We’ve headed to the Top End for the latest chapter of the 2021 Supercars Championship at Hidden Valley Raceway.
This weekend, Bryce Fullwood heads home to Darwin, alongside the recently re-signed Chaz Mostert, and Kurt Kostecki, who is back behind the wheel of the No. 27 for his second of three Wildcard rounds.
We head to Darwin after quarantining outside of Victoria for two weeks to ensure our entry across the Northern Territory border, ready for a big weekend!
The Track
2.9km, 14 turns, and one heck of a long main straight.
The biggest passing opportunity will be into turn 1, the left-hand hairpin.
Tyres
The biggest question mark of the weekend will be tyres, with everyone on the all-new super-soft Dunlop tyre. We’ve never run, or raced on this tyre before, which was meant to be debuted at Winton last round before it was postponed.
The first time we will see it will be practice 1, so coming to grips with it will be essential, but also understanding how it behaves and degrades over a race run will be one to look out for.
Format
Our three-day weekend starts on Friday with two practice sessions, before three races across the weekend; one on Saturday and two on Sunday.
Pit Stops
No fuel, just tyres.
Our crew set some lighting times at The Bend last round, which we will be out to repeat.
How to Watch
This weekend we are back live on Channel 7, Fox Sports and Kayo.
Full broadcast times can be FOUND HERE.
Weather
It’s your typical Darwin dry-season weather on the radar… 32c and sunny!
Bryce Fullwood
“I can’t wait to get back home to Darwin, it’s obviously a weekend that you circle on the calendar when it comes out, I love being home, and racing in front of my home crowd, friends and family.
“Last year was a little different with the paddock closed, but it’ll be awesome to have people back at the garage, and seeing some familiar faces in my corner.
“This weekend we all enter on the same level with the super-soft tyre, so that will be interesting. Friday will be really important to gain an understanding and adjust as quickly as possible.
“Just can’t wait to get started, and put the season back on the right foot.”
Chaz Mostert
“I can’t wait to get this weekend underway, there’s no doubt it’s one of the best weekends on the calendar.
“We’ve been working hard since The Bend on a few things we needed to improve on.
“We were there abouts this time last year but I think we’ve got a better package this weekend, but it’s about putting it all together, the new tyre throws a massive curve-ball into this weekend, so it’ll be good to watch for the fans, we’ve just got to make sure we are adapting as quickly as possible.
“It’s great to get the re-signing news out there earlier this week, so now we can fully focus on the weekend ahead.
“Obviously our team has made another big sacrifice to be racing again this weekend which I can’t thank them enough for, hopefully we can repay that with some success.”
Kurt Kostecki
“It’s awesome to be back with the Team for this weekend, I can’t wait.
“The Bend was a really full-on weekend in terms of adjusting and settling in, so we’ve had a chance to catch our breath, understand everything and re-load.
“The Super-soft tyre will be the key to this weekend, so it will be good to get out there Friday and just see what it does, it’s a bit of an unknown at the moment, which is exciting.”