R10S PREV - HRT's title grip under threat at Winton
7/9/2001 15:43 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
The Holden Racing Team’s tenuous grip on the Shell Series trophy could be loosened this weekend, round ten of the series, at a circuit yet to produce a win for the fancied factory Holdens.
Victoria's Winton Raceway is a rare unhappy hunting ground for the all-conquering team, a trend they'll need to reverse to maintain their edge over the hungry pack.
Mark Skaife and Jason Bright had their championship lead abbreviated with a fourth-place finish at the recent Queensland 500, finishing behind their title opponents, Steven Johnson and Russell Ingall.
Another bad weekend for HRT – like their Winton experience last year when Skaife was pummelled in the opening race – will open up the championship chase and force them into survival mode at next month’s all-important V8 1000 at Bathurst. But a maiden win at the circuit will consolidate their position and all but capture a fourth-straight championship for the team.
HRT tested at Winton last year in a bid to end their win-less curse and, while it failed to produce the goods in 2000, the team insist they’ll be on the pace this weekend.
"It was a shocker of a weekend last year,” championship leader Skaife recalls, “but the guys did an excellent job to repair the car and get it back out for race two and three, and to come home third in race three shows the pace is there.
"We'll be working hard to try and stay out of trouble on Sunday to continue to build championship points. If a win comes our way then that's a bonus but at this stage of the series, it's vitally important that we finish all the races."
While Skaife is the man most likely, Jason Bright is in a position to pounce if his teammate falls. After joining forces with Skaife at the Queensland 500, Bright will be keen to resume his intra-team championship battle this weekend.
Said Bright this week: "I've had plenty of practice on this type of surface so set-up should be fairly straight forward; probably pretty much as we had for Ipswich a fortnight ago and we had good car speed there.”
Winton hosts another dual-race meet this weekend, featuring two 100km (32-lap) races with a compulsory pit stops in each.
Steven Johnson, now just 208-points behind Skaife, believes the in-form Shell Helix team has the edge over its rivals in pitlane. And with the tight 3km layout offering few passing opportunities, pit stop slickness will be the key.
"As they proved last time out, the Shell team is now the fastest in the business and that’s going to make a big difference at a place like Winton where passing on the track itself is so difficult," Johnson said.
"If we need to use it, the ability to pass a couple of rivals in the pits will be a handy advantage to have."
Johnson is closer to the title than ever before, and says he’ll be having a “red-hot go” at Winton to claw his way to the front.
So, too, will Russell Ingall, who also has a claim to the title after his near-win with Larry Perkins at the Queensland 500.
Ingall’s game plan this weekend is simple: narrow the gap (currently 262 points to Skaife) this weekend before landing the knockout punch at Bathurst.
"We just want to keep applying the pressure,” the Castrol charger said. “The more pressure we can apply, the more likely they are to slip up."
Jason Bargwanna is a distant 16th in the championship chase after a miserable year with the Valvoline-Cummins outfit, but is the undisputed dark-horse this weekend. Bargwanna has won the Winton round the past two years, and is looking for an unlikely hat-trick this weekend.
Bargwanna wouldn’t make any bold predictions, only to say he’s “excited about this weekend and confident with what we can expect.”
With the Supercar circus bound for Mt. Panorama after this weekend, Winton will be crucial to the preparations of both men and machine.
TWR’s K-Mart Racing outfit, headed by Greg Murphy and Todd Kelly, will be formidable after their podium finish at the Queensland 500, as will the Stone Brothers' speed demons Marcos Ambrose and David Besnard. Craig Lowndes will campaign his vintage AU Falcon for the final time at Winton, before unveiling Gibson Motorsport's new weapon at Bathurst.
The Supercars hit the Winton track for free practice tomorrow morning, ahead of qualifying and the top ten shootout for pole.
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