New WAU engineer hails fully fledged Mostert
Chaz Mostert third in points after first round new engineer
Sam Scaffidi replaced Adam De Borre alongside Mostert
Scaffidi was previously Mostert's data engineer at Tickford
Working closely with a new-and-improved Chaz Mostert has new Walkinshaw Andretti United engineer Sam Scaffidi keen to build on the fast start to 2024.
In their first round together, Mostert and Scaffidi combined to bring home two podiums at the Thrifty Bathurst 500, with the star driver 21 points from the series lead.
Mostert chased both Red Bull Ampol Racing drivers in Saturday’s race, before leading the bulk of Sunday’s race before losing the lead to Will Brown in pit lane.
Regardless, while Triple Eight won both races, WAU and Mostert have signalled their intentions of title glory, with Mostert admitting he has already changed his 2024 expectations.
For Scaffidi — who replaced Mostert’s long-time engineer Adam De Borre — 2024 represents a new opportunity, having previously worked with a younger Mostert at Tickford Racing.
Scaffidi was a data engineer when a young Mostert raced at Tickford between 2014 and 2019. In years since, Mostert has matured at WAU, while Scaffidi became a lead race engineer.
Having now engineered Mostert — now 31, with over 300 race starts to his name — Scaffidi likes what he sees.
“When we parted ways and I became a racing engineer [at Tickford], that's when he really started maturing, but I never really got to experience that,” Scaffidi told the Schick Cool Down Lap podcast.
"And now working with him, I can see what makes him quick, and the way he goes about it, and he's able to extract speed out of the car.
“Obviously the [Ford] equipment's the same as what I'm used to, so there was no dramas on that front. It was more just getting used to the processes and protocols and everything they've got in place here at the moment.
"I'd be lying if I said I'd be up to scratch with it. I'm not. I'm still asking questions. But, everyone here is just friendly. They're all working together. They're all striving for the same thing.
“It's been cool to see, so I think this weekend has been a big step towards the right direction in building a really good team. I can't thank this team enough, like they've got all the ingredients to win, there's definitely nothing misplaced.
“They're not afraid to put the effort in where they need to make it work. I’m excited for the rest of the year."
Mostert dominated the middle part of Sunday’s race, before Brown closed in and overhauled the #25 Ford in the second stops.
Regardless, Mostert was the fastest driver — by some margin — across the top of the Mountain, and split both Triple Eight drivers in Sunday’s race, ruining the Camaro team’s perfect weekend.
When asked if he expected Mostert and WAU to be that strong, Scaffidi replied: “No, we didn't. I didn't expect to roll out as good as what we did.
“Actually, when we rolled out, we probably weren't that strong. We built on it a little bit, but the thing that kind of led on to that was right from the first test day, we were able to put in a set-up, and I think it built off that.
“Right off the bat, we just had good feedback, and the changes we're doing were relating to things that we were expecting it to do, and yeah, that just kind of rolled onto here.
"We just carried out the same philosophy. We didn't panic when the chips were down. We just kept chipping away at it. So, it was a good weekend, good building for the whole team.
"Not just my relationship with Chaz, because I've already had that sort of thing. But, I think as a team it was kind of great to see everyone come together.”
