Albury Privateer Set for Dunlop Series at Winton

Brad Jones Racing is not the only Albury-based team competing in the Winton V8 SuperSprint, 15-17 May.Matthew Chahda’s privateer operation, also based on the border of New South Wales and Victoria, will tackle the Dunlop V8 Supercar Series support races in what is set to be the 21-year-old’s biggest ever race meeting at Winton.He may still be young, but Chahda’s motorsport career has been diverse; he has raced in Formula Ford, the V8 Utes Series and the Kumho V8 Touring Car Series. He has also co-driven with his father, Amin Chahda, in the popular Winton 300 endurance race, leading the 2013 event for a number of laps.Despite his racing experience, the leap into the cut-throat competition of the Dunlop Series has been a torrid affair for Chahda; he debuted at the Clipsal 500 in an R-Sport Commodore and managed respectable finishes in both races, but a shock absorber failure in Round 2 at Perth prevented him from turning any race laps during the weekend.Chahda has changed tack for Winton, parting company with R-Sport and acquiring the Ford FG Falcon that won the 2012 Dunlop Series in the hands of Scott McLaughlin. The car will be prepared in the Chahdas’ Albury workshop.“The Dunlop Series has been a massive step up in pace compared to the Kumho Series,” Chahda said.“There are top-notch drivers like Paul Dumbrell, Cameron Waters and Chris Pither who are all really fast, and in the mid-field there is lots of door-to-door racing and jockeying for position; it’s the most intense racing I’ve done since the Utes.“The first two rounds with R-Sport were tough, but we’re hoping the new car will be an improvement and at least with preparing the car ourselves, we’re in control of all the work that goes into it.”Winton may be Chahda’s most familiar circuit, but he says it’s also one of the most difficult.“It’s a tricky track because there are so many different types of corners and direction changes,” Chahda said.“It really separates the good drivers from the bad, and it generally produces close racing.“I’m not expecting anything too spectacular this weekend because it will be my first time racing the new car and understanding how it works, so I would be pretty happy to finish in the top 15.”The Dunlop Series will consist of three 18-lap races over the Winton SuperSprint weekend.