Team CoolDrive Darwin Preview

17 Jun, 2015

After an extended break, the V8 Supercars are back in action this week in Darwin for the SKYCITY Triple Crown.

A change of format for this event by V8 Supercars will mix things up. The second race on Saturday will now be a soft compound tyre race, compared to events earlier in the season where both of Saturday’s races had been held on the Dunlop hard compound tyre.

The traditionally tough on tyres circuit at Hidden Valley has also recently been resurfaced adding another unknown variable to this weekend’s races for the teams to deal with.

Team CoolDrive has used the extended break in the calendar to prepare a fresh chassis for Tim Blanchard. Moving out of the ex-Russell Ingall car, Tim will now campaign a freshly rebuilt car that had been previously driven by Dean Fiore in 2013 and more recently by Nick Percat at the season opening event in Adelaide, the Clipsal 500.

The new chassis has been to PACE innovations since Nick drove the car to ensure the car is fresh for Tim to complete the season in.

The race format for this weekend will again consist of 2x 60km sprint races on Saturday and a longer 200km race on Sunday. Keep up to date with all the action from Darwin on Fox Sports or via the Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport Facebook page.

Here is what Tim had to say about this weekend’s races….

“I can’t wait to get into the new car, we have been desperate to update the car since the beginning of the year but it hasn’t been possible until now. The guys at LDM have done an amazing job bolting it together, so I think it will be worth the wait.”

“The changes to the format should help us this weekend. We have been much more comfortable on the soft compound tyre, so with more laps on the soft, it should really help us. The challenge is going to be getting that 1 lap pace out of it in qualifying though.”

“Darwin is one of everyone’s favourite events, not only because it gives us Victorians a chance to warm up, but because the whole city gets behind the event which creates a great atmosphere.”