2 April 2015: PAYCE Managing Director, Brian Boyd remains very confident the PAYCE supported Wilson Security Racing GRM (Volvo Polestar Racing) team will bounce back strongly from a series of disappointing results in the opening rounds of the 2015 V8 Supercars season.
“After a highly successful season last year, everyone was looking forward to carrying those successes forward as this year’s meetings got underway,” Brian Boyd said.
“I know team owner, Garry Rogers and his dedicated team used the off season to work hard on ensuring the two Volvos were race ready for the 2015 season, so I share their disappointment,” he said.
“The test sessions at Sydney Motorsport Park in February went well, with Scott McLaughlin in car #33 finishing fifth in the shoot out on the last day and David Wall in car #34 using the time to get acquainted with his Volvo S60 Polestar’s characteristics.
“The 2015 V8 Supercars season opener in Adelaide, the Clipsal 500, started out with promise, Scott qualifying car #33 near the top for all three races. The qualifying results were fourth, third and second, so clearly he was very competitive and the team had high expectations for good follow up results. But then a broken oil pump, an alternator failure and a jump start penalty in the races put an end to any good results. David Wall improved his position with each successive session, with a best race finish of fifteenth. Unfortunately for David, he had his own problems, finishing the meet with a badly burnt foot sustained from engine heat.”
Brian Boyd said despite these issues, car #33 showed it had the speed in Adelaide to match the pace of the leaders and the team could be proud of their resilience which never waned in the face of adversity.
“Heading into the non-championship round at the Melbourne FI GP, the team were hoping the run of bad luck was behind them and that they could repeat their first ever V8 Supercars victory from last year at the track,” he said.
Scott McLaughlin was joined in Melbourne by fellow Kiwi and experienced driver, Chris Pither, who stepped in for David Wall, who was forced to sit out the weekend on doctor’s advice in order to give his injured right foot time to heal.
The team’s bad luck continued in Melbourne soon after Scott qualified a promising sixth on the grid for the category’s main race on Sunday. Scott got tangled up in traffic and in his own words had “one of my toughest race weekends of my career”.
Brian Boyd said to Scott’s credit, he climbed back 14 positions from the back of the grid to finish in the top 10.
Chris Pither, who adapted exceedingly well to the unfamiliar #34 car, also had his share of tangles in the traffic – not of his own doing – when travelling in fifteenth place.
Brian Boyd said to Scott’s credit, he climbed back 14 positions from the back of the grid to finish in the top 10.
With the second championship round looming in Tasmania, the team gave up some personal time to play hosts to an Open Day at the Dandenong headquarters, where fans turned out in force to inspect the race cars and facilities.
“The team were really chuffed by the fans’ encouragement and positive comments that the good times would return soon,” Brian Boyd said.
The Tasmanian round was again a mixed bag, with the cool conditions testing all teams with settings and tyres choices. With one DNF (did not finish) and an engine swap, Scott drove hard in car #33 to pull out a seventh position after several strongly fought passes on the competition. Team mate David Wall, returning from injury to the seat in #34, had a tough weekend, with a DNF and two 20th position finishes.
Brian Boyd said the good news out of the weekend was that Scott got some much-needed points which took him from 20th in the championship to 13th position.
“Having spoken with Garry Rogers, the team is quietly confident the bad luck is behind them and, as was the case last year at the WA circuit, they are looking to a trouble free weekend in Perth in five weeks’ time where they are keen to put a win on the board,” Brian Boyd said.
