Roger Penske: We need to win a Supercars race

The team enjoyed a strong start to the 2016 season – its first as a two-car operation – with a pair of poles in Adelaide. The last few rounds, however, have seem a slump in form, both outgoing driver Scott Pye and big-name signing Fabian Coulthard struggling for results.

While the team has dropped off from the likes of Triple Eight and Prodrive Racing, head honcho Roger Penske says he is still impressed with the progress the team has made over the last 12 months – although he admits notching up a first win is becoming somewhat of a priority.

“I’d say we’ve made a lot of progress, new people trying to establish our capability in a branch of the sport where you can’t test,” Penske told Motorsport.com.

“So it’s been a little difficult. We started strong and we’ve had some success. Unfortunately we’ve had some technical issues and made some strategic calls that might have hurt us.

“I think the real test will be how we run the rest of the year. Then we’ll have a better feel for how we move forward. I know we’re better than a year ago but we need to win a race.

“We’ve been on the podium a couple of times which has certainly shown we’re better than where we were in the past. And the decision was made to have Scott McLaughlin come with us next year and that will start to build the team even further.”

Excited for first Bathurst

Penske is set to make his first trip to Mount Panorama this year, with plans to attend The Great Race in person. And he says it was Team Penske’s President Tim Cindric’s enthusiasm that inspired him to book the trip Down Under.

“Well, I’ve only seen it on TV but I’ve never had Tim more excited and telling me about one particular race and place I had to go,” Penske added.

“So yes, we’re excited. We have two good drivers, hopefully the cars will perform, and we’re fully committed to the series as we go forward in 2017.”

Interview by David Malsher