Words with Cam Waters: The Western Front

I like heading over to Barbagallo Raceway. But of course I’d say that; it’s easy to enjoy a circuit when you go well there.

Last year I won all three races in the Dunlop Series – it served me well in terms of setting up the title tilt – so I’m happy to be heading back there.

It’s a unique circuit with some unique characteristics. Hopefully we can lock in on them and have some similar success this time around in the main game.

Short and Sweet

Three things make Barbagallo Raceway unique; how short it is, the fact that it’s nearly all right-handers, and tyre degradation. That surface chews through rubber, so it’s really, really important to have a car that is balanced and looks after its tyres.

That’s the ultimate key to Barbagallo Raceway.

The best way to look after the tyres is to stop the rear from sliding. There are some circuits where if the car balance tends to head in one particular direction, you can still drive around it and look after the tyres.

But in Perth, one little slide and the tyres are done. For me, I’ll be looking to have a car that doesn’t oversteer at all.

If you can have a car that does everything right, it’ll look after it’s tyres. And if it’s doing that, you’re laughing for the last half of the last stint on Sunday.

The key to passing

It may be a short circuit, but you can actually pass there.

The trick is to set it up through Turn 6, or Kolb as it’s known, which leads on to the back straight. If the guy you’re racing runs a bit wide, you can get under them on the way out of Turn 6 and past into Turn 7.

In saying that, the best thing to do is qualify well and not have to worry about passing all that much.

At short circuits like this, qualifying is always important. The entire field will be covered by next to nothing, so you just can’t afford a mistake.

I’ve said it before; last year in the Dunlop Series, if I didn’t put my lap together I could drop a tenth and lose a couple of spots. This year, particularly a circuit like Barbagallo, that tenth could be the difference between fifth and 15th.

You have to be on top of your game and putting everything together.

Variety is important for V8s

Tracks like Barbagallo contribute to the wide variety of tracks we race on in V8 Supercars. And that’s a good thing.

We have all different circuits… just look at the difference between Phillip Island and Barbagallo Raceway. We have these wide-ranging styles of traditional circuits, and then we have street tracks, which are something completely different again.

It’s good to have these different events. It’s fun to keep changing it up.