For the last time this year, it’s time to hit the road. We’re headed to Newcastle for the final round of the 2019 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship.
The eastern end of the Newcastle CBD will be our home this weekend as we wrap up the year with 500km of racing.
The Newcastle street circuit is a mixture of uphill and downhill runs along the concrete walls, meaning 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.
For this weekend, they have opened up the entry to turn 11, which should allow a better passing opportunity under brakes.
This weekend marks our last race with James Courtney and Scott Pye, and we want to finish the relationship on a high.
For JC, his nine seasons have included seven wins, including three in a row at the Adelaide 500, and a further 27 podiums.
Scott’s three seasons has included the first win of his career, and the first win of Walkinshaw Andretti United as a partnership at Albert Park, and a further four podiums.
On the team front, we leapfrogged Brad Jones Racing in the Teams Championship at the Sandown 500, so beating them this weekend is critical.
The race format is the same as Adelaide, two 250km races across the weekend, on the SuperSoft tyre.
Let’s go out with a bang.
Scott Pye
“The atmosphere at Newcastle the first two years has been incredible, so it’s an event you circle in the calendar and look forward to.
“The car speed at the last few rounds has been good, it’s been fun to drive, so we head in confident of having a car we can fight with when we roll out on Friday.
“This weekend marks my last with Walkinshaw Andretti United. It’s been a great three years here, and the people, especially the boys on the car, are people I’m going to have a relationship with for a long time. We will be pushing hard to send it out on a high and spray some champagne.”
James Courtney
“I can’t believe it’s the end of the season already. Newcastle is a crazy place, the crowds are awesome, and the track is insane, so it’s always a weekend I look forward to.
“I’ve been here for over a quarter of my life, so this weekend is certainly going to be emotional.
“There’s people here that are like family. I can’t thank Martine, Ryan and the entire WAU family enough for everything, and would love nothing more than going out on a high.”