McNally seeking hometown success at Barbagallo

Stratco Racing’s Rhys McNally is hoping to return to the front of the Australian V8 Ute Racing Series field as the category makes its comeback from a two month break since the opening event at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide, with Rhys looking to make the most of a home track advantage at the tight and technical Barbagallo circuit. 

Rhys spent much of his early racing years at Barbagallo through Formula Ford especially and this experience in addition to much of his support being based in Western Australia, he is looking towards stepping back onto the podium with the ultimate goal of snaring an elusive round win. 

“I’m excited to get back to race in Perth, it will be a great atmosphere to be in front of my home crowd and a lot of my sponsors who are Perth based. Barbagallo was a track I spent a lot of time at in my junior racing so I know it very well and I’m hoping to use this experience to help me be at the front from the outset on Friday,” McNally said. 

With very little separating many of the front runners at the Clipsal 500, Barbagallo again presents an opportunity for drivers with supreme determination and focus on pinpointing a fast setup to secure the best results for the event. Despite the extended break since round one, McNally is confident he will be able to jump back in the seat and be on the pace from the outset. 

“It’s a very competitive Championship this year and there is very little separating everyone’s lap times and race performances. I’ve been working hard with my team, Sieders Racing, in securing a good setup for this weekend and I feel very confident in them helping us get to the top of the field,” McNally added. 

A recent test at Sydney Motorsport Park with Sieders Racing has helped him work on the critical setups required for outright pace at Barbagallo. With an all-important qualifying session on Friday, McNally admits a high position in the 30 minute session will be integral to overall success for the weekend. 

“I feel we performed quite well in Adelaide at round one and I’m hoping to replicate this and improve further for this weekend. Our test in Sydney in between events gave us an idea of areas we have to work on which I feel has improved my driving further and it now becomes a matter of putting our focus into practice and qualifying on Friday,” McNally concluded. 

Round two of the 2014 Australian V8 Ute Racing Series protected by Hawkei takes place at the Perth 400, Barbagallo, WA from May 16-18.