Walkinshaw proud of points lead on Ford debut

Ryan Walkinshaw was happy his team capped its Ford debut as points leader, but reiterated there’s more work to be done to keep Shane van Gisbergen at bay.

Walkinshaw Andretti United’s switch to Ford in the off-season was one of the key headlines heading into 2023.

The team famously ran Holden Commodores for 33 years, with 27 of them under the Holden Racing Team banner.

WAU's first Ford Supercars rolled out for the first time on February 15, and took to Sydney Motorsport Park on February 22.

The team tested for a third time on March 1, meaning WAU’s new Fords had only had three days of running heading to Newcastle.

By weekend’s end, Chaz Mostert was the championship leader, having scored two podiums.

The #25 Mobil 1 Optus Mustang star became the first Ford driver since Scott McLaughlin in 2020 to lead the championship.

Mostert was overhauled for the lead late in Race 2 by Red Bull Ampol Racing ace van Gisbergen, who was the benchmark across both days.

It came just hours after van Gisbergen and teammate Broc Feeney were disqualified from Saturday’s race due to a technical breach.

Heading to Albert Park, Walkinshaw knows his team has more work to do to keep the #97 Red Bull Ampol Camaro at bay.

“This is only the sixth day we’ve played with these things,” Walkinshaw said after Sunday’s race.

"Triple Eight have been playing with their car for a lot of last year.

“There’s going to be a level of discrepancy in performance and understanding on what the car does.

“We’ve got to get our heads down. There’s a lot of information we’ve got to learn from this weekend.

“AGP is going to be a much better litmus test for understanding where the cars really are."

Van Gisbergen is 126 points behind Mostert heading to Albert Park, where both drivers shared the four wins last April.

Sunday's Race 2 victory was settled by a clash between Mostert and van Gisbergen at Turn 9, which ultimately denied WAU a fairytale first-up Ford win.

Walkinshaw admitted van Gisbergen — who had 13-lap fresher tyres — was in the box seat, but was pleased to have one of his Mustangs atop the standings.

“It was slightly vexing,” Walkinshaw said of the van Gisbergen overtake.

“At the end of the day, they were the faster car at the end, and had a tyre advantage over us.

“It was a classic Shane move — hit you in the rear, get you off line a little bit and overtake you.

“End of the day, it was a good weekend for us.

“Coming second yesterday, second today, and leaving as championship leader in our first round as a Ford team.

“Pretty happy with that."

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