WAU keen not to be one-hit Bathurst wonders
The mission for Walkinshaw Andretti United in coming weeks is to ensure no stone is left unturned for Bathurst.
WAU is in New Zealand for this weekend’s ITM Auckland SuperSprint.
The Pukekohe round is the final event before October’s 6-9 Repco Bathurst 1000.
Chaz Mostert and Lee Holdsworth dominated from pole last December.
It came after Mostert set the fastest ever Supercars lap in the Top Ten Shootout.
There were hopes WAU would carry its Bathurst form into 2022, and it began with aplomb as Mostert won in Sydney.
However, a title bid never materialised after the team tripped over in Tasmania and Perth.
Perth was a nadir, with Mostert and Nick Percat battling to break into the top 20.
From Winton onwards, Mostert has scored 13 top 10 finishes in 14 starts.
That includes the DSQ and win in Darwin, dual Bend podiums and a Sandown podium.
Mostert is 207 points behind fourth-placed Anton De Pasquale, and 116 ahead of Broc Feeney.
While Pukekohe is the immediate focus, the attention is well and truly set on the Mountain.
“You’ve always got an eye on Bathurst,” Mostert’s engineer Adam De Borre told Supercars.com.
“We don’t want to be one-hit wonders. It’s why we want to keep pushing.
“We have to push the window of development and maximise what we’ve got.
“We know exactly what we did last year, and we can recreate that if we need.
“Track conditions will be different, atmospheric conditions will be naturally different.
“The game keeps moving. We could roll out last year’s Shootout car and be 10th.
Mostert has won four races this year
“There’s no guarantee to have success, but we have a good plan for the test day heading to Bathurst.”
Mostert has won four races this season, and loomed as Shane van Gisbergen’s challenger.
However, as WAU battled for early season consistency, van Gisbergen went on a charge.
Van Gisbergen has won 16 races in 26 starts, and leads by 500 points.
De Borre reiterated that “perfect weekends” are what’s required to take down the series leader.
“This year’s been too up and down,” De Borre said.
“We’ve been trying to maximise the [Gen2 Holden] platform while we still can, obviously.
“Perth was a low point, as was Symmons.
“We’ve slowly started improving our consistency from there on.
“We still haven’t had perfect weekends, and with the form that Shane’s on, you have to have a perfect weekend.”
Pukekohe’s final Supercars round has extra motivation for Mostert and Percat, who have never won in New Zealand.
Mostert is one of eight active drivers to have scored a Pukekohe podium.
Not only will it be WAU’s last start at Pukekohe, but the team’s last visit in New Zealand as a General Motors team.
WAU will race Ford Mustangs when the Gen3 era commences next year.
“It’s been too long since we’ve been over here that’s for sure, it’s awesome to be back in New Zealand.
“This track is so cool, it’s going to be a real shame to see it go, we will definitely miss it.
"I think everyone is going to be fighting pretty hard to be that last Supercars winner around here.
“It’s been a few years since we’ve been here, and this will be my first time in a WAU car.
“Getting up to speed on Friday will be really important before we attack the weekend.”
Cars will hit the track on Friday at Pukekohe for Practice 1.
