Who can stop SVG?
Who is going to stop Shane van Gisbergen?
The flying Kiwi is five-from-five after two rounds of the Supercars championship and looks good to get another two in Tasmania this weekend, becoming the first driver in championship history to win the first seven races.
Beating van Gisbergen is a big ask, but there are drivers lining up to put a halt to his winning streak, including David Reynolds. The Australian, who spent several years racing a Porsche in New Zealand, has had a resurgence this year after moving from Erebus Motorsport to Kelly Grove Racing.
He has already picked up his first podium of the season, and Reynolds is relishing his new surroundings and looking forward to Symmons Plains.
“Everyone is trying to beat him [van Gisbergen] just as hard as I am,” says Reynolds. “He’s the person on form at the minute. Unfortunately for us, we’re going to one of their stronger tracks again.
“The first three tracks of the season are their strongest so it sucks for us. They’re the benchmark and you know if you can beat one of their cars you’re having an amazing day.
“Their cars are pretty good and it has traditionally been a Holden circuit. It’s going to be a hard ask for anyone to beat him. Our focus at the minute is race to race and improving our cars.”
Moving teams can be fraught with problems, but in Reynolds’ case things appear to be going swimmingly.
“I’m pretty happy with how the season has started. When you change teams it’s sort of fresh and exciting and so far so good.
“I think the team are happy to have me and I’ve joined up again with the engineer and chief mechanic from my old team so there are a lot of good people who I trust in the team.”
The team is benefiting from the experience Reynolds brings and in particular New Zealander Andre Heimgartner who is the other driver in the garage.
“He’s a youngster who has been in the sport a long time and he’s enjoying and benefiting from the changes as much as I am.
“I’ve known him and been mates with him for a long time and he’s a very fast young guy. He’s good to have around and he’ll keep me honest, which is all you can really ask of a driver,” says Reynolds.
Symmons Plains is a tricky little old-school tight and challenging track.
“I actually really like Tasmania,” says Reynolds. “Not many people do but I enjoy racing here. It’s a very easy track, but quite complicated. Everything is so tight, which makes the racing interesting.
“It’s paramount that you qualify well, though. If you’re on the wrong side of a 10th [of a second] you’re way back in the pack looking silly, but if you’re on the right side of the 10th you look like a hero. As long as the base car you roll out with is good, it’s going to be a good weekend,” he says.
“They’ve built 15 or 20 new bits on the car for this weekend to make it more comfortable and a bit better. I’m looking forward to trying them out to see what the improvements are.
“When you get new parts for your car you’re very happy. It also shows the team is wanting to improve.”