Drivers back longer races after strategy thrillers
Supercars
28 Jul
Star drivers call for more longer races in Supercars
Townsville, Sydney races produce strategy thrillers
Tasmania the final sprint round of the season
Leading drivers have called for more longer races in Supercars, following thrilling strategy affairs at recent events.
Both Sydney races went down to the wire after the two-stopping Chaz Mostert hauled in one-stopping rivals to claim victory.
It came just two weeks after Matt Payne — who raced to second in Race 15 from 10th — drove a bold three-stop strategy to victory in Townsville, also from 10th on the grid.
Penrite Racing driver Payne, who is just in his second season in Supercars, claimed his maiden victory in a refuelling race at last year’s Adelaide 500.
Speaking after the first Sydney race, Payne said: “I really like the longer races. You really settle into your rhythm early on, and you’ve got a pretty good idea for what the team is thinking strategy-wise.
“We were one of two cars on a one-stopper, I’ve got a 17-second gap after the last pit stop, and then you’ve got to chase that down.
“It means there’s going to be a battle at the end, which is really exciting for all the fans.”
Sprint races have already been held at the Grand Prix, Perth and Darwin, with the next round in Tasmania the final short-race round of the season.
Tickford Racing driver Thomas Randle, who came home third in Race 15, said the longer races require drivers and teams to get their "brain thinking."
Walkinshaw Andretti United star Mostert went a step further, saying: “Personally, I don’t think we should do sprint races anymore.
"Every race we go to should be a fuel race. It should be a Saturday race and a Sunday race.
“The different tracks and the style of tracks we go to will create different strategies [depending on] what the deg is, how long the pit lane is, all that kind of stuff.
“But if you go to a sprint race, everyone knows you have got to pit once — it’s either at the start of the race or the end of the race, and generally you’re going to finish where you start.
“The options for Matty starting P10 and to do a one-stop, which was super bold, it gave him the ability to come back today with good car speed when he was out of place.”
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.
Live coverage can be found on Foxtel, with live streaming available on Kayo. Highlights will be shown on the Seven Network and 7plus. International viewers can follow all the action on Superview.
