For the final time in 2018, it’s time to hit to road, with the streets of Newcastle playing host to the finale.
Round 16 of the 2018 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship will be held on the eastern end of the Newcastle CBD for the second time, after a highly successful debut in 2017.
We might not be in the championship fight, but there is still a lot to play for this weekend.
For Scott Pye, he is currently eighth in the championship, but only 40-points behind Fabian Coulthard in seventh.
On the team front, we currently sixth in the championship, but just 53 points off fourth. That means we will be in a three-way battle with Erebus and Brad Jones Racing for pit lane order for 2019.
The track itself is 2.6km in length and has 12 corners that buzz past the Esplanade, Nobby’s Beach and the Newcastle Harbour.
It’s mixture of uphill and downhill runs along the concrete walls mean it’s an on-edge lap from beginning to end.
There’re just the two practice sessions on Friday, which means it will be critical to have the car dialled in early.
The race format is the same as Adelaide, two 250km races across the weekend, on the SuperSoft tyre.
While the finish to New Zealand was disappointing, it’s important to come out this weekend and show that it was just a blip on the radar.
The first year of our journey as Walkinshaw Andretti United has shown a great deal of improvement, so we will be doing everything we can to finish the year on a high.
Scott Pye
“It’s an important weekend this one, my focus is firmly on pushing up to seventh in the championship, and also helping the team get up to fourth in the Teams Championship.
“The atmosphere at Newcastle last year was incredible, so I’ve been looking forward to getting back for a while now.
“We’ve taken steps forward this year when you look at it as a whole, so it would be nice to send it off with a really strong result.”
James Courtney
“I can’t believe it’s the last round of the year already.
“Newcastle was absolutely crazy last year, there were people everywhere, so I can’t wait to get back.
“We can still pick up a few places in the Teams Championship so we will all be pushing for that, and the best way to do that is send the year out on a real positive.”