Ryal Harris
SuperUtes front runner Ryal Harris believes the series has become a true Supercars feeder category now that it is V8 powered.
Harris won this year’s first round of today’s Haltech V8 SuperUte Series at The Bend, taking second place in the first two races and the second.
The category returned with every vehicle on the field now, after two years as a turbodiesel and a hiatus in 2020, with a Chevrolet LS3 engine, originally for the sake of developing the new specs.
Harris won the 2018 series and finished third in the 2019 season, the two that make up the Diesel era, in addition to the three titles he had won over a long period in the old V8 utes.
The Queenslander also has a bit of Super2 experience and says a V8 SuperUte is a very reflective of a supercar.
“It’s probably not everyone who realizes how similar they are,” Harris told Speedcafe.com.
“They’re like a watered-down supercar, except for the top-heavy aspect.
“But they move in heaps, they are difficult to drive; Cameron Crick and the other guys in the lead made tons of mistakes over the weekend. They are definitely hard to drive on the sidelines. “
Harris was largely positive about the SuperUtes, although mid-way through Diesel’s first season it was felt that they needed more power to win over fans.
He viewed them more as racing cars than the Commodore and the Falcon V8 Utes, which, also because of the brakes, came much closer to road specifications.
Dealing with data and the Haltech engine management system is also considered good training for those aiming for a supercars career.
“It fills a gap,” said Harris.
“At the state level there are of course Excel series, and if you want to take that leap and don’t have the budget to become Super2 …
“It’s a big leap from Excels to Super2 anyway. Kids do, but you need to have a lot of money and big days of testing so I think it will fill that void.
“When you’re on the Supercars calendar, you’re in front of all the teams, have good TV, and the series is doing well. I think it will definitely be a feeder category again, and more so than the old V8 Utes because they have more in common with a supercar.
“You have supercar brakes, MoTeC data, all of these things… The old V8 Utes were exactly opposite because they still had a booster in them – you had to have really sensitive brake pressure – but in the SuperUtes you had to step on the brakes pretty hard.
“There is a control pad above your head on the roll cage. It has the start controls, thermal fan, fuel pump, windshield wipers … it’s a really good system.
“My team said the Haltech guys were great to deal with and even if they learned all of these things, they are now a lot more like a supercar than people think.”
Peters Motorsport, who also uses Harris in the Gulf Western Oils Touring Car Masters, called relatively late to compete in SuperUtes again.
Harris also had high praise for the squad for winning the first two races at The Bend in a relatively comfortable manner.
“Most of the cars in the field have been tested for a few months and we only decided to do it four weeks ago,” he noted.
“Two and a half weeks ago my car was parked in a parking lot in Coomera at The Boat Works, so the team did a great job bringing it up to date.”
Opinion online was split, with some fans excited about the return of the V8, while others questioned the relevance of watching Mazdas, Mitsubishis, Toyotas, Fords, and even a Holden get around with Chevrolet engines under the hood .
Firmly anchored in the former warehouse, Harris rated the new package highly despite some teething problems with the suspension and gears that raised their heads at The Bend.
“I’ve always been ‘it’s all about entertainment,'” he said.
“I don’t worry about market relevance. People just forget that it’s all about racing.
“On the whole, [I] Definitely enjoyed driving them. They are a big improvement. “
Round 2 supports the Winton SuperSprint from May 29th to 30th.