TB: Team Brock put to the test - finally
1/9/2003 21:22 (Press Release) -
Betta Electrical Team Brock has today run its first test day since the start of the 2003 V8 Supercars season, after a limited test log comprising two test days was granted last week by the sport’s ruling body, TEGA.
Testing in sunny conditions at Winton Raceway were Team Brock’s two regular drivers, Jason Bright and Paul Weel, along with hired enduro drivers Greg Ritter and Marcus Marshall.
Bright and Weel, who will share Bright’s #50 car in the Sandown 500 and the Bathurst 1000, completed about 100 laps between them as the team worked to set the car up to accommodate both drivers. Ritter and Marshall each drove about 35 laps (100km) in their first hit-out in Weel’s #16 VX Commodore.
Bright, currently second in the V8 championship, was qualified in his praise for the decision to allow Team Brock to test after several months of waiting.
“It’s good that we’ve been able to test prior to Sandown, but to put it in perspective, it’s only one day,” he said. “With four blokes here and two cars, there’s only so much we’re going to be able to achieve. But any testing is better than what we’ve had, so we’ll take it.
“It’s been a joke that we haven’t been able to test until now, and the fact that we’ve been able to run close to the front of the field has been a tribute to the skill of the guys.”
Pit crew manager John Panozzo said it had been a full day with plenty to achieve. “Maybe half the day was spent on working through a list of things, changes we’ve tried at race meetings but not had conclusive answers to, and the other half was making sure our cars are set-up for the four guys and getting a few miles under the belts of Marcus and Greg,” he said.
Marshall, currently running second in the Carrera Cup driving GT3 Porsche, said the additional acceleration and different aerodynamics of a V8 Supercar required a revised driving style.
“The Porsche is more a road-going car, so I have to change my style a bit,” he said. “I’m nervous, for sure, but I’m pretty pleased to be going into the main game. In Carrera Cup there’s five or six guys on the pace, in Supercars there’s 20 or 30 with a few tenths [of a second] of one another, so it’s going to be a big step for me but one I hope will lead to doors opening.”
Ritter drove a BA Falcon for the Ford-based 00 Motorsport team until it folded earlier this year, and is a unique position to compare it directly to the #16 VX Commodore he drove today. “It’s a bit different to what I’m used to, but it’s not chalk and cheese,” he said.
“Some of the components are different to the BA, the brakes are a bit different but I think I’ll get on the pace pretty quickly.
“I spoke to about three to four teams about an enduro drive and I’m pretty pleased to have been picked up by one of the leaders. It’s important to me and my career to do well in the enduros – I’m definitely looking for a full-time drive next year.”
--Team Brock press release
|
|
