PRODRIVE RACING AUSTRALIA – CASTROL GOLD COAST 600 PREVIEW
Prodrive Racing (Australia) returns to the Castrol Gold Coast 600 hungry for victory as the category switches back to the soft tyre. The Bottle-O Racing Team co-driver Dean Canto has a strong history at the challenging street circuit, a run of form that current The Bottle-O driver Mark Winterbottom hopes to continue for the team. Car one will revert back to its original 2016 livery at the Gold Coast after celebrating The Bottle-O’s 10 year involvement in the sport at the previous event. Chaz Mostert is confident that gains made on the soft tyre prior to Bathurst will help further improve the Supercheap Auto Racing FG X, as they aim for Mostert’s first win for the sponsor. The Castrol Gold Coast 600 is a local round for both Mostert and co-driver Steve Owen. To further fuel their Gold Coast fight, this year’s event also marks 250 rounds in the Supercars Championship for Rod Nash Racing since its inception in 1998. Cameron Waters will attest the Castrol Gold Coast 600 as the primary driver for the second time following last year’s debut alongside Russell Ingall. Fellow young-gun Jack Le Brocq will accompany Waters as they fight for the podium following their strong Bathurst form, with a focus on keeping the car clean while driving around the wall-enclosed circuit. Richie Stanaway will join the team fresh from a World Endurance Championship event in Japan where he will race at the Gold Coast for the first time in a Supercar. Following a somewhat frustrating Bathurst for the Kiwi pair, Pither will look to finish the endurance season with a strong result he knows they are capable of.
DRIVERS’ VIEW
Mark Winterbottom – #1 The Bottle-O PRA Ford:
“The Castrol Gold Coast 600 has always been a big event. It’s even more important with Castrol sponsoring it because they want their sponsored teams to obviously do well so there’s a little bit of extra pressure but I want to finish the year off on a high. The Gold Coast has always been pretty good so I can’t wait to get there, get some sunshine but more importantly get a good result. It’s a very tough event physically on both the car and the driver. Everything cops a battering there but getting on that podium is the one thing that sort of eliminates any pain whether it’s mechanical or physical.”
Dean Canto – #1 The Bottle-O PRA Ford:
“Gold Coast is one of my favourite events. I’ve had a good history there with Dave (Reynolds) in The Bottle-O car so hopefully that continues this year with Mark. I think we do have a good car on the soft tyre. At Sandown it was fast in the race so if we can lock down a good setup we’ll be sweet. It’s a very technical track and you have to give it 100% or you won’t get the rewards so we’ll be working hard to get the green machine back on the podium.”
Cameron Waters – #6 Monster Energy PRA Ford:
“I’m actually really excited to go to the Gold Coast. Last year was really the first event where I could step up as a main driver and going there this year it’s good to go there off of a good result at Bathurst and hopefully we can build on that and build on what we learnt last year as well. It’d be really good to get a few nice results at the Gold Coast. We had a bit of bad luck at Sandown but a good result at Bathurst. If we can just finish again at the Gold Coast and get a few good points it’ll put a good end to our endurance season and I think we can do that.”
Jack Le Brocq – #6 Monster Energy PRA Ford:
“Gold Coast is a fun track. It was awesome to have a no-mistakes run at Bathurst so hopefully we can continue that and fingers crossed we can get on the podium. It’s a tough place but Cam’s a bit of a gun at the street circuits. We should have a good car so I’m keen to get stuck into it.”
Chaz Mostert – #55 Supercheap Auto PRA Ford:
“Pretty pumped to get to the Gold Coast. This time last year I wasn’t racing there so it’s good to get back after two years and it’s always a pretty exciting place to race at. With the recent gains we’ve found with the car I’m hoping to hopefully be competitive there. It’s pretty exciting to sleep in your own bed too, obviously with it being a home event for me. It’s good to get back up there and hopefully on the Thursday I can bring Bangers and Mash out and let them see what I do which will be a pretty cool highlight ahead of the race weekend.”
Steve Owen – #55 Supercheap Auto PRA Ford:
“I’m looking forward to having a good go at it at the Gold Coast. One little mistake around there and it can bite you pretty hard so over the last couple of years I’ve had to be pretty cautious. This year I think we have a car that’ll be strong around that track. I think it’s capable but if we can get onto the podium it’d be a great bit of redemption after Bathurst.”
Chris Pither – #111 Super Black PRA Ford:
“I’m looking forward to getting back to the Gold Coast. Having lived there for seven years it has a bit of a home event feel for me. I’ve raced there plenty of times in the past in the Ute series, I had a go one year in the Aussie Racing Cars and more recently as a co-driver. I really enjoy the circuit so I’m excited to be going back there this year for another crack.”
Richie Stanaway – #111 Super Black PRA Ford:
“It’s been quite a while since I’ve been to the Gold Coast circuit. I haven’t raced on many street circuits recently but I’m keen to attack the kerbs in these cars. It’ll be my third straight endurance weekend but I’m quite excited to get to the Gold Coast. It’s an iconic location and track so it’ll be good to give it a go.”
Tim Edwards – Team Principal:
“The Castrol Gold Coast 600 is always a challenging event. We were fortunate to come away from Bathurst with four clean cars that all displayed strong pace and we hope to leave the Gold Coast the same way. Leading up to Bathurst we have made some ground on the soft tyre which we saw at Sandown. We are confident, despite the vast differences in the tracks, that that will translate at the Gold Coast.”
WINTERBOTTOM READY FOR STREET FIGHT
ON THE GOLD COAST
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EVENT NAME: Castrol Gold Coast 600
DATE: 21 – 23 October
LOCATION: Surfers Paradise, Queensland
EVENT NUMBER: 12 of 14
FORMAT: Friday – 3 x 30-min practice; Saturday – 1 x 20-min qualifying, 1 x 102-lap race; Sunday – 1 x 20-min qualifying, 1 x Top 10 Shootout, 1 x 102-lap race
CIRCUIT: Surfers Paradise
LENGTH: 2.984-kilometres
DESCRIPTION: The tightest street circuit on the calendar, this difficult layout combines straight-line speed with the slowest and narrowest of corners, making panel rubbing and major accidents normal for the event. Having stated this, drivers enjoy having a real go at this circuit as the rewards are great for the effort, but the price to pay for a mistake, just like any street circuit, can be major.
TRACK RECORD: 1m10.08s – Will Davison, 2011
PRA BEST RESULT: 1st – Mark Winterbottom (2009 & 2011), Will Davison (2012)
1st David Reynolds (2013)
DRIVER CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1) Shane van Gisbergen – Triple Eight: 2524
2) Jamie Whincup – Triple Eight: 2385
3) Craig Lowndes – Triple Eight: 2205
4) Will Davison – Tekno: 2112
5) Scott McLaughlin – Garry Rogers Motorsport: 2109
6) Mark Winterbottom – Prodrive Racing: 1908
7) Chaz Mostert – Prodrive Racing: 1853
17) Cameron Waters – Prodrive Racing: 1233
19) Chris Pither– Super Black Racing: 1171
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
1) Triple Eight: 4919
2) HRT: 3348
3) Prodrive Racing Australia: 3166
