Catching up with Bathurst champion David Reynolds

51 Thoughts was lucky enough to have a brief chat with 2017 Bathurst Champion David Reynolds from Erebus Motorsport. We got his thoughts on winning Bathurst, the races following that and the new track at Newcastle.

1. In terms of Bathurst, when did you guys know it would be raining and how did you plan the strategy to get the win?

We knew it was raining that week, that it was going to rain basically all day. We rolled to the grid on slicks, but with 10 minutes before the start, it started raining. You can’t really predict when it’s going to stop, so you have to roll with the punches and be on the right tyre at the right time. Luckily, the track dried out when it did and my car was fast.

2. In terms of the setup change, you mentioned that with 10 minutes to go, you brought out the tyres. What about car setup did you change?

We didn’t have any time. We just put tyres on it because you don’t know how long it will be dry or wet. You just have to set it up for the driving conditions unless you know it’s going to be a 20-minute race and it’s constantly raining, you would do a full wet setup. It’s a long day with six to seven hours of racing.

3. In terms of the Gold Coast, where did you struggle the most?

In the wet, definitely; my car wasn’t good in the wet. We didn’t have good confidence under brakes and turning in, and it cost me a lot of time. In the race, we qualified pretty strong – second for the shootout, and I just stuffed the shootout. I did a 100 percent where I probably should have done a 95 percent lap. I would have done a better time. In the race, Luke put it in the fence strong and hard.

4. Is it difficult to do a shootout at the Gold Coast?

It is hard because the lap is so short and it’s hard to get your front tyres up to temperature; your turn one is really touch and go. My turn one was really good, and I was really happy. I thought I was going to push on and smoke everyone by half a second, but it didn’t work at all.

5. In terms of Pukekohe, how would you rate your Saturday performance?

It’s been ok. We were trucking along really well until that drama at turn eight, where I got put in the fence pretty badly. All in all, besides the last 10 laps, we were looking pretty good. We were holding onto fifth even though we didn’t have a qualifying session; it was kind of weird because they went off our practise times, which I don’t think has happened before in the championship. I wish we had practised better on Friday.

6. You got a really good start; did the car feel good at the start of the race?

Yeah, it was feeling really good. In the semi-wet conditions, my thing was lit. Then, as it was drying out, my thing became harder to drive relative to the pack.

7. Why was it getting harder to drive?

Because we went for a half-wet/half-dry set up. In the half-wet/half-dry conditions, my thing was fast, and as it dried up, it wasn’t suited.