V8SDS: Protecnica Racing Oran Park preview

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As they continue to navigate the V8 learning curve, Round 4 of the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series at Oran Park provides Chris Alajajian and Protecnica Racing the opportunity to conduct their education in familiar surroundings.

The Sydney-based team and driver head to their home circuit following a strong debut at Queensland Raceway in July, where Alajajian showed promising pace aboard the Jack Hillermans / Elf Lubricants Commodore.

While the end result wasn't ideal - with the 19 year-old eliminated from the final race - there were plenty of positives to come from the weekend, including a second place finish in the reverse grid Race 2.

"We were all pleased with how it progressed up in Queensland," said Alajajian. "Our laptimes relative to the front of the field were coming down all weekend, and a Top 10 or Top 12 finish was on the cards before I was taken out of Race 3.

"It's still early days for us. This is new territory for Protecnica Racing and new territory for me, so the main thing is going out there and learning as much as we can at each round.

"I think we performed well at Queensland, so that was a bonus and it gave us a lot of confidence that we can do well in the series."

At Queensland Raceway, Alajajian added significantly to his V8 Supercar experience, having entered the weekend with two test days under his belt.

"In Queensland, we basically doubled the number of laps of V8 Supercar laps that we had done, and with every lap you learn a little bit more," he said.

"You get so much more out of a race meeting, and it speeds up the whole process. In the first practice session I was able to go out, follow the other guys and see what they were doing which you can't when you're on your own at a test day.

"Race experience in this series is something you can't simulate either, until you're actually there and amongst it with the 30-odd other cars.

"It's all part of the learning process. I really enjoy racing at Oran Park and I can't wait to get stuck into again this weekend."

The team heads to the 2.7km circuit with knowledge specific to Oran Park, their test circuit. As Protecnica Racing builds on its negligible V8 Supercar experience, team owner Scott Anderson feels the testing data will aid their progress this weekend.

"Racing at Oran Park gives us a good starting point in terms of the setup," said Anderson. "Unlike Queensland where we started from scratch while learning the ropes, we've got some ballpark data from testing to use.

"There were a lot of things that we learnt in Queensland, and other areas that we've since assessed and improved on across the board.

"Our preparation has been good again, and we're really looking forward to the weekend. I'm fairly confident that we'll be able to put in a competitive showing."

The weekend gets underway with a pair of practice sessions on Friday. Saturday will feature qualifying and Race 1 (16 laps), before Race 2 (16 laps, reverse-grid) and Race 3 (26 laps) on Sunday.

-credit: protecnica racing