Promising run by Scott Pye ends with little reward for DJR Team Penske
May 3, 2015
Perth, Western Australia, 03.05.15: DJR Team Penske driver Scott Pye fought hard for little reward today in the final 200km leg of the UBET Perth Super Sprint. With the team continuing to work hard on the handling and balance of the car, Pye was optimistic after Qualifying that the MTU Ford Falcon FG X was improving at each outing.
The Pit Lane was abuzz with talk of tyre strategy as the teams had to manage a combination of Dunlop hard and soft tyres for the race. From a P17 starting position DJR Team Penske decided to start on the soft compound and it immediately delivered track position to Pye. By lap 10, he was up to P7 and running well with the leading ‘soft’ tyre shod cars. As the Pit Stops started the various strategies of the teams became evident and it was to be only the last 20 laps which would determine who had the better tyre management plan.
A Safety Car on Lap 48 was to prove costly for DJR Team Penske. The team were forced to pit Pye, but the return to the Soft Tyre for the run home was just too much to ask for the worn tyre. Pye tumbled down the order from what looked to be a very strong finishing position.
Scott was in conservation mode and running behind Heimgartner’s Ford when he appeared to have a mechanical or brake problem at Turn 1, hitting the young Kiwi and ending up in the sand trap. A promising run would only be recorded as a DNF.
The team returns to Queensland for a fast turnaround before the next round at Winton Motor Raceway in two weeks.
Scott Pye – No 17 MTU / DJR Team Penske Ford Falcon FG X
“We started on the Soft tyre and planned to put it back on the car for a shorter third stint. Unfortunately the Safety Car was a bit early for us, but we had to pit. The car just wasn’t the same. We had a great race car in the first stint and really came through the field quite comfortably. The pace on the hard tyre wasn’t too bad either. We were still lacking a bit but it was better than Saturday.
“The Safety Car came out with 33 laps to go and we were in P11. I really thought that the soft tyre would hang on better but we really struggled for pace.
“At the end I was just trying to get it home. I really don’t know what happened to put us out, but the inside front wheel locked and we just didn’t decelerate at all. I hit Andre (Heimgartner) and unfortunately ended his race too. I think the car has improved overall but we still need to work on the hard tyre pace.”