Ford Performance Racing’s team principal Tim Edwards has urged hungry new driver David Reynolds to “keep calm” as he aims to catch his fast team-mates Mark Winterbottom and Will Davison.
In the first five races of the 2012 V8 Supercars Championship (including the non-championship Albert Park event), FPR drivers have won three races, with Davison leading the title and Winterbottom fourth.
Reynolds, who controversially switched from Kelly Racing to FPR’s third car during the off-season, endured a frustrating first race at the Clipsal 500 after his cool suit failed in Saturday’s race. He slammed the Turn 8 wall, but fought back to seventh on Sunday.
Albert Park proved that The Bottle-O Racing driver will be a contender this season, taking seventh overall and running close to the leader’s pace.
But the former Formula Ford and Carrera Cup championship is eager to be even closer to the front – and it’s something that Edwards has noticed and addressed.
“Our challenge is to keep him calm. He is seeing his team-mates on the podium, and he wants to be there with them,” Edwards says.
“He might finish sixth, but he’s bitterly disappointed.
“We’ve had to coach him a bit, telling him to learn the car and learn the team. It will eventually come to him.
“He is doing a fantastic job at the moment, and our biggest challenge is to keep him calm. I’d say he’s impatient.
“We need to curb his enthusiasm, make sure he’s doing a good job and not try to overdrive the car – just let it grow on him. He needs to recognise that he’s beating our expectations.”
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