Dutton makes bold Penrite Racing claim despite Tassie victory
Mark Dutton makes bold Penrite Racing claim despite Tassie victory
Triple Eight boss claims Penrite Racing has better "handle" on Gen3 Ford
Triple Eight was "a little bit embarrassed" after Christchurch, says Dutton
Penrite Racing remains the benchmark Ford team despite Red Bull Ampol Racing’s Tasmania win, claims Triple Eight boss Mark Dutton.
Penrite Racing arrived in Tasmania off the back of a three-win weekend in Christchurch, with Matt Payne soaring to consecutive wins following Kai Allen's breakthrough.
Triple Eight Team Manager Dutton admitted after Christchurch, despite Broc Feeney’s Jason Richards Trophy win, that there was “more to come” from the Ford package despite Penrite Mustangs leading the way.
Come Tasmania, and Feeney cruised from pole to victory in Sunday’s Tyrepower Tasmania Super 440 finale, beating home Payne and Allen.
In a big weekend for the #88 crew, Feeney extended his championship lead to 90 points, with Red Bull Ampol Racing also establishing itself atop the teams’ championship.
Come Sunday, and after ceding his team was “embarrassed” in the wake of New Zealand, Dutton doubled down on his claim that the Grove squad has a better handle on the Mustang.
“We've been doing a lot of work. We came out of NZ with the consistency, so we achieved the big trophy, so we're happy with that,” Dutton said post-race.
“But if we're being honest with ourselves, we were a little bit embarrassed with the difference in car speed to this gentleman [Payne] next to me.
“We had a really good hard look at ourselves, massive debriefs, massive work from every single mechanic, every engineer, the drivers. We worked super hard.
“Then still this weekend, we didn't roll out strong enough, but kept chipping away. Today it was really good to win it with the fastest car by getting pole and then having a really good race.
“These guys [Penrite Racing] are super quick. They definitely have more of a handle on the Mustang than we do currently, so we still have a lot of work to do.”
The turnaround also wasn’t lost on Triple Eight Managing Director Jamie Whincup, who told Supercars’ Equip Super Cool Down Lap podcast: "We had a pretty tough New Zealand.
"Although we got the Jason Richards Trophy, it was still was a bit off the pace. We never looked like winning a race over there. "So, to come back today and get a win, that’s a big confidence inspirer."
Feeney leads Payne by 90 points heading to Darwin on June 19-21, with Allen fifth and Will Brown ninth.
