MOTORSPORT: Kelly tops Supercar tyre test
Rick Kelly has topped the times as Supercar season has kicked into gear with the first official test of 2017The 2017 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship (VASC) kicked into gear yesterday with an official tyre testing session at Sydney Motorsport Park (SMSP).
And against the end of year form guide, it was the Sengled Racing Nissan Altima of Rick Kelly that topped the timesheet.
Kelly's 1:28.775 was the fastest ever Supercar lap of Eastern Creek. It narrowly edges out the practice lap record set by Prodrive's Chaz Mostert in August last year.
Yesterday's official Dunlop test was a chance for teams to gather data and understand the behaviour of the category's new control tyres before the season proper starts next week in Adelaide.
Although the new tyres come from the same family of compounds the category has used in the past, the construction has changed. As a result so has car behaviour.
The tyres themselves are also now a little wider with a slightly larger rolling diameter.
Dunlop Motorsport Operations Manager Kevin Fitzsimons told motoring.com.au that fans should see some unpredictable race results in the early part of the season as teams get their heads round the new tyres.
"Today was about learning the tyre on a surface that's not renowned for great grip, getting a handle on the characteristics of the tyre and what's required to make changes to the car to make it work," Fitzsimons said.
"Everyone was chasing the balance of the car front to rear. The new tyre has improved the front of the car as far as turn-in is concerned. They can lean on it a bit harder. To make the rears 'live', you have to be a bit careful. If you pivot the car round the front too much it eats the rear tyres."
Here's a snapshot on how the main squads fared:
Red Bull Holden Racing Team
Jamie Whincup looked fit and even more determined (if that's possible) at SMSP. Although the end-of-day results show him in 15th fastest, Whincup was top six in the morning.
New Supercars champ Shane Van Gisbergen lost some time with a steering vibration in the early afternoon but recovered to be fifth.
The new livery on the Red Bull cars is very similar to last year's RBR F1 scheme. Not everyone is a fan but I'll wait to see what it looks like on television before passing judgement.
In the Team Vortex car, Craig Lowndes was second fastest in the morning session but finished 24th in the afternoon. The shakedown of his new car at Queensland Raceway a few days prior was faultless. Lowndes made lots of changes at the test and says they learned plenty about the new tyres.
Prodrive
These cars (particularly that of 2015 champ Mark Winterbottom) sound a little different. The engine or exhaust note is raspier/deeper. They've been working to improve engine performance and maybe this is proof.
Engineer Adam De Borre has left DJR Team Penske over summer and is back with Chaz Mostert. The 2014 Bathurst winner was the fastest of the Prodrive Falcons in fourth overall.
DJR Team Penske
They're coming! New recruit Scott McLaughlin ended the day second fastest with his teammate Fabian Coulthard only 0.07sec behind him in third.
The attention to detail with everything hits you from the moment you walk into this garage. Frenchman Ludo Lacroix (former Triple 8 design and engineering guru) is now in Shell Team colours and working with McLaughlin. The Kiwi told motoring.com.au he's happy.
The Gallic-Kiwi pair is sorting out short, sharp radio commands to prevent accent-based misunderstandings. Merci Cuz.
Garry Rogers Motorsport
Although Garth Tander and James Moffat appeared to be languishing near the bottom of the times, the former jumped to 15th at the end of the day.
Tander said the GRM Commodores are very different to what he's used to. Not a bad thing, just different.
The team learned a lot about Holden aerodynamics after several years campaigning Volvos. The experienced engineer Richard Hollway, who worked so successfully with McLaughlin, is on Tander's car.
Nissan Motorsport
As noted above, Rick Kelly set the fastest time of the day (1.28.775) – under the practice lap record set by Mostert last season. The 2006 Supercars champion set the time during an end of day 'countdown' on the super soft compound version of the new construction Dunlop control tyre.
