The combination of major track resurfacing and use of the softer Dunlop Sprint tyre may see the fastest-ever V8 Supercar lap time set at Eastern Creek Raceway at next Saturday’s official test and season launch day.
Major resurfacing work – totaling some 755 metres of the 3.93-kilometre circuit – was carried out just prior to Christmas last year with work not delayed or affected by weather.
New surface has been laid at:
Turn 2 (from 50 metres before the corner all the way through to approximately 30 metres after the exit)
Turn 9 (approximately 10 metres extension to the run off area on the outside of the corner)
Turn 11 (starting approximately 20 metres before the corner and all the way through to approximately 30 metres after the exit of turn 12 on the main straight)
Already in private practice Radical sports cars have lapped one second quicker than their current class lap record with mid-corner speed at the resurfaced turns 2 and 12 some 10km/h faster than prior to the resurfacing.
The current V8 Supercar race lap record of 1m31.7301s was set by Mark Skaife in a Holden Racing Team Commodore VT in March 1999 on control Bridgestone tyres at the opening round of that year’s championship.
He also set the qualifying record on the same weekend at 1m30.6556s to take pole position – a lap that stands as the fastest by a V8 Supercar at the circuit.
Garth Tander took a Toll HRT Commodore VE to pole position with a 1m32.1080s lap the last time V8 Supercars visited Eastern Creek in 2008.
In Australian motorsport, official lap records can only be set during races, however the opportunity exists for a driver to claim bragging rights as the fastest man ever to lap the circuit in a V8 Supercar.
Skaife, the current lap record holder and winner of six ATCC/V8 Supercars Championship events at Eastern Creek (1995, 1999-2002, 2007), says he expects the opening test of 2011 to see a lap that will undercut his time.
“Using a soft tyre there you would think they would break it,” he told BigPond Sport.
“Normally Eastern Creek is slower at this time of year because in Western Sydney it can get very hot. The grip level at this time of year is low.
“Having spent a huge amount of time there over the years with a range of different cars, and knowing that there is resurfacing on those critical corners, plus the use of the Sprint tyre, it might be on for sure.
“Normally the track would be definitely slower in January than in March when those lap times in 1999 and 2008 were set.
“Eastern Creek is a track that gets affected worse than any other track by UV light and track temperature change. You could go on a 20 degree day and then again on a 30 degree day and be a second slower per lap without touching the car.”
Skaife says that he’d like to see all drivers with the same tyre condition for the all-in test day, so teams, media and fans can get a greater gauge of who is genuinely setting the pace.
Teams will be permitted to use the Dunlop Sprint tyre from 2pm onwards, however not all teams have the softer tyres available in their bank, which is carried over from 2010.
No new Sprint tyres are permitted on the day, however each car has access to three sets of Control tyres – pre-marked or new.
“When we did the test day as our season opener back in the day, I was a real fan of the day so everyone can be there and see the latest liveries and the like,” he said.
“We all used to be allowed one set of new tyres. If that’s not the case, then that needs to change. It’s the best chance of having a barometer of where you are at.
“I’m a fan of everyone being together for the first run of the year on an even and level playing field – it’s important.”
