SUPERCARS’ magic marker at Bathurst has shifted many a time over the years, but few are confidently tipping what the new-generation car will muster in qualifying trim this weekend.
In 2003, Greg Murphy stunned the industry with his Lap of the Gods in the Top 10 Shootout, a 2:06.8594s.
Two years ago, Chaz Mostert set the fastest ever Supercar lap around Mount Panorama – 2:03.3732s, also recorded in a Shootout.
What the benchmark will be come the 2023 Shootout this Saturday, the first in a Gen3 car, is an intriguing proposition.
“I have no idea what the magic number is,” five-time Great Race winner Garth Tander confessed.
“Twenty years ago we celebrated Murph’s 2:06.8s, the first ever ‘six’ around here; the cars have been down into the ‘threes’ since then.
“Where that number ends up now, there’s a lot of weather, a lot of rain (yesterday) and then much cooler conditions.
“So we don’t actually know what the time will be but I do know that the fastest time will start on pole position.”
Triple Eight technical director Jeromy Moore hazarded an educated if non-committal guess.
“I wouldn’t put my house on what I say, but 2:05 or 2:04,” he told V8 Sleuth.
“The car has less downforce so you lose across the top substantially, but soft tyres will add another dimension to increasing the grip there.
“There’s a bit less drag, so it should be good down the straights. Braking points will be longer, but hopefully with the soft tyre, not too much.”
Moore and Tander were on the same side last year; now the latter is at Grove Racing.
Based on his Sandown 500 form, there’s no slowing Tander down, but he admits there is a different feel about entering the Bathurst classic with his new team.
“It’s very different as far as the expectation and the preparation,” said the 46-year-old.
“When you join Red Bull Racing and Triple Eight Race Engineering, you expect to win and that’s the job, is to go and win because that team has had a lot of success and we know that they’re a benchmark race team.
“Whereas at Penrite Racing and Grove Racing, we’re a team that’s developing.
“The team principal has won this race before, the technical director has won this race before, the head engineer has won this race before, both Dave (Reynolds) and I have won this race before… but we’ve never won the race together as a unit and that’s something that we’re working on.
“We feel like we have got a pretty strong team unit; that unit is still developing so that will develop more this weekend and in years into the future.
“So it’s a very different feel about this week but the goal is still the same; the goal is to still win the race.
“We know what it takes, we’ll just bring the rest of the team on the journey with us.”
