Dutton: Why Triple Eight can't be conservative in title fight
Triple Eight can’t be "too conservative" in title fight
Chaz Mostert vaulted back into contention in Sydney
Triple Eight has won two of the last eight races
Mark Dutton believes Triple Eight can’t be “too conservative” amid Chaz Mostert’s surge back into the title fight, with rival teams catching up to the championship leaders.
Triple Eight burst out of the blocks in 2024, winning six of first eight races and holding down a comfortable one-two in the drivers’ championship after Darwin.
However, the team has won two of next eight — both wins coming in Darwin — with rivals catching up, and Mostert powering back into title contention.
Mostert was 279 points down after Darwin, but four straight podiums — headlined by two wins in Sydney — has the Ford star just 105 points behind Will Brown heading to Tasmania.
Speaking after Sunday’s race, Dutton said his team is focused on developing its package, rather than protecting its championship leads as rivals continue to rack up points.
“Obviously we were fortunate to start really strong,” Triple Eight Team Manager Dutton said in the post-race press conference.
“Townsville caught us a bit off-guard, usually we are very strong up there. SMP we can be a bit up and down, a bit hot and cold.
“Maybe we left the test day too late, that’s coming up now. So we’ll review that. But ultimately, obviously we had a really good start and we’ve got to be careful not to be too conservative.
“You don’t want to protect the lead as much as keep developing the car, developing the set-up, which everyone is working hard to. So plenty of work to be done."
Brown scored vital podiums in Townsville and Sydney, and maintained he has had to score points on days Triple Eight doesn’t have the fastest car.
In the last two rounds, Mostert (567 points), Matt Payne (528) and Cam Waters (522) have dramatically closed the gap to Brown (393) and Broc Feeney (348).
Dutton echoed Feeney’s comments behind an upcoming test day, suggesting Triple Eight has work to do to turn the table on its Ford rivals.
“The pressure’s always on,” Dutton said.
“The quality of the drivers and teams… anyone can win come weekends.
"These lads [WAU and Tickford] are pushing super hard is meaning we need to work harder.
“As I said before, the test day will be critical for us… we still have pretty good race pace, but we make it hard for ourselves when we’re not qualifying as well as we should be."
The 2024 Repco Supercars Championship will resume at the NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint on August 16-18. Tickets for the event are on sale now.
