Scott Pye believes he was in contention to win Race 2 of the Repco Supercars Championship until a power steering problem reared its head.
A myriad of issues, all stemming from the power steering system, plagued the #20 Holden ZB Commodore last year.
Team 18 replaced the entire power steering system on Pye’s car during the off-season in an effort to rectify the problem, only to be hit twice during the 2022 season-opener at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Race 2 was a bitter pill to swallow having stormed through from 14th on the grid to a race-high third.
Pye was well placed as the highest positioned driver yet to make use of the faster super soft tyre, having made headway on the soft compound early – only to have the power steering let go.
Speaking with Speedcafe.com, Pye said he was suffering significant pulsing through right-hand turns and almost no assist through the left-hand corners.
In the end, Pye would finish almost where he started in 15th.
“If everything went well, then I felt like we were in contention for the win,” said Pye.
“It’s hard to know exactly where you’re at, but certainly in that stint where the Safety Car restart happened and we were on the soft tyre and everyone else was on the super soft and I was holding my own, I was like ‘yeah, okay, a win is something we can do if everything goes our way and we have a bit of luck – which I haven’t been having lately – then I might be alright’.
“Then all of a sudden smoke started to fill the cabin and the power steering went. Disappointing. It’s something we need to get on top of. The positive is we had unbelievable car speed. We legitimately drove from 14th to fourth without anyone pitting and passed Cam [Waters] and Chaz [Mostert] at the end of our stint on slicks on the same tyre.
“The guys have done an awesome job in the off-season to rebuild the entire thing with effectively half a new chassis and we were able to show that for somewhat most of the race.
“I just want to get this win for the team so bad. You hate to think it but you see it unfold and we had the speed to have some flexibility with the strategy and once we had the mechanical drama again it just put us on the back foot. It just makes you hungrier.”
Exactly why the team keeps suffering power steering problems is still unclear.
The Triple Eight Race Engineering customer squad isn’t the only one to have encountered issues. Last year Matt Stone Racing befell similar problems.
Pye, in particular, has had hoses and seals fail. He said Team 18 is in ongoing dialogue with Triple Eight to understand the root of the issue.
“We’re constantly in talks with Triple Eight,” said Pye.
“Unfortunately, it seems to be my car every time. I don’t know. It’s not for a lack of trying. You hate talking about mechanical failures because everyone feels responsible. Things that keep happening are not good.
“[On Saturday] a hose was not through anyone’s fault. I think that the hose was maybe at the end of its life, but it’s one of those things, it was a low-pressure hose that went. There are probably older ones in pit lane.
“There is some bad luck, but we all know that you kind of in a way create your own luck. So we need to work out what exactly is causing all these problems.
“They are isolated to steering, which is frustrating that it just keeps happening but in different areas and we need to communicate with Triple Eight as much as we possibly can to lean on their resources to find out why these parts are failing.
“It’s not like anyone is leaving anything undone. It’s just that parts are failing and it’s not good enough.”
Ultimately, Pye has reason to be optimistic.
Race 2 showed the team had outright pace, but hasn’t had the results to show for it.
Symmons Plains International Raceway represents the team’s next opportunity for success on March 26-27.
Pye’s Team 18 stable-mate Mark Winterbottom claimed pole position at the Tasmania track in 2019.
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