V8 co-drivers gain valuable track time at SMP

A large contingent of co-drivers are cutting laps at Sydney Motorsport Park as teams utilise a ride day to prepare for the Pirtek Enduro Cup.

Twenty-two V8 Supercars are on track at the Western Sydney venue – the full field minus the #47 Walkinshaw Holden, #34 GRM Volvo, #55 FPR Ford and #16 DJR Ford that were crashed heavily at the weekend.

Triple Eight is meanwhile running three cars; its regular two Holdens plus its ride car.

In addition to the majority of primary drivers, seventeen co-drivers are on hand to gain track time ahead of the Wilson Security Sandown 500 next month.

While running additional drivers on ride days is not unusual, some who were not involved in the weekend’s race meeting have been flown in especially for the day.

Teams have stepped up efforts to give co-drivers laps this year following a decision by the V8 Supercars Commission in March to abandon practice for the part-timers at race meetings.

The only co-drivers scheduled to miss the day were internationals Alex Buncombe (Nissan), Oliver Gavin (Walkinshaw) and Alex Premat (Volvo), Sepang 12 Hour-bound Craig Baird (Erebus), the ever-busy Paul Dumbrell (Red Bull) and Greg Ritter (Volvo).

Dean Canto (FPR) and Ash Walsh (DJR) are, however, also absent after their cars were crashed heavily at the weekend.

Tim Slade’s co-driver at Walkinshaw Racing, Tony D’Alberto, travelled to SMP for the seat time and hasn’t let the lack of a Supercheap Commodore affect enduro preparations.

D’Alberto and Slade are sharing the sister #222 HHA Walkinshaw entry driven to second place on Sunday by Nick Percat.

“It’s good seat time and conditioning, especially for guys like me who haven’t driven much this year,” D’Alberto told Speedcafe.com.

“You can’t simulate a stint because you’re always pitting to change passengers, but it’s very hard to train for the environment in any other way.

“There are little parts of it as well like the pit exit and entry, merging into traffic, all of that is taken for granted by the regular drivers but it’s something you need to be comfortable with.

“These days for co-drivers are gold, we really look forward to any chance to drive the cars.”

In addition to the primary and co-drivers, Erebus Motorsport is giving its Academy driver Jack Le Brocq laps aboard its Mercedes-Benz entries.

The majority of teams will also conduct a full test day prior to the September 10-12 Sandown event.

Pirtek Enduro Cup entry list