Mostert pushing WAU to be 'aggressive'
Supercars
6d
Chaz Mostert pushing WAU to be "aggressive"
Mostert third behind Will Brown, Broc Feeney
WAU second in teams' behind Triple Eight
Chaz Mostert has explained how he is pushing Walkinshaw Andretti United to adopt an “aggressive” mindset as the team aims to keep pace with Triple Eight.
The Ford squad has so far proven Triple Eight’s closest rival through five rounds, with Mostert third in the drivers’ standings and WAU second in the teams’.
A costly weekend in Darwin saw Mostert lose valuable ground to championship leader Will Brown, but he still managed to show glimpses of fight with a stunning 22nd-to-fifth run in Race 11.
WAU was open about its struggles on the Super Soft tyre, with both cars struggling over one lap. While it was still the first time this season WAU had shown clear weaknesses, Mostert admitted it was a weekend the team could ill-afford amid Triple Eight's sparkling form.
Mostert expects WAU to fight back on the Soft tyre in Townsville, and revealed how he is motivating his team to focus on the "overall package" after finding a sweet spot in Perth.
“Back to a street circuit, I think the ingredients on the Soft tyre, if our car can be back in its window like Perth, we’ll be quite strong there,” Mostert told the Rusty’s Garage podcast.
“But saying that, I’m also excited to see what the engineers cook up, to see what overall package we can keep pushing.
“The aim of our game this year, which I keep trying to push the team, is to be aggressive. Even if we have a bad weekend, let’s make sure we keep trying to make our overall package better.
“Even though we had a win in Perth, it doesn’t mean we shouldn't be trying things, because the guys we’re racing in the championship, their bad day’s like a third or fourth at the moment.
“We need to make sure when we get back to the Super Soft tyre, or even when we’re on the Soft tyre, that we keep pushing the limits of our car.
“There's plenty of things we haven’t quite tried yet, and we’ll be able to use these race weekends for that as well.”
Mostert reiterated how WAU is a more rounded product in 2024, which has led to the two-time Bathurst winner feeling more confident on and off track.
“The car’s in a lot better window this year,” he added.
“Last year, we changed so much with the car, and never really found a direction.
“The team worked really hard in the break, and got the fundamentals of the car right. That’s been our biggest thing in this year.
“Everything we did last year is a little bit irrelevant, and we’re starting our Gen3 journey this year, if that makes sense.
“We’re kind of feel like we’re a little bit behind a few other teams, and the success they’ve had. But what we’ve been able to do in the first four rounds has been pretty cool.
“We’ll put a line through Darwin, which is definitely not where we wanted to be. Even the car we had there this year felt even better than last year, just similar results.”
