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Round Four 2005 Performance Driving Centre (HPDC) V8 Supercar Development Series Queensland Raceway 22-24 July 2005 Photos: Marshall Cass Photography, James Smith JONES - THE PACK LEADER

EVENT SCHEDULE Day Event Format Times Friday Practice 35 Minutes 09:00 - 09:35 Friday Practice 35 Minutes 10:50 - 11:25 Friday Qualifying 40 Minutes 12:35 - 13:20 Saturday Race 1 16 Laps 11:50 - 12:10 Saturday Race 2 16 Laps 15:45 - 16:05 Sunday Race 3 28 Laps 11:15 - 12:05

FAST FACTS Qualifying Session looks encouraging as Robbie shows good pace against numerous local teams Problem with gear shifter thwarts continued improvement in latter phase of Qualifying Race One ruined with repeat problem from gear shifter Every cloud has a silver lining as Robbie’s last place in Race One puts the Spies Hecker Commodore on pole position for Race Two/ reverse grid Robbie bolts ahead and holds lead for six laps before exhaust fumes induce a spin Race Three sees a cool-headed drive to finish just outside the top ten

INTRODUCTION Race fans in Australia’s northern state were treated to a V8 Supercar feast at the Queensland 300 held at Queensland Raceway, Ipswich west of Brisbane, where huge crowds totalling more than 60,000 were drawn to see both V8 Supercar series running in one of the much-anticipated conjunctional rounds at this the only fixed-course V8 Supercar event up north. Robbie Jones does not rank as one of Queensland Raceway’s greatest admirers because of its legendary unimaginative layout. Being likened to a giant paper clip, and perfectly flat, the circuit at least provides uninterrupted spectator viewing and usually its fair share of spectacular biff-and-barge. Fans this year were treated to a double-shot of action when a Porsche, from one of the supporting races, and a Level 1 V8 Supercar launched into spectacular mid-air barrel rolls; with both drivers fortunately walking away without injury.

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PRACTICE SESSIONS “Our weekend kicked off with ensuring that I was refamiliarised with the track and its particular challenges. The first two sessions of Practice were sighting laps to remember where the bumps exactly were and set my braking markers. It was important to really get as good a handle on it as I could because Queensland Raceway is home to many teams, most of which are Level 1 teams; so its doubly tough up there. “During the first session we used the race tyres from Bathurst last year which were over nine months old because it would have been a waste of valuable new rubber. The car was reasonably good ‘straight out of the box’ and had a little bit understeer which was due to the old tyres not the car’s set-up. With the exception of a few bumps the track surface is totally flat so you need a lot of grip. “After the conclusion of the first outing we had posted the 20th fastest lap time with a 1min:14.8 seconds, and 2.6-seconds from the leader. “For Practice Two we had four left-over tyres from Eastern Creek and made minimal changes to the Spies Hecker Commodore’s suspension settings. Our pace improved notably as I settled in and pulled my lap time down to 1min:14.1 and reduced gap to the leader to 1.9-seconds. This result moved us up to an encouraging 15th place which in the circumstances was a solid effort. I felt that I was going deeper into corners before braking, as I had done at Eastern Creek, and this added to the improvement overall.”

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QUALIFYING SESSION “Our improved result in Practice ranked us fourteenth overall in the combined results but it didn’t quite get us into the top half of the overall rankings so we went out for Qualifying in the ‘lower 50% session’. We had made some suspension adjustments beforehand based on how we thought the car would behave with new tyres and things were going well, it looked like we would be amongst the three fastest in our group. “I had commenced my sixth lap and was getting progressively faster but things went pear- shaped when the gearbox got jammed. “I had to return to the pits to see if we could discover what the problem was. Nothing was initially obvious but closer detailed inspection revealed the selector had slipped between two gears causing the jam. “The car has the same ‘box it has always had from day one and was getting close to being due for a rebuild. For Bathurst last year we had replaced the gears but this item usually never wears out. It is a freak occurrence and we were all pretty disappointed to have our efforts thwarted in this way and not have the opportunity to go as good as we could have. “The outcome put the Spies Hecker Commodore in 19th out of 26th for the starting grid of Race One. Our best lap time in that session was a 1min:13.8-seconds which was quite a way short what it should have been, what we did last year which was a 1min:13.1 which alone would have put us in 12th. “All this happened on Friday and overnight we pulled the gearbox out and examined our options. The selector itself looked okay so we refitted it”.

