Preview: Austin 400 at Circuit of the Americas

The Circuit of the Americas, located outside of Austin, Texas, is the fifth stop on the International V8 Supercar calendar for 2013. Races 13, 14, 15 and 16 of the season will compile the Austin 400, taking place around the shorter 3.7 kilometre “National Circuit”.

The round will be divided into four 100 kilometre sprint events featuring mandatory pit-stops, with races 13 and 14 taking place on Saturday and races 15 and 16 held on Sunday. The V8 Supercars have never visited America before, and the Austin 400 will be a ground-breaking event for the category as it seeks to gain further exposure outside of Australia and New Zealand.

The Form Guide

Red Bull Racing Australia dominated the Chill Perth 360 a fortnight ago, as Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup combined to take all three race victories at Barbagallo. Whincup leads the championship once again by 65 points, while Craig Lowndes sits 3rd in the standings, a further 115 points behind his team mate. Whincup is unquestionably the man to beat in Texas, as both his current form and his impressive offshore record indicate another successful weekend for the Red Bull Racing pilot.

Fresh off another successful showing at Barbagallo, Brad Jones Racing is likely to mount the strongest challenge to Red Bull Racing Australia this weekend. Jason Bright and Fabian Coulthard are well in the hunt for the championship this season, as both have consistently achieved top 5 finishes over the opening rounds. Jason Bright now sits 4th in the standings after a strong points haul at Barbagallo, while Lockwood Racing pilot, Fabian Coulthard, occupies 6th. Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen splits the BJR entries in his Tekno Autosport VF Commodore.

Ford Performance Racing’s Will Davison has made a strong start to the season in his factory-backed Falcon. The 30 year-old led the championship prior to the Chill Perth 360, however he now sits 65 points adrift of Whincup. His team-mate, Mark Winterbottom, put in a strong performance at Barbagallo and appears determined to recover from his horror start to the season. The other factory outfit, Holden Racing Team, have yet to show race-winning pace this season; however Courtney and Tander have achieved solid results and should continue their form in Texas.

The Circuit

As mentioned, the V8 Supercars will use the shorter, 3.7 kilometre “National Circuit”, rather than the full 5.5 kilometre Grand Prix configuration. The circuit itself is less than a year old, completed in October of last year ahead of the US Grand Prix in November. It was designed by well-known designer Herman Tilke, and runs in an anti-clockwise direction. The track is significantly wider than most on the V8 Supercar calendar, and is also a notably smoother surface with high grip levels. It is a relatively forgiving circuit, with low kerbs and large run-off areas allowing room for mistakes without significant punishment.

According to Garry Rogers Motorsport engineer, Manuel Sanchez, the track has “various kinds of turns: low speed hairpins, mid speed long turns and high speed sweepers, most of them with large paved run-off areas”. Significant elevation change is also a feature of the circuit, with a 40 meter elevation change in the first sector alone. Tyre wear is not expected to be a crucial factor this weekend, even with the high speed sections of the circuit resulting in high lateral load.

Predictions

In a rarity for the V8 Supercars, there is no history at the circuit to base predictions off, thus there is certainly an element of unknown as the category makes its first trip to the United States. Mark Winterbottom, Fabian Coulthard and James Courtney are the only drivers to have actually visited the circuit, thus the majority of the field are relying on simulator experience to grasp the fastest lines around the 3.7 kilometre track.

Red Bull Racing Australia showed that they are still the team to beat this season after dominating at Barbagallo. As mentioned, Jamie Whincup has made a habit of performing well away from Australia, and this trend shows no signs of ending in Texas. It would be a brave man to bet against a round-win for Red Bull Racing with Lowndes and Whincup at the helm. Expect to see the Blue and Yellow VF Commodores at the front in Austin.

Fabian Coulthard, armed with first-hand experience at the track, should also be fighting hard for race wins as he has done for much of the season. His BJR stable-mate, Jason Bright, will undoubtedly receive some pointers from the Kiwi in relation to the circuit, thus Brad Jones Racing appears to have the edge heading into the weekend.

Similarly, Alex Davison, Will Davison and David Reynolds can also expect to benefit from Mark Winterbottom’s knowledge of the circuit, as Ford Performance Racing look to overturn the Holden dominance thus far in 2013. Winterbottom was particularly impressive at Barbagallo, and will almost certainly be fighting at the front of the field in Texas.

In terms of the new manufacturers, Nissan holds the edge over Erebus Mercedes thus far this season. James Moffat was extremely impressive for Norton 360 Racing at Barbagallo, fighting for top 10 finishes in all three races. He remains the leading Nissan driver in the standings, and should remain so this weekend given his current form. Erebus Motorsport showed signs of improvement at Barbagallo. Maro Engel qualified his SP Tools sponsored E-Class in 9th position at the opening race of the Chill Perth 360, demonstrating the potential of the car. Given the level platform this weekend in terms of track knowledge, the German may well achieve some extremely encouraging results for the Gold Coast based outfit.

Be sure to tune in for the V8 Supercar’s first ever trip to America. Races on Saturday and Sunday will begin at 3.15pm and 5pm local time, which is 9.15pm and 11pm GMT time. For Australians, coverage will begin from 5am AEST on Saturday and Sunday on 7mate, and two hours later for those in New Zealand. This will be an amazing spectacle!