WINTON MOTOR RACEWAY – ROUND 5
A Challenging Start
Winton started with a curveball.
A mechanical issue during practice meant Robbie only managed around three laps, giving him very little opportunity to learn the circuit before qualifying.
The crew did an incredible job against the clock to get the #7 back out for Saturday qualifying. We actually went out with the fuel sender still not completely right, but luckily, it managed to hang in there for the full 15-minute session and Robbie qualified P11 with a 1:25.08.
That lap placed Robbie 1.98 seconds from pole, which was a pretty solid starting point considering we lost around 40 minutes of practice time. Especially later finding out that the pole sitter spent four days testing at Winton prior to the round!
Race 1 – P8
Race 1 started with plenty happening in front of Robbie, including an incident on Lap 1 at Turn 2 that he thankfully managed to avoid.
From there he put together a strong, clean race and brought the car home in P8.
After the way the weekend had started, seeing the #7 emerge through the smoke at Turn 2 and continue racing was a very welcome sight.
Race 2 – Another Mechanical Setback
Race 2 was looking even stronger.
Robbie had worked his way into P6 and was running well when the car suddenly lost all drive.
The issue was traced to a failed quill shaft in the Hollinger gearbox.
The crew replaced the shaft at the circuit, and we have since learnt that these are recommended for replacement at approximately 2,000 kilometres. Our gearbox had completed only around 1,600 kilometres.
The quill shaft is effectively designed to be the sacrificial component in the driveline, failing before the problem causes more significant gearbox or engine damage. In that sense, it did exactly what it was designed to do.
Unfortunately, the result was still another DNF at a time when we really could not afford one.
Sunday – Closing the Gap
Sunday gave us another opportunity to qualify and, despite the interrupted start to the weekend, there was measurable progress.
Robbie qualified with a 1:25.58, this time 1.64 seconds from pole.
The outright lap time itself was slightly slower than Saturday, but importantly the gap to the front of the field had reduced from 1.98 seconds to 1.64 seconds.
For Robbie to continue closing that gap with such limited running was encouraging.
Race 3 – P9
Race 3 was a much cleaner affair, and Robbie brought the #7 home in P9.
After the mechanical failure on Saturday, banking a finish and getting the car through an entire race was important.
Race 4 – P8
The final race of the weekend produced another solid P8 result. The Sinopec #7 was actually the fastest car on the circuit with two laps to go on the Sunday and, strangely enough, that was also the same in our final race last round at Queensland Raceway.
It meant that, aside from the quill shaft failure, Robbie finished all three races inside the top nine with results of:
Race 1 – P8
Race 2 – DNF while running P6
Race 3 – P9
Race 4 – P8
There is naturally frustration around what might have been in Race 2, because the pace and consistency were there across the remainder of the weekend.
The Masters Result - The Points Rules
Without the Race 2 component failure, Robbie was in a very strong position to come away as the clear Masters winner for the weekend.
Instead, the DNF hurt badly because a DNF scores zero Masters points.
The Masters Championship is scored separately from the outright championship. Robbie may finish well ahead of another Masters driver on the road, but because Masters are re-ranked within their own class, that advantage can translate into only a small points difference.
Mechanical DNFs therefore have a disproportionate impact. A race where Robbie could potentially score 24 Masters points instead becomes zero, regardless of where he was running when the failure occurred.
Championship Snapshot
| Robbie | Masters Leader | |
|---|---|---|
| Outright Championship points | 101 | 52 |
| Masters' points | 354 | 373 |
| Gap in Masters | 19 points |
So, while Robbie’s outright results show how strongly he has been running against the full field, the mechanical DNFs we have suffered this season have been particularly costly in the Masters Championship.
With one round remaining, the gap is just 19 points, and the title is still very much alive.
What We Take from Winton
Winton probably falls into the category of another weekend where the final championship points don't quite tell the whole story.
Robbie had almost no meaningful practice, the team had to repair the car before qualifying, and we then suffered a component failure while running P6.
Despite that, he qualified strongly, reduced the gap to the front of the field across the weekend and finished P8, P9 and P8 in the three races he completed.
Most importantly, we left Winton knowing the pace continues to improve.
Next Stop – Phillip Island
There could hardly be a better place to finish the season than Phillip Island.
It is one of Australia's great motorsport circuits and a pretty special venue to have as the backdrop for the final round of the championship.
We head there with improving pace, plenty still to race for in the Masters Championship and one final opportunity to put together the complete weekend we know the #7 is capable of.
It should be a fantastic way to finish the season, and we’re really looking forward to taking our partners along for the final chapter of the year.