Kiwi battle revved up
The voice of Supercars, Neil Crompton, won’t be surprised if it’s again Kiwi versus Kiwi battling out this year’s title.
The new Supercars season kicks off in Adelaide next weekend, with Scott McLaughlin the defending champion.
Fellow New Zealander and 2016 title winner Shane van Gisbergen is likely to be the main contender to take the crown away, and it could be another fight between the two drivers all season.
Crompton, who is part of the excellent Supercars commentary team and raced in the category for 14 years, says McLaughlin and van Gisbergen are the deserved favourites, but there are other drivers who can’t be ruled out.
‘‘There is always the logic of what appears on paper versus what happens in reality,’’ Crompton said.
‘‘Logically speaking, the McLaughlin v van Gisbergen will no doubt continue, they’re both very good at their jobs and the two teams are extraordinarily good at what they do.
‘‘But you just never know in this business, there is always somebody that jumps up unexpectedly, or some little change in the way in which things work that alters the natural order.’’
Those likely to fire include Jamie Whincup, David Reynolds and Fabian Coulthard, while Chaz Mostert, Cameron Waters and James Courtney would be considered as outsiders.
The attention is on McLaughlin to see how he deals with the pressure of trying to be the first driver since Whincup in 2014 to defend his title.
But Crompton sees going into the season as champion as a positive for the Christchurch-born driver.
‘‘It would give any driver a high degree of confidence,’’ he said.
‘‘It validates who you are and probably removes a question, because it was a frustrating completion to the previous year for him.
‘‘So he’ll probably feel now that the energy he’s put into training has been validated.
‘‘He probably feels a higher degree of confidence, but I don’t think it will change a lot.’’
As for the other New Zealand drivers, it will be an important season for them for various reasons.
Coulthard had a poor 2018, finishing ninth in the championship. For the two year’s he’s been at DJR Team Penske with McLaughlin, he’s been the least successful of the two, and needs to show he can be just as quick and consistent.
‘‘I don’t think the pressure changes,’’ Crompton said.
‘‘Most drivers I know and from my own experience, there is always enough pressure coming from one person, and that’s yourself.
‘‘So the desire from every one of them in the field is to succeed every time they jump in the car and hit the ignition.
‘‘I would be inclined to think he’d have a stronger year this year.’’
Richie Stanaway had a dreadful 2018 with Tickford Racing, finishing secondto-last in the championship among the main game drivers.
It looked like his Supercars career was over when Tickford terminated his contract, but he received a lifeline when he was picked up by Garry Rogers Motorsport, who axed veteran Garth Tander to make space for him.
This year, Stanaway needs to show last season was down to him being in a poor car, not because of his poor driving.
‘‘So it was obviously a disappointing period for him. He’d won the Sandown 500 the previous year and had some momentum.’’
Andre Heimgartner was the last driver to lock in a full-time seat and he’s remained at Kelly Racing, driving the Nissan Altima.
Heimgartner finished in the top eight for the final three races of the campaign.
‘‘He’s a young guy, a fast guy and knows how to pedal those things.’’
The Supercars season will again be on Sky Sports, with coverage of the Adelaide 500 from 12pm on Thursday.