The 2012 IRWIN Racing Ford Falcon Photo credit: BAM Media
Lee Holdsworth has revealed his 2012 IRWIN Tools backed Ford Falcon racing colours and the Stone Brothers Racing new recruit couldn't be happier.
The finishing touches to the new livery were completed yesterday with Holdsworth seeing it in its finished state for the first time.
“I'm really impressed with it, it’s really neat, IRWIN stands out great,” said Lee Holdsworth.
“Last year's car looked good, but this is even better. I think it will look great up the front of the grid.”
Holdsworth believes that the IRWIN Ford looks better than any of the 2012 team liveries launched so far.
“I think the IRWIN car will stand out better than any other car on the grid,” said Holdsworth.
“You can spot it a mile away, the IRWIN logo just jumps out at you, which is what any sponsor wants.
“You will be able to clearly read it at 280 kilometres an hour as much as you will be able to see it from 500 metres away.
“The colours are unique, you can see the car, it’s different from anything else and it's nice on the eye. I am very proud to be driving this car.”
Having only been employed by Stone Brothers Racing for six short weeks, Holdsworth is already impressed with his new team.
“The organisation and the way they coordinate everything; they have a specific chain of command, everything and everyone works so well – that’s what impresses me the most,” said Holdsworth.
“I've seen a few things that have made me feel like it's a step up from what I'm used to and a big step forward in the right direction when it comes to my long-term career.
“The facilities are impressive, there is so much development happening.
“They have all the tools at hand to do anything they want. If we can put it all together and make some smart decisions we should have a really good package.”
Holdsworth is looking forward to getting behind the wheel at this weekend's official pre-season test at Sandown and seeing where he stands against his new Stone Brothers Racing team mates Tim Slade and Shane van Gisbergen.
“Obviously Tim Slade and Shane van Gisbergen are pretty quick, if I can be on their pace that will be a good start,” said Holdsworth.
“It will be hard to do, but that's what I’m aiming at.”
In his final season with Holden and Fujitsu Racing, Lee accumulated eleven top ten finishes and continued his strong record on street circuits with a front row start at the Telstra Sydney 500.
“The opening test day sets up the season a fair bit,” said Holdsworth.
“This is where you want to develop your car and get the base set-up for the year, which is what you want straight out of the truck. You develop things like shocks and try everything from one end of the scale to the other.
“For me though, I'll be in a new car, so I want to try out different things and see what the changes do to the car.
“It's very important and it does certainly show you where you are at the start of the year and probably gives you an idea of where you will be at the end of the year.”
