Geoff Emery, Dean Cook and Scott Taylor are wary of the challenge presented by a wet Bathurst weekend, as the Ashley Seward Motorsport trio work to bring home the Pro-Am Championship in Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup.
Emery and Cook are currently first and second in the points standings, just four points separating them. Taylor missed a round at Tailem Bend, hurting his championship position, but is regularly fighting for top 10’s in the Pro-Am class.
In what has been an unbelievably up and down season in the Pro-Am title fight, Emery finds himself leading for the second time this year while Cook has sat in second for two rounds in a row. No one has won more races in Carrera Cup this year than Emery who has crossed the line first on eight occasions. Cook’s title charge has been marked by consistency, despite being winless so far he enjoyed a streak of three consecutive round podiums earlier this year.
Quotes
Geoff Emery
“Bathurst will be tough, it’s going to be a case of survival,” said Emery.
“We’ve never been there before in these cars, just the one practice session to get the setup right, rain forecast, and a close championship fight. It’s all going to combine for a wild weekend.
“We end the season on the Gold Coast where truly anything can happen so it’s important not to take unnecessary risks this weekend and give ourselves a chance at the end.
“I believe that the next person to DNF in Pro-Am will be writing themselves out of contention at this stage, so my goal is just to finish every race and then see what results we can get out of it,” concluded Emery.
Dean Cook
“I love the mountain, I’ve been on the podium here three times before and I’m keen to make it a fourth,” said Cook.
“It’s going to be about respecting the place and focusing on just finishing. At the end of it we’ll get to Sunday and hopefully put ourselves in a good position.
“It rained last year during practice and I enjoyed it, Bathurst is a good track in the rain as there’s still some grip to utilise.
“The plan is to preserve my place in the top three and then head to the Gold Coast which is my favourite track and a place I know I can finish at the very front,” concluded Cook.
Scott Taylor
“I was asked by someone earlier on actually, when do you settle in at Bathurst? The answer is you don’t. It’s so demanding, it’s 6.2km’s of constantly grabbing your attention,” said Taylor.
“If it rains I won’t mind, it will level the playing field off a bit and I normally go alright in those sorts of conditions. If we get half wet and half dry conditions across the track, which can happen easily with the size of the place, that’s where I am not so comfortable.
“As an event as a whole I can’t wait, we’ve been polishing the truck and throwing extra lights on it and I’m looking forward to a really good time on the track and off it,” concluded Taylor.
The penultimate round of Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup will take place from October 6-9 at Mount Panorama.