AS much as David Reynolds is eyeing a run at finals this year, he remains adamant that winning the championship is not the biggest prize in Supercars.
Rather, Reynolds is in the camp that values the Bathurst 1000 above all else.
The championship versus Bathurst 1000 debate is often divisive; Broc Feeney for example is known to sit on the other side of the fence in coveting the overall season title first and foremost.
Reynolds wound up 13th in the points last year after an early-season struggle before finding form and finishing Great Race runner-up (with Lee Holdsworth) to Matt Payne/Garth Tander.
Entering this weekend’s Darwin Triple Crown, he is 15th and 226 points below the finals cut line, meaning it’s time to get cracking if he’s to stay alive.
The Indigenous Round colours which Reynolds and his Snowy River Camaro will be dressed in for Darwin. Pic: Supplied
“You want to be good for the team. You want to have a good strong team, both in the 10 come finals and have a shot at the whole thing,” the 40-year-old told V8 Sleuth.
“Obviously the tracks at the end of the year I love and the sport loves and they put on a good show. You just want to be in with a shot.”
The backdoor route to a finals ticket is automatic entry via winning the Enduro Cup (i.e. most points across The Bend 500/Bathurst 1000, rewarded with a playoffs berth regardless of position in the overall standings).
But Reynolds doesn’t want to be backed into a corner come race day at Mount Panorama.
“You want to go to Bathurst and not care about the rest of the year,” he explained.
“Everyone always says, ‘what would you rather win: the championship or Bathurst?’ I always say Bathurst, because that means more to us than the championship.
“That’s just my own personal opinion.”
MORE: The timely pep in Reynolds’ step
Reynolds won the Bathurst 1000 in 2017 for Erebus Motorsport and was runner-up for Ford Performance Racing in 2012.
He will pair up with James Courtney for this year’s enduros, with Holdsworth switching to Anton De Pasquale’s side of the garage.
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