Reynolds on life at Team 18 and Taupo challenges

David Reynolds has enjoyed a fast start to life at Team 18 and is closing in on silverware heading to a milestone weekend in Taupo.

Despite not standing on the podium, Reynolds sits a strong fifth in the championship, while his new team sit a strong third in the teams standings.

Considering the 2017 Bathurst 1000 winner has not finished in the top five of the standings since 2018 and Team 18 was down in seventh last year, it’s an impressive effort.

The #20 fell one spot short of the podium in the dramatic Saturday evening race of the Melbourne SuperSprint, while it has been in the top 10 in four of the six races.

Reynolds admits he is delighted with how life at Team 18 has progressed so far and feels a podium is not far away, even if a lot of potential is still to be found.

“It is a really good start to the year for us,” Reynolds told AUTO ACTION.

“Considering where we ended last year, it is awesome to be third in the teams championship and I am fifth in the drivers, while Mark (Winterbottom) is ninth.

“It (a podium) is close, but there is plenty more to unlock and a lot of things we are trying to work on within the team to become better.

“It is a journey but everyone is really cool and happy and it is a fun place to be.”

Whilst acknowledging it is hard to compare the revised Camaro to last year’s Mustang, Reynolds has picked up on some subtle differences.

“At the end of last year I got four podiums in a row and obviously won a race and if everything went perfectly I felt like I could have won all four races which is how good my car was,” Reynolds reflects.

“I have gone to another team and manufacturer and the results are not quite as good but it is hard to compare.

“The wind tunnel testing changed both cars a little bit but as far as I can feel it is a similar car.

“It does feel a bit bigger but that is just the perspective when you are sitting in the car.”

Whilst Taupo is a completely new track to Supercars, Reynolds is one of the few to have previously raced there in a Porsche before his Supercars days.

He believes tyre deg will be a massive factor with the track featuring sections similar to both Winton and Wanneroo.

“The first section reminds me of Perth and then the next bit has a bit of Winton before the super-long left hander at the back, which is also similar to Perth, while going back onto the front straight is like a street circuit – so it has bit of everything,” he told AA after he, team-mate Mark Winterbottom, team boss Adrian Burgess and a couple of engineers spent a morning at the track.

“I did race there once, 15 years ago, in Carrera Cup. Going back, you’d think you’d remember it, but it’s kind-of different – but once you do a couple of laps it all comes back.

“It has a lot of character, bumps, and difficult corners that lead into other ones. With a lot of tyre deg likely, you’ll be able to pass pretty much anywhere by waiting ’til the car in front burns up its tyres … as long as you look after yours.

“It’ll be a fun weekend as no-one has any data or preconceived ideas, so it will be interesting to see who rolls out the best.”

Reynolds will notch up a double century of round starts since his debut at Sandown with PWR back in 2007 as a young co driver.

“It’s my 200th supercar round, which just means I’ve been around for a long time,” he joked.

“That means I’ve done 200 weekends in Supercars! Many years and a lot of hard work and a lot of positive stories, a lot of negative stories, a lot of highs, a lot of lows.

“I’ve had a really good journey so far and I’m going to continue on with these awesome guys at Team 18. It’s going to be, going to be a fun 200th round.”

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