Eager youngsters from Penguin’s North West Christian School were at Symmons Plains on Friday to check out all the action on the first day of the Tasmania Supersprint SuperCars Championships.
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After taking in the sights around the track and checking out the cars, pupils had the opportunity to get involved with a junior press conference featuring some of Australia’s best drivers.
Australian drivers David Reynolds and James Courtney and Swiss driver Simona De Silvestro impressed the pupils with their racing knowledge and skills.
One pupil asked the three drivers how they first got involved with racing.
Each said they starting out with go-karting when they were children.
“You learn most of your race craft by racing go-karts,” she said.
Another question asked was what skills made a good driver.
“Be a good liar,” Courtney joked.
“You have to understand how the cars work,” De Silvestro said.
“You have to have a good reaction time.”
Resilience was another quality the drivers needed, as inside the car could get up to 60 degrees.
“It’s quite unpleasant, so you’ve really got to train for that,” Courtney said.
Another pupil asked what it was like travelling for work.
“You get to go to cool places and meet new people,” Reynolds said.
“Sometimes it’s quite hard to see the places … but we try to take it in and experience things,” De Silvestro said.
“You get to meet a lot of people and experience a lot of cultures,” Courtney said.
During the championship Reynolds drove the No. 9 Holden ZB Commodore for Erebus Motorsport, Courtney drove the No. 25 Holden ZB Commodore for Walkinshaw Andretti United, and De Silvestro drove for Nissan Motorsport in the No. 78 Nissan Altima L33.
The event is taking place at Symmons Plains for the 46th time in 2018.
On Friday, practice rounds took place prior to a new qualifying system set to begin on Saturday.
Sitting in the top three positions after second practice were Holden supercar drivers Jamie Whincup, David Reynolds, and Craig Lowndes.
Saturday and Sunday will see qualifying rounds and then races take place.
To purchase tickets for April 7 or 8, head online to www.supercars.com.