Coulthard: We are contenders

With team owner Roger Penske on his way down under Fabian Coulthard has declared DJR Team Penske a legitimate contender for victory in the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

Coulthard finished second fastest on Thursday in his Shell Helix Ford Falcon FG X, just 0.0734sec behind Red Bull’s Jamie Whincup after both of them had a lash on new Dunlop hard tyres in the dying minutes of the third and final one-hour practice session.

The opening day of action left the 34-year old New Zealander convinced the team can turn one-lap speed into a race-winning proposition, despite issues this year with both strategy and pit stop execution.

“We have to do everything correctly, but I think we are quick enough and we have the reliability and the strategy and everything like that.

“So I think we can be there.”

“We have to be realistic because there are some quick guys out there so we just need to do everything from our part correctly and see how we stack up.”

and then to end the day P2 means it’s been not a bad day.

“I am still trying to fine-tune our car and make it a little nicer, but you look at Scott’s performance here last year and the car was very fast also.

“So we have a good base to work from, but we just need to keep fine-tuning it and make it better.”

Whatever happens on Sunday, Coulthard’s form in recent years with his previous team Brad Jones Racing indicates he will be right up there in qualifying today and Saturday.

He was Friday fastman in both 2014 and 2015 in the Freightliner Commodore, but was unable to turn that into ARMOR ALL Pole Position in either year.

“If there’s a 2.04 there I will try and do it,” he promised.

Coulthard said Roger Penske’s first visit to Bathurst, alongside Penske Racing president Tim Cindric, would not affect his race. But he welcomed their presence.

“I love having Roger and Tim here, they get to see first-hand what’s happening and how the team is evolving.

“A lot of the time it's via email, phone call or text with just a bit of an update, but sometimes those things can get lost in translation.

“To see it first-hand, how we are getting better is important.”