What the Supercars teams said: Sydney SuperNight Race 16
There was a sense of deja vu as Chaz Mostert hunted down his rivals to go back to back at the Sydney SuperNight, so how do the teams reflect on the annual round under lights?
Walkinshaw Andretti United: P1 Chaz Mostert P16 Ryan Wood
Chaz Mostert and WAU celebrate another Sydney success. Image: Peter Norton
Another perfect drive and two-stop strategy from Mostert ensured the #25 went back to back in emphatic style, having taken the lead on lap 1 before passing Waters with ease.
Unlike Saturday Wood went backwards after an early clash with Reynolds.
“Just a credit to the whole Walkinshaw Andretti United crew. We obviously rolled out a pretty good car and we kept chipping away at it,” Mostert said.
“The race car was something pretty special around here. Tonight the car was better again, which is a real credit to the team. We’ve just got to keep focusing on what we do, there’s always something we can make it better.”
“Mixed emotions this weekend, started off really strong topping Practice 1 which was cool but didn’t convert in the races,” Wood said.
“Made the shootout today which was awesome, getting boxed in that battle early on set us back, but it was a lot of fun rubbing doors with those guys.
“There are plenty of positives to take out of this weekend.”
Tickford: P2 Cameron Waters P10 Thomas Randle P24 Lochie Dalton
Cam Waters was best of the rest behind Mostert. Image: Mark Horsburgh
Tickford had fast one-lap pace, but could not quite find the same in the races and rolled the dice with a late call to go to the one-stop strategy for Waters.
It gained track position with the #6 in the lead, but nothing could be done as Mostert flew past and had to settle for a solid second.
After challenging for the win on Saturday, Randle made a mistake at Turn 4 in qualifying and started down in 18th, but still fought his way into the top 10 to complete a strong weekend. Wildcard Dalton had a solid afternoon and jumped Love to take 24th.
“I thought I was going to pit lap 17, and the it blew out to 19, 20, and then it was another six. I knew it was going to be a challenge at the end of the stints doing a one-stopper, you’re asking a lot more of the tyre. I was getting told the gaps to Chaz and I knew pretty quickly that wasn’t really racing him,” Waters said.
“Stuffed up qualifying, made a rookie error at turn four. We started from eighteenth – Shooter and the guys did a mega strategy managed to finish in the top ten. We’re up to second in the team’s championship and moved forward in the driver’s championship. Been a successful weekend, two podiums, can’t ask for much more. It has been a big step from where I was (at Sydney) 12 months ago,” Randle said.
“Heaps of learning done this weekend. Had a great last stint today, we were the fourth quickest car on track with our lap times so pretty positive with that. Came home with a straight car. Keen to get back into my Super 2 car and finish off the year strong,” Dalton said.
Triple Eight: P3 Will Brown P11 Broc Feeney
Will Brown led the Camaros. Image: Peter Norton
On a day where Triple Eight did not have the ultimate pace, Brown once again waved the Camaro flag. He used the one stop to jump to third and get an important podium as the only Chevrolet in the top six. Feeney missed the Shootout, qualifying 16th and just missed out on a top 10 to see him lose second in the championship to Mostert.
“It nearly feels like a win. You know we struggled at the start of the weekend a bit, but to get a podium was awesome. We went with the one-stop alternate strategy and were able to bring it home in third,” Brown said.
“Overall, it just hasn’t been a good weekend. We just had a bit of an error in qualifying and ended up quite a long way back. It’s pretty hard from there. I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited for a test day, which we’ve got in a week. Really looking to get some momentum going again,” Feeney said.
Grove Racing: P4 Matt Payne P21 Richie Stanaway
Matt Payne carried Penrite Racing in Sydney. Image: mark Horsburgh
Payne just missed out on the shootout due to successive kerb strikes but produced another impressive climb up the order in the race. On fresh tyres the #19 sat seventh with 10 to go but picked off three one-stop rivals late in the piece the snatch a strong fourth. It was a tough weekend for Stanaway qualifying 24th and finishing 21st, dropping to 13th in the championship.
“Pretty happy for car #19, really good to bounce back from last year’s results. Mistake on my part in qualifying but still had really good race pace and able to use that the tyres we had to good effect,” Payne said.
“Not quite as good for #26. Had two really bad qualifying and a couple of average races so really have to dig deep into the data and see where we can improve. One weekend to forget,” Stanaway said.
Dick Johnson Racing: P5 Anton De Pasquale P6 Will Davison
Will Davison delighted with a special Sunday Pole. Image: mark Horsburgh
DJR showed plenty of pace but just missed out on the podium. Thanks to the one stop, De Pasquale emerged third on the road, but did not have the tyres to keep Payne and Mostert behind and settled for fifth. Davison’s day started incredibly with a first pole in two years thanks to a grand shootout lap. Led the first four corners and settled into second but lost ground with the two stop strategy.
“Good to make the shootout again keep that streak going. Apparently, I’m the only one that’s done it so far this year, so that’s a surprise, but it’s a good one and then battling top 5 again today. Good solid weekend. Still sort of competitive in quali but not quite as fast as the first two or three in the race, just lacking that bit of race pace,” De Pasquale said.