Race Report. Spies Hecker Racing 4 RACE ONE “I got the Spies Hecker Commodore off to a good start and grabbed four positions quickly in the first few corners when some cars ahead had a big shunt on the start line. Someone had stalled and been rear-ended, that car had then been hit from behind, and I narrowly missed all this as I came through. “The race officials displayed a red flag, denoting that the race must immediately halt, as the cars approached the beginning of the main straight so the carnage could be cleared away. This type of incident had happened at Eastern Creek so the officials decided to restart us behind the Safety Car rather than a stationery start, the theory is that moving cars can't stall. “On lap nine the gearbox jammed again and I had no option but to return to the pits. After seeing if there was anything we could do to rectify it I rejoined the race two laps behind and finished the race in last place rather than get a DNF (Did Not Finish). The significance of this was huge because the next race was the reverse grid; last in Race One starts from first in Race Two.

Race Report. Spies Hecker Racing 5 RACE TWO “We obtained another gear shifter and replaced our faulty one for this outing. My normal driving style is to use the gearbox to assist with stopping the car but for this race I decided to adopt the ‘ style’, go hard into the braking zone and not downshift through each gear - but stand on the brakes. “Starting from the very front we wanted to ensure that we gave ourselves the best possible shot at a great result. Lining up for the beginning of this race in pole position was fantastic exposure for the car and our sponsors. To hold this position for the entire sixteen lap distance was always going to be a ‘big ask’. But I had a strategy that would maximise our chance of getting the biggest possible benefit. The top positions from the first race would start from the rear grid positions and would have to fight their way through the ‘obstructions’ of the mid-field guys. Despite their superior cars this still takes several laps to happen during which time I would be able to open up a sizable lead.

Robbie leads the field in Race Two “I got a reasonable start, the car alongside got a slightly better one and his nose was a few metres ahead as we ran for the first corner. I had the inside line and held him out to dry as we raced through it - I had the lead and I was hanging onto it! “Over the next few laps I opened a gap of several seconds and held the lead for a healthy six laps. When the front runners finally arrived I let two of them through per lap, its bad sportsmanship to block someone who is substantially faster than you, plus they are racing for top championship positions and should be allowed to battle it out fairly and squarely. Letting them through in a controlled manner also ensured that I didn’t lose any time in the manoeuvres because when it’s all said and done I'm entitled to control circumstances to my advantage. “The front guys were having a ding-dong battle in front of me and I stayed within reach for several laps, with only a small difference in lap times of not much more than one second, just in case there was an opening or a mishap; and there was. Television present Grant Denyer and another car went off. “Fernandez had been the first to get past me but somewhere amongst all this he sustained some damage and was circulating at about only eighty per cent speed. He had dropped back and I was stalking him for a passing opportunity which came on lap eleven. Fernandez is the last of the late-breakers and I had to go in deep which caused my rear brakes to lock up. The car went into a lazy spin, the engine stalled as I came to rest but I had maintained control and kept the car on the blacktop. I hit the starter button and brought the car round and got going again without incurring any damage but lost about ten seconds, I had been fighting for eighth position at that stage but now had to settle for thirteenth. I was naturally disappointed but grateful for keeping the car out of the sandtrap

Race Report. Spies Hecker Racing 6 which would have delivered a DNF. The Spies Hecker Commodore performed well, I had done our fastest lap on the fourth, by the end of the race the rear tyres were pretty well shot but I had been driving so as to keep the car behind at a safe distance and crossed the line in thirteenth. “Later in the day I was reflecting on the race and realised that my car had been getting a lot of exhaust fumes inside as the front running cars came through, and that this had affected my judgement and most likely been the cause of the failed passing manoeuvre”.

Robbie hung onto the leaders when they came through.

