#67 Sirromet VZ Commodore
Paul Morris/Steve Ellery
The lead Team Sirromet car will perform better than its sister car, simply because it has the better driver combination and the better machinery. Morris and Ellery are well experienced with the demanding Mount Panorama track, and the car has been consistent in 2006. The main limitation for this combination is Ellery’s lack of experience in the Sirromet Holden. Having driven Ford’s since 1999, Ellery lost a full-time opportunity in 2006 and instead had to drive the second Sirromet car at selected rounds. A top fifteen finish would be welcome.
Rating: 6
Supercheap Auto Racing
#50 Supercheap Auto VZ Commodore
Paul Weel/Nathan Pretty
Weel and Pretty are one of the better non-full time combinations racing at this weekend’s 1000 kilometre race. Weel retired from racing at the end of last year, but returns to his own team with Nathan Pretty who will also be running Fujitsu Series duties this weekend. These guys know the mountain well and Pretty finished in the top ten last year, whilst Weel was looking good for one before teammate Greg Murphy crashed out. Unfortunately, the Supercheap Auto Racing Commodores have been fairly unreliable in 2006 – a severe drop in competitiveness from last year – and have drawn crass comments drawing comparisons between the team name and the car performance. A turnaround in form at Sandown however would be encouraging for this pair, however Weel must re-familiarise himself with the car a lot better than he did at Sandown if they wish to claim the possible top fifteen finish.
Rating: 6
#51 Supercheap Auto VZ Commodore
Greg Murphy/Cameron McConville
Never write off a Kiwi scorned. Greg Murphy, a four-times Bathurst champion, returns to Mount Panorama with unfinished business after last year’s famous collision with Marcos Ambrose and subsequent verbal taunting prompted a downward spiral for the Supercheap Auto team that has had trouble recovering. The reliability issues that plagued the team last year returned in 2006, but with two double-crashes in Adelaide at the start of the season, the Dandenong team have had a tough time recovering. A noticeable improvement before succumbing to, again, mechanical problems, has injected a spark of optimism back to the team and with Greg Murphy’s reputation for only being able to perform well at a few circuits (one of them being Bathurst) the marked speed increase hasn’t come at a better time. Murphy’s co-driver and regular teammate Cameron McConville has also won Bathurst in the 24-hour race held a few years back and will be ever consistent in the lead SAR machine. A top five finish and possibly even a win is surely on the cards following their Sandown pace, but reliability will be the deciding factor for this pair.
Rating: 7.5
Autobarn Racing
#55 Autobarn VZ Commodore
Steve Owen/Tony Longhurst
One of Holden’s only single car teams, Autobarn Racing boasts a talented lineup this year. Steve Owen was regarded as the top performer in a team’s second-car in 2004 and has since been rewarded with full-time drives in the V8 Supercar Championship. His Bathurst talents will be an asset to the fledgling Rod Nash Racing-operated squad, coupled with the experience of the veteran Tony Longhurst, (the 2001 Bathurst winner) to form a definite dark horse. Car speed isn’t a problem – the car isn’t the quickest, but it is able to race at the front given good driving. A top ten is definitely possible.
Rating: 7
Team Kiwi Racing
#021 Makita/3M New Zealand VZ Commodore
Paul Radisich/Fabian Coulthard
