"Other than those two, Tom [Alexander] will also be quick. The more experience he gets in a SuperTourer the better he'll be."
Evans has been so busy since his last race in November that he's had no time to do any testing. The plan this weekend is to roll the car out of the truck and turn a few practice laps to see how things shake out.
It will not be a complete roll of the dice. The Smeg racing team do have some empirical data from the last time they raced at the Taupo track. Using that as a base it shouldn't take too long for the engineers and mechanics to get the car into a window that will allow them to fine-tune it for qualifying and the races.
"We've done nothing to the car since Pukekohe. In fact, I haven't even seen it since then. I've been busy at work and Dad [Owen] had been busy helping organise the Legends of Speed event.
"Obviously we raced here last year so we have some baseline information we can start with. The weather might play a part in proceedings as will the twilight race as the track and ambient temperatures will be lower," said Evans.
With the likes of former champion Bargwanna and others struggling at the opening event, it opened the door for young Tom Alexander to grab second place in the championship just ahead of Lance Hughes.
Driving the ex-Andre Heimgartner Holden, Alexander is pleased with his opening gambit having stepped up from a category two car. However, he is mindful that was only the first round and there's a lot of racing to go yet. His and the team's main concern heading to the tight, technical North Island track, is they may be lacking pace to take advantage of the long straight before the complex corners leading on to the front straight.
"The first round at Pukekohe was a learning curve for myself and the whole team but we were happy with second overall and a solid haul of points to kick off the season," Alexander said.
Evans, on the other hand, has a solid points haul to use as a launch pad and is keen to see how racing at twilight will affect things. He likes the track and, if the car's right, he'll do all right.
"I like the track in general. It is technical and quite hard to pass on especially in these big old V8s. I actually don't mind it.
"It'll reward you if you get your lines right and and, if the car is set up right with the correct balance, everything just flows. I enjoy driving there; it's fun busy little circuit to race on," said Evans.
Bargwanna will have his work cut over the weekend as he will be swapping his Ford powerplant for a Toyota one, so will be starting the day on the back foot. Also hoping to make a better fist of things this time around will be Sam Barry who showed pace at Pukekohe. He should go well at Taupo having tested there in the off season.
NZ V8 points
After round one
1. Simon Evans 225
2. Tom Alexander 175
3. Lance Hughes 159
4. Sam Barry 127
5. Brock Cooley 109
6. Nick Ross 67
7. Jason Bargwanna 49
8. John Midgley 42
