was excellent today, the soft tyres worked really well,” said D’Alberto.
“I didn't want the race to end. I could have gone another ten laps!
“I knew we had good speed all weekend. The boys did a great job and these kind of results show what we are capable of'.”
Last Modified on 05/08/2009 14:42