Mostert focused on car speed, not title tilt

PRA emerged from the shadows of the much-touted DJR Team Penske/Triple Eight battle at Phillip Island yesterday with a 1-2 finish, Chaz Mostert winning from Mark Winterbottom.

The win was Mostert’s first championship race victory since his horrifying qualifying crash at Bathurst, and, with both DJTP Ford and both Red Bull T8 Holdens finishing outside the Top 10, it came with a major points boost as well.

Mostert now sits third, just 37 points behind leader Fabian Coulthard. However, despite being in touching distance of the top of the points table, Mostert says he and PRA are more focussed on continuing to find car speed rather than a potential title tilt.

“I think there is a long way to go,” he said after yesterday’s win.

“We know we have to make a lot of gains with our car still, and that is solely the focus. Numbers in the championship don’t really mean so much right now, it is all about car speed.

“Probably the top five or six guys at the moment are pretty consistent, week-in and week-out, so to try and get on top of those guys we have to be faster.

“We will just keep working away. It is only the third round, there is a long way to go.”

Coulthard not fussed by lead

Coulthard was equally cool when discussing his title chances earlier in the Phillip Island weekend.

Despite a tough Sunday outing the Kiwi is still seven points clear of Shane van Gisbergen at the top of the standings – but says he’s not keen to talk title chances until after the Gold Coast round in October.

“It is early days,” he said.

”I always say I will evaluate my championship after the enduros but this has been the best position I have been in this particular time in the championship, this early. So yeah it is great. [But] after the enduros is the real time to evaluate how we are going.”