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RACE THREE “We had typical suspension adjustments throughout the course of the weekend but hadn’t actually changed any of the Spies Hecker Commodore’s springs or shockers. This race was a twenty eight lapper and our starting position was seventeenth, I got a reasonable start and Denyer fired-off the track moving us up one place. I was tailing Gary Deane for six laps, he was the driver who did the damage to our car at Eastern Creek. I pursued him closely and let him know I was there with some small ‘love taps’, I harassed him to force an error which came on lap ten and I shot up the inside, and we were up to fourteenth. Once I passed him our lap times dropped from the 1min:15’s into the fourteens. A Safety Car period happened and I adjusted the roll-bars to ‘full-hard’ setting in anticipation of the tyres cooling off during this phase. Upon resumption I progressively adjusted the bar settings as required by the circumstances. “Next I was chasing Mark Howard and turned my headlights on to aid with the harassment, at this stage we were caught in traffic. There was a lapped car on the left as Howard and I went past. Howard went in too deep into the next corner and lifted his rear wheels off the ground, and spat himself off the track. This was lap twenty and we were now in twelfth. “Over the next seven laps, with headlights blazing, the positions in front of me changed but I held back from doing anything hasty and waited for the right opportunity which came on lap twenty seven. It was Jay Verdnik and it looked like he had used up his tyres whilst ours were in pretty good shape. “I drove a copybook race and the Spies Hecker Commodore performed faultlessly for a solid result of eleventh.

With headlights blazing Robbie harassed Gary Deane, his nemesis from Eastern Creek, into a mistake and stole his position.

SUMMARY “Notwithstanding the problems that the gear selector caused this was a very good weekend for our team, we weren't affected by our other drivers’ disasters, had lead a race for a sizable number of laps and managed to claw our way up the order to be almost inside the top ten by race three”.

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Practice One Pos Car Driver Vehicle Laps Fastest Fastest Gap 1 71 Dean Canto Ford Falcon BA 22 14 1:12.1998 2 27 Adam Macrow Ford Falcon BA 18 14 1:12.5583 0:00.3585 3 60 Warren Luff Ford Falcon BA 21 15 1:12.5783 0:00.3785 4 72 Holdsworth Holden Commodore 23 23 1:12.6098 0:00.4100 5 99 Tony D'Alberto Holden Commodore 24 19 1:12.7459 0:00.5461 6 19 Ford Falcon AU 26 22 1:12.9935 0:00.7937 7 65 Phillip Scifleet Ford Falcon AU 24 23 1:13.2532 0:01.0534 8 42 Jay Verdnik Holden Commodore 23 19 1:13.6975 0:01.4977 9 28 Wanless Ford Falcon AU 18 16 1:13.7129 0:01.5131 10 41 MacDonald Ford Falcon BA 26 22 1:13.7426 0:01.5428 11 26 Fernandez Ford Falcon BA 23 4 1:13.7519 0:01.5521 12 81 Grant Denyer Ford Falcon BA 22 19 1:13.8538 0:01.6540 13 37 Mark Howard Ford Falcon BA 22 17 1:14.0996 0:01.8998 14 30 Evangelou Ford Falcon BA 25 20 1:14.1256 0:01.9258 15 91 Gary Deane Ford Falcon AU 18 9 1:14.2263 0:02.0265 16 31 Mark Porter Ford Falcon BA 6 6 1:14.2868 0:02.0870 17 98 Grant Elliott Holden Commodore 21 18 1:14.4715 0:02.2717 18 68 Beikoff Ford Falcon AU 24 19 1:14.6135 0:02.4137 19 32 Aaron McGill Holden Commodore 20 9 1:14.7651 0:02.5653 20 69 Robert Jones Holden Commodore 21 18 1:14.8224 0:02.6226 21 56 Henderson Ford Falcon AU 16 16 1:15.6657 0:03.4659 22 80 Barry Tanton Ford Falcon AU 24 20 1:16.5141 0:04.3143 23 57 Dean Savage Holden Commodore 23 20 1:16.5708 0:04.3710 24 62 Loadsman Holden Commodore 23 10 1:16.8919 0:04.6921 25 40 Papendell Holden Commodore 18 10 1:16.9896 0:04.7898 26 86 Greg Smith Ford Falcon AU 26 22 1:17.9979 0:05.79

