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Dick Johnson has branded the revamped Bathurst 1000 \u201ca complete unknown\u201d as drivers grapple with soft compound tyres as part of the relatively untested Gen3 era.<\/p>\n
In the past, only the hardest available compounds had been used at the Mount Panorama circuit, because of the demanding load on tyres.<\/p>\n
But the significantly lighter Gen3 cars, in comparison with their predecessors, means the load on the Dunlop rubber has been reduced, and the trend towards softer tyres this season will continue in Sunday\u2019s showpiece Supercars championship event.<\/p>\n
It could make for a wildly unpredictable afternoon as the Great Race celebrates its 60th anniversary.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe soft tyres really, they\u2019re a bit of an unknown at this point in time because nobody\u2019s done enough laps on them,\u201d said Johnson, one of the sport\u2019s greatest competitors who now owns Dick Johnson Racing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe big thing is here, each driver\u2019s got to do a minimum of 54 laps, and now the Gen3 car has a larger fuel tank \u2013 it can do around 30 laps on a tank of fuel. Before, it always just ran a little bit short for the co-drivers to be able to get two stints in, get through the whole thing and get their required amount of laps done.<\/p>\n
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Brodie Kostecki drives the Erebus Motorsport Chevrolet Camaro in practice on Friday.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cBut now with 30 laps, they\u2019ll be able to, and I think you\u2019ll find a lot of the main drivers will start the race because of the way that it\u2019s structured. And the co-drivers will get in on the second stint, and do one stint and then probably another stint a little bit later on, depending on what happens with safety cars and things like that. So it really is a complete unknown, the whole thing.\u201d<\/p>\n The combination of the low-downforce Gen3s with the better grip of the soft tyres has forced drivers to relearn elements of their craft, which they did in practice and qualifying sessions on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was interesting going across the top and over McPhillamy,\u201d championship leader Brodie Kostecki said on Thursday. \u201cJust not having the aero to hold the cars down over the rises. It was probably a bit different to what I thought it would be.<\/p>\n \u201cI pre-empted a lot of it, and the team\u2019s done an awesome job with the set-up of the car so far.\u201d<\/p>\n Dick Johnson predicts the unpredictable in Sunday\u2019s showpiece Bathurst 1000.<\/span><\/p>\n The Gen3 prototypes trialled running soft tyres during demonstration runs at last year\u2019s Bathurst 1000, but wet conditions spoiled the chance to collect sufficient data.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Gen3 car has a lot \u2013 and I mean a lot \u2013 less downforce,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cLess than half the downforce the previous car had. And that in itself puts the car in a situation where the car would\u2019ve been almost impossible to drive with the hard tyre because you can\u2019t get enough heat in them, so you don\u2019t get any grip.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the softer tyre with the grip, it allows them now to be able to sort of get some feel back. And it\u2019s for safety, really. But look, anything can happen in this race \u2013 we\u2019ve seen that in the past. And certainly now, when every single team\u2019s in a situation where they\u2019ve got no data from previous events.<\/p>\n \u201cSo it\u2019s going to be making decisions on the run, which I think is a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Jamie Whincup driving in Bathurst on Saturday.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n Kostecki has surged into favouritism, claiming six wins this season to be in reach of a maiden championship with two rounds to follow Sunday\u2019s race. The 25-year-old finished third in 2021 and fourth last year, but Kostecki and co-driver David Russell appear primed to win at Bathurst for the first time.<\/p>\n Kostecki secured pole with the biggest winning margin in a top-10 shootout for 20 years. He will start on the front row with Red Bull Ampol\u2019s Broc Feeney, who was second-quickest but ultimately not close to his fellow Chevrolet Camaro driver.<\/p>\n \u201cThe car was awesome across the top,\u201d Kostecki said. \u201cI just threw it down the hill and I wasn\u2019t actually sure if I was going to come out the other side.\u201d<\/p>\n Brodie Kostecki on track for pole at the Bathurst 1000 yesterday.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n Ford rival Anton De Pasquale said Kostecki was the one to beat.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe, I don\u2019t know,\u201d the Shell V-Power ace replied when asked if Kostecki could be caught.<\/p>\n \u201cUnless a miracle happens to our thing [car] overnight, not by us, but anything can happen come Sunday \u2013 it\u2019s a long race. The cars have got to survive first and get through it, no damage and everything. But we\u2019ll be trying our best.\u201d<\/p>\n Ford teams have bemoaned Supercars\u2019 decision not to allow technical changes to Mustangs ahead of the Bathurst 1000. BlueOval bosses have claimed they are at a \u201ccontinued disadvantage\u201d compared to Camaro drivers after proposed changes to their cars were rejected.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s been a pretty consistent big gap to the fastest of some of the other brands,\u201d De Pasquale said. \u201cThe gap\u2019s been pretty big, pretty consistent. Obviously, they\u2019re doing an amazing job, but I think we maximised our package [in qualifying].<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone knows what the situation is, but we can\u2019t change it, so we just get on with it. We\u2019ll run our race and hopefully we end up with a trophy.\u201d<\/p>\n Championship leader Brodie<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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