Mebourne Supercars: Andre Heimgartner faces challenge in qualifying

Andre Heimgartner has yet to crack the top 10 in Melbourne this year. Photo / Photosport

Andre Heimgartner is looking for serious improvement over the second half of the Melbourne round of Supercars and qualifying looks the best place to start.

The 28-year-old finished 18th in Thursday’s race and 14th on Friday. There are further races on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

Qualifying is becoming more important every year in Supercars, with just a single second sometimes all that separates the pole sitter from 15th on the grid.

And this weekend, qualifying is even more important, as the races on the Formula One support programme are so short: 19 laps on Thursday and Friday, and 14 laps on Saturday and Sunday. There is little time to make up places during the race.

“Our car in race trim is one of the quickest in the field, but it was qualifying, especially at the end of last year, that we struggled,” Heimgartner said. “We’ll have to chip away at it this year and improve.

“It’s hard to pass at tracks like this and there are no pit stops, making qualifying really important, and you can’t afford any mistakes. Qualifying will make or break your races this weekend.”

Broc Feeney took out the Thursday race, with overall leader Will Brown winning on Friday. Matthew Payne was the best of the Kiwis, finishing third in both races.

With Shane van Gisbergen’s departure to Nascar in 2024, Heimgartner has taken on the mantle of the senior New Zealander in Supercars. He is in his 10th season in the category and is relishing the idea of being the leading light for his compatriots.

“It’s crazy being the senior Kiwi driver, isn’t it? It’s cool that he [van Gisbergen] is doing that [racing Nascar] and now I can finally step out of his and Scotty’s [McLaughlin] shadow.

“I feel a bit like the elder statesman [among the Kiwis] in the series now and it’s great to see so many young, fast Kiwis coming into the series.”

Heimgartner had one of his best seasons in 2023, grabbing a pole position and six podiums on the way to placing sixth overall. After the opening two-race round at Bathurst four weeks ago and the two Melbourne races, he is 16th overall.

“The opening round was okay for us. We struggled a bit with trying some new stuff and it didn’t really work. We’ve had some good time between rounds and we’re now heading in the right direction.

“Having the opening round of the season at Bathurst was a bit ordinary and I don’t think many people liked it. It was good to go racing again but Bathurst was a big ask.”

Setting up a car for Mount Panorama is a bit of a one-off due to the unique nature of the track.

Heading to Albert Park is another challenge, as the circuit is a hybrid of normal streets, with a much smoother surface than normally found on public roads.

“Here [Melbourne] was a strong track for us last year and we’ve gained a bit of confidence and hope it all goes well.

“But as we’re well aware, plans and motorsport don’t often go how you want. You go to every round thinking you’re ready and you’ve got everything sorted, and sometimes it doesn’t work out that way.”