Cooper Murray – Car #888
“Today has been great. We’ve been getting through our program and I’ve been getting used to driving the Gen3 Camaro around. There hasn’t been much of a difference compared to what I thought there would be – I got used to the car in the first couple of sessions which was really good. I got a couple of green tyre runs, some pit stop practices and some race runs under my belt, so I’m feeling really good before Darwin. It was my first time doing pit stops today and they were surprisingly easier than I thought. I’m learning to stop on the marks and hit the pit board which is a steep learning curve, but I’m so glad I’ve got that under my belt before Darwin. Lowndesy has been a big help today, I’m sure he’d want more laps but unfortunately for him I’m hogging them all! It’s been great to work with him and compare data which will only help us improve before enduro season.”
Craig Lowndes – Car #888
“The day’s been really positive. There were a lot of things we wanted to achieve today which we did. For me to get back into the car and get used to what the new Gen3 cars are all about was really important. They’ve obviously had a bit of a face lift since last year which was a really positive outcome. For Cooper, in Super2 they obviously don’t do a lot of pit stop practice, so we did a lot of work in that area so he could get used to going in-and-out of the pit bay. He’s been doing some race starts, getting some longer runs under his belt and a few tyre saving strategies which he’ll continue to learn at his first solo race in Darwin, which are very important when we get to Sandown and Bathurst. It’s also the first time Cooper has worked with Wes (McDougall, Race Engineer) which is important because that combination is going to have to be strong. Cooper knows this is a step up from Super2, and he’s embraced it. He’s very focused and confident on what he wants to do, and I’m really delighted he’s come on board this year and I’m feeling very confident going into Sandown & Bathurst.”
