Mostert concerned by boring Bathurst Shootouts
Chaz Mostert is worried the spectacle of the Bathurst 1000 Top 10 Shootout will be damaged by technical changes being made by Supercars for the 2020 season.
The category will re-homologate aero packages on both the Ford and the Holden at the end of the current campaign, the outcome of which will be a drop in downforce compared to current figures.
Engines are also set to produce around 15 horsepower less thanks to a control ring and rocker package, designed to increase the service life of the V8 units.
That means today's Top 10 Shootout at Bathurst could be the fastest for some time, with Scott McLaughlin's new lap record of a 2m03.378s tipped to stand for some time.
It could even make it difficult for more drivers to enter the 'Threes Club', currently occupied by McLaughlin, Mostert, Jamie Whincup, Cam Waters, Will Davison and Andre Heimgartner.
According to Mostert, who holds the second-fastest ever Supercars lap around Mount Panorama, slower Shootouts will be a step backwards for the series.
"It's slightly disappointing for me," he said.
"Last year I was unlucky not to get into the Top 10, but I went and watched the [Shootout] as a fan at the top of the hill.
"As a fan on the fence you want to see cars going faster and faster every year, record getting broken... to see Scotty's lap today, it's pretty impressive.
"When you talk to [commentator Mark] Skaife on your cool-down lap and he says 'that's the fastest ever sector across the top', we're not going to quite have that any more.
"It will be slightly boring when it comes to qualifying and Top 10s, stuff like that."
McLaughlin agreed that his lap may stand for some time, but was less concerned about the impact slower cars will have on the famous single-lap dash.
"If you take grip away and less engine power, you're obviously going to go slower," he said.
"We all try and go as fast as we can, whatever we have.
"Whether it stays like that for ages, whether it doesn't, I don't really care. I just want to know that on the day I'm the fastest."
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About this article
| Series | Supercars |
| Event | Bathurst |
| Sub-event | Shootout |
| Author | Andrew van Leeuwen |
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