Winterbottom and Reynolds ready for redemption in Perth

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DEWALT Racing’s Mark Winterbottom and TRADIE Beer Racing’s David Reynolds are determined to fight their way back to the front of the Supercars field at this weekend’s Perth SuperSprint after a challenging previous round at Taupo.

While results from Taupo didn’t show the true performance of the cars, the team have continued their development at their Mount Waverley workshop and are ready to redeem themselves in Perth.

Winterbottom dropped out of the top ten in the points with finishes of 11th and 17th in Taupo bas he returns to Perth, a track where he has seven race wins in the past and 13 podiums.

Reynolds also had a tough weekend in Taupo with finishes of 16th and 24th, but is itching to hit the track and get his championship back on track.

Winterbottom and Reynolds will kick off a busy race week with an incredible experience swimming with Whale Sharks off the coast of Exmouth on Western Australia’s North West Cape for an upcoming broadcast feature.

The pair will also attend the opening of Waverley Forklifts’ newest branch in Canning Vale on Wednesday evening, with an event night featuring autograph sessions, car displays, food and drinks, live music and activities for all ages.

The 2.4km Wanneroo circuit is renowned for being ‘tough’ and ‘tight’ and although it was resurfaced in 2019, the surface remains challenging for teams, where the best opportunities for overtaking are turns six and seven under brakes.

This weekend’s format sees two 55 lap, 133km races on the Dunlop Soft Tyre.

A new twist for this event will see the return of practice sessions on both Saturday and Sunday, allowing teams an extra session to test setup changes from the day prior instead of rolling straight into qualifying the next day.

Qualifying will be decided by a three-part knockout session with the top 20 progressing through to Part 2 and the top ten progressing to Part 3.

Races 9 and 10 of the championship will have a single compulsory pit stop for a minimum of two tyres, with the high degradation nature of the circuit expected to dictate race strategy.

All the action can be viewed live on Fox Sports and Kayo, check your local guides for further details.

QUOTES

Mark Winterbottom, driver #18 DEWALT Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

“We always have great support in Perth and it is one of my favourite events. Perth is a pretty unique track. It’s one of the smallest ones we go to, turns right pretty well the whole lap with just one left hander. High tyre degradation makes it really tricky in the races, but again, qualifying is key. So, for us going to Perth we need to make sure we qualify up the front. And I think if we can do that, we’re going to get a good result.

“I think I’ve had about six or seven wins at Wanneroo. It’s been one of my favourite tracks in the past and I know that the team here at Team 18, if we get it right, and we’ve got plenty of practice to do it, we’re going to be a good shot.

“Hopefully we’re fast. I’ll use my knowledge in the race. It’s like that game of chess, push at the right time, conserve at the right time. We have plenty of practice, really good people here at Team 18 and we’re gonna have a good crack.”

David Reynolds, driver #20 TRADIE Beer Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

“I love going to Perth and love going to Western Australia.  We’ve got some cool stuff to do beforehand. I’m going diving with whale sharks which is something I probably would have done on my own bat.

“The track itself is quite short and always produces quite interesting racing. Last year my car was really fast there and I’ve got some pretty good results there over the past.

“Last time for us in New Zealand wasn’t the best showing. So I hope we can turn it all around and start heading further up the grid.

“We’ve got a long practice on the Friday and then every day we have a practice session. So, normally we just roll up on a Saturday and it’s just straight into high pressure qualifying. Now the day starts a little bit earlier, more relaxed and you get to try a few things in your car and then go qualify. So, you don’t have a gun to your head when you wake up in the morning thinking about qualifying on fresh tyres, you can sort of ease yourself into the day. So, it’s probably good from a human standpoint and stress levels.

“It should be good for our team because the more testing work we can do in our team, the better data and better knowledge we can have, so it’s only a good thing for you.”