The key factors behind unpredictable 300km Sydney races
New tyres and inclement weather are set to offer an enhanced entertainment spectacle at this weekend’s Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight.
Wet weather is forecast for this weekend’s event, which will be headlined by dual 300km races.
Drivers are permitted to use a single set of Super Soft tyres in each 77-lap race.
Dunlop has supplied the main game with 900 tyres for the weekend; 700 Soft tyres, and 200 Super Softs.
Dunlop has also brought 768 wet tyres, as well as 424 Hard tyres for the Super2 and Super3 runners.
Last year’s fourth Sydney event featured arguably the most entertaining race of the 2021 season.
The race, won by Shane van Gisbergen, featured changing strategies as drivers grappled with the Super Soft tyre.
Rain struck late on, with Super Soft runners tearing through the field; van Gisbergen notably dashed from fifth to first in a matter of laps.
Dunlop has introduced an even softer Super Soft compound for 2022.
With a softer Super Soft on hand this weekend, the crossover between compounds is expected to be even greater this weekend.
Coupled with driver fatigue, and this weekend's races will begin the new season with a bang.
“The new Super Soft is significantly softer than what we had last year,” Dunlop operations manager Kevin Fitzsimons told Supercars.com.
“We’ve also lifted the pressure of the tyres from 17 to 19 psi.
"When we used the Super Soft in Darwin last year, the minimum pressure was 17 psi, but teams constantly bled them back.
SVG won from nowhere on the Super Soft in November
“What we saw in Darwin wasn’t a true representation of the performance of the tyre; it lasted too long.
“If you’ve got more air in it, the tyre crowns in the centre and it will wear out. That’s what we want to get overtaking and strategy.
“We don’t want the fast guys to race into the distance; we want to make them work for it.”
Last year’s two red-flagged Sydney races were undone by heavy rain, albeit in the shadow of a looming Bathurst season finale.
This year, there will be three weeks between events, with Tasmania to host the second stop of 2022 later this month.
It’s full steam ahead this weekend, and the threat of passing showers will make the 300km races an even greater strategical challenge.
It will amount to who makes the right calls at the right times, which encourages a surprise winner.
For Fitzsimons, tyre management will be key for a driver’s hopes as they grapple with the changing conditions.
“The wet weather tyre we have is what some would call an 'aggressive intermediate tyre’,” he explained.
“It’s designed in a way that it won’t blister on a drying track and wear out after six, seven laps.
“It works better because it can run for 15, 20 laps on a drying surface and it won’t blister.
“In its ideal condition, it’s perfect. A monsoon wet tyre in its ideal condition is perfect.
“Unless you’ve got a massive amount of rain, a monsoon wet will tear itself to shreds very quickly.”
Practice 1 in Sydney will commence on Friday at 3:15pm AEDT. CLICK HERE to view the race schedule.
CLICK HERE to purchase your Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight tickets.
