Six events in and it’s already been a rollercoaster ride for David, taking in a win, four podiums and challenging for Championship contention.
So, with enough time between rounds to reflect on the season so far, we catch up with the Mountain Goat…
How is life being David Reynolds right now?
DR: I’ve been busy. The PR department has been working me hard. I’ve got a little while to do nothing now and relax before Darwin. Believe it or not I went for a run the other day, I had nothing else to do that day so I thought I might give training a go again.
It’s been a more positive start to a Championship than you’ve had in a long time. What do you think is the biggest contributor?
DR: The biggest contributor to good results is a fast car. We brought Al on at Bathurst 2016, so every track for the first twelve months we were still learning but now we’re on his second time around. Our base set up is pretty good now, we roll out most the time with a decent base set up and can just tune around that. If you look at our results from Sandown last year, we had the fastest qualifying car, then we won Bathurst and its been a knock on since then.
Let’s look back at the Australian Grand Prix. Did you expect to have a win this early in the season?
DR: In hindsight, I had a chance to win at Newcastle and I should have won at Adelaide. The win at Grand Prix was a result of everything working together, we qualified well, were on the front row, got a good start and was able to hold onto it. So I’m actually disappointed because I expect to win and do well, and when you’ve been in with a chance to win and don’t, it’s depressing.
You’ve still managed a further three podiums. Is there a different vibe about this season for you?
DR: Yeah, we’re out there to win. Fast cars win races, but good teams win championships. We’re still a young team and have a while to go but we’re continually learning. There’s so much that contributes to that, and it’s getting everything right.
Darwin is coming up, it’s one of your favourite tracks. What are your memories of it?
DR: I’ve got a good track record there. I love the track; good layout, nice grip and it’s not a particularly hard track to drive. The atmosphere is fantastic too so I really like racing there.
You’ve said before this is the time where you usually wake up. Can we expect you to truly fire up then?
DR: I’m already fired up. I don’t know why but I’ve never had the right equipment in the early stages of the year and I’ve had that now, that’s the difference. I always do well at Darwin and Townsville so I say that’s when my championship starts, but it started at Adelaide this year.
What will be the biggest positive?
DR: Consistent performance. We’ve had good cars nearly everywhere we go; besides Winton we’ve always been in with a shot to win it. It’s been a fantastic year.
What’s one thing you will do this season you’ve never done before?
DR: Take time and teach my teammate, not that he needs my help. It’s always different having a young kid in the team but he’s been very good to us. Without his help we wouldn’t have gone well at Phillip Island or Perth.
Describe 2018 in one word?
DR: It’s been fun. That’s three, sorry.