The inaugural AirTouch 500 at The Bend offered a decent comparison across the co-driver field given that all bar one of the regular entries chose the same strategy.
That was to start the race with their co-driver, complete two stints and then switch to the primary for the run home.
The exception to the rule was Erebus Motorsport and its #99 Camaro, with Cooper Murray starting, then handing over to Jobe Stewart for a double, before the regular driver returned for the final stint.
That meant the Super2 regular spent a stint battling the main game stars, something he took in his stride in what was an impressive effort.
And one that was potentially very important given Stewart is right in the mix for a main game drive with Erebus next season.
Other obvious standouts were race winner Todd Hazelwood, whose only blot in the copybook was a sluggish getaway that dropped him to fifth.
By the end of his first stint he was in the lead, setting up victory for himself and Brodie Kostecki.
Mark Winterbottom performed well, getting the upper hand on Tickford teammate James Moffat in the first stint and helping the #6 Mustang end up second.
Garth Tander recovered from what he felt was an overly cautious opening lap to assist Matt Payne with third for the race, while Scott Pye’s early work from a lowly 16th on the grid was critical to getting him and Brown up to fourth at the finish.
On the other side of the Triple Eight garage things were less rosy; Jamie Whincup led the first 15 laps of the race, however a refuelling issue at his first stop put him on the back foot – and ultimately led to some uncharacteristic mistakes, such as two excursion off the track at Turn 10.
Moffat had an off there too, as did Cameron McLeod while running an impressive third for MSR.
In this week’s Pirtek Poll we ask you who you were most impressed by out of the co-drivers at The Bend.
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