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Albert Park Supercars Challenge preview

The 2018 Supercars season is about to get underway. (Photo: Red Bull content pool)
Expert
22nd March, 2017
1

Formula 1 might be the main attraction this weekend at Albert Park, but the Supercars have four races which are going to tell us plenty about the sprint rounds ahead as the season begins to gather momentum.

While Shane Van Gisbergen drove aggressively and dominated the pack at the Clipsal 500, the Albert Park race – and the rounds that follow before the endurance season kicks off are a completely different playing field.

Instead of longer races, we move into the sprint rounds – short races that require different tactics and levels of aggression – not that the aggression will slow down from Van Gisbergen.

As much as I reckon the Albert Park round is a big waste of time, there is still plenty we can learn about the season this weekend as the Supercars take on four short races.

Key race information (all times AEDT)

Practice: Thursday, 12:50pm – 1:20pm
Qualifying: Four x 10 minute sessions – Thursday, 5pm – 6:15pm
Race 1: 13 laps (70 kilometres) – Friday 1:50pm – 2:20pm
Race 2: 13 laps (70 kilometres) – Friday 5:50pm – 6:20pm
Race 3: 13 laps (70 kilometres) – Saturday 3:20pm – 3:50pm
Race 4: 13 laps (70 kilometres) – Sunday 1:05pm – 1:35pm

The number of races gives the teams time to tune their cars across the weekend and learn from errors, and with winning not the highest priority on the pecking order at a race with zero Championship points on offer, we could see teams doing a few different things this weekend.

In saying that, the winner at Albert Park for the past two years has gone on to win the Championship, so it does give us an idea who is going to carry form.

» Every V8 race live on Foxtel

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Mark Winterbottom claimed the crown in 2015, before Van Gisbergen blew everyone away to back up a strong start to the season and win three of the four races in Melbourne.

It was a clean sweep for a very even Triple Eight racing outfit at that point though, with Jamie Whincup collecting victory in the third race.

The Albert Park circuit is very much a different one to others we see throughout the season, and while it’s a street circuit, it really shouldn’t provide us with a form guide for the upcoming rounds Symmons Plains, Phillip Island, Barbagallo, Winton and Hidden Valley.

Really, the closest we will come to a track like Albert Park again this season is in Townsville, or the season finale on the streets of Newcastle.

Yet, recent results demand we pay attention to a round few outside of the die-hards care about.

V8 Supercars drivers

All the talk leading in is about who can challenge the flying Kiwi who dominated Adelaide. Fabian Coulthard is a man who tends to like street circuits, so don’t be surprised to see him using the pace which has him second in the championship after Round 1 to mount a serious battle at the head of affairs with Van Gisbergen.

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If Coulthard has pace, then teammate and former Albert Park winner Scott McLaughlin should be in the same boat. His aggression suits the Albert Park circuit as well, and for DJR Team Penske, they badly need to get themselves into the winners circle.

One of the storylines to play out this weekend will be out of the Triple Eight garage. While Van Gisbergen is in fantastic form, the same can’t be said of Jamie Whincup or the team’s third driver Craig Lowndes.

Whincup was well below his game in Adelaide, finishing sixth in both races while Lowndes has publicly expressed he could be looking for a new team, so both drivers have plenty to prove in Melbourne.

The Factory Ford team will also throw their hat in the ring this weekend, with Mark Winterbottom having won the event before and needing to rebound after an ordinary Clipsal 500 at best. Teammate Cameron Waters displayed good pace in Adelaide though and will be aiming to pull off a breakout victory.

What Waters needs to avoid is a similar fate to 2016, when he finished fourth on the Sunday in Adelaide, but fell away from there on out struggling all the way through the season apart form a brief resurgence when he finished fourth at Bathurst. If he is to avoid that, building form and confidence in Melbourne will be critical.

James Courtney also has to be considered a chance after his podium finish on Saturday and fourth-placed finish on Sunday in Adelaide, but gauging the real speed of Walkinshaw Motorsport at the moment is difficult to do, given the below expectations performance of Scott Pye.

Prediction
As much as the sprint races and Albert Park circuit is an entirely different prospect to the idea of racing in Adelaide – or most other Supercars tracks – it’s hard to go past Van Gisbergen.

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He was so, so impressive in Adelaide and left the rest of the field in the dust.

The only real question is whether he can go one better than last year and take all four races.

As for who is going to challenge him, Scott McLaughlin showed impressive pace in Adelaide and has won at Albert Park before, so it’s difficult to say he won’t be at the top end of affairs.

DJR Team Penske and Garry Rogers Motorsport both need to make a statement as well, so expect them to be in the top ten but expect Craig Lowndes and Mark Winterbottom to be among the key challengers, who have plenty to prove this weekend after average starts to the season and for Lowndes, a contract hanging in the air.

Nonetheless, it’s likely to be Van Gisbergen’s weekend once again in Melbourne.

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