Kiwis to dominate Supercars season
This surely is the golden age for New Zealand drivers in Supercars.
The new season kicks off with the Adelaide 500 this weekend and they’ll be five Kiwis on the starting grid.
There have been that many New Zealand drivers in the category before, but rarely so many in competitive cars.
Shane van Gisbergen, Fabian Coulthard and Scott Mclaughlin will be back hunting for the championship, while Richie Stanaway is a full-time driver for the first time and Andre Heimgartner returns after a year away.
Stanaway is one of the four drivers for the big budget Tickford Racing team (formerly known as Prodrive Racing Australia) and Heimgartner gets a drive with Nissan, who should be more competitive this season, given that they’re a well resourced team.
Last year’s championship was enthralling and reached its climax in Newcastle, with Jamie Whincup just pipping Mclaughlin to take the title, even if he was helped by a dubious pitlane penalty given to the young Kiwi in the final race, which ultimately cost him the championship.
This season it’s again likely to be another battle between Whincup and van Gisbergen at Triple Eight, Coulthard and Mclaughlin for DJR Team Penske and Mark Winterbottom and Chaz Mostert at Tickford.
Stanaway and Heimgartner can finish on podiums and even win, but it’ll be the other three Kiwis in Team: DJR Team Penske
Car: Ford FG X Falcon
Prospects: Losing the championship to Jamie Whincup in the final race of the 2017 season from a commanding position was heartbreaking. Surely the likeable Mclaughlin is destined to win the title one day and if his car is again one of the quickest and he has some better luck, there’s no reason why that shouldn’t happen in 2018.
FABIAN COULTHARD
DJR Team Penske
Ford FG X Falcon Having Mclaughlin as a team-mate brought out the best in
the hunt for the title and it wouldn’t be inconceivable if there’s a Kiwi one-two-three in the championship.
Van Gisbergen will be out to make amends for what was an unspectacular failed title defence last year, while Mclaughlin, who is arguably the fastest driver over one lap, will be looking to convert more pole positions into race wins.
Coulthard is the dark horse. He came third in last year’s championship and at the age of 35 and in one of the quickest cars, knows 2018 will be one of his best opportunities to take the title.
‘‘Last year was very good, but I’m looking to improve on it a bit,’’ Coulthard said. ‘‘We can only build on what we learned last year and Coulthard, with the two Kiwis working well. Coulthard should be there or thereabouts again.
SHANE VAN GISBERGEN
Triple Eight Race Engineering
Holden ZB Commodore
Had a great start last year, winning both races in Adelaide, but the rest of the season wasn’t so good and he was only ever on the fringes of being in contention for the title. Still, van Gisbergen will be exceptionally quick this year.
RICHIE STANAWAY
continue the momentum into 2018.’’
Coulthard has a new Ford Falcon for the campaign and if his DJR Team Penske team can make a similar jump to the one made between the 2016 and 2017 seasons, it could be a memorable year.
‘‘The boys built the car in the off-season and it’s been running faultlessly,‘‘ Coulthard said.
‘‘We’ve had a good amount of time to quantify things from last year and put them into practice for this year.’’
The Adelaide 500 doesn’t allow drivers and teams to ease their way into the new season. It’s the biggest and toughest race outside the three endurance rounds.
With the drivers, particularly
Over the past two seasons in the endurance rounds Stanaway proved he belonged in Supercars and has been rewarded with a seat in one of the top teams. He’ll go from driving against mainly co-drivers, to those in the main game, but there’s no reason why he won’t hold his own.
ANDRE HEIMGARTNER
Nissan Motorsport Nissan Altima
When he was last a fulltime driver, with the low-budget Lucas Dumbell Motorsport team, it was no surprise he struggled. Now he’s at a team with serious money, we’ll get to see just how good he is.
the five rookies this year, still getting to grips with their new cars it can be a high-octane event, butt Coulthard believes it’s the perfect way to begin a season.
‘‘This is the right race to start the year with,’’ Coulthard said.
‘‘We’ve been out of the car for two and a half months and it’s a real shock to the system ... the high ambience, the long races.
‘‘It separates the men from the boys. It’s a tough one and I’ve always had good success here.’’
Meanwhile, it has been announced that there will be a top 10 shootout on the Sunday at this year’s round at Pukekohe.
The last time there was a shootout for the New Zealand leg of the series was in 2013.