Mostert targeting a top 5

Chaz Mostert isn’t making bold predictions or claiming to be favourite for the 2015 V8 Supercar title. That’s not his style.

Still there is definitely some spring in his step after the official opening of V8 Supercar year, last weekend's Sydney Motorsport Park SuperTest.

The young Ford driver set the fastest time during a full field shootout at the end of the event. It was a perfect way to begin the New Year after a whirlwind 2014.

“Winning Bathurst last year just blew all my expectations out of the water so in some ways I need to work on smaller objectives," Mostert told motoring.com.au in an interview this week.

"Just getting that prime starting position and generally qualifying well at every round [is the initial target]... This category is so competitive now that’s half the battle.

"I’ve definitely got a taste for those pole position cheques after the weekend, so I’d like to score some poles during the season too. If we can,” he enthused.

Mostert's Ford-equipped team, formerly Ford Performance Racing, now Prodrive Australia, went without a pole position in 2014 so Sunday’s results are very encouraging.

In addition to Mostert’s shootout win, teammate Mark 'Frosty' Winterbottom also topped the final practise session. The previous day had been dominated by Nissan Motorsport with the Altima’s running a controversial new-look rear wing.

The new Nissan aero package was signed off after aerodynamic parity testing at East Sale airbase in Victoria last month. The new FG X bodywork was also given a tick after the open-air drag and aero evaluation at the RAAF base. Still there were some small issues to contend with at Eastern Creek like the bonnet flexing (called ‘oil canning’ in V8 circles) at high speed.

The Falcon’s narrow headlights and trapezoidal grill give it a mean, distinctive look but it’s not ‘all show and no go’. Some rivals teams privately questioned whether they’d got it right as far as the Ford’s aero package is concerned but Mostert’s first impressions were good.

“The fundamentals feel right” he said.

“With the old car we almost had to detune it a bit to make the aero work effectively. There’s a big shift in the aero balance with this new car --particularly braking into corners.

"There’s still so much to learn about this car though. Even in the shootout I picked up little things that need improving. What’s really encouraging is that we could still do a number [a good lap time] even when the balance wasn’t quite right,” Mostert explained.

It’s worth noting here that the shootout was the one point over the weekend when every car was on a (mandated) brand new set of hard compound Dunlop tyres.

During the other sessions teams could use softs or hards from their existing bank of rubber. One competitor could be on tyres with very low miles, another could be on a set at the end of tyre life, so comparisons were tricky.

Teams were also working on different development programs and Sydney Motorsport Park has been resurfaced in parts, so the bitumen is a bit of a patchwork quilt. Given how hot it was, particularly on Sunday, all of this makes it doubly hard to draw conclusions from the testing.

Several teams have already locked away their endurance drivers for Sandown, Bathurst and the Gold Coast events later in the year. Jack Perkins, Dean Fiore, Taz Douglas and Alex Davison all did laps at the weekend for HRT, Nissan and Erebus Motorsport respectively.

Prodrive hasn’t finalised its enduro line-up. Chaz’s partner in that unforgettable win at the Great Race last year, Paul Morris, hasn’t decided whether he’ll go round again yet. Morris told the audience at last year’s V8 Supercar Gala Awards that he wanted to go sprintcar racing over summer and consider his options.

A Bathurst hatrick would be huge for this team (Winterbottom won in 2013 with Steven Richards) but it’s the championship that is the main target.

Frosty is sick of being the bridesmaid as he enters his 10th year with this outfit. To go that next step the squad needs to piece together a ‘complete’ season, not just a strong back half or first half as it's done in the past.

Easier said than done... But not impossible -- that sort of consistency is the hallmark of reigning champ Jamie Whincup and his team RedBull Racing’s success.

“This [2015] is only my second full season in the Championship Series” Mostert reminded me during our chat.

“I’ve still got lots to learn. I guess top five is what I’d like to aim for. [But] If we could finish top three in the championship I’d be ecstatic!”

Based on his efforts at the weekend, the speed and potential of the new FG X, that target Mostert has set himself is more than achievable.