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Sealant which was recently laid on the Mount Panorama circuit is shaping as a major variable in this weekend’s Repco Bathurst 1000.
The best pace on the opening day of the event was around a second up on the corresponding sessions of 2021, although those were run in warmer conditions.
The Shell V-Power Racing Team’s Will Davison was fastest in the first practice session for the 2022 Great Race with a 2:04.3691s in his Mustang before Red Bull Ampol Racing’s Garth Tander went quickest with a 2:04.1359s in Practice 2 for the co-drivers in Shane van Gisbergen’s ZB Commodore.
About 10 months ago, it was Tickford Racing’s Cameron Waters quickest in Practice 1 on a 2:05.0233s in the Monster Energy Mustang and eventual race winner Lee Holdsworth topping Practice 2 with a 2:05.2258s in Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Mobil 1 Appliances Online ZB Commodore.
A popular opinion is that an epoxy which was used to seal cracks in the track surface has created a material increase in grip, which raises the question of how it will evolve over the following three days of activity.
However, that question is all the greater considering the uncertainty presented by the weather, with the extent of the rain during Supercars Championship sessions largely confined to brief, light falls occurring midway through Practice 2.
“There’s been a lot of talk about the epoxy that’s down on the circuit,” said Tander, who did get green tyres during Practice 2.
“The track grip was probably a little bit inconsistent [in Practice 1] but you can tell straight away when we went out for the session just now [Practice 2] that the track was much more consistent.
“The grip delivery was much more consistent, corner to corner.
“The track was fully dry for the majority [of Practice 2] – there was a little bit of a shower in the middle there, which probably hurt lap time for a little while – but track’s really very fast.
“That’s as fast as I’ve ever been around here in a Supercar, so conditions are good – today.”
Despite how today’s weather played out, heavier falls are still forecast for tomorrow although, according to Tander, that will stop around the time of race start, late on Sunday morning.
“The forecast for Sunday is that at 11 o’clock race start [11:15 local time/AEDT] that it will stop raining, and the track will be dry in the afternoon,” he added.
“I think the bigger question is how the epoxy reacts after the cars run on the race track tomorrow in the rain and whether the grip comes back to the same level that we had this afternoon.”
Aside from the rain itself, how teams react in terms of how many laps they undertake in the next four practice sessions will potentially be a factor in the grip outcome.
Brodie Kostecki, who was 11th-fastest in Practice 1 on a 2:05.5156s before co-driver David Russell claimed second in Practice 2 on a 2:04.2379s, also noted the influence which the sealant could have.
“The car seems to be liking the track so far [but] it’s probably going to change for the next couple of days with the sealant,” said the primary driver of the #99 Boost Mobile Racing by Erebus entry.
“But D-Russ did an awesome job, so pretty happy with everything so far, but it’s still early days.”
Practice 3, another hour-long session for all drivers, starts tomorrow at 10:10 local time/AEDT.