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Practice Two Pos Car Driver Vehicle Laps Fastest Fastest Gap 1 71 Dean Canto Ford Falcon BA 18 16 1:12.2222 2 99 Tony D'Alberto Holden Commodore 20 20 1:12.2819 0:00.0597 3 60 Warren Luff Ford Falcon BA 21 6 1:12.5718 0:00.3496 4 19 Will Davison Ford Falcon AU 21 16 1:12.9627 0:00.7405 5 72 Holdsworth Holden Commodore 13 3 1:13.0670 0:00.8448 6 31 Mark Porter Ford Falcon BA 19 3 1:13.1081 0:00.8859 7 27 Adam Macrow Ford Falcon BA 18 15 1:13.1463 0:00.9241 8 42 Jay Verdnik Holden Commodore 18 11 1:13.2958 0:01.0736 9 65 Phillip Scifleet Ford Falcon AU 22 19 1:13.3756 0:01.1534 10 30 Evangelou Ford Falcon BA 21 17 1:13.6557 0:01.4335 11 81 Grant Denyer Ford Falcon BA 19 12 1:13.6892 0:01.4670 12 28 Dean Wanless Ford Falcon AU 19 5 1:13.7383 0:01.5161 13 68 Beikoff Ford Falcon AU 19 16 1:13.8344 0:01.6122 14 26 Fernandez Ford Falcon BA 18 14 1:14.1281 0:01.9059 15 69 Robert Jones Holden Commodore 18 7 1:14.1581 0:01.9359 16 91 Gary Deane Ford Falcon AU 20 18 1:14.2794 0:02.0572 17 41 MacDonald Ford Falcon BA 16 9 1:14.3152 0:02.0930 18 56 Henderson Ford Falcon AU 10 6 1:14.3793 0:02.1571 19 98 Grant Elliott Holden Commodore 16 13 1:14.4665 0:02.2443 20 37 Mark Howard Ford Falcon BA 14 11 1:14.4694 0:02.2472 21 32 Aaron McGill Holden Commodore 18 12 1:14.4750 0:02.2528 22 40 Papendell Holden Commodore 17 6 1:15.1290 0:02.9068 23 62 Loadsman Holden Commodore 7 7 1:15.6403 0:03.4181 24 80 Barry Tanton Ford Falcon AU 16 16 1:16.1376 0:03.9154 25 57 Dean Savage Holden Commodore 20 4 1:16.8938 0:04.6716 26 86 Greg Smith Ford Falcon AU 19 14 1:19.0036 0:06.7

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Qualifying Session Pos Car Driver Vehicle Laps Fastest Fastest Gap 1 71 Dean Canto Ford Falcon BA 14 11 1:11.0955 2 72 Holdsworth Holden Commodore 13 10 1:11.4357 0:00.3402 3 19 Will Davison Ford Falcon AU 15 12 1:11.4423 0:00.3468 4 99 Tony D'Alberto Holden Commodore 12 12 1:11.6299 0:00.5344 5 60 Warren Luff Ford Falcon BA 14 13 1:11.6351 0:00.5396 6 27 Adam Macrow Ford Falcon BA 13 10 1:11.7308 0:00.6353 7 81 Grant Denyer Ford Falcon BA 14 14 1:12.0240 0:00.9285 8 31 Mark Porter Ford Falcon BA 13 10 1:12.1287 0:01.0332 9 28 Dean Wanless Ford Falcon AU 12 3 1:12.1589 0:01.0634 10 41 MacDonald Ford Falcon BA 14 12 1:12.4075 0:01.3120 11 65 Phillip Scifleet Ford Falcon AU 14 5 1:12.4872 0:01.3917 12 26 Fernandez Ford Falcon BA 14 9 1:12.8492 0:01.7537 13 37 Mark Howard Ford Falcon BA 14 12 1:13.0511 0:01.9556 14 42 Jay Verdnik Holden Commodore 15 11 1:13.1006 0:02.0051 15 30 Evangelou Ford Falcon BA 13 12 1:13.4768 0:02.3813 16 68 Beikoff Ford Falcon AU 15 13 1:13.6396 0:02.5441 17 32 Aaron McGill Holden Commodore 11 10 1:13.6866 0:02.5911 18 98 Grant Elliott Holden Commodore 8 4 1:13.7443 0:02.6488 19 69 Robert Jones Holden Commodore 10 6 1:13.8605 0:02.7650 20 91 Gary Deane Ford Falcon AU 14 13 1:14.1218 0:03.0263 21 40 Papendell Holden Commodore 10 6 1:14.2533 0:03.1578 22 62 Loadsman Holden Commodore 13 8 1:15.0064 0:03.9109 23 57 Dean Savage Holden Commodore 13 11 1:15.6989 0:04.6034 24 86 Greg Smith Ford Falcon AU 15 6 1:16.6979 0:05.6024 25 80 Barry Tanton Ford Falcon AU 12 7 1:16.8210 0:05.7255 26 56 Henderson Ford Falcon AU

