Supercars Ford team Walkinshaw Andretti United (WAU) struggled at Sandown on September 15th, 2024, but they aren’t dwelling on the tough results. With the highly anticipated Bathurst 1000 just over a week away, WAU is fully focused on delivering a Victory Lane-worthy performance, determined to put Sandown in the rearview.
In a report from Supercars.com, WAU says that it looked back on Sandown and picked its performance apart, examining its mistakes in particular. The No. 25 Ford Mustang GT of Chaz Mostert was one of the fastest cars on track at Sandown, but strategic choices put the race car off its game and snuffed out what could have been a promising race for the organization.
Mostert’s team elected to leave him out on track in a late race Safety Car period, and his older tires just didn’t hold up against competition with fresh rubber. Team Principal Carl Faux said he wasn’t pleased with the strategic decision.
“Having both cars in the Top Ten Shootout is something to be happy about but we made too many mistakes in the race,” Faux said. “Seventh place was more than we deserved. We just weren’t good enough. The pace is there but the execution was diabolical in every area. It’s a bitter pill to swallow and we must learn from it.”
Lee Holdsworth, who shares the No. 25 Mustang with Mostert for this season’s enduro events, wasn’t too happy with Sandown, either, but acknowledged that the lessons learned in Melbourne will prove valuable as WAU heads for Bathurst.
“We’re making sure that we’re using Sandown as a bit of a warm-up for Bathurst. Bathurst means a lot more to the team, and to us drivers than what Sandown does,” Holdsworth said. “But, there’s a bigger picture here as well, and that’s the championship. So, you’ve got to keep that in mind. But having Sandown as a warm-up and having a couple of issues throughout the day, that can be addressed.”
He added, “I think it’ll put us in a better position heading into Bathurst and feeling more prepared, and in a better mindset. Bathurst matters more.”
The 2024 Bathurst 1000 is scheduled for October 10th through 13th, 2024.
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