Prodrive Racing (Australia)’s Chaz Mostert is confident the team can continue its strong form at the Ipswich SuperSprint after a promising weekend in Townsville. Mostert, a local of the area, describes the venue as his home track and was the scene of his maiden victory in 2013. The Queenslander says that despite its uncharismatic layout, the circuit known as the Paperclip can produce some good racing. Cameron Waters will continue the search for his maiden podium after his best ever start to a season. The former Super2 Champion has finished fourth on multiple occasions in 2017 and is convinced his maiden trip to the rostrum is close. This weekend he will have extra assistance when he is joined by his Enduro Cup co-driver, Richie Stanaway who takes part in Friday practice along with his fellow co-drivers. Veterans Mark Winterbottom and Jason Bright have a wealth of experience at Ipswich and despite inconsistencies in the opening half of the season, a big performance upswing for both last time out in Townsville puts them and their crews in a positive frame of mind for the season’s second visit to the sunshine state this month.
“I am looking forward to Queensland. It has been good to us in the past and it is nice to go into a round off the back of two solid results. It builds confidence. We’ve had quite a few wins at Ipswich in recent times and if we can continue our previous form and the speed we showed in Townsville there is no reason we can’t claim more podiums which is the goal.”Cameron Waters – #6 Monster Energy PRA Ford:
“I am really excited to get back to Ipswich. I had a pretty good running in Townsville which is encouraging and I think we learnt a few things there we can take across to Ipswich. I’m really excited to get the car back in the top 10 and hopefully we can secure that maiden podium.”Chaz Mostert – #55 Supercheap Auto PRA Ford:
“I really like going to Ipswich. It’s a home hunting ground for me and I’ve had a bit of success there with a win in my first year in the main series. I’m looking forward to getting back there. It’s a bit of an easy layout track but it really creates great racing. In three corners of the track you can generally run side-by-side with another car. I’m looking forward to the battle out there and fingers crossed we can go out and have another consistent run at it and be around the top five.”
Jason Bright – #56 MEGA Fuels PRA Ford:
“I had a reasonable run in Townsville and while we had a few dramas in the race on Sunday, I was happy with the progress we made there. I am looking forward to going to a track I’ve done plenty of laps around and last time I raced there I was on the front row alongside Frosty so the plan is to replicate that this weekend.”
Tim Edwards – Team Principal:
“After a really strong performance in Townsville I think that we can keep that form going in Ipswich. It’s a good track for us and a lot of what we learnt in Townsville should transfer across which is promising. We feel like we’re getting there. As Frosty says we’re the best of the rest at the moment and catching up to the front runners as well. We’re hopeful of a good weekend and we’ll certainly be fighting hard to get back on the podium again.”
EVENT NAME: Coates Hire Ipswich SuperSprint
DATE: 28 – 30 July
EVENT NUMBER: 8 of 14
FORMAT: Friday – 1 x 30-minute co-driver practice, 2 x 45-min prac; Saturday – 1 x 45-min prac, 1 x 15-min qualifying, 1 x 39-lap race; Sunday – 1 x 20-min qualifying, 1 x 65-lap race
DESCRIPTION: Queensland Raceway looks the least technical of all circuits visited in the series, but is far more challenging than first appears. It rewards strong mid-corner speed and traction out of turns, despite only consisting of four right and two left corners with four straights – two short and two long, in between. The circuit is very spectator friendly, with full circuit viewing easy from virtually any location on the track. In 2013 it played host to a historic Ford 1-2-3-4 finish where Chaz Mostert claimed his maiden V8 Supercars race win.
TRACK RECORD: 1m09.059s – Will Davison (2013), Qualifying
PRA BEST RESULT: 1s – Mark Winterbottom (2008, 2015), Chaz Mostert (2015)
