Drivers Predict Chaos at Albert Park

Action – that’s what a number of V8 Supercars drivers are expecting from the four races set to unfold this weekend.

“Our heads always fall off at these races,” Lockwood Racing’s Fabian Coulthard said of the Formula One Rolex Australian Grand Prix event. “You only need to look at past results and crashes and things like that.

“It’s important to finish the races. I won’t be taking too many risks – I’ll do what I need to, when I need to do it – but they’ll be calculated risks, not just desperado manoeuvres.”

Last year’s event winner, Coulthard qualified seventh for today’s first race and is looking to back up that MSS Security Challenge trophy.

But with a range of format changes, including rolling starts, double file restarts and accumulative points to determine grid positions, the soft tyre races are sure to heat up Albert Park in Melbourne.

“We’ll be giving it a good go, you know what I mean,” Coulthard told v8supercars.com.au.

“It’s 12 months down the track, everyone’s had the (New Generation) cars for 12 months and understand it a lot more.

“If I could do it, it would be great, we just have to see how we qualify and how we go in the races, because it’s not just race by race like it is normally in our Championship. The most consistent person wins.”

Sunday’s race will be for double points – which count towards the event win – to reflect the double points on offer at the final race of this year’s Formula One season.

“With the double points Sunday it leaves it pretty much wide open for the final race,” Coulthard said.  

“It’ll be interesting – it’s quite an interesting format. It brings me back to my go karting days in New Zealand where you had four races and then a final.”

For new Ford Pepsi Max recruit Chaz Mostert, the shorter races around the street circuit take him back to his Dunlop Series days – though he only left the category mid-2013! 

“The 12 lap races are pretty cool for me, it reminds me of the DVS days and my DVS days weren’t that long ago! So hopefully that gives me a bit of an upper hand on some of the guys around me and we use it as a strength, rather than a weakness,” the young gun told v8supercars.com.au.

Mostert is running FPR’s spare chassis this weekend after damage to FPR-1216 at the season opening Clipsal 500. He qualified 12th for the first race.

“It’s not easy to pass one of these cars,” Mostert said.  

“You normally wait for strategy – we’ve got no pit stops this weekend, so you’ve got to do all your racing out on the track.

“It creates a bit more aggression from the drivers, when you’ve only got 12 laps.”

Rick Kelly, however, disagrees. Kelly has been in a number of incidents at the circuit, including the monumental smash with Craig Lowndes in 2011, which also involved Steven Johnson, Warren Luff and David Reynolds. 

“My opinion is you don’t need to be as aggressive as people are at this event,” the Jack Daniel’s Nissan driver said.

“If you look at the races last year and if you ran fifth the whole event you probably might have won it because there’s cars spearing off everywhere.”

Stablemate Michael Caruso starts from pole position in this morning’s first race, which begins at 11.05am local time. Shane van Gisbergen starts from second position.

Will there be carnage on the Melbourne streets? Click here for ways to follow all the V8 Supercars action at the MSS Security Challenge.