hero-img

Positive start for Minda in Dunlop Series

13 Mar 2013
It has been a positive start for Minda Motorsport in the 2013 Dunlop Series
4 mins by James Pavey
Advertisement

After a part-time debutin the 2012 Dunlop Series with their ex-GRM VE Commodore, Minda Motorsportadded a second ex-GRM 'main-game' car to the stable for the 2013 series, and signedtwo drivers with previous Supercar experience.

Former Minda FormulaFord foe Cameron Waters - who the team managed during the 2012 running of theShannons Supercar Showdown at Sandown and Bathurst - joined the team to drivechassis #10 – the 2012 Minda car - whilst former Dunlop Series regular Sam Walterjoined the team behind the wheel of chassis #12.

“There's greatereconomics with running two cars, and after Sam bought chassis #12, it madesense from an infrastructure point of view, and our past experience with theGRM cars really made it a no-brainer for everybody concerned,” Minda Motorsportteam principal Bruin Beasley admitted.

From opening practiceboth teams made a solid start, but admitted to not pushing too hard too early. “Iwould have liked to have been a bit quicker, but at the end of the day, Clipsalisn't a circuit where you want to make an error,” Walter admitted pre-qualifyingafter having run inside the top ten early.

Post-qualifying therewere smiles all round with Waters qualifying on the third row, just three onehundredths of a second off row two, whilst Walter improved his pace again tostart on row eight.

Despite the uncertainstart to race one (the starter accidentally pressed the abort light after thestart, but quickly rectified the problem – CAMS stewards electing though to letthe race continue), Walters held position through the opening stanza of the race,whilst further back Walter was forced to rear of field off the start, becausehe saw the amber light displayed, which signaled an aborted start.. Havingdropped to the back, he mounted a recovery, ultimately crossing the line adisappointed 22nd.

Further forward Waterswas battling to stick with the leaders but held station for the bulk of therace before being turned around at turn nine late in the race.

“It's a pretty goodresult to start with,” he admitted afterwards. “We were lacking a little bit ofrace pace against some of the teams with newer equipment, but it's the start wewere looking for - top ten!”

Advertisement

Off the fifth row,Waters used his V8 Supercar experience to move forward in the early laps intothe top five, before being shuffled back in the closing laps after contact frombehind at turn nine. Despite the setback he mounted a recovery in the closingstages to cross the line eighth, whilst behind him, Walters too was forced backearly after running deep into turn four having been caught on the bumpy part ofthe circuit, before recovering to 18th with more valuable miles under his belt.

“This is a two yearprogram for me,” the Tasmanian admitted. “The car is undoubtedly an improvementon the Tasman car I drove in the past – but all the newer generation cars haveimproved over time.

I actually went a second fasterthan I've ever been around here before and we finished the event with astraight car, which can sometimes be difficult at Clipsal. Everything happenedfairly quickly this year so we didn't get much of a chance to prepare, but withany luck we'll have a test day before Perth - which is a new circuit to me in aSupercar – and get some more laps behind me.

“I've also got to look atchanging my driving style for Perth too. In the Tasman car I could left footbrake, but these don't seem to reward that style of driving, so I'll spend sometime learning to right foot brake again.”

“I'm happy with how the wholeweekend worked out,” Waters admitted after race two. “I came into the event farbetter prepared than I'd ever been before in a Supercar, and far more comfortablebehind the wheel - and comfort is critical at a circuit like Clipsal.

“My goal this year is tocontinue learning, continue improving in the car, and to work my way up tobeing a regular top five contender.”

And how was it working againwith the team that were his toughest rivals during his Formula FordChampionship year.. “Great actually, I can see now why I had such a tough battle,Minda are a great operation and a fantastic team to be a part of, in fact theteam atmosphere across Formula Ford, DVS and GT is fantastic, something I haven'texperienced like this before.”

For the Minda Motorsport squadtheir second round comes in Perth in Western Australia in two months time (3-5May).

Related News

Advertisement