MEDIA RELEASE - For immediate Release - May 4th, 2011
	TWEEDIE READY FOR TOP TEN AFTER CHALLENGING PERTH WEEKEND
	Photo:Tom Tweedie lines up in Perth with the new Land Surveys branding on the side of his Falcon. Image: Dirk Klynsmith - Click to download hi-res for media use         Photo: Tweedie in action at Barbagallo. Image: Dirk Klynsmith -Click to download hi-res for media use     TOM TWEEDIE believes he is ready to turn the corner and become a regular top-ten runner in this years Fujitsu V8 Supercar series despite a challenging weekend at Barbagallo Raceway, outside of Perth. Tweedie finished the weekend with a pair of solid mid-pack results but now says he has enough experience that he can hopefully translate into results in the next round on the streets of Townsville, in July. With new sponsor Land Surveys on the side of his Matthew White Motorsport BF Falcon, Tweedie’s first look at the challenging, undulating 2.42km circuit North of Perth resulted in 18th place in qualifying – however as usual the results only show a small piece of the full story. Tweedie was .02 seconds away from the top twelve and only nine-tenths from the front row, showing the competitive nature of this years’ Fujitsu grid. Steady gains were made during the first race, held Saturday, that saw Tweedie finish 13th after managing to steer clear of all the carnage in a race that featured two safety cars. A race highlight included a mighty three-wide battle with David Wall and Tim Blanchard on the second-last lap, with Tom coming out in front. Race two was affected before it even began; with the grid position directly in front of Tweedie’s starting spot the scene of the earlier fiery V8 supercar crash between Karl Reindler and Steve Owen – leaving the track surface covered in cement dust and debris. Sure enough, Tweedie’s Falcon broke into wheelspin as it hit the cleanup material just meters in front of his car, dropping him three places below his thirteenth place grid slot. A frustrating race saw two further safety car delays, limiting chances for improvement by the Land Surveys car and resulting in a 14th place finish. Tweedie said he learnt plenty from the tough weekend in what really did turn out to be the ‘Wild West’. “Getting the most out of these cars is so much about experience and as it’s only my second ever round in the V8, I’m still learning,” he said. “On Friday we changed the car setup a lot to try and fix the lack of grid and it was good to improve – but the car still wasn’t 100% and due to my inexperience perhaps I wasn’t able to interpret the problems so easily. “Although my car speed in race one was pretty average my lap times were at least consistent which helped me gain positions later in the race when the other cars struggled with grip – my car was OK towards the end. “In race two I got a terrible start with too much wheelspin thanks to everything on the track in front of my grid spot. 14th was a fairly disappointing end to a weekend when we were making gains right up to that point, but you’ve just got to deal with it and move on to the next one, and I can’t wait until Townsville.” Tweedie also said it was nice to finally have some branding along the sides of the Team Tom / MWR Falcon. “Land Surveys came onboard as my major sponsor for the weekend and I can’t thank them enough for their support. At the moment it was only for the one round but it’d be great to see them on the car for Townsville where I’m confident we can crack into the top ten. “We are really progressing and moving forward which is the main thing. We’ll get there.” A week earlier, Tweedie was at the renowned Mount Panorama, Bathurst, circuit for his first visit to the hallowed turf of Australian Motorsport – getting some circuit experience in a Formula Ford race at the Bathurst Motor Festival. A productive weekend saw Tom gain plenty of experience on the 6.213km circuit ahead of his V8 debut there this October – with Tom even scoring a podium finish in the process despite driving his historic Formula Ford up against several late-specification models. For more information about Tom Tweedie and the Team Tom Supporters Club, please visit www.tomtweedie.com ENDS
For more information, contact Richard Craill - Tom Tweedie Media & PR Manager - on 0408 813 141 or by replying to this email.