DJR headlines Townsville engineering shake-ups
A number of key engineering changes could alter the pecking order in Townsville.
This weekend's NTI Townsville 500 will be headlined by dual 250km races, which will feature greater strategic influence.
Anton De Pasquale, who is second in the points, will be without regular race engineer Ludo Lacroix.
Frenchman Lacroix is heading back to his homeland to visit family.
Shell V-Power Racing Team technical director Mark Fenning will substitute Lacroix on the #11 Mustang.
Fenning proved a force in race engineering recently, having substituting for Richard Harris on Will Davison’s car in Darwin.
Fenning oversaw Davison’s record-breaking speed over one lap at Hidden Valley.
Fenning previously engineered Fabian Coulthard during the latter’s time with the team.
De Pasquale reduced Shane van Gisbergen’s lead to 214 points in Darwin.
Given De Pasquale’s position, DJR will be hoping the #11 can find even more speed in Townsville.
De Pasquale scored a pole and three podiums in Townsville last July.
Elsewhere, Mirko De Rosa, who is Tim Slade's engineer, is also absent due to impending back surgery.
CoolDrive Racing Team Manager Brendan Hogan is substituting for De Rosa in Townsville.
Geoffrey Slater will also return to the fold with PremiAir Racing.
Slater recently departed Walkinshaw Andretti United, where he was engineer to Nick Percat.
Slater returned to Supercars in 2021 with Team Sydney after a stint overseas with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
He will engineer Chris Pither, whose former engineer Sheldon Auhl shifts to the sister car.
The driver of the second PremiAir car will be announced in the lead-up to Townsville.
Percat vaulted back into the top 10 in Darwin
Slater’s replacement on the Percat car, Grant McPherson, now holds the key to unlocking the WAU recruit’s speed.
McPherson helped Percat secure dual top 10s in Darwin off the back of improved qualifying pace.
Bathurst and title-winning engineer McPherson believes Percat is well-placed to attack at Reid Park.
"We made some good progress, which was great,” McPherson said after Darwin.
"The results weren’t what we were capable of being.
"But we’re making progress, and that’s the first step.
"I’m really looking forward to Townsville.
"We built a bit of stuff this weekend, and I think we’re going to come out strong in Townsville."
Matt Stone, who runs his eponymous team, will also miss Townsville due to the birth of his third child.
Cars will hit the track for dual practice sessions on Friday. Purchase your NTI Townsville 500 tickets now.
