hero-img

Coulthard's delight in thrilling Reynolds battle

31 Oct 2021
'We were side-by-side for three or four corners'
Advertisement
Onboard: Coulthard and Reynolds engage in wild battle

Fabian Coulthard relished a “really good battle” with David Reynolds en route to a season best finish in Sydney.

Coulthard crossed the line 11th in Race 20 at the Bunnings Trade Sydney SuperNight.

It was Coulthard’s best result for Team Sydney, with the Kiwi shifting from the Shell V-Power Racing Team in the off-season.

The 13-time race winner launched from 14th and battled with Kelly Grove Racing driver Reynolds, who started 11th.

The two veterans went side-by-side for the balance of a lap, with Coulthard emerging ahead through Turn 7.

Reynolds had the last laugh, enjoying the benefits of an undercut to finish eighth.

Regardless, the Saturday night race was reason to smile for Coulthard, whose previous best finish this season was 13th in Darwin.

"It wasn’t too bad for us; we got a good start and then we sort of just got in a position,” Coulthard said after the race.

"I had a really good battle with Dave Reynolds. That was a lot of fun.

"We were side-by-side for three or four corners. I had a lot of respect for Dave, he had a lot of respect for me.”

After the exciting start, Coulthard dropped into a rhythm and brought home Team Sydney’s best result of 2021.

It comes in the first round of the team’s refreshed package; both cars went to the Triple Eight workshop for repairs in the break following Townsville.

Advertisement

Teammate Garry Jacobson, who is trialling a new driving style, finished 17th, having started 21st.

Coulthard was happy with the day, but didn’t look too far ahead.

"It was all good... the race was pretty boring for me,” Coulthard continued.

"We were sort of in no man’s land, but the tyre responded quite well to the changes.

Make or break pit stop - Race 20 Recap

"I’ve got a little bit of work to do with some tyre life and things like that, it’s going in the right direction.

"We’re not striving too far ahead yet. We’ve got to get the ground rules and the basics right.”

Reynolds, who last finished in the top 10 in Townsville, was pleased to get into the fight.

"We’ve been waiting for what feels like years to get back to the track,” he said.

“It feels so good to be back behind the wheel again.

“We felt we had some real pace with the car and had put together a really good package.

"Qualifying didn’t go exactly to plan for us just missing out on the shootout, but we made the most of it in the race with a great start and using the undercut."

Cars will return to Sydney Motorsport Park for Race 21 ARMOR ALL Qualifying at 10:30am AEDT on Sunday.

Related News

Advertisement