Decide: Coulthard
you,’’ Coulthard said. ‘‘You need an element of luck, you need to be fast and the car needs to be reliable, but this place is pretty gruelling and this place certainly chooses you.’’
Coulthard switched from driving a Holden for Brad Jones Racing to a Ford with DJR Team Penske this year.
There’s no doubt that with the knowledge and financial backing that’s coming into his new team that they’ll be a major force in Supercars in the future.
It was their big plans that helped lure Scott McLaughlin to be Coulthard’s team-mate next season.
But while the future looks bright, this year hasn’t gone well, with neither Coulthard or his team-mate Scott Pye winning any races.
Coulthard made the podium just once in the first 10 races this year and more often than not was finishing in the high teens.
But in recent rounds the team have found more pace for car No 12 and he’s finished in the top 10 in the last five races, so signs are positive.
‘‘We have a lot of new people, there is eight or nine new staff members and they all needed time to gel and work together,’’ Coulthard said.
‘‘The longer they work together, the better it’s going to be. We’re all still learning the car but we’re getting there.
‘‘We’ve had a few top 10s in the last few rounds, so we’re starting to get the consistency we were lacking.’’
When Coulthard switched to DJR Team Penske this season, he was able to bring Luke Youlden with him as his co-driver for the endurance rounds.
Youlden first drove at the Bathurst 1000 in 2001, but has never been a main game driver.
It’s not usual for drivers to make the shift as a package, but Coulthard said he was keen to stick with a driver he trusts.
‘‘Luke likes the same things from the cars that I do," Coulthard said. ‘‘He has a similar seating position and the simplicity of it all is quite comforting. He’s reliable and you can put him in the car and know he’ll do a good time and be consistent. He ticks a lot of boxes for me.’’
But while Coulthard wanted Youlden as his co-driver, he needed the team to agree to the partnership.
‘‘I have my input but overall the team needs to agree with it as well,’’ he said.
‘‘They would have run the numbers on a few co-drivers from last year and for what we needed Luke stacked up the best.’’
At the age of 34 and in a big team, the time is right for Coulthard to win the big one and with a bit of luck, that fickle finger of fate might just point in his direction. and I was embarrassed to be honest. It was a terrible performance and Dan Henderson had a good one – what are you going to do? He got the job done on that day. I had a bad day and now I get the chance to rectify that.’’
When it comes to the UFC, Bisping has learned to be patient.
After 10 years and 25 bouts in the promotion, the 37-year-old was given his first title shot at UFC 199 and, boy, did he make it count.
Despite taking the fight on just 17 days notice, ‘The Count’ became Britain’s first ever UFC champion with a shock firstround KO of Rockhold.
Bisping (30-7) goes into the octagon against 46-year-old Henderson (32-14) on the back of four straight victories, including a unanimous decision over all-time great Anderson Silva.
He believes he’s entering his prime.
‘‘I feel like I’m peaking, to be honest,’’ Bisping said. ‘‘There’s less steroids around these days. USADA have cleaned the sport up. I’ve got a better handle on my emotions as a fighter so I think all of that helps me.’’
Kiwi heavyweight Mark Hunt would probably disagree on the doping issue. His last two opponents, Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar, both tested positive for performance-enhancing substances.