Ray Hislop has credited a beneficial testing session as key to his Kumho V8 Touring Car Series success after claiming his first round win of the season at Queensland Raceway.
The Victorian took his RHM/Nulon-backed Ford Falcon FG to two podiums and a race win across the weekend – taking round honours ahead of Notlaw Racing’s Jamie Tilley and series leader Jude Bargwanna.
While he was not behind the wheel of the Falcon for a number of months after missing the previous round at Winton, Hislop and his team opted to spend some valuable time at the newly revamped Ipswich circuit a week prior to the third round of the season.
In doing so, the 59-year-old was able to adapt to the behaviours of the car around the three-kilometre circuit and manage the setup before taking the track for practice on Friday.
“I am thrilled with how the weekend turned out, it wasn’t my expectation to come away with the round win, so I am very pleased with the outcome,” Hislop said.
“We were fortunate enough to run the weekend before at QR on the same setup specifications, allowing us to fiddle with the car and get the setup right beforehand.
“By Friday morning we were in a window where we thought the car was good, and it paid dividends because normally the last race on Sunday is when we get the car where we want it to be. It gave me lots of confidence, it’s easy to drive a well setup car.”
After qualifying in third on Saturday, Hislop took advantage of a poor start from the polesitter Bargwanna to fight Tilley for the lead in race one.
Whilst he was unable to catch the New South Welshman, Hislop noticed the pace advantage he had during the latter stages of the race.
“It was the first race when I realised I was competitive, to be able to come through and catch the faster cars was surprising, especially when Jude wasn’t able to pull away like he usually does, I thought wow, I’m actually going alright for an old bloke,” Hislop added.
“It all comes down to car setup, In every category I have ever driven in we have tried to set the car up for racing, not for qualifying.
“We set up so we know the car wouldn’t be fast early, but as the race got older, we would start to come to our best. While the rest of the grid is starting to die off, we are just starting to speed up.”
Fortunately, Hislop was able to convert a second-place finish to his first race win of the season later in the afternoon, setting up an intriguing battle for round honours on Sunday.
A chaotic final race saw Tilley victorious, looking all but certain to take the round win before Hislop, who was running in fourth, took advantage of issues from both Bargwanna and Jim Pollicina to move up into second on the final lap – amassing enough points to claim the round win.
“That last race I was trying to stay with the frontrunners for as long as I could, then at turn one my cool suit system sprayed fluid into the side of my face and it caused me to run off, thankfully I was able to drive out of the kitty litter and continue on,” Hislop explained.
“It was unlucky for all those guys in front, but when all the cards start falling your way, you will happily take them.”
Looking ahead to the fourth round of the season at Sandown, Hislop has a newfound confidence that he believes can be converted into another good result.
“Who knows how Sandown will go, it comes down to confidence, but I feel so much better as of now,” Hislop said.
“I’ve raced there already in this car, so I’m familiar with the track. But again, it will come down to car setup.
“From what we have learnt these last two weekends I’m a lot more confident we will have the car in the whereabouts of where it needs to be.”
Ray Hislop and the Kumho V8 Touring Car Series will return next month at Sandown International Raceway on 8-10 September.
