Quote:
Originally Posted by KA
Sheene and Hughes team did seem to have a tough year with the Supra in '85- a lot of DNFs, and as I remember, the race reports quite often described them struggling with handling problems and other troubles. Sheene's lack of touring car experience couldn't have helped at times, but wasn't the only problem...
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I just mentioned this in the '85 thread before looking here!
Quote:
Originally Posted by William Dale Jr
Sheene always said that the new car built up after the Thruxton crash simply wasn't as well sorted as the other car. Win Percy had done a fantastic job developing the car the previous year and it was very well set up by the time Sheene stepped into it for 1985. The new car didn't have the benefit of Win's experience, and it showed in the results.
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I think you're spot on about Sheene's lack of experience on four wheels. Once the original car was totalled, it would have been hard for Barry to develop the car as he simply didn't have the experience to know what needed to be changed, or perhaps even what he needed from the car to be fast.
Also, about Sheene's Sierra crash, there are a couple of things to note. Firstly, it was icy-cold (it was at Winton in the middle of June for crying out loud!) and a bit damp, very tricky conditions to drive any car, nevermind for your first time in the fire-breathing RS500 Sierra. Secondly, the driver that was chosen - Mark Larkham, then battling Russell Ingall for the local Formula Ford championship - crashed the other Mobil car in his next test at Oran Park!