Prodrive expects to grow

Prodrive Racing Australia is assessing its entries in the V8 Supercars Dunlop Series and is looking to expand to two cars next season.

Having dominated the second tier category with next gen star Cameron Waters behind the wheel this season, Prodrive boss Tim Edwards says the team is looking at options for next year which could very well mean fielding two new generation V8 Supercars in the category.

“We’re looking to probably run a couple of cars – we’re just reviewing all that at the moment,” Edwards told v8supercars.com.au.

An expansion has been on the cards since mid-year, but Chaz Mostert’s enormous main game crash at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 has meant the team had to reassess its position, including whether both cars would be new generation V8 Supercars. 

Dunlop Series regulations open up to running the ‘car of the future’ specifications in 2016, but it is not compulsory to switch until the 2018 season.

Regulations around running the new gen cars are still being determined by the Commission to ensure teams in both categories do not have an unfair advantage. 

“Obviously losing a car at Bathurst this year in its entirety wasn’t part of our master plan,” Edwards said.

“So we’re just working through what we do with that. But the plan has been, and probably will be, to run two cars.”

Edwards has previously expressed his support for the Dunlop Series, praising it as a strong breeding ground not just for drivers but mechanics and team personnel.

While Prodrive has not yet confirmed a 2016 replacement for David Reynolds in the V8 Supercars Championship, it is expected Dunlop Series points leader Waters will take the spot.

Edwards was tight-lipped on a potential replacement and driver for a second car, if it eventuates.

“I have my eye on a few people,” he said.

“There’s some reasonable talent there [in the Dunlop Series] absolutely, and there’s no shortage of people knocking on the door.”

While Waters has undoubtedly shown plenty of talent in the category this season, others have expressed how strong the Ford Falcon FG he is driving has been.

Waters is 149 points ahead of veteran racer and Bathurst winner Paul Dumbrell – with 300 still on offer – and is desperate to secure the title at the Coates Hire Sydney 500 in December.

He is currently standing in for injured Chaz Mostert in the #6 Pepsi Max Falcon in the main series – but the team was hesitant to run him in both categories at the concrete-lined street circuit and is still considering who will steer the main game car at the grand finale.