Drivers' Quoteboard: Winton preview

Craig Lowndes, Red Bull Racing Australia, Championship leader:

“It’s great to have back-to-back weekends after Tasmania because very rarely do you get two weekends in a row that you get to race a car, so I’m looking forward to it.

“Winton is obviously a difficult track for different reasons, but luckily enough we’re coming out of Tasmania with two straight cars."

Jamie Whincup, Red Bull Racing Australia:

“It’s crazy having a matter of days for a turnaround, but we’re looking forward to it and hopefully we can carry our form from Tassie into Winton.

“Last year obviously wasn’t ideal for us with two DNFs, but the car feels awesome coming off the back of last weekend.

“I think this Super Sprint format works well and it’ll be interesting to see how everyone goes at Winton, which is of course the test track for a lot of teams.” 

Fabian Coulthard, Lockwood Racing: 

"Tassie was really good for us. Now we've just got to try and keep it going. 

"Our pace in the races has been really strong. We've still got to tune it up in qualifying because when we get that right things will be easier – the best time to pass cars is in qualifying. 

"If you want to do well in the championship, you have to drive smart. We've managed to do that so far and collect some good points on the way.

"Everyone is beatable. We've just got to work harder; we've got some development parts in the works and we're all working flat out to do the best we can." 

James Courtney, Holden Racing Team: 

“Tasmania was an encouraging event overall. We came away with two podiums and a 10th place. Of course, I want to be back winning, but we’re pushing really hard to close the gap to the front and that will take some time.

“We had some new parts on the car last weekend in Tasmania, which I feel made an improvement. The car is a lot better than what we had at the opening event, but we still have a lot to do to challenge the Red Bull cars legitimately without them making mistakes out on-track.

“So we’ve got our head down and we know what we have to do. We’re a well-balanced, focused team now and there are many things in the pipeline, which is good. I’m looking forward … to Winton.”

Mark Winterbottom, Ford Pepsi Max Crew: 

“Although Winton is our home track we haven’t tested there this year but we know how to make the cars go fast there so it is perfect timing to be heading home. It was good to win there last year and I have a really good qualifying record at Winton so I feel confident. We just need to understand our Pepsi Max Ford more and as soon as we do that we will be back up the front and winning races.”

Scott McLaughlin, Valvoline Racing GRM:

”Winton is not going to be one of our strongest tracks due to the characteristics, we haven’t got as much front grip as rear grip. But the boys are doing a great job and I still think we will be pretty good. I’m hoping to continue scoring vital points.”

Tim Slade, Supercheap Auto Racing: 

“We learnt a lot about the Supercheap Auto Commodore over the weekend in Tasmania. We applied those lessons during the race on Sunday – and were rewarded with eighth.

“We are learning every single weekend, so we just have to put it all together. I also feel like I’m starting to lock-in with my engineer Terry Kerr. We’ve got some new parts coming for the car this weekend, so I can’t wait.

“Winton Motor Raceway is another short circuit, but unlike at Tassie there are a more corners and less straights. It’s a longer lap time with last year’s pole lap set in the low 1min.22sec region – and you’re pushing all the way.”

Garth Tander, Holden Racing Team: 

“I’m looking forward to Winton. Symmons Plains is in the past.

“Our Holden VF Commodore was fast in Tasmania – it just wasn’t reliable, so we will improve that, and put together a complete weekend at Winton.

“We’ve got a lot of information on Winton, given it’s our test circuit so we head to country Victoria with confidence.” 

Russell Ingall, Repair Management Aust Racing: 

“There’s no reason why we can’t be up there, it’s in the car, it’s just about putting everything together and getting that one good time.

“If we get into the 10 I think we’ve got enough of a car under us to move forward and challenge for decent race positions. 

“You never know, if you throw a few wet conditions in there we could be in a better position again.

“On paper it should be an advantage that we are the only V8 Supercar team that have tested there (at Winton) this year. I think it was a smart call to that and lets hope it pays off on the weekend.”

Rick Kelly, Jack Daniel’s Racing: 

"The Norton Hornets did a great job at Winton last year, it was Nissan's first ever V8 Supercar win, a double podium, and almost a pole position there as well.

"They had very good car pace when you compare it places like Symmons Plains, Winton is a definitely a stronger track for us.

"Last year we had a test day in the lead up to the race, and in the 15 car we had an exceptional day, so in true Winton tradition it didn't work for us at the race meeting.

"I don't think it's a bad thing that we are turning up to that track without a test day there (so far this year).

"We've learned a lot of things with the car since last year, and I'm looking forward to how it handles since we haven't been there for a while."

Will Davison, Erebus Motorsport:

“It’s a very tight, twisty demanding little circuit where you can be rewarded for getting the chassis balance right and punished if you don’t.

