Walkinshaw 'under no illusions' of title threats

Ryan Walkinshaw has denied 2022 is a ‘moving year’ for Walkinshaw Andretti United despite the team’s recent successes.

Walkinshaw’s team leads the drivers’ standings through Chaz Mostert after the Sydney season opener.

It comes after Mostert and WAU cantered to a crushing Bathurst victory to end 2021.

With victory in Race 2 in Sydney, Mostert became championship leader for the first time.

He also became the first Walkinshaw driver since 2016 to lead the championship; the team’s last drivers’ title came with Mark Skaife in 2002.

Since 2008, 13 of the last 14 drivers' championships have been won by a Triple Eight or Dick Johnson Racing driver.

Mostert leads the championship

The only outlier was 2015, when Mark Winterbottom won with Prodrive, which is now known as Tickford.

Considering his team's opposition, Walkinshaw remained adamant WAU will have its work cut out should it end its title drought.

“We’re not looking at it like that,” he said on the Parked Up podcast when asked if 2022 is moving year.

“We always say, ‘You’re only as good as your last race’.

“It’s always great to win Bathurst, but it’s still only one race in a season.

“We’re not going to get too ahead of ourselves; we’re under no illusions that there’s going to be strong competition this year.

“Our expectations for ourselves are always going to be quite high, because we’ve got high ambitions.

'[Mostert] and Shane are the two best drivers in the category'

“We’ll keep focusing on ourselves and not what everyone else is doing."

Speaking after his Sydney win, Mostert said reigning champion Shane van Gisbergen is still the benchmark in the category.

The 29-year-old’s Bathurst win last year helped him to his highest points finish of third in his ninth season.

Mostert is the only repeat winner at WAU since 2016; however, Walkinshaw said the team’s ongoing recruitment drive has been key to the team’s upturn in form.

Mostert arrived at WAU in 2020 with long-time engineer Adam De Borre; they were later joined by engineering boss Grant McPherson, who arrived from Triple Eight.

WAU arrives in 2022 with veteran driver Nick Percat and Bathurst-winning engineer Geoffrey Slater.

“It’s a combination of things; Chaz isn’t a one-man show,” Walkinshaw said of WAU’s return to the top.

“He’s a fantastic driver; in my opinion, him and Shane are the two best drivers in the category at the moment.

“[Mostert] has overdelivered on what our expectations were on how he acts within the team.

“He came with Adam De Borre; we’ve got Grant McPherson, Geoff Slater and now Nick Percat.

“It’s not one person, it’s a team… just like in an AFL or rugby team, it’s not one player or coach… one person doesn’t make all the difference.

“Bringing lots of good people in working together makes the difference, that’s what we’ve been trying to create here at WAU."

WAU will resume its 2022 campaign at the NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint. CLICK HERE to purchase your tickets.

Every session of the event will be broadcast live on Foxtel (Fox Sports 506) and streamed on Kayo.