Engineer preview: Plus Fitness Phillip Island 400

Returning to the track where Team JELD-WEN achieved its first podium in 2013, #18 engineer David Paterson explains the ins and outs of the Phillip Island circuit.

The event was Paterson's first engineering the JELD-WEN Falcon, and now 12 months later working with Jack Perkins, 'Patto' feels they are making progress.

**"**Jack and I have been working hard all year, particularly ... to optimise the performance of the car," he told v8supercars.com.au.

"I feel like we're getting there now, with some decent pace across the endurance races."

Making the ARMOR ALL Top 10 Shootout at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 was a huge achievement for the team, and while #18 was ultimately hurt by a pit lane penalty in Sunday's 1000km race, Paterson said it was still an important result for the team.

**"**It was good for the whole car 18 crew and, of course, Jack to get the reward of being in the top 10 after working hard all year without getting the better results we all strive for. Was great to back that up with solid pace on Sunday."

Heading to the 4.445km Phillip Island circuit, Paterson explained the ins and outs of the seaside circuit.

V8supercars.com.au: What are the main characteristics of the circuit?

Paterson: "The circuit is typically fast and flowing with a couple of hard stops and slower corners thrown in to mix it up a bit."

How will the weekend's format affect setup and strategy?

"Back to SuperSprint meeting format after the Pirtek Enduro Cup. This is, of course, a change back to a condensed format with three shorter 20-minute practice sessions on Friday and the back-to-back 10-minute qualifying sessions on Saturday.

"Ten-minute qualifying on Saturday with a one-and-a-half minute lap will mean most cars will only get one shot at posting their best lap - so we may see some cars delaying their run towards the end of the session, while others will possibly look at posting a time earlier while there are less cars on the track, particularly in the second 10-minute session.

"So far as the races go, we have two 100km races on Saturday with no mandatory stops for fuel or tyres. On Sunday we have a 200km race with a mandatory requirement to add 120 litres of fuel to the cars. This will require two pit stops where fuel will be added and of course tyres changed.

"This is where you may see teams short filling slightly in the first stop to gain track position at the expense of longer stop in the last pit stop if they feel they are being held up on track."

What is the tyre allocation and what sort of degradation are you expecting? How will this impact setup and strategy?

"We have eight sets of hard compound tyres allocated for the race meeting. Two sets are pre-marked practice tyres only, with the remaining six sets new for this meeting. Of these sets one set must be handed back before Qualifying, leaving five sets for qualifying and racing over Saturday and Sunday.

"The set that we hand back means that all teams have an opportunity to assess their cars on a green tyre on the Friday afternoon before Qualifying starts on the Saturday.

"Based on last year's times we don't expect degradation to be an overly- limiting factor in the races."

What aspects of the circuit are you expecting to suit your car and what do you have to be mindful of?

"I expect the flowing nature of the circuit, similar to Bathurst, to suit our car well. Will have to be mindful of the hairpin at T4 and Lukey Heights where a stable car under brakes will reap rewards."

What are you expecting to be the most important thing to do well this weekend?

"We'll need to tick all the boxes this weekend, firstly by qualifying well. Our cars seem to do a good job of looking after their tyres, so degradation shouldn't be a major factor. Race pace will also be important, and if we can put all those factors together, we'll do OK."

Tickets are still available for this weekend's Plus Fitness Phillip Island 400 - click here for more information on the event.