Slump could get worse before it gets better, says Mark Skaife
Championship winning team has gone six races without a podium
Penrite Racing has wrested control of both championships
Supercars Hall of Famer Mark Skaife has warned that if Triple Eight can’t get on top of its puzzling set-up issues in Perth, its recent lean run could get worse before it gets better.
Across the last two rounds in Darwin and Townsville — both of which featured Friday races — Broc Feeney has lost 182 points, and the points lead, to Matt Payne.
Feeney in particular has been complaining of instability under brakes, while understeer has also been an issue. For the first time in 20 seasons, Triple Eight have gone six races in a row without a podium finish.
Perth offers a different challenge again despite a short 55-second lap, with several long radius corners as well as three key braking zones.
Feeney did claim two of the three wins last year, while the returning Super 440 format means teams have a chance to sleep on changes from Friday’s back-to-back practice sessions.
“The way that he performed there last year was just exceptional, so we know he’s very good around there, and from what they learnt last year you know the style of car that you need to have in Perth,” Supercars legend Skaife said on MotorRacing 360.
“But what’s a bit concerning is that he’s been complaining about the car being too unstable on the way to the corner, and then when you get to the corner it’s got too much understeer.
“Now those two things, they do not go together. If you fix the stability and make it nicer to enter the corner, that will make the understeer worse. Especially when you look at the layout we’re dealing with in Perth, they’re big, long corners.
“When you’ve got understeer, if you’ve got a little bit of understeer, that’s okay, but if you’ve got that amount of understeer you’re in the corner for so long, that then transcends into lap time. That’s a real negative.”
Skaife is also forecasting that it won’t open up the form guide for one team or driver in particular, but instead create a weekend of mixed results.
In the Gen3 era, six different drivers have won the eight races held at Perth, representing four teams. Feeney is the Gen3 master of Perth with three wins, while five other drivers have won a race each.
The likes of Penrite Racing and Dick Johnson Racing aren’t represented in that group, while Blanchard Racing Team began their turnaround with a podium in last year’s finale.
“I actually think you might see some different winners over the weekend,” Skaife continued.
“You’ve got a resurgent Cam Waters, you’ve got someone like a Ryan Wood who we know goes really well there, so does Mostert. You can’t discount Anton [De Pasquale] either, because his performance is good and the Chev was good there last year.
“So there’s a lot of people who when you go through the laundry list of who could win, you put that into perspective, and the number of people who have already been on the podium. I don’t think you’re going to see someone come out and dominate the weekend.”
Payne takes a 92 point lead into the weekend's action, with Feeney, Brodie Kostecki, and Waters all within 200 points of the championship lead, the closest top four at this stage of a season since 2016.
Supercars hit Motormall Wanneroo Raceway for two practice sessions on Friday, beginning at 3:00pm local time/5:00pm AEST.