“It was my home test track for the last five years but it really doesn’t mean anything. You can test there really well and then rock up race weekend and it means nothing, the car can be an absolute handful.

“The track conditions can change massively and rarely does testing replicate into a race weekend.

“I’m interested to go there with a lot of track knowledge but with a team that doesn’t test there.’’

Lee Holdsworth, Erebus Motorsport:

“We showed a lot of promise in Tasmania and that gives us lots of confidence heading into Winton.

“The team did a great job to have two cars in the top 10 for qualifying at Symmons Plains so we’re hoping we can continue making gains this weekend.’’

David Reynolds, The Bottle-O Racing:

“Last time we went to Winton we had a reasonable car so hopefully we have good pace again this time around. The format is a bit different than last year so it is more like a standard weekend. This is technically our home track so hopefully we can have a strong result. We are heading there with a positive mindset so we think we can put some of the gains we’ve made on show.” 

James Moffat, Norton Hornets: 

“It’s going to be nice heading back to Winton. It’s our home test track, so it’s a circuit that we know very well, but we actually haven’t tested there since the week before last year’s event.

“We haven’t been there with our car and its new aero package, so there’s a bit of a question mark.

“But apart from Symmons Plains, the signs of the new package have been encouraging.

“We need to bounce back from Tasmania, so as a team, we need to put together a strong weekend.

“From the driver’s seat, our car doesn’t feel dramatically different to drive, compared to last year, so hopefully that means we haven’t lost any speed.

“If we can replicate that, we should be in a good position. I feel that Winton should probably suit us the most, and really we need a good bag of points to get our championship back on track.” 

Michael Caruso, Norton Hornets:

“We’ll find it a bit harder than what we did last year, but I only say that because everyone if one more year into their development and the speed of all the cars has improved significantly.

“It’s hard to know where we’ll stand. I think we’ll have a much better idea of where everyone is on Friday afternoon. That’s where we’ll really know how good our chances are.

“For the team, our aim is to go there and do what we did last year, but personally, I want to go there and pick up another spot and take my first win for Nissan.

“I’ve come close to a win a few times at Winton, but now I really want to get one to call my own.

“I’d be happy if we came out of Winton with some top 10 results. Ultimately, you want to win, and last weekend at Tasmania showed we still have a way to come to be competitive week in, week out. That’s what makes Winton and the next couple of events very important for us to come away with a good bundle of points.” 

Jack Perkins, Team JELD-WEN: 

“I’m really keen to get back in the car after some good results in Tassie. The back-to-back racing is pretty hard on the guys, but it’s good for me to race two weeks in a row. Sunday didn’t go to plan for us, so it’s nice to have another go so soon. We’re looking to pick up where we left off on Saturday, taking our first top-ten for the season. Winton is our home track, although we haven’t tested there this year. I’ve had some success there in the past, including qualifying on pole in the DVS there last year. I think that if we get it right, Team JELD-WEN can have a weekend where we score multiple top-ten results.”

Jason Bright, Team BOC:

"It's our test track and we know it well. We were fast there late last year so we should be able to roll it off the truck and be really quick.

"We had a really tough time of it in Tassie. It's hard to know what the issue was; we tried a lot of things to get on top of it and couldn't. 

"We need to start getting some silverware.

"It's too early to start thinking about championship points, I've just got to win races."

Click here for more from Bright on Winton. 

Chaz Mostert, Ford Pepsi Max Crew: 

“I’ve had a bit of a bad year so far but Winton was one of my strong events last year. I got my second career podium there so hopefully it is the place where we can turn things around for car #6 so we can bounce back in the Championship. I know the track and though we haven’t tested there this year, I have plenty of laps and data from previous visits – so fingers crossed, we can get back to the front where we should be." 

Todd Kelly, Jack Daniel’s Racing: 

"Winton's our home test track that we haven't tested at so far this season, it's been a little while since we were last there, but obviously it has been our most successful venue last year.

"We've made improvements with certain areas of the car since that point last year, so we're hoping we can have a good weekend again.

"It's a little bit different to a few tracks that we've been on this year, straight line speed is not as big an issue as what it is at a lot of other tracks.

"If we get the cars right, get them to stop well, turn well, and exit the corners well, and tune the cars for the conditions on the day, we can look forward to a successful weekend." 

Robert Dahlgren, Valvoline Racing GRM: 

“It is nice to have a race weekend straight after the other, especially for me as a newcomer to the championship. We have a really good car and the plan for the weekend is to mix with the front runners.”

Nick Percat, HHA Racing:

“Sunday’s qualifying and race pace in Tasmania showed plenty of potential and I was pleased with my times.

“Winton is a track I’ve done plenty of laps around and I aim to continue the momentum we have built up so far. It’s a hard track on tyres, but I looked after mine quite well in Tasmania and I can’t wait to get back on track this weekend.”