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Race One Pos Car Driver Vehicle Laps Race Time Fastest Fastest 1 71 Dean Canto Ford Falcon BA 16 21:37.5117 4 1:11.8654 2 19 Will Davison Ford Falcon AU 16 21:38.0276 5 1:12.6030 3 60 Warren Luff Ford Falcon BA 16 21:38.4790 9 1:12.5555 4 72 Holdsworth Holden Commodore 16 21:39.7524 8 1:12.4981 5 27 Adam Macrow Ford Falcon BA 16 21:39.9591 7 1:12.6418 6 99 D'Alberto Holden Commodore 16 21:40.5416 7 1:12.6883 7 31 Mark Porter Ford Falcon BA 16 21:42.8384 4 1:13.2657 8 41 MacDonald Ford Falcon BA 16 21:43.5309 5 1:13.4254 9 65 Phillip Scifleet Ford Falcon AU 16 21:44.1311 8 1:13.4185 10 81 Grant Denyer Ford Falcon BA 16 21:44.4605 16 1:13.1870 11 26 Fernandez Ford Falcon BA 16 21:46.1693 5 1:13.3774 12 42 Jay Verdnik Holden Commodore 16 21:47.9378 3 1:13.5880 13 30 Evangelou Ford Falcon BA 16 21:49.4426 2 1:14.1660 14 37 Mark Howard Ford Falcon BA 16 21:51.7513 5 1:14.4217 15 91 Gary Deane Ford Falcon AU 16 21:53.4169 2 1:14.7565 16 62 Loadsman Holden Commodore 16 21:54.8407 13 1:15.1476 17 86 Greg Smith Ford Falcon AU 16 21:55.3434 8 1:15.0458 18 68 Beikoff Ford Falcon AU 16 22:00.5367 5 1:14.7257 19 57 Dean Savage Holden Commodore 16 22:00.8230 14 1:15.7906 20 32 Aaron McGill Holden Commodore 14 21:58.0899 6 1:14.0843 21 69 Robert Jones Holden Commodore 14 21:58.4111 5 1:14.1277 DNF 40 Papendell Holden Commodore 13 24:01.0268 5 1:15.

