Fujitsu Racing’s Damian Assaillit has finished 16th overall at the second round of the Fujitsu V8 Series at Wakefield Park.

The Sunshine Coast racer is placed 15th in the championship points standings.

Assaillit battled oversteer throughout the weekend, with his best performance coming in the second of three races.

After qualifying 20th, the 19-year-old driver finished race#1 in 14th.

He jumped out of the blocks in race#2 getting as high as 10th, before being turned around by Brett Hobson. The Engineering student recovered to finish 15th.

After two 17-lap races, the final race of the weekend was supposed to be 30-laps. However, an 11-car pile-up just after the start forced the race to be stopped. Once the track was cleared, the race was re-set for 20-laps and Assaillit couldn’t make the most of any opportunities and finished 17th.

“Not a fantastic weekend, but we completed all three races and have a straight car,” said Assaillit.

“We battled oversteer from the outset. Although we started to head in the right direction, we had already lost too much ground.

“The second race was very good. I felt I had the pace to move up. It was disappointing not finish inside the top-10 in that race.

“That was a big accident in the final race. I have to say that I was fortunate to dive across the infield at the right moment. There was dust everywhere and zero visibility, but when you saw all the damaged cars being brought back on trucks, it was good not to be amongst them.

“We now have a couple of months before the next race at Sandown. We will use the time to really get our head around improving the car and hitting the track running at that event.”

Boss of Image Racing, the team responsible for running the Fujitsu Racing entry in the Fujitsu Series, David McMahon had hoped for a better result this weekend.

“We came into the weekend wanting a better result,” said McMahon.

“We are still getting on top of the front-end geometry of the car. Throughout the races we did improve things, but it’s clearly an area we need to look at ahead of Sandown.

“Damian worked very hard in all three races and he comfortably set times in the top-10.

“His skills avoiding that big accident are certainly worth noting!”

The third round of the Fujitsu V8 Supercar will be held at Sandown International Raceway June 7-9

2008 FUJITSU V8 SUPERCAR SERIES
Round 2 – Wakefield Park, NSW

Championship Points after two rounds
1 Steve Owen – 534 points
2 Jack Perkins – 472
3 Michael Trimble – 414
4 Tim Slade – 385
5 David Reynolds – 378
6 Jonathan Webb – 356
7 Grant Denyer – 326
8 Karl Reindler – 326
9 Dale Wood – 301
10 Jay Verdnik – 294
15 Damian Assaillitt – 238

RESULTS: Round Points
1 Tim Slade – 256 points
2 David Reynolds – 240
3 Steve Owen – 234
4 Jonathon Webb – 224
5 Dean Canto – 208
6 Michael Trimble – 198
7 Jack Perkins – 196
8 Drew Russell – 166
9 Jay Verdnik – 162
10 Sam Walter – 154
16 Damian Assaillit – 118

RESULTS: Race Three
1 Dean Canto – 20 laps
2 Tim Slade
3 Michael Trimble
4 David Reynolds
5 Jack Perkins
6 Jay Verdnik
7 Jonathon Webb
8 Drew Russell
9 Grant Denyer
10 David Sieders
16 Damian Assaillit

RESULTS: Race Two
1 Tim Slade – 17 laps
2 Steve Owen
3 David Reynolds
4 Mark McNally
5 Jonathon Webb
6 Michael Trimble
7 Marcus Zukanovic
8 Drew Russell
9 Sam Walter
10 Dale Wood
15 Damian Assaillit

RESULTS: Race One
1 Steve Owen – 17 laps
2 Dean Canto
3 Jonathon Webb
4 Jack Perkins
5 David Reynolds
6 Mark McNally
7 Tim Slade
8 Karl Reindler
9 Jay Verdnik
10 Sam Walter
14 Damian Assaillit

RESULTS: Qualifying
1 Steve Owen 58.4392
2 Grant Denyer 58.7300
3 Dean Canto 58.8352
4 Jonathon Webb 58.9181
5 Jack Perkins 59.0022
6 Mark McNally 59.1883
7 Michael Trimble 59.1951
8 David Reynolds 59.1992
9 Tim Slade 59.2523
10 Dale Wood 59.3696
20 Damian Assaillit 1:00.2997