David Reynolds admits the anguish of his retirement from Race 9 today was heightened by seeing Shane van Gisbergen come unstuck in the dying laps.
Reynolds entered the fourth and final race of the Beaurepaires Melbourne 400 within striking distance of the Larry Perkins Trophy, awarded to the Supercars driver who accrues the most points across the Albert Park round.
But any such hopes came crashing down on Lap 7 when a left-front failure sent him into the Turn 8 wall, forcing him to retire from the race.
At the time, Reynolds was running behind Cameron Waters, who went on to take the chequered flag fourth (classified seventh following the application of a five-second penalty for an unsafe release).
Had he finished in that ballpark, he would have won the Larry Perkins Trophy, given that a late-race tyre drama sent van Gisbergen tumbling down the order to 20th.
“I’m gutted for the team. Because of what happened to Shane, we would have won the weekend,” he told Speedcafe.com.
“We want to win on merit but it doesn’t matter how you get it, as long as you get it.”
Reynolds said a wishbone or lower arm is believed to have been the culprit behind the incident, which has dropped him from fifth in the drivers’ championship at close of play Saturday to ninth now.
Grove Racing similarly has dropped from fourth to sixth in the teams’ points.
“There’s so many positives; look at the trophy haul we have got,” said the #26 driver, who was on the podium in Races 6, 7 and 8.
“We have got pole, we have got trophies, we have got speed, we have got rhythm, we have got pit stops.
“It’s all coming together and there’s still plenty of stuff we can make better on the car.
“It’s a good confidence booster for everyone. I can’t believe that it’s happened so quick.”
Western Australia’s Wanneroo Raceway will host Round 4 of the Repco Supercars Championship on April 30 to May 1.
