Supercars to light up night in Perth amid controversy
After a bit of a hiatus, the Supercars circus (and it is a bit of a circus, with the Ford Mustang’s aero package being changed after it was approved) has landed in Perth this weekend for a couple of night races.
Hoping to replicate the success of the Sydney event last year, the Perth SuperNight will be an interesting hitout for all teams, especially with the track having been resurfaced.
Fans and non-Ford teams will be keen to see how the Mustangs go since the category bowed to Triple Eight’s Roland Dane’s comments that the Fords had an “unfair advantage” and parity issues.
Red Bull Holden have struggled this year to be competitive since the change to linear springs and Dane’s comments smack a little of sour grapes. However, the technical bods at Supercars have forced the teams running Mustangs to modify the rear wing, Gurney flap and undertray extensions, despite having approved them at the start of the season.
Defending champion New Zealander Scott McLaughlin has been imperious so far this season, winning seven from 10 races over the opening four rounds of the season. Sometimes it’s not a good idea to poke the bear, and McLaughlin has come out swinging after finding out about the enforced changes to his car.
“Obviously it is frustrating for everyone as we have worked hard over time to have a car that is fast and was approved beforehand,” he told Speedcafe.
“The sport is about technical parity and all that sort of stuff and we understand they have to adjudicate when they need to; whether we agree with it or not is a different story.
“We are just looking forward to having a crack out there this weekend and use that as a bit of motivation.”
McLaughlin’s teammate Fabian Coulthard is on a roll and is second on the leaderboard, 124 points behind his fellow Kiwi on 1058. Coulthard is
119 points ahead of Chaz Mostert, with Shane van Gisbergen and David Reynolds close behind.
● For those more attuned to going sideways on gravel roads, best head north this weekend for the International Rally of Whangarei, which is also round two of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) and round two of the New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC).
Rally fans will get a chance to see recent World Rally Championship contestant and only Kiwi to win a WRC round, Hayden Paddon in action, along with American Ken Block.
Block has a YouTube following of nearly 20 million and six million on Facebook, while Paddon is a worldwide name in rallying. It’s not often fans of both the “Hoonigan” and a professional WRC racer get to see them go head-to-head.
While that showdown should be entertaining, there is an NZRC at stake.
Paddon is not contesting the domestic series (he is chasing the APRC and leads the series), so the battle for the NZRC title after one round is between Ben Hunt (co-driver Tony Rowstorn) and Dylan Turner (Paul Fallon).
In an effort to give back to the sport, Paddon has a new co-driver with him this weekend.
“Together with Hyundai New Zealand and their Pinnacle mentoring programme for teens, our team is committed to giving young people an opportunity within our team,” he said.
“We have done it in the past with Wintec students as technicians and recently employed one of those young technicians.
“Likewise, with co-drivers, together with John Kennard, we want to help and give a chance to young co-drivers.”