BATTLE OF SHELL AS DUO SQUARE UP
SUPERCARS TEAMMATES TO GO AT IT AGAIN
FABIAN Coulthard has set a target of evening up the qualifying ledger against his Shell V-Power Racing teammate Scott McLaughlin as the pair strive to overhaul seven-time champion Jamie Whincup.
Coulthard was a consistent presence in the Supercars title race last season but ultimately left himself with too much overtaking to do too often.
While the No.12 driver nabbed a single pole position, McLaughlin was able to extract more from his Falcon to start from first on the grid on 16 occasions.
It was a key reason why McLaughlin beat Coulthard to second place in the championship by a margin of 209 points.
“I feel like we raced well but Scott’s qualifying record last year, he had an unbelievable achievement with all those poles, so I would like to snag a couple of those off him,” Coulthard told the Bulletin.
“That will give ourselves our best chance, by qualifying closer to the front.
“I think our qualifying average last year was about fifth so if we can get that closer to the top two rows then that will be our focus.”
Asked how to rectify that record, Coulthard’s response was direct: “You work hard”.
He added the Stapylton squad’s move up the pit lane order – a result of winning the teams’ championship – may bring benefits in times of chaos.
“A lot of the time with safety cars and things like that, because we were running ahead of where we were in the pit lane, we were really having difficulty getting out,” Coulthard said.
“We had to wait for the queues in traffic to come in so hopefully that (change) will help us a little.”
Despite fading late in the title hunt, the 35-year-old regards 2017 as a “fantastic” season and hopes to build on it alongside new race engineer Mark Fenning, who replaces Phil Keed.
Coulthard will also have a larger “Fab Pack” in support this year, having celebrated with partner Becky Lamb the arrival of twins Mackenzie Rae and Carter Stephen in October.