John Bowe: Small secrets will make the difference
I first raced at Barbagallo Raceway in 1979 - it seems like it was only a few seasons ago! How scary's that? I don't feel a day over 35 and that was 35 years ago, go figure!
The track has not changed much in that time but the facilities certainly have.The West Aussie crew has built a new pit facility and treats all the V8 Supercars teams with great respect.
The crowds will pack the place out, usually there's lots of action to keep the crowd coming back. For me, Barbagallo is a fusion of the old and the new. Old style track design with new facilities - and the locals love the place.
One thing that's not changed one bit with the circuit is the abrasiveness of the surface. You see, it's built on a virtual sand pit, it's great for safety run offs but plays havoc with the tyres as the sand blows minute particles across the circuit.
With the incredible closeness of the field, little minute set up secrets that helps with tyre life and tyre performance drop off can be the difference between winning and losing.
A team that consistently manages to keep their tyres alive is my old friends at BJR; they will be a force in WA. It's so hard to predict who will go well, because one weekend, let's say Triple Eight have terrific consistency and tyre life then the next weekend, they are grappling for the same.
We witnessed Lowndsey in New Zealand - I have rarely seen such a wayward car - it's mostly about tyre degradation and traditionally Triple Eight have done a good job with that.
The same can be said for FPR, their tyre life was exceptional on Frosty's car at both Winton on the Dunlop Softs and in New Zealand with the hard Dunlop Sport Maxx control tyre.
I reckon Perth will suit the FPR car as well because their cars rotate mid corner very well and Frosty has certainly mastered the technique to keep his rubber on the boil.
The Perth round is all soft tyres (same as Tassie), a good choice because we will see real strategic racing, with brains engaged in most cases. The laps are very short and there are not many corners to make up any time.
I would like to see the soft Dunlop become the Control tyre for next year and a Super Soft become the option tyre. Then, there will be lots of to and froing, as it is, get ready for some incredible racing this weekend.
I'm expecting the grid will be covered by no more than six-tenths of a second (at most) - sure it's a short circuit and lap times have always been close here. Just not as close as I expect they'll be here this round.
This year's Championship will be won by the car/team and driver with the most consistency across the season (like never before). We are talking about one per cent marginal stuff here -don't you love it when there are so many potential winners?
The winner this weekend is ... I'm not game to make a prediction, it's just too damn hard. The competition is way too close and volatile to try and even pick podium placegetters.
I don't expect Triple Eight to be on the back foot as they were in New Zealand, nor do I expect them or anyone else to be a walk up dominator.
May the best man/team win!
Cheers,
JB
Follow John Bowe on Facebook. Bowe is supported by Wilson Security, Dunlop Super Dealers and Coates Hire, and competing in the 2014 Touring Car Masters Championship.
