hero-img

Team 18 makes statement with Newcastle double

14 Mar 2023
Winterbottom, Pye the quiet achievers
3 mins by James Pavey
Advertisement

Scott Pye and Mark Winterbottom have hailed a strong start to Gen3 life for Team 18 at the Thrifty Newcastle 500.

Team 18’s two Chevrolets are ranked seventh and 10th respectively heading to the next round in Melbourne.

Charlie Schwerkolt’s squad is one of two teams — alongside Erebus Motorsport — to have two cars in the top 10 in the points.

Winterbottom brought home finishes of sixth and 10th, with Pye seventh and 17th.

The two Team 18 Camaros were classified eighth and ninth before both Red Bull Ampol Camaros were disqualified from Race 1.

Team 18 was the last team to test its new Gen3 cars, and Pye’s car suffered gearbox gremlins at the Sydney test.

Come Newcastle, and extreme tyre wear for Pye in Race 2 seemed the only blip on the team’s radar.

It comes in the first round after Team 18 severed ties with Triple Eight, with the team going independent for the first Gen3 season.

After one round in 2023, Team 18 is third in the teams’ standings, and 87 points from leaders Erebus Motorsport.

“There were a few things we learnt in that last race which I’d love to go again and have another go, but ultimately we needed to qualify better today,” Pye said after Sunday’s race.

Advertisement

"Yesterday’s job was made easier by qualifying up the front, today we didn’t qualify very well so that made today what it was where we started where we finished.

“I wanted a lot more from that’s second race, but the cars are straight and we move to Albert Park with plenty of lessons learnt.

“I’m stoked for everyone at Team 18, I can’t thank the boys and girls enough. I’m excited for the year ahead.

"I think we have amazing opportunities and I’m looking forward to what’s going to be a great year."

Winterbottom, 41, was expected to be a beneficiary of the new cars — and a trouble-free weekend has the 2015 champion 96 points from the series lead.

“It was cool to see the new cars on track. I think the Camaros and Mustangs look fantastic and as a sport it’s gone to a new level,” said Winterbottom, who has now made 495 starts.

“For us we ran relatively trouble-free. Sixth on Saturday after a few penalties and a top ten in today’s race.

“Great to see the DEWALT car back on track. We’re seventh in the points, for a day that could have been really tough with the new cars we’ve come away with two top tens.

“We’ll regroup, give the crew a bit of a rest and come back in a couple of weeks at the Grand Prix.”

The 2023 Repco Supercars Championship will resume at the Beaurepaires Melbourne SuperSprint on March 30-April 2.

Related News

Advertisement