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27^th April, 2002
Round 3, Race 1  

Sun sets on a perfect day for Skaife

Mark Skaife has converted his pole position into a win in tonight’s twilight race at Eastern Creek Raceway, retaining top spot for tomorrow’s main event.

Pole-sitter Skaife cruised to a comfortable two-second victory over Marcos Ambrose in the 20-minute sprint, as the sun set on a perfect day for the championship favourite.

"At this stage we couldn't be happier,” said Skaife.

"But it is a long day tomorrow, there are two longer races and it is going to be hard on tyres.  Anything can happen here."

Ambrose remains confident he can challenge Skaife tomorrow, despite being no match for him today.

"I am pleased with the shootout and pleased with the race, only it would have been better if Mark wasn't here,” he said.  “We've gone around in circles this weekend, and hopefully we'll go forward tomorrow."

Dark horse stays dark
Starting from the second row of the grid was a pleasant change for John Faulkner, though he admitted he had a lot to learn about getting the best start on cold tyres.  He drove faultlessly to finish third.

Greg Murphy and Russell Ingall pushed inside the top five tonight, relegating Steven Ellery to sixth – still his best result of the season.

Jason Bright will have to fight his way from the back of the grid tomorrow after retiring tonight with engine failure.  Simon Wills and Cameron McConville also failed to finish.

The twilight experiment was hailed a success, though Skaife called for flood lighting on each corner to improve visibility.

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