Expert
Supercars will go racing under lights in Australia for the first time since 1997 at the Sydney Motorsport Park with 300 championship points on the line in a taxing 300-kilometre battle. Join The Roar for live coverage of the race from 7:20pm (AEST).
Aside from the endurance races at Sandown and Bathurst, it’s hard to remember a more hyped event in the Supercars season.
Apart from their one foray to Abu Dhabi and the Yas Marina Circuit in 2011, Supercars haven’t raced under lights for more than two decades.
This is the categories answer to formats like T20 cricket and Rugby Sevens, with a compact format seeing practice and elimination qualifying earlier this afternoon, before a one-off 300-kilometre race expecting to take about two and a half hours sets the contenders free.
With 300 championship points on the line, this is not going to be a walk in the park for the main championship contenders ahead of endurance season either.
While Bathurst and Sandown are long thought to be the toughest races of the year, this will pit drivers in unfamiliar conditions of darkness alongside a longer race format than they race individually all year.
77 laps around the difficult 3.9-kilometre track could well shake up the overall standings. If a driver doesn’t finish, they could well fall away.
As it stands, Scott McLaughlin, who heartbreakingly lost the championship on the streets of Newcastle last season, has a 131-point lead over Triple Eight’s Shane Van Gisbergen.
McLaughlin was decent in the only session under lights before the race, finishing fifth, but it was Chaz Mostert who stole the show.
He set the fastest time ahead of Scott Pye and Mark Winterbottom, with the trio all struggling in this year’s championship. Provided they can’t find the pace required under lights though to match the rest of the season, it’ll be Jamie Whincup and Scott McLaughlin going into the race with the most confidence.
Still, the strategy which plays out will have a say. Up to three pit stops are expected throughout the race and getting them right will be crucial to any driver’s chance of victory.
Prediction
It’s so very hard to tip. The grid may not mean much here and with McLaughlin the in-form driver and handling night conditions the best yesterday to finish top five, I expect him to take victory ahead of Jamie Whincup and Chaz Mostert.
Scott McLaughlin to extend his championship lead.
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