REAL RACE TRACK FOR THE
NEXT ROUND AT WINTON
Well V8 Supercar fans, the debacle that was/is the Hamilton
NZ round is behind us and we can look forward to a real race
track for the next round at Winton. Someone, somewhere must
have thought that ridiculously sharp corners, super tight chicanes
and tyre bundles make for good racing, but they are dead wrong.
Winton doesn’t have many overtaking opportunities, but
at least if a driver is run wide, he doesn’t end up in
a wall, and with the number of good drivers who went two wheeling
over that ridiculous chicane and tyre barrier set-up, it’s
a miracle that someone wasn’t seriously injured. There
may not be many fans who can attend the Bahrain round, but at
least the circuit provides plenty of overtaking opportunities.
Still, I guess as long as someone is prepared to fork over truckloads
of cash for the guys to drive around that excuse for a circuit,
they’ll keep going. The outcome was identical to last year,
but with different faces on the podium. With all due respects
going to those who managed to survive the carnage, and there
were some surprises amongst them, it was all quite – ho
hum – boring.
So it’s on to Winton raceway in rural
Victoria. Thankfully, it is mid Autumn this year instead of
mid Winter, so the fans at the track will be a little more
comfortable this year. Last year saw Winterbottom on pole
with Whincup making an all Ford front row. Whincup took race
1 with pole sitter Winterbottom finishing in 21st spot. In
the second race, Winterbottom stayed out long after everyone
else, and with good pace was able to finish the race in a
remarkable second spot. In the third race, Winterbottom took
the lead only to run wide and sustain damage that saw him
finish 3 laps down. Tander had a third, third and a win in
the final race to take the round win and the lead in the championship.
It was a 3-way tie on points for the round, but Tander took
the round honours by winning the final race of the weekend.
So what can we expect this time around? This
track is the home ground for many teams, and I expect those
teams to figure well. The FPR and HRT cars should qualify
well, and going on their performances to date, so too should
the GRM guys. Of the Queensland based teams, I would certainly
expect the 888 and DJR cars to be up there as well. Going
on form though, you’d have to put your money on Winterbottom
taking pole at his home track – mind you, I think it
will be very close.
This year, we will have a 33 lap race on the
Saturday with a 67 lap race on the Sunday. As a very tight
track with limited passing opportunities, qualifying well
will, once again, be paramount to success. Strategy with regards
to tyres, fuel economy and timing of pits stops will play
a big part in success at Winton this year. For the first time,
we will see the use of the soft compound tyre and, when and
how it is used, will play a big part in success at Winton.
The use of the softer compound tyre could promote someone
at the rear or demote someone from the front depending on
how it plays out, so this round could become a bit of a lottery.
The usual front runners should be amongst
the contenders once again with Frosty the odds on favourite
to take pole. Hamilton showed us that DJR are starting to
get a handle on the 888 chassis. The GRM cars were the quickest
of the Holden brigade matching all but Whincup for outright
pace. The HRT cars should be up there again for Winton, and
hopefully Lowndes’ run of misfortune will come to an
end. So it should be a close contest between 888, DJR, FPR,
HRT and GRM, with advantage to the southern teams. Whincup
seems to have it all together at the moment, and while his
run must come to an end at some stage, it’s going to
be hard to pick anyone else for a win at Winton. The 3rd of
May will tell whether or not my predictions are correct.
Brute | V8 Daily Dump
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