AUS Utes: Rhys McNally Bathurst preview

MCNALLY PREPS UP FOR V8 UTES MOUNTAIN ASSAULT Rhys McNally is heading to Bathurst this week for his first event at the famous Mount Panorama circuit in what is round 6 of the V8 Utes Series. After a rough and tumble meeting at Phillip Island ...

MCNALLY PREPS UP FOR V8 UTES MOUNTAIN ASSAULT

Rhys McNally is heading to Bathurst this week for his first event at the famous Mount Panorama circuit in what is round 6 of the V8 Utes Series.

After a rough and tumble meeting at Phillip Island last time out, the team have done some major work to the front end of Rhys' car to rectify the damage received at the 'Island'.

"There was quite a bit wrong with the car," Rhys said, "which accounts for the handling problems I had in the final race.

"The boys have completely re-built the front end of the car including a couple of new front struts to make sure there aren't any problems."

With his first visit to the mountain, Rhys is going through a heavy preparation period which includes watching a lot of in-car footage and getting advice from seasoned campaigner and team stable mate Grant Johnson.

"This is a tough track and there is no room for error so anything I can get from the footage and from Grant will be useful come Thursday when I hit the track."

Rhys will be completing a test session at Eastern Creek in Sydney tomorrow to give the car a final shakedown before the first practice session at Bathurst on Thursday.

Currently sitting 10th in the series and fighting for Rookie of the Year status, Rhys is taking a sensible approach to this weekend.

"There is nothing to gain from crashing out early, and with so many blind corners on this circuit it is important to build my speed over the weekend," he said.

"If I can work up my speed as I get more laps on the track and end up pushing into the top ten by the end of the weekend I will be happy."

Rhys has practice on Thursday, qualifying Friday, two races on Saturday and the final race on Sunday.