McPherson backs Stanaway's 'seat of his pants' talent

Going back to basics and driving with the "seat of his pants" will push Richie Stanaway forward, says Penrite Racing Technical Director Grant McPherson.

Stanaway moved to fourth in the championship at the ITM Taupō Super400 despite his one-lap battles rearing their head once again.

The New Zealander qualified 23rd and 14th for the two Taupō races, but moved forward to finish sixth and 13th, the latter result undone by a five-second penalty.

Stanaway’s average start (12.25) is three positions worse than his average finish (9.25), highlighting how hard the 2023 Bathurst winner has to work in the races to get a result.

Speaking on the Schick Cool Down Lap podcast, McPherson suggested Stanaway not look too much into the data, and let his raw talent do the talking.

"I think Richie's a very analytical guy,” McPherson said.

“So, we need to get him to go back to the seat of his pants and forget about the other stuff, and just drive.”

Speaking after the Taupō finale, Stanaway reiterated that he is being “held back” by his qualifying woes.

"Bit of a mixed weekend for us. Just held back a lot by qualifying form. So really got to work on that," Stanaway said.

"But, yeah, at the same time, a lot of positives take out from just some phases during the race where we've had good speed on both days. Just got to keep chipping away at it.”

Conversely, teammate Matt Payne claimed provisional pole for the opener and topped the Sunday Shootout, with his average start position (6.0) the fourth best of the whole field.

"Matty put a lot of pressure on himself. But, he delivered on a big stage.” McPherson said.

"It was an awesome lap in the Shootout, you know, it was really cool to see…. and, he'll win some races too."

Stanaway and Payne are fourth and fifth in the drivers' standings, and Penrite Racing second in the teams' points, heading to the next round in Perth.