PREMIAIR Racing is set to return to a rotating model for its second race engineer after ending its arrangement with recruit Phil Di Fazio.
The Sydneysider had been lauded as a key addition to the team, bringing vast international experience and fresh ideas as he guided Tim Slade through a strong first round at Newcastle.
However, Di Fazio’s other ongoing duties in the GT sphere increasingly proved more of a hurdle than first anticipated, leading to him and PremiAir going their separate ways ahead of Round 2 of the Supercars season at Albert Park.
The situation puts PremiAir back on the hunt for a permanent second engineer, alongside lead Geoff Slater, although they do at least have a short-term fill-in.
Former Holden Racing Team engineer Blake Smith will join the team this weekend in Melbourne on a one-off basis.
PODCAST: The factors to watch as Gen3 tackles Albert Park
Speaking about Di Fazio, PremiAir team principal Matt Cook explained that even the extensive GT testing programs abroad had begun to make life difficult.
“It was hard. He’s obviously doing his GT racing stuff and he wasn’t able to commit to the full season, which we sort of knew there was two races that he couldn’t do, and then the calendar just started to get a little bit more difficult for him to commit even more,” Cook told V8 Sleuth.
“Obviously we needed him on a more permanent part-time basis but it has just sort of become a little bit too hard so we’ve had to get someone else and thank him for everything he did.
“It was never going to be a full-time thing just because he lived in Sydney and competes in another series and that is his bread and butter and that is what he has been doing forever.
“He was able to help us out in Newcastle, which we thought was possibly going to be a little bit more, but it has just become too hard for him to be able to commit to us so we’ve had to move on.”
Cook noted PremiAir’s tight allegiance with Triple Eight, with includes set-up sheets, made it more workable to get by without a permanent solution for the #23 Camaro of Slade until they land the right candidate.
Smith in the meantime is a proven operator, with tenures at Stone Brothers Racing, Dick Johnson Racing, Paul Morris Motorsport, Tekno Autosports, HRT and Kelly Racing on his CV.
Among the drivers he has engineered are Shane van Gisbergen (Tekno), James Courtney (HRT) and Simona De Silvestro (Kellys).
After seeing Slade and James Golding make both Top 10 Shootouts in Newcastle, Cook has high hopes for Albert Park – where the team broke through last year via Garry Jacobson.
“Peter (Xiberras, team owner) has promised the team that we will taste champagne this season, and I can tell you, the team is very thirsty!” said Cook.
“We are leaving no stone unturned in our pursuit of this next goal, of our breakthrough podium, and I am confident it is going to come, if not in Melbourne, then sometime soon.
“We have good momentum from Newcastle, both drivers are liking the new cars, and we have spent a lot of time dissecting what worked and what didn’t from the season opener.
“While the Melbourne circuit is a completely different track to Newcastle, there are still a lot of lessons we can carry over from Newcastle and if things go our way, I am confident we can make a very good showing of it with both of our Nulon Racing Camaros in Melbourne – so watch this space.”
Supercars action at the 2023 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix gets underway on Thursday.
