The team at Matt Stone Racing are eager to get back on track. With the Sydney SuperSprint just a handful of days away, all staff are hard at work in the workshop, ensuring both cars are fully prepared and ready to roll out come June 27th.
“I really am just itching to get back in the car, you take it for granted. Racing on the simulator has been great but, there is nothing like the real thing.” – Garry Jacobson
Over the COVID break, the team at MSR took a couple week’s leave before returning to complete various different tasks around the workshop. These tasks included; workshop renovations, maintenance and tidying up, to catching up on jobs for customer cars and support category cars. One of the most notable tasks is that, MSR have reformed their Super 2 VF’s, ready for a potential return to the category.
“We’ve gotten a lot more of the odd jobs, in terms of racing outside Supercars done, while also preparing spares and everything else for the season to recommence.” – Matt Stone
During this time, for Garry and Jake, staying motivated and fit has been vital for a smooth transition back into racing. While Jake is still fresh off the back of Super 2, he is used to long waits between each round. Garry on the other hand has taken up forgotten hobbies like expanding his acoustic guitar skills to continuing his cycling and training regime; both something he is super passionate about.
“I’ve just been doing a lot of fitness activities, training and playing a bit of golf for fun. Now, I’m getting ready to jump into the car and preparing as much as I can to go racing.” – Jake Kostecki.
With the restart of the 2020 Supercars Championship comes new race formats and the addition of a 20-minute rookie practice session to start each round. Although there will be no test day’s at MSR’s local track, Queensland Raceway, the team believe the extra 20-minute practice at each individual round will provide valuable track time; especially considering some tracks may be new to the team’s rookie drivers. This should ultimately help them progress more efficiently when it comes to racing against the more seasoned drivers.
Due to COVID restrictions and regulations, only 13 members of the team, including drivers, are able to attend the Sydney SuperSprint. These rules pose less of an impact on MSR than some of the larger teams; having less of a head count to begin with, all teams are now the same and equal. Matt Stone himself will be attending SMP, one of few team owners to do so. Being quite hands on, with many years of mechanic experience under his belt, Matt will step in and help the guys get it all done.
“We are very versatile as a team in that sense, and it just means I may have to get my hands dirty.”
“A lot of these format changes help the industry with sustainability, spice up the show and entertainment factor, and certainly play into our strengths as a team.” – Matt Stone
The 10-week Supercars All Star eSeries was a fantastic interlude that really showcased the capabilities within the motorsport industry during a time where real life racing was not an option. It has been a valuable part of the entertainment package of our industry, with team owner Matt Stone hoping that moving forward, Supercars will continue to endorse it in the same fashion.
“Given we had an entirely new driver line up this year, this has allowed our drivers to work with the engineers specifically to build those relationships ready for when we hit the track for real. We feel like a seasoned team even though we have only actually done one event together.” – Matt Stone, Team Owner.
The eSeries filled the racing void, keeping drivers in the seat, building relationships with their engineers, and working on strategies and data. Supercars return to racing at SMP is bound to be one hell of a weekend after 3 months away from a track. MSR are excited for what the remainder of the season will bring, with many positives leading into this weekend after a strong outing at the Australian Grand Prix before COVID struck.
