Nilsson: Morale strong despite struggle
Interim Mobil 1 HSV Racing manager Mathew Nilsson has praised the ongoing dedication of the team’s workforce amid one of the toughest periods in its history.
The squad heads to Hidden Valley looking to turn around a horror run that has seen star driver James Courtney qualify 20th or lower for all but one race since Adelaide.
Its post-Adelaide slump cost former managing director Adrian Burgess his job before Winton, where Courtney slid to 19th in the standings with another two dismal results.
Although taking home the team’s strongest race result at every event since Adelaide, team-mate Scott Pye has fared little better and is 20th in points.
Nilsson insists that the morale remains strong inside the team, which had been reinvented in the off-season after losing its Holden Racing Team backing to Triple Eight.
“I can’t fault the morale of the whole team,” Nilsson told Supercars.com.
“Even from the time that Adrian moved on, everyone has just been going about their business and focussed on their roles and responsibilities.
“It’s a good place to work and everyone is positive. I can’t fault anyone’s efforts.
“Everyone is on board with what we’ve got to keep working on and keep fixing.
“Departments are going to every extra effort to help with that process.
“There’s no lack of effort going in. Everyone is doing all we can to improve.”
Owner Ryan Walkinshaw admitted at Winton that the team has sounded out other squads from which it could buy critical suspension components to lift performance.
While that would mark a shift away from its current development program, Nilsson says the team remains committed to improving its current package for now.
“We’re certainly not remaining stagnant,” he said.
“Just because that’s been identified as one area we’re looking at, it never stops.
“Our development is continuing and we’re looking at all opportunities to improve the car.
“We chose not to test after Winton, but that’s for valid reasons that other teams have also applied.
“You’ve got to make sure that when you go testing you get the full benefit and we felt we needed to spend some more time understanding some development directions and bits and pieces like that.”
While hopeful that the team can show signs of improvement in Darwin, Nilsson says it must be realistic with its short-term expectations.
“To be seen to make progress with our car speed,” he said of its goal for Darwin.
“That’s not always where you qualify or finish, it’s about the gap to the cars at the front.
“We want to come away with a consistent performance and be happy we’ve made progress with the car and achieved the results we’re capable of achieving.
“There’s no point going in with expectations that are too high. We’ve got to be realistic about where we’re at and just make solid progress.”
