TEAM 18 manager Bruin Beasley did not mince his words after a dire Perth SuperSprint but it was a secret subsequent test that set the tone for an immediate bounceback.
While almost every rival is using its mid-season test on either May 31 (Winton) or June 1 (Queensland Raceway), Team 18 fast-tracked that outing as a matter of urgency.
And for how brutally open and honest the team was about its Perth performance, it very much kept the May 11 hitout on the downlow, until yesterday.
The move paid dividends, with Scott Pye taking fifth in Race 1 at Symmons Plains.
“We basically had to do it,” Beasley told V8 Sleuth of the test.
“We had to get on top of some stuff and we had to go forward.
“For us it was bite the bullet now and try to learn what we can and get a benefit rather than struggle and try to fix it later.
“It was really important. We had a whole different strategy and tried something outside the box from our traditional thinking and it seems to be working.
“If we hadn’t have done that day, we wouldn’t have been able to try a theory and here we are now.”
Although Beasley isn’t quite satisfied yet: “We’re not holding a trophy so it’s not amazing, but it’s a good step forward.”
For his part, Pye heaped praise on his crew.
“I’m really stoked for the guys,” he said.
“I mean, it’s hard to say how much effort goes in when you’re not winning because you’re throwing set-ups at it.
“The mechanics are working their backsides off and the engineer is tearing his hair out to find car speed, so today is all about them.
“Getting that top five is a huge result for them and they definitely deserve it for the work they’re putting in.”
Winterbottom, on his 42nd birthday, finished 12th.
Another two 42-lap races are to come today; qualifying for the first of those starts at 9:50am AEST.
V8 Sleuth’s coverage of the 2023 NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint is proudly presented by ACL RACE Series – Proudly manufactured in Australia for over 70 years. Visit ACL Performance online here to check out more on the ACL RACE Series.
