WAU's Bathurst focus after 'kick in the guts'
WAU Fords 22nd, 23rd in Sandown 500
Mostert car damaged early, before picking up penalty
Both WAU Fords disqualified from Friday practice
Walkinshaw Andretti United is doubling down on its preparations for Bathurst after a “kick in the guts” at Sandown, says Team Principal Bruce Stewart.
The Penrite Oil Sandown 500 didn’t go to plan for WAU, with Chaz Mostert/Lee Holdsworth and Nick Percat/Fabian Coulthard classified 22nd and 23rd respectively.
Both WAU Fords finished a lap off the pace, with the lead #25 Mobil 1 Optus Mustang picking up damage in the opening laps.
With Holdsworth behind the wheel, the #25 underwent three pit stops during the first Safety Car period as mechanics fought to remove damaged rear bodywork.
Mostert was also penalised late on after a clash with Declan Fraser, with the 2021 Bathurst winner now 521 points from the series lead.
The two-time Bathurst winner remains the highest ranked Ford driver, but lost fifth in the standings to Brad Jones Racing driver Andre Heimgartner, who finished fifth on Sunday.
“What [Sandown] has done is doubled-down on the focus for Bathurst,” said Stewart.
“It’s a kick in the guts that ensures we will doing everything we can for the big one.
“Clearly we struggled with car set-up all weekend.
“We threw a lot at it, but the difficulty with the Gen3 car is that the driver doesn’t have the ability to manipulate the set-up through the race with the anti-roll bars.
“So, when you start with a difficult car then you cannot tune it up through the race.”
WAU started the weekend on the back foot, with both cars disqualified from Friday’s Practice 1 for using the incorrect drop gear ratio.
It was a far brighter weekend on the Super2 side of things for WAU, with Ryan Wood winning Race 1 and the Dunlop Series round, while Zach Bates recorded his first podium.
Mostert/Holdsworth will aim to repeat their 2021 Bathurst victory on October 5-8, with the 60th anniversary running of the Repco Bathurst 1000.
