Why Darwin offers MSR an 'opportunity to shine'

Prior knowledge and previous form offers Matt Stone’s squad an "an opportunity to shine".

Matt Stone Racing’s two drivers were off the pace at the recent round at Winton.

Winton was just the second round in 2022, after Sydney, that an MSR car failed to score a top 10 finish.

It was in Darwin last year that MSR began to offer genuine pace.

Notably, Jake Kostecki finished fifth in the dramatic opener.

For Stone, familiarity in Darwin and Townsville will aid his team’s return to top 10 pace.

"We’ll take the knowledge of our last two years going to Darwin," Stone told Supercars.com.

Le Brocq's Race 14 13th was MSR's best at Winton

"We’ve got confidence in cars and set-up every time we roll out, and we’ve got a more experienced driver line-up.

"We’re certainly looking at the next two rounds as an opportunity to shine.

"A three-day weekend in Darwin will also give us time to breathe between sessions.

"There’s less carryover from Tassie because of lower temperatures.

"It’s more about the similar traits in the track and the low deg.

"We’ll be able to evaluate and develop over the course of the three days."

Stone admitted his team was "running blind" at Winton, having last raced there in 2019.

Jake Kostecki scored a top five for MSR last year

In the three years since, MSR has expanded to two cars, and has title-winning drivers in Todd Hazelwood and Jack Le Brocq.

In saying that, Winton was the first round in 2022 that the team didn’t have an answer, a plight exacerbated by the two-day format.

Hazelwood recorded finishes of 23rd, 17th and 18th, with Le Brocq 18th, 13th and 17th.

However, given the team’s understanding of Hidden Valley, Stone doesn’t expect a Winton repeat next weekend.

"We struggled at Winton, having not been there since 2019 when we were a one-car team," he said.

"We had zero new data; the data we were looking at was pretty out of date.

"We went into Winton running blind. We won’t have that problem in Darwin."

The 2022 season will resume in Darwin on June 17-19. Purchase your tickets now.