Geoff Emery, Dean Cook and Scott Taylor have vowed to keep charging in their Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Pro-Am campaign, with Emery and Cook ready to take the gloves off in a bid for the title.
Cook currently sits second in the standings and only eight points off the lead while Emery is just six points further back. Both drivers have hit a rich vein of form this season with Cook standing on the podium at the last three rounds and Emery winning six races.
The pair have encountered contrasting fortunes over the first six rounds, leading to their proximity on the points table. Cook has kept his nose clean, taking the consistent approach and finishing every race bar one. Emery meanwhile has found himself being hit from pillar to post, with his frustrations rising despite being arguably the fastest driver at each round.
“I’m excited to be at the pointy end of the field and I’m looking forward to hitting the track in Sandown,” said Cook.
“We’ve got to this point by being really consistent and doing a great job at improving ourselves across the weekend. I think if we can start the weekend a bit stronger it will be a big warning sign for the opposition.
“The ASM crew are the best in the paddock, rain or shine they’ll give us a quick car and together with Geoff it’s going to be hard to stop us.
“I really love the track, with its tricky nature thanks to the bumps and the short and sharp laps. It could be a bit trickier this weekend with the rain in the area. I remember Jimmy Richards saying once, ‘it’s just like squeezing a lemon’, when it comes to the smoothness with the pedals – it’s always a fun challenge in the wet,” concluded Cook.
“We’ve had plenty of speed all year, comfortably the quickest car, but we keep getting run into,” said Emery.
“In Townsville when we got out front there was no one getting near us, so we know what we need to do. I’m looking forward to putting it together this weekend and getting to the top of the table before the wildcard sort of rounds at Bathurst and the Gold Coast where anything could happen.
“I know there’s lots of talk for rain this weekend, I actually think these cars are going to be incredible in those conditions. We’ve got much bigger front tyres than previously so once the wets go on it will be able to cut through plenty of water, on top of our added downforce with the 992.
“If we don’t start the weekend out front, we won’t be taking any prisoners to get ourselves out of the free for all that is the fight behind P1 in Pro-Am,” concluded Emery.
Taylor is 11th in the standings, after missing the most recent round at Tailem Bend. While Taylor readily accepts he isn’t able to fight with his teammates, his goal of moving himself further up the Pro-Am pecking order are getting steadily closer with a shift in his driving style.
“We might get a good mix of conditions across the weekend which will test our ability to adapt with this car. There hasn’t been any proper wet running for us this year, so I’m excited to see how this car handles in those conditions,” said Taylor.
“With the growth in my driving thanks to the coaching from Alex, I’m always looking forward to getting behind the wheel now.”
The trio will hit the track from August 19-21 at Sandown Raceway for round six of the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Championship