The car will change but the “package” stays the same for Warrnambool driver Darren Mollenoyux as a new SRA series looms.
SPRINTCAR ace Darren Mollenoyux says racing in the United States is unlikely to give him an edge when he attempts to defend his SRA series crown.
The Warrnambool driver is in the midst of preparations for round one of the series, at Moama on November 3.
He will race at Avalon, Mount Gambier and Warrnambool before the month is out as the season kicks off with a loaded schedule.
Mollenoyux said he planned to complete the 12 rounds of the SRA series, as well as the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic in January and Victorian title in February.
He dismissed a notion that racing Pennsylvania Speedweek in early July would help him establish a series lead early in the campaign.
“Yes it was enjoyable. But I don’t know how much we’ll be able to bring back,” he said.
“We learnt a lot over there but everything is so different to what we do here. I don’t know how much of that will correspond.
“The tracks are a lot bigger (in the US), conditions are a lot drier and slick and just the way they go about it.
“Mainly it’s the difference in track sizes. The majority are half mile and here they’re quarter mile.”
Mollenoyux said he was rapt with his results debuting at Pennsylvania Speedweek.
He headed over on the urging of Parr Motorsports boss Adrian Parr, who owns the car Mollenoyux drives.
Parr imports sprintcar components from the US and “it was a matter of flying over there and putting it together and racing for a while and bringing it back”.
“We had two top-10 finishes, an eighth and a 10th. It’s a pretty tough field, tough competition,” Mollenoyux said.
“So we were happy with that. The ambition when we left was to make an A main. That would be an accomplishment.
“We did that five out of the nine nights. A couple of other nights we had a few dramas that kept us out of the A main.”
Mollenoyux claimed his first SRA series crown in 2011-12 after a consistent season which produced no A main wins but 11 top-10 finishes.
He said consistency would be pivotal if he was to replicate the feat, driving a new car with the same set-up.
“Last year we were unlucky not to win on a couple of occasions,” Mollenoyux said.
“I was a little more conservative on the points chase. I’m not sure what the plan of attack is (this year). It’s pretty much the same package. It’s a different car but the same package.”