THEY have the lead, now comes the pressure to retain it by conquering a track where they have never before cut a lap in anger.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Bathurst brothers Kyle and Blake Aubin are headed to Winton for the third round of the Australian Production Cars series where their goal will be to tighten their grip on the battle for Class C supremacy.
So far they have impressed behind the wheel of their Renault Megane RS265 Trophy R. Together they made a clean sweep of the opening round at Sandown, then notched up a first and a second placing in the two 300 kilometre races at the Queensland Raceway.
Those consistently strong efforts – which have also seen them finish in respectable positions outright – have put them in the lead.
But as Blake Aubin pointed out, with that advantage comes extra pressure.
“We have a 67-point lead which sounds like a lot, but one bad race and we could be down 67 points. There is a bit of pressure now being chased by the other Meganes certainly, but we need to not think about it, keep being consistent and keep getting the results,” he said.
“Class wins and podiums, that’s really what we need to aim for.”
Winton is a track well known for its technical corners, with many Supercars teams using it as their test circuit. The Aubins have not previously raced at the Victorian venue, but Blake feels it will suit himself and his brother as drivers and the Megane itself.
READ MORE: Aubins fight well at night
READ MORE: Aubins start with a clean sweep
READ MORE: Good finish to the season for Aubin
Keep up to date with the latest sports news by clicking here
“We are really looking forward to it, apparently it’s a really fun little track. I think it will suit our car nicely and obviously the other Renaults we are up against, it will suit them as well, but we think it will suit our driving style,” he said.
“Although we haven’t been there, we’ve obviously watched a lot of Supercar racing there and a lot of other types of racing there on Facebook and television and stuff like that. So we feel a little bit familiar with the track, which is good.
“It is a tight, twisty little track, so it will take time to get used to, which we have plenty of on Friday. Once we get past practice and heading into Saturday we’ll be fine, we’ll be on the front foot again.”
The practice sessions will be important to dial in their set up – something the brothers and their team have executed well so far this season.
That will allow them to qualify well and from there, press for the podiums they are chasing.
“We’ve obviously got it set up pretty nicely – hence the results from the other rounds – we’ve had it for a couple of years, so we’re really used it to,” Blake said.
“We do change the set-up each track with suspension and things like that, but we’ll do that during practice. We’ll tweak bits here and there to suit our driving style.
“It’s just more learning the track and going from there.
“There is still quite a lot of racing to come, so anything could happen yet.”
Racing at Winton gets underway on Friday with practice, with a pair of two hour races – one Saturday and one Sunday – to follow.
