Breaking through at Bathurst
8/10/2004 22:23 (Press Release) -
Team Dynamik tackles today’s opening stages of the Bathurst 1000 with a renewed desire to succeed in the super-competitive V8 Supercar arena. A bold new car colour scheme featuring sponsor Dodo Internet has been one recent eyecatching success but Dynamik’s lead driver Simon Wills knows that true supercar recognition only comes with podium finishes in the V8 Supercar Championship Series.
“To finish well at Bathurst means a hell of a lot – it’s such a prestigious race,” he said. “We’ve had so many close calls … a good result will make up for all the hiccups that we’ve had through the year.”
The two Team Dynamik VY Commodores have shown great pace at different races throughout 2004 – but the winning ingredients haven’t all been present at the same race round.
This year Wills and co-driver Paul Stokell in the Dodo Internet car #44, and Dale Brede and Will Davison in the Dodo Internet car #45 do not seem to figure in calculations for Sunday’s 1000km enduro. Indeed, one sports betting agency has #44 at 251-1 to win the event, with even better available for car #45.
Those are generous odds for four proven Bathurst performers, tackling the 6.21km Mount Panorama circuit in strong cars with a skilled back-up crew.
Wills has a best Bathurst placing of seventh (2000), while Stokell has also finished as high as 12th (2002). Davison has won a Formula Ford race at the demanding mountain circuit (2000), and Brede has suited up three times for the Bathurst classic, finishing in the top 20 twice.
Wills said the Bathurst lead-up had been fantastic, with little need to tweak either car after their strong running at the Sandown 500 last round. Both cars failed to finish there but Wills and Stokell in #44 showed real pace before a mid-race crash led to mechanical problems and then withdrawal.
“For Bathurst we’ve just been working on the ergonomic aspects of two different drivers getting the best out of the same car,” he said. “We’ve reorganized some instruments on the dash, and adjusted the seatbelt set-up,” he said.
While those tweaks are important, it’s bound to be the cosmetic change that fans notice immediately. Both cars are now mostly white, with new naming rights sponsor Dodo Internet prominent on the VYs.
Wills was very happy with the cars’ new look (especially as he designed the livery himself in the lead-up to Bathurst). “It makes the cars look a lot flashier, and sponsors Dodo Internet are now with us for the rest of the season,” he said.
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