Joshua Duerksen eyeing up another Melbourne victory

New arrival at Invicta Racing Joshua Duerksen is aiming to go back-to-back in Melbourne and open his account with his new team at the first time of asking.

The Paraguayan driver won the 2025 Sprint Race around Albert Park in what turned out to be the sole race of the weekend due to torrential rain on Sunday leading to the cancellation of the Feature event.

One year on, he is optimistic about his chances of earning another victory Down Under, and asked what it takes to achieve success around the street circuit, he put it down to being in the zone with driving style.

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“It's a very unique track, it's like half street circuit, half normal racetrack. And you have to be in the flow, really connecting with the track and have a good feel.

“I think that helped me last year to win the race. Australia is a track which is not that abrasive on the tyres, so the tyres last a lot longer, which means we have for a lot more laps more consistent grip.

“That means you can try more stuff towards the end of the races. You can have a more direct comparison between stuff you tried which did work, which didn't work, and it just gives you a much clearer picture of how you should be driving around here.

“I think what it takes is just to drive smoothly around here and just to get connected to the track as quickly as possible.”

Duerksen arrives at Invicta and into the new campaign after earning victory in the final Feature Race of last season too.

He believes that there’s no reason why he can’t carry that good form on into the new campaign.

However, he recognises that despite changing teams and joining the reigning Teams’ Champions, he has a lot to learn still in what is a new environment for him.

“The end of the last season was really, really good. We had very good results, but my approach is the same with Invicta.

“They are of course a Championship-winning team. But my approach is the same. I still have a lot to learn.

“I still want to improve. I still want to work as if it were my first day. Just being in a top team doesn't guarantee me anything at all. I still need to drive well, I still need to maximise what the car can do. I mean, at the end of the day, all of the teams are very strong.

“It's the little details that make the difference. So, with Invicta, I will work as if it were my first day with the team.

“Last year it went really well here and I won the first race of the weekend. This time I’m hoping to win the second, I'm quite sure I can do it this year.”