WPS hit out after Richards clash.

The Lexmark Indy 300 proved to be a case of what could have been for WPS Racing, after any chance of a good overall result was prevented by a mechanical failure for Craig Baird and a controversial collision for David Besnard.

Indeed, Besnard's incident aroused plenty of anger from within the team after the Team Australia liveried Falcon was shunted from behind by Steven Richards forcing him out of the race and giving plenty of work for the WPS mechanics to do.

WPS Racing team owner Craig Gore was particularly incensed at a driver who he claims committed a novice error. "For a driver who's been around in the sport for so long it was nothing but rank stupidity. I once rated him quite highly but after that I don't have any respect for him whatsoever."

"The guy had been following us for not even one completed lap so for him to suggest we had braked earlier than normal is preposterous."

A strong final race of the day saw Besnard leap up to 21st but he too was furious at his clash with Richards. "He totalled a really good race car that the crew put together and it's a shame for everyone because we were shaping up well for the run home," said a bemused Besnard on his return to the pits.

"After he calms down he'll realise he's made a mistake and given that moment again I'm sure he'd do things differently. You wouldn't usually expect that from a driver of his calibre."

Baird meanwhile was unlucky not to record a top ten finish overall, when a oil line problem saw him finish down in 29th in the final race, leaving him to settle for a still strong 13th place in the final classification.

Together with his eighth place finish at Bathurst, Baird's performance has moved him into the top twenty in the drivers standings, even if the New Zealander was disappointed not have achieved a better result.

"What can I say we were placed tenth after race two and staring down the barrel of a genuine result," said Baird. "I knew there was something wrong with the car, I just kept sliding around and losing power."

"I tried to put up with it but it was hopeless. It's disappointing to undo all the good work from the first two races but that's racing. We've got two events to go and if the points are on offer we'll just pluck away and try and secure the best result possible for the year."