Motorsport: Drivers gear up for Gold Coast grind

After a nail-biting finish at Bathurst a couple of weekends ago, the Australian V8 Supercar drivers hit the streets on the Gold Coast for the Nikon SuperGP for this weekend's 11th round of the series.

With the implosion of the A1GP Worldcup of Motorsport and subsequent no-show of the A1 cars, the big taxis are now headlining the event.

Fans will get to see four 150km races this year as the organisers try and ramp up the excitement due to the demise of the open wheelers.

The street circuit is notorious for being hard on cars' body work and brakes and the concrete walls surrounding the track loom large at all times waiting for the smallest of mistakes.

"The thing here is it's hot, the track is relentless and you're brushing walls every corner and you've got to be so accurate with the car," said Kiwi driver Jason Richards hot off his second place at Bathurst.

"The extra confidence we have as a team going into this weekend after another second at Bathurst can quite often make the difference.

"I'm really pumped about this weekend as you know I've already got a surfboard [given to podium finishers] from here a couple of years back."

Two races split into two 150km parts means the V8s will cover a total distance of 600km - much more than normal for a perceived sprint weekend.

Qualifying will be the key as there are not many places to pass.

Even if drivers manage to put their car at the sharp end of the grid, the added wear and tear on the cars and engines may cause a few well thought out plans to come unstuck.

"These races are going to make the hardest V8 Supercar weekend we've ever had," said Richards. The track's similar to Hamilton where the apexes are really important and if you mess them up you're in the wall.

"Twenty four laps used to be hard so having to do two 37-lap races a day is going to be a killer. By the end of Sunday we're going to be exhausted."

Just 93 points separate series leader Team Vodafone's Jamie Whincup from Hart's Will Davison with Garth Tander closing in third after his win at Bathurst.

POINTS

1. Jamie Whincup: 2476
2. Will Davison: 2383
3. Garth Tander: 2038
4. Craig Lowndes: 1947
5. Steven Johnson: 1656
6. Mark Winterbottom: 1574
7. Lee Holdsworth: 1568
8. Rick Kelly: 1516