Bathurst champions concede Supercars title fight is down to two drivers

Bathurst champions Walkinshaw Andretti United concede they are out of the Supercars title hunt - so have switched focus to defending their Mount Panorama crown.

EXCLUSIVE

RYAN Walkinshaw has revealed that his team is in the midst of building another Bathurst monster after making the stunning admission that the Supercars season is now just a two-man fight between Shane van Gisbergen and Anton De Pasquale.

As his famous team prepares to make yet another milestone – this time Walkinshaw Andretti United’s 400th round – Walkinshaw conceded Chaz Mostert’s championship bid was over and that his team would again sacrifice speed at round’s like today’s race at the Bend in another all or nothing Bathurst bid.

Sneaking under the guard of Red Bull and Dick Johnson Racing last year to win the Bathurst 1000, Walkinshaw shocked the sport by unveiling a record smashing Mount Panorama monster that ended up proving unbeatable.

And in a chilling declaration to his rivals, Walkinshaw said a Mark II monster was on the way.

“The championship fight is now between Shane and Anton to be honest,” Walkinshaw said.

“Bathurst is now the key focus for us now.”

Chaz Mostert claims the Bathurst 1000 victory last year.

With Mostert trailing van Gisbergen by over 500 points, Walkinshaw then admitted the team had begun building the car that they hoped would see them win Bathurst back-to-back.

“As I said our focus is on Bathurst now and on a couple of the bigger races toward the end of the year,” Walkinshaw said.

“And that is what is taking our focus. The championship is so tight that if you have a couple of bad rounds it puts you out of the championship and unfortunately, we have had a couple of bad rounds this season and that has hurt us.

“While we have to make sure that doesn’t happen to us again next year, the flip side is that it has allowed us to turn our attention to Bathurst. For the rest of this year our focus is on Bathurst, the Adelaide 500 and the other key events like Sandown and the Gold Coast.”

And while he will not be able to shock his rivals by unleashing another specially built Bathurst car months in the making after admitting his championship was over, Walkinshaw is closely keeping the reason behind his stunning Bathurst speed a secret.

“We know what we did last year to make it fast,” Walkinshaw said.

“And we will hopefully be able to do it again. But, no, we are not going to tell anyone what we did or what we are doing.”

While he has ruled Mostert out of this year’s championship fight, Walkinshaw was adamant that Mostert could win a title with his team in the future.

“He is the guy that we have been building this team around for the last couple of years,” Walkinshaw said.

“And Chaz has been a fantastic part of the team. He is a cornerstone of our resurgence and a key part of what we have been able to achieve. We were able to re-sign him recently and we are excited to have him on board to make many more memories over the next couple of years.

“I am tipping there will be plenty of champagne in the future.”

Anton de Pasquale (left) is the only serious challenger to defending champ Shane van Gisbergen for the series crown.

While Mostert, currently fifth in the championship on 1302 points, has all but ruled himself out of title contention, there remains at least three drivers who would believe they’re still a shot at hunting down champion van Gisbergen.

De Pasquale (1607 points) trails van Gisbergen (1881 points) but 274 points while Cam Waters (1551 points) and Will Davison (1521 points) are within reach if they can make some decisive moves this weekend.

DJR pair De Pasquale and Davison had one of their strongest weekends at The Bend last year and are confident they can make another strong showing to reduce the gap to van Gisbergen.

“When we look at it on paper, it suits our car,” Davison told the Supercars website.

“It was the scene of our first one-two qualifying and race result as a team last year with Anton and I.

“It was only our fourth event last year, we were still coming to terms with the car.

“That’s a magic result we look back on. We’ve obviously stepped it up this year.

“We’re definitely excited to get back to The Bend and see if we can replicate last year.”

Originally published as Bathurst champions concede Supercars title fight is down to two drivers