Pye hails recent “strides” for Team 18

Scott Pye has hailed the “significant strides” which Team 18 made in the Symmons Plains Supercars event.

The South Australian scored a finish of fifth in the opening race of the Tasmania weekend, while Mark Winterbottom picked up results of 12th, 13th, and then eighth on the Apple Isle.

While it missed out on a podium, Team 18’s performance was a significant step up on how it fared in the preceding event of the season at Wanneroo.

That prompted it to bring forward its first in-season test day, an outing which only came to light at Symmons Plains.

Team 18 was thus among the competitors which did not test in the period between Symmons Plains and next week’s Betr Darwin Triple Crown, the first of three events in a row where Pye’s #20 Camaro will sport Hino Australia backing.

“It’s fantastic to have Hino back on the car for the next three rounds after the first round with them in Newcastle,” he said.

“It was great to secure a top five finish in Tassie – it’s a testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved.

“We’ve made significant strides in our performance and we’re looking forward to continuing that in Darwin.”

Those strides are Team 18’s own, given it has opted to compete independently this year rather than in a technical alliance with Triple Eight Race Engineering.

At Hidden Valley, where the season continues on Friday week, Pye has experienced mixed fortunes during his time with Team 18.

In 2020, he claimed three podiums across the two events held in Darwin while, last year, he finished sixth in the Saturday encounter but failed to complete a racing lap on the Sunday after being collected when James Courtney speared through the infield.

Team 18 will reveal the first of its Indigenous liveries for Hidden Valley in coming days.