New V8 Supercars Championship Series leaders Dick Johnson Racing won’t be resting on their laurels.
After James Courtney’s four-race winning run in the past two rounds, DJR’s key team members told Speedcafe.com.au that the hard work starts now.
“It doesn’t get easier because you’re winning, it gets harder to stay there,” said DJR Sporting Director Adrian Burgess.
“We know we’ve got a lot of hard work to go. We’re certainly not counting any chickens or any of that rubbish. There’s a lot of hard work to go, and we’ll see where we go after Bathurst, and we’ll see where we are after Homebush.”
Burgess says that the team’s desire to stay on top is high, and it means they’ll have to become even faster to remain there.
“There’s always more speed to come. You’ve just got to work hard to find it, invent it, engineer it,” he said.
“But it’s not just about speed. It’s about how the team works, the pit stops, the strategy, the engines, the economy – there’s so many bits you’ve got to work on. We’re not going to stop working because we’ve won the last two weekends, we’re going to keep working harder.”
Team co-owner and founder Dick Johnson, a five-time Australian Touring Car champion, knows only too well that keeping the team’s top billing won’t be an easy task.
“The easy part is getting there, the hard bit is staying there. We’re up for the hard work,” he said.
“The race today wasn’t won by default. It was won on sheer speed, strategy and everything else. It was great team-work. It’s not any one thing that wins races. I think we’re finally getting everything right.”
The next round of the V8 Supercars Championship Series will be held at Hidden Valley Raceway, Darwin, on June 18-20.