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Race Two Pos Car Driver Vehicle Laps Race Time Fastest Fastest 1 27 Adam Macrow Ford Falcon BA 16 19:45.0828 12 1:12.8801 2 60 Warren Luff Ford Falcon BA 16 19:50.4029 12 1:12.7649 3 19 Will Davison Ford Falcon AU 16 19:51.0249 16 1:12.7837 4 72 Holdsworth Holden Commodore 16 19:53.3606 14 1:12.8756 5 71 Dean Canto Ford Falcon BA 16 19:58.4299 16 1:12.6067 6 31 Mark Porter Ford Falcon BA 16 20:05.6058 3 1:13.0718 7 41 MacDonald Ford Falcon BA 16 20:07.3068 12 1:13.6856 8 26 Fernandez Ford Falcon BA 16 20:08.8351 5 1:13.2910 9 99 Tony D'Alberto Holden Commodore 16 20:09.0490 10 1:12.5941 10 81 Grant Denyer Ford Falcon BA 16 20:10.0271 11 1:13.5164 11 32 Aaron McGill Holden Commodore 16 20:15.1958 11 1:14.7296 12 68 Beikoff Ford Falcon AU 16 20:17.7444 7 1:14.9351 13 69 Robert Jones Holden Commodore 16 20:19.7549 4 1:14.0040 14 37 Mark Howard Ford Falcon BA 16 20:22.9651 11 1:14.8563 15 91 Gary Deane Ford Falcon AU 16 20:26.4904 8 1:15.3487 16 65 Phillip Scifleet Ford Falcon AU 16 20:28.7148 7 1:13.2159 17 40 Mark Papendell Holden Commodore 15 19:55.2086 7 1:14.9154 18 42 Jay Verdnik Holden Commodore 15 20:10.5837 8 1:13.6976 19 62 Loadsman Holden Commodore 15 20:36.9805 3 1:15.4374 DNF 86 Greg Smith Ford Falcon AU 7 20:34.4339 5 1:19.9308 DNF 30 Evangelou Ford Falcon BA 3 3:57.0053 2 1:15.2657 DNF 57 Dean Savage Holden

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Race Three Pos Car Driver Vehicle Laps Race Time Fastest Fastest 1 71 Dean Canto Ford Falcon BA 30 38:50.5211 10 1:12.3470 2 19 Will Davison Ford Falcon AU 30 38:51.3349 3 1:12.4705 3 60 Warren Luff Ford Falcon BA 30 38:53.1589 5 1:12.6457 4 27 Adam Macrow Ford Falcon BA 30 38:53.6343 5 1:12.6171 5 72 Holdsworth Holden Commodore 30 38:55.4007 6 1:12.6131 6 65 Phillip Scifleet Ford Falcon AU 30 39:04.4859 8 1:13.3949 7 81 Grant Denyer Ford Falcon BA 30 39:05.2608 5 1:12.8689 8 26 Fernandez Ford Falcon BA 30 39:06.9322 20 1:13.2581 9 41 MacDonald Ford Falcon BA 30 39:07.2110 11 1:13.0825 10 42 Jay Verdnik Holden Commodore 30 39:08.5817 7 1:13.4981 11 69 Robert Jones Holden Commodore 30 39:16.7737 11 1:14.5730 12 91 Gary Deane Ford Falcon AU 30 39:26.3870 16 1:14.9418 13 31 Mark Porter Ford Falcon BA 30 39:33.2042 7 1:13.0548 14 99 D'Alberto Holden Commodore 29 39:05.1345 11 1:12.7232 15 68 Beikoff Ford Falcon AU 29 39:15.7058 3 1:14.8805 16 62 Loadsman Holden Commodore 29 39:19.4218 2 1:15.8088 17 86 Greg Smith Ford Falcon AU 29 39:40.5182 2 1:16.1515 18 32 Aaron McGill Holden Commodore 27 39:12.7475 9 1:14.1169 19 80 Barry Tanton Ford Falcon AU 27 39:32.1393 22 1:16.5486 20 37 Mark Howard Ford Falcon BA 26 39:31.2667 3 1:14.5065 DNF 57 Dean Savage Holden Commodore 26 37:29.0826 2 1:16.

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2005 SEASON CALENDAR

Clipsal 500 Support, Adelaide Round 01 17 Mar - 20 Mar 2005

Wakefield Park, Wakefield Park Round 02 13 May - 15 May 2005

Eastern Creek International Raceway Round 03 8 Jul - 10 Jul 2005

Queensland 300 Support, Queensland Raceway Round 04 22 Jul - 24 Jul 2005

Mallala Motorsport Park, Mallala Raceway Round 05 19 Aug - 21 Aug 2005

Super Cheap Auto 1000 Support, Bathurst Round 06 6 Oct - 9 Oct 2005

Grand Finale Support, Phillip Island Round 07 25 Nov - 27 Nov 2005

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VAWDREY TRAILERS Produced by Eric Norton. Telephone 03-9710-1711

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