Breathe in. Ahhhh…smell that? Yep, Supercars is back!
Today the Bulls headed 100km East of Adelaide to Tailem Bend for the official Supercars SuperTest, JDub’s bangerz in tow to get us through the trek down the highway.
Test day in the Supercars world is best described as the first day of school. There’s everything from new kids on the block to fresh new cars with liveries to match. Mix in 24 main game drivers (plus some) acting like pissed-off teenagers gunning for the fastest lap around The Bend and we have ourselves some action.
So what did the drivers think?
Jamie Whincup
“It was a really good day for us overall, really solid. The car felt reasonably different from the aero change and the shocks which slightly affected our balance, but that’s what today’s about, trying to get that balance back with the new changes.
“We got through our program with only one minor mishap, that being the power steering pump which put us back a little bit, but DC (David Cauchi, Race Engineer) was able to get us back up and running, so overall a productive day.
“We got as much as we wanted out of the day, we even got to test the new steering wheel which was nice. It’s the first time I’ve used the steering wheel since Sandown so was trying to get used to it again.”
Shane van Gisbergen
“The morning was the best time for me. The car felt good during this period and we were posting some really good lap times.
“It was good to get a feel for a V8 again after a pretty hectic off-season, but the crew have done a great job to get the car to where it was.
“Garth jumped in throughout the afternoon and felt comfortable which was good – he was punching out some pretty impressive lap times too. Tough conditions out there at times but we got what we came for and ready to roll onto Adelaide.”
Craig Lowndes
“It’s nice to be back in the car and familiarise myself again. The car has obviously changed from last year with the aero and the suspension changes and has created a bit more of a challenge. The car isn’t far away from where I remember it and where I think the drivers like it, so it’s put us in good stead for the season ahead.
“Both Jamie and Cauchi have a direction of where they want to take the car. The car has the flexibility to go in the direction they want to tune it to, it’s just a matter of getting some miles under our belt and getting our heads around the different aero package and shocks.”
Garth Tander
“It was a good day for me – good day to be in the car. It seems like my specific program we got through quite well, understanding a lot of the new technical regulations around the way the cars are designed now.
“There’s obviously been a lot of technical changes this year which the team seem to have done a fantastic job to understand before we even set out for our first lap. Running through the program, it’s where we expected and wanted to be.”
“I was pretty happy with my speed being pretty close to the times Shane & Jamie are doing so overall it was a good day. The information gathering and the way the car felt throughout the day was very encouraging for the future.”
