Monza in Italy is the next stop on the calendar for the Supercars Pro Invitational Series and despite seeming like a fairly straight forward curcuit, this is one of the toughest to get right in the Supercar. We spoke to Hayden Harrision and asked him for 5 things that he thinks are vital to success in Round 4.
Being in draft
A key aspect to Monza is being in draft with the car in front of you. In qualy scenario this gives you massive gains on your delta down the straights. While in race mode this also helps with your lap time speed but also gives you the opportunity to save fuel as the car in front is punching a hole for you. Less fuel being used equals a longer stint and more variations in strategy on your opponent’s.
Car setup
Monza is known for its long straights which is why I’ve said being in draft is key. Another advantage you can gain from these long straights with your setup is running less rear wing. If you can manage to build a set that still has the desirable amount of downforce for the corners with less wing, you’ll be a rocket down the straight for big moves into the heavy braking zones.
Rear tyre life
The rear tyres will be your best friend at monza. Especially coming out of the tricky turn 1-2 complex. The nicer you protect your tyres coming out of these corners the better you’ll be in the long run with drivers having bad exits due to bad tyre life, their top speed down the end of the straight will be down on yours.
Surviving turn 1
Like every race at every track, everyone fears the lap 1 turn 1 bust ups. Monza is a whole different ball game. A long run into turn 1 leaves the options open for drivers bombing up the inside and causing havoc. Having good race craft in this situation will play key. You can’t win a race into turn 1 but you can definitely lose it.
Mastering the chicanes
Monza is a very easy track to go jumping over curbs in the supercar. There are multiple chicanes around this track that will penalise you massively with a slow down or an off track which will make you drive off pace if you start to rack to many up. Even if you get through these chicanes but are slightly off line this will punish you down the long straights. Making sure you get the car pulled up while using the right amount of curb is key to keep the flow and not letting the car behind gain anymore than what it already gets with its draft.
