ABDC 2018: Track Testing

Power Rules

The day the field assembles for the track test is always a pivotal part of Australia’s Best Driver’s Car.

There is nowhere to hide. This is the day when our Bathurst-winning pro Luke Youlden extracts the maximum – and more – from the ABDC field.

But in 2018 there are some changes of significance to note.

Firstly, the venue. Instead of the Baskerville bullring, the field has filed into pitlane at Winton Motor Raceway in north-east Victoria.

Built in 1960, the venue was extended to 3.0km in 1997 and it’s this longer ‘national circuit’ upon which Youlden will test the ABDC contenders.

You couldn’t come up with two circuits more different than Winton and Baskerville. The former is flat as a tack, tight and technical. The Tassie circuit is undulating with crests and off-cambers and undoubtedly more spectacular.

So, that’s one important difference in 2018. The other? The make-up of the field.

With the demise of the Australian car manufacturing industry there’s not one locally-built vehicle flying the flag, a sad sequel to the HSV GTSR W1’s glorious first and last triumph at the track and overall for the locals last year.

And almost as significant… no Porsches. No front, mid- or rear-engined Weissach weaponry made the grid. That’s a big deal considering Porsche won ABDC outright in 2015 with the Cayman GTS and was fastest at the track in 2016 with the 911 Carrera S.

So those are the obvious misses, but there’s still plenty of variety here to attract attention and debate, everything from a $239,610 Mercedes-AMG E 63 S 4MATIC+ to a $25,490 Suzuki Swift Sport.

There are seven rear-wheel drives, mixed between two very different two-door V8s (Lexus LC 500 and Ford Mustang), two turbocharged V6s (Alfa Romeo Giulia QV and Kia Stinger 330Si), one nat-atmo V6 (Nissan 370Z NISMO), an inline four-cylinder (Mazda MX-5 RF LE) and a boxer four-cylinder (Subaru BRZ tS).

There are three all-wheel drives; two of them turbocharged V8s (BMW M5, Mercedes-AMG E 63 S) and one a turbocharged V6 (Audi RS 5).

The rest are front-wheel drives, all of them four-cylinders, three of them turbocharged (Honda Civic Type R, Hyundai i30N, Renault Clio RS Cup) and one doing it the natural way (Suzuki Swift Sport).

So, basic rules? As in past years, each car was tested with driver only, a full fuel tank, traction/stability control off and maximum pressures according to its tyre placard. A Qstarz 6000S GPS lap timer provided the key on-track data.

Speaking of tyres; Bridgestone, Continental, Dunlop, Michelin and Pirelli were all represented. Conti had the most cars with five. But no sign of super-sticky R-spec rubber on any car.

Finally, the weather’s nice and in the mid-20s, so it’s time to hit the tar.

>>Get all the 2018 Australia's Best Driver's Car results here

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Down to business

Our alphabetic running order means the first car out on track is the Giulia QV, the same car that was withdrawn from ABDC in ignominious circumstances in 2017.

This one looks and sounds the goods, barking hard and going fast. We know what a good time looks like here at Winton and a 1:35.231 fits the bill. It’s redemption time.

“I feel we have started on a pretty high note. It’s going to be a tough car to beat I reckon. It’s fast,” says Luke. “It’s got plenty of power, good grip and good turn-in. It’s a contender.

“I just wish the gearshift paddles moved with the steering wheel and were not fixed to the column.”

Next up it’s the Audi RS 5. Perhaps putting the R8 to one side (not everyone agrees with that contention), this is our favourite hot Audi, the best balanced of the entire family. It looks fast and sleek and so its 1:36.207 proves.

“It’s fast alright. That time will surprise a few people,” Luke remarks. “It has a slight understeer tendency to it, but it’s really well balanced and because it’s all-wheel drive you can mash it out of the corners.”

“The engine is the most impressive thing. It’s got so much torque, I am in third gear in all the tight stuff.”

Now another German heavyweight, the new BMW M5 with 441kW, 750Nm, aggressive rear-oriented all-paw grip and a hefty kerb weight.

It looks conservative, yet has awesome performance. There’s a contradiction here which shows up more in the feeling behind the steering wheel than in the potent 1:35.313 time.

“It’s obviously got a really strong engine,” confirms Luke. “It’s how I expected an M5 to be, it’s actually quite edgy and a bit nervous. It’s tricky to drive because it’s quite loose on the entry.

“It’s how a pro would want it rather than an amateur. I didn’t think it would be that fast. It feels big, heavy, dynamic and hard work!”

And now for something completely different, the outgoing Ford Mustang GT pumped up with Performance Pack 2, which essentially comprises a sportier suspension tune including Pirelli P Zeros.

