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A game of higher stakes at the Melbourne 400

The 2018 Supercars season is about to get underway. (Photo: Red Bull content pool)
Roar Guru
22nd March, 2018
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Formula One isn’t the only category soaking up the headlines this weekend at Albert Park with the Aussie Supercars also taking centre stage for the Melbourne 400.

Supercars will, for the first time since being the Formula One undercard at the Australian Grand Prix, play for championship points – elevating the four-race weekend from a glorified test session to a game of higher stakes.

The format will see four races contested, split into two 12-lap sprint races and a pair of 25-lap feature races, which will display the addition of compulsory pit-stops.

300 vital championship points will be on offer across the 400km of racing for the event, which could be pivotal in the title race this early in the season.

It was Shane van Gisbergen and the Red Bull Holden Racing Team that burst out of the blocks at the curtain-raising Adelaide 500 to clean sweep the weekend and give the new Holden ZB Commodore a winning debut.

So dominant was the former Supercars champion on the opening weekend, that there was controversy stirred around the weight differential between the ZB Commodore and its rivals, which has spilled over to the Melbourne 400.

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Despite being green-lit just ahead of the first practice session, Ford and Nissan have brought with them updated composite parts to achieve weight reduction to be closer to that of their Holden rivals.

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Regardless, DJR Team Penske return to the event that they swept in 2017 – albeit for no championship points.

The Falcon FG X of Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard were peerless around the high-speed nature of the Albert Park circuit and could return to their winning ways this weekend.

While most teams will profess that despite not having been racing for points previously, they’d not give it their maximum.

There are no excuses now with those points available and that was reflected by DJR Team Penske boss Ryan Story who remarked pre-event “we’re finally playing for sheep stations, not brownie biscuits.”

Tickford is another team with form around Albert Park and their four-pronged assault will be looking for a positive showing in Melbourne, after being shown up in Adelaide by the Holdens.

The Ford squad’s domination of the 2015 edition of the Grand Prix support round was instrumental in setting up their season ahead. Ultimately, Mark Winterbottom yielded the title.

Also in the spotlight will be Walkinshaw, who have both their international partners in Michael Andretti and Zak Brown present this weekend. Brown made his first physical meeting with the squad being in town as chief for the McLaren F1 Team.

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With James Courtney having achieved the podium in Adelaide, Walkinshaw Andretti United’s test of progress will come at the fast and flowing Albert Park circuit, which typically exposes their flaws.

Albert Park has always been a key event in the past in showing who has form and who still needs to work ahead of the rest of the season.

While there are points on offer this time – the Melbourne 400 will still be one to show who’s best placed for 2018.

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