THERE was a sense of hero to zero about Team 18 in Darwin, as it went from collecting its latest didgeridoo trophy to being a non-factor 24 hours later.
Charlie Schwerkolt’s squad has long had an affinity with Hidden Valley, Scott Pye taking three podiums there in 2020 and Mark Winterbottom chalking up the team’s first race win last year.
Winterbottom was back at it on Saturday, converting third on the grid into a second-place finish in Race 1. Teammate David Reynolds wasn’t far behind, in sixth.
But come Sunday, Winterbottom and Reynolds qualified down in 18th and 21st, with 19th and 12th their respective results at the end of the second 48-lapper.
It was the first time since Race 1 of the 2019 Darwin Triple Crown that Team 18 had not had a car start or finish inside the top 10 at the circuit.
Team principal Adrian Burgess pointed to mistakes in qualifying making for a long Sunday afternoon, but is optimistic their return to form can be more than just track-specific.
“We did have a good test day at Winton before we came here and a lot of what we learnt went into the car this weekend,” Burgess said at the close of play at Hidden Valley.
“Whilst we’re disappointed with today’s result, we’re coming out of here knowing a lot of what we found at the test day definitely worked.
“The drivers are disappointed today but they’re actually happy that the car feels like it has got some pace. So yeah, overall for the weekend, great Saturday, disappointing Sunday, but this is racing.
“We’re looking forward to Townsville now, we know we have unlocked a little bit of pace in the car so that gives us confidence going there.”
It was a similar theme from 2015 champion Winterbottom.
“Qualifying we got the timing wrong but the car was good again for top five; I got traffic on my lap and stuff like that put me in the pack,” he said.
“Mega start, drove through the field – I think I was in 12th or 11th at the time that I came in for my pitstop and I had a cross-threaded wheel nut. So instead of a seven-second stop, I did a 16- or 17-second stop and had to run that same left-front tyre too.
“Tough day, but all in all a very strong weekend.
“Last year when we won here, I didn’t feel like we had a read on the car, where this weekend I feel like all the little changes we’re making actually make the car better or worse – it’s responding.
“We can fix the easy stuff. We have got a fast car and hopefully this turns our year around.”
