”I am very disappointed with the result, we had a really strong car that was good enough to win the race,” said McLaughlin.
The #34 Volvo S60 Polestar of Robert Dahlgren and Greg Ritter made strong progress in the first half of the race as well and was as high as fifth.
But disaster struck for both cars in the same corner, just four laps apart. Dahlgren made a mistake and hit the wall in The Cutting corner, meaning a retirement from the race.
”Everything went our way at first and Greg did a great job. We climbed from 20th on the grid and were definitely in for a top ten finish. Unfortunately I made a mistake that was really costly and I am sorry for the team,” said Dahlgren.
”We got the car better during the race and were trucking along quite well with a good position. Rob made a mistake which is pretty easy to do around here. But I was encouraged by our pace through the middle of the day and I’m looking forward to Gold Coast,” said Ritter.
McLaughlin got Van Gisbergen on the inside of him going into The Cutting on lap 119. The 21-year-old went wide and hit the wall, although without contact between the two.
”I didn't know he was there until the last second and paid the price. I just got caught in the marbles, couldn't back out of it. It was a fair move, but I couldn’t turn in or hang around the outside,” said McLaughlin.
The Kiwi was able to limp back into the pits repairs. After a massive effort by the team, McLaughlin was able to rejoin the race, albeit 11 laps behind the leaders and brought the car home in 17th position.
”I am of course disappointed, we could have finished on the podium. But I can’t blame Scotty, he has done a really good job and we can all make mistakes. It is part of racing and I am really happy about my stints. I look forward to next year’s Bathurst 1000,” said Prémat.
The 1000 kilometers of the 2014 Bathurst race was filled with ups and downs for Volvo Polestar Racing. While crashes ended the race, all four drivers showed strong form with McLaughlin and Prémat putting a strong challenge for the overall victory.
”It was a frustrating end to an exciting race. But we bring the positive points with us. The team made a fantastic job repairing the car mid-race, Scott continues to impress and we led almost half the race in our first year at Bathurst. We look forward to taking on the 2015 Bathurst 1000,” said Christian Dahl, owner of Polestar.
Polestar Media Contact
Johan Meissner
Press Manager
Polestar AB
Phone: +46 [0]70 241 3234
Mail: johan.meissner@polestar.com
Web: http://www.polestar.com
