Difficult track to sort out V8 stars
V8 SUPERCARS’ premier drivers are preparing for a rough and challenging time in Townsville as they fight to stay at the top of the heap.
Nick Percat, Todd Hazelwood and Jack Le Blocq will be just three of the competitors ushering in the return of the Townsville 500.
Hazelwood, a former Super2 series winner and Mike Kable Young Gun award winner, said he was excited for the chance to continue his team’s momentum.
“This year’s been very solid for me,” Hazelwood said. “We have put together a pretty good group of people and are getting some good results.
“The team at Matt Stone Racing, we’ve probably been branded as a challenger team. We’re certainly on the increase and seeing better results.”
While the Hazelwood and Le Blocq partnership struggled recently in Darwin and Winton, there is plenty of purpose and optimism to be found for the back half of the series.
“I’ve probably had one of my better starts to the season,” Hazelwood said. “We’ve only just fallen outside the top 10 due to a couple of tough rounds recently, but there has been genuine car speed there.
“I feel like we’re on the brink of a podium opportunity. Jack and I have been fighting top fives in recent rounds, so we are coming to Townsville with some form and looking forward to getting out in the sun.”
Townsville will provide plenty of new twists because there is more danger on the urban track, something Hazelwood is relishing.
“It’s a circuit I really enjoy,’’ he said. “It’s what we call a proper balls-to-the-wall circuit.”
The first Townsville 500 event begins on July 8.