It sounds great, blatting 5.0-litre V8 raspberries to the empty spectator mounds, giving us just a taste of what Supercars fans will see in 2019.

The result is a 1:38.496, but Luke is happier than that time suggests.

“Probably the surprise package for me so far,” he enthuses. “It’s got really good turn-in, it’s really responsive in the front and has really good traction too. It just handles well.

“The only thing that lets it down for a lap time is straight-line performance. And being a manual car as well, gear changes take time.”

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Front-drive demons

Now it’s time for the Honda Civic Type R. We’ve tested it here before and we know what to expect, but Luke’s 1:38.154 is still a shock. That’s more than one second faster than the time he set here last year.

The Type R is a front-wheel drive hot hatch taken to a new high.

“This is a super-impressive car,” Luke raves. “For a front-wheel drive car it is unbelievable. It turns and it holds its line mid-corner, which is very unusual for a front-drive car.

“It has a free-revving engine and it’s an angry car, but it’s just so docile as well. It’s fast, fun and its rewritten the rules for a front-wheel drive chassis.”

If the Type R wasn’t here then the Hyundai i30 N’s 1:40.807 would have looked stunning. Instead, it’s merely very good.

“It’s really balanced, it really handles well,” remarks Luke. “It feels like it should be faster than that, to be honest.

“But it is a great little package and it could definitely cope with more power.”

Now it’s time for the Kia Stinger 330Si, the hope of all those Holden fans denied a rear-wheel drive sports sedan future by the end of local Commodore manufacturing. It rocks, rolls and slides its way to a 1:39.961.

“It doesn’t disappoint in that regard,” declares Luke. “It’s good, it fun. It’s very loose; you can make it oversteer at will. It’s a good mixture of power and grip and it is what I expected it would be -- a good driver’s car.”

The variety of ABDC is underscored when the Lexus LC 500 rolls to the starting line -- a Japanese rear-wheel drive V8 coupe with a body cut like a Samurai sword.

Yet when Luke roars away it sounds like a NASCAR. He stops on circuit a couple of times, stabbing at buttons to eradicate traction control.

With its rear tyres no longer fettered, the beautiful $190,000 coupe records a best of 1:38.128 – just 0.026sec faster than the $52K Civic and 0.368sec faster than the $66K Mustang.

“You have to be very smooth with it; smooth with the steering inputs, smooth with the throttle inputs. It just seems to want to take over from you too much,” says a frustrated Luke.

“It’s good, it just feels like it’s trying to dumb the experience down too much for you. It needs to let the driver have more input.”

The Mazda MX-5 is next, buzzing and sliding around the circuit. Urged on by some fans on pitlane (Matt, Randy), it sets a 1:43.938.

“It’s really soft in the back,” says Luke. “As soon as you turn the wheel it rolls the back into oversteer. It can be the loosest car in the world if you want it to be. I don’t understand why it has to be like this.”

Then he adds with a grin and chuckle: “It’s fun because it’s loose!”

From buzzing to rumble as the AMG rolls onto the course. Instantly, there’s an expectation underscored by the sheer thunderous sound of the 4.0-litre turbocharged V8 in full cry.

Not only does it sound fast, it looks visibly faster than anything else in a straight line. Its 1:33.122 time confirms the aural and visual. It’s more than two seconds faster than the Alfa.

“It’s ridiculously fast in a straight-line,” Luke reports. “But it feels its weight in the mid-corner phase and I thought that would kill it. But the stopwatch doesn’t lie.”

The Nissan 370Z NISMO is an anti-climax after that drama, positing a 1:38.40. We’d hoped for – but not expected – better.

“It gives you the impression it’s faster than what it is, but it’s quite a good driver’s car and that’s what we are here for,” says Luke.

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The pointy end

We’re getting to the end of our list and it’s very much a battle to avoid the timing wooden spoon.

The Renault Clio RS puts itself into the firing line with a 1:45.39. Luke’s not that impressed: “Great engine, but the chassis is lacking a bit.”

The BRZ tS is a great handler with little grunt, but it still posts a 1:42.992: “Great chassis, great balance, great handling, no motor at all … it could be phenomenal if it had any power.”

It comes down to the Suzuki Swift Sport. Luke puts the hammer down and nails a 1:44.732 time.

“If the BRZ is looking for an engine this thing is looking for a chassis,” he says.

“The engine is really good. It’s got heaps of torque so you can use third gear in the tight corers. But it just can’t put it to the ground from the mid-corner to the exit; wheelspin and understeer.”

So, as the brake dust settles at the end of a hard day’s lapping, it’s the AMG first and daylight second. Power has ruled the day. But will it rule the week?

ABDC Winton Motor Raceway track times: