A reinvigorated Chaz Mostert remains confident his title chances are far from over as he eyes a return to his early season form at this weekend’s CrownBet Darwin Triple Crown.
The Prodrive Racing Australia driver admits the mini-season break was well-timed allowing him the opportunity to reflect and move on from a frustrating Winton last time out.
A mechanical failure while challenging for the lead followed by errors in qualifying on the Sunday saw Mostert slide 199 points adrift of championship leader Fabian Coulthard.
The 26-year-old felt his own frustration got the better of him, contributing to a disappointing 13th in qualifying that provided a tall order for the Sunday race.
Since the last round, Mostert has returned to the wheel of the Falcon for a productive test day at Winton, ahead of a victorious Australian Production Cars outing at the Victorian circuit last weekend.
He believes the gap between races has refocussed his mind on emerging as a dark horse in the championship fight.
“For us we have had a lot of good rounds and getting good results,” Mostert told Speedcafe.com.
“We have had a pretty strong start to the year and then for that (Winton weekend) to happen was a kick in the shins.
“After Winton I was really glad we didn’t have to back it up with another race as it gave me a bit of time to reflect on it and get over it which I have done.
“The break has been good as it has given me time to chill out and forget about it all and start afresh in Darwin.
“It is far from over anything can happen.
“We are looking forward to trying to get in there and get amongst it.
“You keep seeing the headlines about the top two teams and you just want to get in there be the dark horse.
“Myself and the team included are pumped to get to Darwin.
“There is still along way to go and I’m confident the boys will give the best car they can at the time, and we will see how we go in Darwin.”
While Prodrive has been third in the pecking order behind DJR Team Penske and Triple Eight this year, Mostert believes only small gain achieved from a test day could be enough to alter the balance.
“No doubt everyone has made gains so for us we have just got to keep making our car better and better,” he added.
“The more running we do the better we will be. It is still early days in the way we are thinking about our cars.
“We will keep pushing and hopefully we get on top of it we will give those guys a run for their money.
“We will just have to see who got the most out of their test day.”
Mostert heads to Darwin lying fifth in the championship standings.
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