MATT BRABHAM TO CONTINUE PIRTEK CUP PREPARATION AT WINTON
Matt Brabham will continue his preparation for this year’s PIRTEK Enduro Cup when he drives the Preston Hire Racing Holden Commodore in a designated co-driver session at Winton Raceway in North-East Victoria this weekend.
Brabham got behind the wheel of the car he will share with Lee Holdsworth in the PIRTEK Enduro Cup for the four opening laps in practice at the last Supercars round in Western Australia, two weeks ago.
This weekend will be about getting up to speed with the Preston Hire Racing Team and learning from Holdsworth, who has 12 years of Supercars experience to draw from.
To prepare for the weekend, Brabham has spent valuable time on the MotionForce1 Performance Simulator at Yatala in Queensland, thanks to McElrea Racing.
Brabham is confident that the simulator time, co-driver session and full weekend with the Preston Hire team will have him in good shape for a full-day test at Winton on Tuesday.
Brabham returns to Winton Raceway having had success at the circuit in Formula Ford in 2011.
Brabham scored his Formula Ford victory there as well as taking out the overall round win, when the category supported Supercars in 2011.
The race win was in wet and wild conditions where he stamped his dominance on the field, finishing almost 10 seconds ahead of current Supercars driver Cameron Waters.
This weekend, Brabham gets to sink his teeth into the Team 18 ZB Commodore on a circuit he knows well.
In his formative years in motorsport, Brabham used to run in as many practice days as he could at the raceway, but the Indy 500 racer hasn’t been back to the Victorian circuit since his Formula Ford wins.
Brabham will follow-up his outing at Winton with another co-driver session at Queensland Raceway in July before the PIRTEK Enduro Cup heads to Sandown International Raceway in September.
The international racer also currently leads the Speed Energy Stadium SUPER Truck championship by 53 points after winning the last three consecutive rounds in Perth WA, Long Beach USA and Adelaide SA.
Brabham will return to the US on Wednesday where he will be involved in a series of corporate events at the 102nd Indianapolis 500.
The next event for the Stadium SUPER Trucks series is in Detroit, USA as an undercard for the IndyCar ‘Dual in Detroit’ races (June 1-3).
Brabham’s 2018 campaigns are supported by the Preston Group, DeVilbiss, Gale Pacific, Coolaroo, The Boat Works, PIRTEK and the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation, of which he is a proud ambassador.
WHAT MATT HAS TO SAY …
“In Perth I got to work a little bit with the team and was able to see some of the sessions from in the garage but look forward to getting more time in the car this weekend,” said Brabham.
“The co-driver session will be a learning experience, as I get comfortable with the driving style of a Supercar.
“Working with Lee and everyone at Preston Hire Racing Team has been awesome so far, I hope to learn as much as I can from everyone so we when Sandown comes around we’re in a really good position.
“Getting in the simulator, definitely helps a lot. I get up to speed quicker and don’t have to waste time in the short practice session at the track trying to adjust my driving style.
“In the simulator I was mainly trying to adjust my braking from left foot to right foot, which might be a bit quicker, I’ll see in Winton. But it was definitely a big help, thank you to McElrea Racing and Andy McElrea for letting me use it.
“I learnt to drive at Winton, it’s a pretty good place to get more experience in the Preston Hire Racing Commodore. There’s a lot of different corners so it’s a good set up.”
WATCH MATT ON TRACK
SUPERCARS SCHEDULE
Friday 18/05/2018 – 10:05am Additional drivers’ practice
TV TIMES
FOX Sports (506) 10:00am -3:45pm