by 
31st
March, 2002
Round 1
Brede a surprise
winner in Konica opener
Dale Brede won the opening
round of the Konica V8 Supercar Series at Wakefield Park Raceway
today, defeating championship favourite Paul Dumbrell.
The 26-year-old V8 Supercar sophomore, recruited to Craig Harris' Konica
outfit this season as a long-term prospect, was impressive in holding
out a fast-finishing Dumbrell to take victory in the final 35-minute
race and seal a maiden round victory. Earlier, he finished second
in each of the first two 20-minute races.
The win is Ford's first round
victory in the Konica Series, now in its third season.
"This is a great result for me, I had a lot of bad luck last year
and was feeling quite a bit of pressure going into this weekend,"
said Brede, who as a rookie finished sixth in last year's junior V8
Supercar league.
Pole-sitter Dumbrell won the opening 20-minute race, keeping his
Commodore's nose in front until the race was red flagged two laps from
the scheduled finish when debutant Michael Turner stalled his car on the
main straight.
Dumbrell and runner-up Brede were then relegated to the fifth row of the
grid for the second heat; victims of their own success under the
category's top ten reverse grid format.
Queenslander Craig Harris, who climbed 11 positions in the opening race
to finish seventh, was awarded a spot on the second row for race two.
He quickly swallowed pole-sitter Kevin Mundy and went on to record his
first V8 Supercar race win.
Brede fought his way to second, while Dumbrell's over-zealous move on
Greg Crick late in the race saw him spin and finish fourth.
Combined results from the first two races put Brede on pole for the
final event and, despite losing his rear bumper which can be seen
trailing behind him in the photos, he was never headed
throughout the 30-lap race.
A gallant Dumbrell hounded the back of Brede's Gulf Western Falcon over
the dying laps, before settling for second in the race and second in the
points' standings.
"We had it in the back of our minds that the third race was longer
and we would have to preserve the rear tyres," Dumbrell said.
"I really put the pressure on Dale (Brede) towards the end but I
couldn't quite get him."
47-year-old veteran Greg Crick looks set to play a similar role to David
Parsons' Konica effort last year; today Crick was a formidable opponent
for the sport's young up-and-comers in his Ross Halliday-prepared Ford.
Two thirds and a fourth from the three races has him third in the
championship.
Matthew White was fast throughout the weekend, but a spin in race two
ended his challenge. However, he fought back to finish fourth in
the final race to remain in title contention.
More than 9000 fans trekked to the rural New South Wales venue this
Easter Sunday, a 20 percent increase on last year's Wakefield
attendances.
The next round of the five-event Konica Series is at Phillip Island
Raceway on May 4th and 5th.
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