Scott Pye has outlined what it is that makes Warren Luff one of the most successful co-driver in the Supercars field, as the duo reunite for the 2023 enduros.
Pye boasts two podiums in the Repco Bathurst 1000, both second placings with Walkinshaw Andretti United, and, on both occasions, with Luff as his co-driver.
In fact, the six top threes which the latter has enjoyed in the Great Race make him the equal most prolific podium finisher without a victory in event history, but he does have two wins in the Penrite Oil Sandown 500.
Luff has spent the bulk of his Supercars career as a hired gun for the enduros, including a gig with defending champion Marcos Ambrose at Stone Brothers Racing in 2005 – when there was no official co-driver demarcation – and with the season’s eventual champion James Courtney at Dick Johnson Racing in 2010.
This year, he has been loaned out to Team 18 after WAU opted against fielding a wildcard while also having Lee Holdsworth and Fabian Coulthard on the books as co-drivers.
Pye told Speedcafe it is “unreal” to have Luff back.
“Luffy is a good mate of mine and he became a good friend, really, through my time at Walkinshaw with him,” added the South Australian.
“You get to know people pretty well, spending so much time with them across a race weekend, so even just as a mate, obviously I get on really well with him.
“In terms of his driving, we’ve had some great results together.
“I love how aggressive he is when he needs to be; he’s still fast, and at Bathurst, he just knows when the right time to push is.
“Of course, seeing as this is motorsport, things can still go wrong, but I feel really confident when I’m in the pit lane watching my car with Luffy behind the wheel.”
Luff made his Supercars Championship debut back in 2002, behind the wheel of a Lansvale Racing Team VX Commodore.
Craig Lowndes, with whom he shared the above referenced 2012 Sandown 500 win, has likened a Gen3 Supercar to something resembling a VT Commodore in terms of driving dynamics, but Luff says the feeling is still broadly similar to Gen2.
“You definitely do notice the less aero, but that was one of the key targets of Gen3,” the 47-year-old told Speedcafe.
“But, ultimately, you’re still limited by the tyre that we were running on last year.
“Obviously, it’ll be very different when we go to Bathurst, being on the soft tyre, which is a first time, so it’s going to be new territory for everyone.
“But, the overall balance of the car still feels very similar to the old car in that it’s not more heavily weighted towards one end or the other, and obviously you put better tyres on it and all of a sudden you’ve got some grip again.”
Tyres are also set to be a major talking point this weekend at Sandown.
Not only is the allocation, like Bathurst’s, a step softer than previously, the suburban Melbourne circuit’s surface is generally quite old.
Now, Supercars has also done away with compulsory pit stops in the enduros (save for a brake pad change at Bathurst) and hence there could, at least in theory, be some stints of 50 laps or more.
“For me, it was just understanding the driving characteristics of this car as to what you’ve got to do to look after the tyre,” added Luff of his Gen3 initiation in the form of the post-Sydney ride day and pre-enduro test.
“As we’ve seen in the racing this year, tyre deg has generally been a little bit higher and that’s obviously going to be a very important part come enduro time, especially at Sandown where the surface there in some spots is quite aggressive and everything like that.
“So, to have a car that’s going to be able to look after its tyres, and then as a driver, being able to drive to a number, I think’s going to be very important as well.”
Pye and Luff will share the #20 Toyota Forklifts Camaro this weekend, with Practice 1 due to get underway at 10:45 local time/AEST.
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