The pole position was amazing, a real thrill and my first in this Gen3 car. We’re making really good inroads. We’re disappointed we didn’t go with the one-stopper, it was probably the best strategy for us, it got Waters and Brown on the podium who were behind me in the first stint, so disappointed not to have a trophy. Ultimately I think we went the wrong direction so as much as that hurts, as frustrated as I feel now, we’ll still learn from that for next time,” Davison said.
Erebus Motorsport: P7 Brodie Kostecki P15 Jack Le Brocq
Brodie Kostecki fought hard to be in the top 10. Image: Peter Norton
For the second race in a row Kostecki made good ground in the race to rise from 13th to sixth on the one-stop, while Le Brocq made an extra visit in the lane to rebound from a tough qualifying and steak into the top 15.
“Not a great day in qualifying again but ended up coming seventh and passed a bunch of cars which was quite cool,” Kostecki said.
“We tried a few things and need to fix the qualifying car. Went a bit of the wrong way in the race so we learnt a lot,” Le Brocq said.
Matt Stone Racing: P8 Nick Percat P14 Cameron Hill
Nick Percat pushed hard, especially in qualifying. Image: Peter Norton
Percat had great one-lap speed to fall just 0.1141s away from pole in an ultra tight shootout, but slipped to seventh in the race. Hill had a steady race on the same two-stop strategy and held station in 14th.
The Bendix car was really fast in qualifying trim, but didn’t quite have the race pace. I think if it was a race in the day time Car 10 would have had a bit better result. Once it got dark, it didn’t quite have the same balance,” Percat said.
“We were thinking that maybe it wasn’t going to work being a bit hotter. So we went to the two-stop and I think we probably could have done the one-stop again because we pretty much finished where we started,” Hill said.
PremiAir: P9 James Golding P12 Tim Slade
Tim Slade battling in the early stages of Sunday. Image: PremiAir
Sunday was a strong one for PremiAir with both cars in the Shootout but could not maximise the results with Golding clinging onto ninth after a strong start and Slade dropped out of the top 10 having communication issues.
“It was not too bad of a way to finish off, we had more improvement the whole way through the weekend, so Romy (Mayer) did a good job of tuning the car up. We got some good points, and it was great to have both cars in the ten in the shootout,” Golding said.
“In the race things were looking pretty strong and we felt we were on-track for a top ten for both cars, but the radio issue for my car really undermined our efforts there and we finished three or four spots further back than what we feel we should have,” Slade said.
Team 18: P13 Mark Winterbottom P17: David Reynolds
David Reynolds was muscled out of the top 10. Image: mark Horsburgh
A slightly better day for Team 18, but not where it wants to be. Winterbottom had a cleaner race and took 13th with the bolder one-stop strategy. Reynolds again got into the Shootout, but got tangled in some wild midpack racing with Wood and dropped to 17th as a result.
We’ve had a very tough weekend.We were very fast in pit lane, the guys did a great job in the pit stops, but we’re below how we think we should be performing, so it’s a work in progress,” Winterbottom said.
“It was a very trying weekend. In the race, my car was much better. I got involved in a few accidents. It was a really hard fought race out there, but ended up 17th today, which is not the best, but I think my car pace is probably good for sort of 12th to 14th so we didn’t really lose a hell of a lot,” Reynolds said.
Brad Jones Racing: P18 Bryce Fullwood P19 Andre Heimgartner P20 Jaxon Evans P22 Macauley Jones
Bryce Fullwood leads BJR teammate Andre Heimgartner. Image: Supplied
Another tough day for BJR with all four cars well outside the top 15 and only Evans making any progress.
“It was an interesting race. It didn’t really go our way. Had a bit of a slow fuel stop due to going a bit long in the box. We have a bit to work out before we head to Tassie,” Heimgartner said.
“Another tough day here at Sydney Motorsport Park for us. Qualifying obviously is really close. Woulda, shoulda, coulda. Just unfortunately, sort of come off second best in an early altercation on track and just kind of run our race. But I think the car is pretty speedy,” Fullwood said.
“Tough day, that’s for sure. I feel like I’ve been on a learning curve at the moment. Made some progress yesterday I thought the race car is not too bad but just as difficult to manage,” Jones said.
“In Qualifying, I just didn’t maximise it.I got my best start, which was pretty cool, because then I was waving at people as I pass them on the way to turn one. Got caught and a bunch of the first few laps shenanigans, but in the end, I don’t really know if we could have maximised much more to be honest,” Evans said.
Blanchard Racing Team: P23 James Courtney P25 Aaron Love
Aaron Love had a tough weekend at the back of the pack. Image: Mark Horsburgh
In both qualifying and racing both BRT Mustangs of James Courtney and Aaron Love finished outside the top 20 and were a over a minute behind the winner.
With speed nowhere, BRT owner Tim Blanchard had a frank summary of the team’s performance.“Not a lot of good news from the weekend. There is nothing positive for us,” he said.
“We’ve got to work out what’s wrong. There is something fundamentally wrong somewhere.
“At least we’ve got a bit of an extended break before Tassie to try and find a solution.”
Teams now have the best part of a month to regroup ahed of the Tasmania SuperSprint on August 16-18.
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