Fullwood set for engineer swap in Darwin

Bryce Fullwood will have a new race engineer at his disposal for his home event at the Merlin Darwin Triple Crown.

The Walkinshaw Andretti United driver’s engineer Terry Kerr will remain in Victoria amid the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in the state.

It coincides with Grant McPherson’s maiden event with the team, with McPherson shifting from Red Bull Ampol Racing in the off-season.

Speaking to Supercars.com in an all-in driver chat from Tweed Heads, Fullwood was excited to have McPherson join the ranks.

WATCH: MOSTERT'S ADVICE TO FULLWOOD

“He’s kindly put his hand up to come away [to Darwin],” Fullwood said.

“My engineer Terry Kerr wasn’t able to come away this time, he put his family through enough last time, understandably.

“Grant will be at the track; I’m not yet sure who will engineer me, whether it’s him or another guy in our team.

“I’m looking forward to having Shippy there, it’ll be good.”

Fullwood is looking to use his hometown advantage in Darwin to overturn his frustrating start to 2021.

After a strong start in the Bathurst season opener, Fullwood has slipped from seventh in the standings to 17th after Tasmania.

WATCH: FULLWOOD'S BAD LUCK CONTINUES

A top 10 finish and qualifying seventh at the OTR SuperSprint saw the 23-year-old claw himself back to 15th in the championship.

It comes as teammate Chaz Mostert sits third, having claimed a win in Tasmania, three more podiums and a Sandown pole.

For Fullwood’s, the solution to the problem lies both within the car’s performance and more importantly, his own.

“Bluntly, I’m not happy at all,” he told the Parked Up podcast.

“I am so happy for Chazzie and the team and to get Chazzie’s first win for WAU.

“But I think on Chazzie’s side of the garage, they have been a lot more consistent and a lot more of a contender week in and week out.

WATCH: FULLWOOD HITS THE WALL

“For us, got to say, we are a bit confused. We ended 2020 really strong, but we just haven’t had the same speed.

“We are trying to work out what it is, I’ve been digging deep and working hard outside of racing to try to find the downfall.

“It’s more performance on the day, there are things I can’t talk about, but there are things I am trying to on my own performance to maximize when I am in the car.”

Hidden Valley Raceway shapes as the perfect location to reinvigorate Fullwood's season, given he is the only Supercars driver to call Darwin home.

“It’s awesome to be going to Darwin, I love it and I’m so happy to be going back but the goals have to change after the start of the year,” the 2019 Dunlop Super2 Series champion said.

“The beginning of the year the goal was top 10 in the championship.

“The goal for me now is to be top-five and top-10 race finishes; no ifs, no, buts.

“That’s where we were at the end of last year, I want to build on that, and go forward from there.

“It’s been a rocky start but that doesn’t mean it’s not about to change. It’s always frustrating when you’re not winning in this game; it’s a tough industry, but that’s why we love it.

The Repco Supercars Championship field will return to the Northern Territory for the Merlin Darwin Triple Crown across June 18-20. Tickets are available here.

The event will be broadcast live on Foxtel and will be streamed on Kayo, and will be broadcast live and free on Seven.