Welcome to the Post-Race Press Conference for the third round of the Australian Touring Car Championship at Mid-Field Raceway! Today we have @gkgamer, @Pubs16, @NinjaEvo, @NW48 & @Jordiehamz for a quick conference about the race.
1. Question for Pubs16 and NW48, you have both criticised your own driving this round as 'making too many mistakes', is it because you think you are too aggressive or something else?
NW48: I think it comes done to my aggressive approach to give 110% and then some to ensure I give my best 100% o the time. It's something I'm trying to minimise but it's something that is vital in Motorsports.
Pubs16:
Probably a little aggressive trying to gain time back. Made a sham of both starts and just trying a little too hard to catch up to recover, in an AWD that's usually a bad idea.
Lots of distractions around this weekend's event, GTPES qualifying and GTWC lead ups.
2. Question for Jordiehamz, is it frustrating that you can't necessarily match your Qualifying results in the races?
Jordiehamz: yes, it can get quite frustrating as I seem to make more mistakes under pressure than when I have an open rode both behind and infringe of me. That is one of the main things I am trying to improve as this series progresses and even just watching some of the guys race makes a differencein my race raft. But in the end it means that I have to try harder in qualifier to get as far in front of the pack as possible. Thank you for the questions!
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3. Question for all drivers, what is your favourite and least favourite corner of Mid-Field?
NW48: Favourite corner would be the Esses up to the Tunnel turn that leads into the horseshoe. Least favourite would be the exit of the horseshoe or the first corner. They make or break your entire lap so you need to get them right.
Jordiehamz:
in my opinion, turns 3 and 4 are definitely very hard on the car and tires, also being where I spun on the infamous "lap 18 incident"
. It is very long corner which can be taken at higher speeds than usual so it throws another spanner in the works
!
NinjaEvo:
Favourite is Sector 2, I had a great rhythm through there all weekend. Felt slow but was the opposite, when a section of track feels like that you normally know that you are on to a winner. Least favourite in practice was turn 1, it's an easy corner to put the car wide on the grass, but in the races I handled it well.
Gkgamer:
I really like the part between the tunnels and I think I like C9 the most. It may also be the lowest point of Mid-Way in altitude. I like the hard braking after gaining speed downhill. I also like the way it is a different corner on each lap, the entry depending on how fast you are through C8.
Pubs16:
My favourite corner would have to be turns 5/6 going over the bridge, and into the tunnel there is a slight bump just as you go full throttle the car kicks a little and then you're straight into a direction change for fast double apex into T7.
4. Question for NinjaEvo, after doing a 19 lap stint on one set of tyres, is it safe to say that the Corvette is in fact good on its tyres, or did your times suffer as you surpassed 15 laps on the same set?
NinjaEvo:
I only lost half a second a lap getting into the final 3 laps of the stint. The car normally has quite a bit of understeer so the fronts going off weren't necessarily a problem. I only started to struggle a bit in the traction zones with the rears but not enough to cost me much time.
5. Question for gkgamer, as the sole representative for Masala Tsunami Racing for the second consecutive week, did you feel any extra pressure to bring home all the points?
Gkgamer:
Not having our team leader for the past 2 rounds was a huge handicap for the team. But thanks to a very reduced field in group-B, I knew that things couldn't get dramatic for the championships. That being said, I was very stressed before Indy because I don't feel good there and it also happens to be one of Aaroh's best tracks. I was feeling more confident coming here but both rounds ended the same way...
6. Question for NW48, how did you lose 7 seconds in the pits? Did you take fuel or hit the wall in the pit entry?
NW48: I definitely did not hit the wall as I stayed far from it after nearly clipping it in Race 1 or practice. I never took fuel so no time should have been lost there. I think it comes down to my pit crew, I hired the Left Rear Tire Changer from Scuderia Ferrari, Raikonnen's side to be precise, and he was just utterly 🤬
7. Final question and for all drivers, on a scale to 1 to
10, how would you rate you race weekend at Mid-Field, and what can you take from it?
Pubs16:
I would say a 5, after missing a round I wanted some good points taken from Mid-Field, my own errors are frustrating and I didn't get to be close enough to have some more extremely fun and challenging battles with the Corvettes. Gonna have to calm myself down and get my consistency back as that's something I pride myself in. Looking forward to the London Double, Brands is very fun and one of the tracks I've laid down the most laps on, so hopefully can adjust in quickly with UNC's GTR. Very fun tracks and should provide close battles, I suspect finally with not many long straights the GTR's could have a little upper hand on the Ford's and Chevy's
NinjaEvo:
I was happy with my driving, on the whole I'd say an 8 out of 10, simply because I took a double podium finish which is always nice. The starts were 10's, the long stint in Race 2 was a 10, but he mistakes hurt me. In fairness, there weren't many mistakes, but they all cost me time.
Gkgamer:
I think I should have done better here but race#2 was a bit tough for me. I am happy I battled to finish on Wangan's tail. But since it also happened last week, I'd rather not make an habit out of this pattern.6/10
Jordiehamz:
well It was a very interesting race and probably 2 of my most exciting races of my short career thus far. It gives me high hopes for the season that the car and I can do it, we will just have to work hard for it! 8/10
NW48: I'd say a 8.5/10. I had the potential to win but a few rookie mistakes put it beyond reach unfortunately. Next week won't be any better, sadly.
That concludes the Post-Race Press Conference for today, thank you to all the drivers and lets look forward to the
Pre-Race Press Conference for the London and Brands Hatch
Double.