This is the seventh exclusive pre-event Supercars.com column by championship-winning Race Engineer Scott Sinclair. Sinclair will preview and debrief each round of the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship from his own perspective, continuing with this weekend’s NTI Townsville 500.

The first true street circuit challenge of the season, a crucial dress rehearsal for Adelaide, and the place where a Supercar can truly 'buck' if you get it wrong.

Here's a closer look at what the teams will be grappling with this weekend.

Friday squeeze

Friday in Townsville is set to be a pressure cooker, with two practice sessions, a qualifying session, and a 35-lap sprint race all crammed into a single 9-to-5 workday.