Todd Kelly debuted his first brand new Altima since 2013 with a striking new carsales scheme. He also has a new engineer Dilan Talibani who more recently worked at Super Black Racing. Solid start by Simona De Silvestro. Supercars first female regular finished 18th – only 1.1sec off Rick.
HSV Racing
A little quiet or off the radar. James Courtney was 13th and new signing Scott Pye 19th. Not a lot was said by the drivers or team on socials afterwards either. That may be deliberate as they endeavor to do their talking on track.
Let's not forget Courtney held out Whincup in one of the best races of the year at the Adelaide opening round last season.
Brad Jones Racing
Tim Slade was fastest in the morning session and the data suggested Nick Percat was on for a 1.28 in the afternoon when the car suddenly lost oil pressure. Still lots of positives to take out of this test for the Albury based squad. Did someone say Dark Horse?
Preston Hire Racing
The new livery looks terrific! These guys want to put a tough 2016 behind them and Lee Holdsworth made the perfect start by claiming eighth. There is some very experienced heads in this squad. Look for progress this season.
Tekno
Will Davison finished the day sixth! The Bathurst winners have new backers on the car and some personnel changes. Respected engineer Campbell Little has joined the Gold Coast crew.
Erebus Motorport
This squad should be well pleased with the day. They are continuing to build on some good work late last season. David Reynolds was at the pointy end for most of the day. He finished ninth just ahead of new teammate Dale Wood who overcame some steering rack issues in the morning.
Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport
Alex Rullo made a statement by having a trouble free day amid all the debate about giving the 16 year old a Super License. He didn't try to prove anything and finished a credible 23rd. Matt Chahda may have missed out on a Super License dispensation but he cut plenty of laps at the test and shared the car with Aaren Russell as the team finalises plans for the second entry.
Is the Novacastrian set for a return in the year his hometown Newcastle joins the championship?
Co-drivers
A number of endurance co-drivers were able to get some valuable miles at the SMSP test too. Jack Perkins is back with HSV, Karl Reindler is campaigning for Preston Hire, motoring.com.au ambassador Luke Youlden is now at Erebus and Tony D'Alberto is with DJR Team Penske.
Last year's Dunlop Series runner-up Jack Le Brocq turned some laps in Todd Kelly's car ahead of his wildcard appearances in a Nissan this season.
So the stage is now set for a big season of Supercar racing.
The Red Bull Holden Racing Team might start favourites but some new tyres and a hotly debated change to the redress rule (when awkward overtakes don't go to plan) should make for an exciting start to the year. Roll on Clipsal...
Virgin Australia Supercars Championship Tyre Test, Sydney Motorsport Park
1. Sengled Racing, Rick Kelly – Nissan Altima 44: 1:28.7751
2. Shell V-Power Racing Team, Scott McLaughlin – Ford Falcon FG/X 42: 1:28.7875 (+00.01)
3. Shell V-Power Racing Team, Fabian Coulthard – Ford Falcon FG/X 40: 1:28.8518 (+00.07)
4. Supercheap Auto Racing, Chaz Mostert – Ford Falcon FG/X 31: 1:28.9328 (+00.15)
5. Red Bull Holden Racing Aust, Shane Van Gisbergen – Holden Commodore VF 33: 1:29.0480 (+00.27)
6. TEKNO Woodstock Racing, Will Davison – Holden Commodore VF 43: 1:29.2191 (+00.44)
7. Team CoolDrive, T.Blanchard/M.Jones – Holden Commodore VF 54: 1:29.2596 (+00.48)
8. Preston Hire Racing, L.Holdsworth/K.Reindler – Holden Commodore VF 64: 1:29.3753 (+00.60)
9. Erebus Penrite Racing, David Reynolds – Holden Commodore VF 27: 1:29.4487 (+00.67)
10. Erebus GB Galvanizing Racing, Dale Wood – Holden Commodore VF 28: 1:29.5171 (+00.74)
11. Freightliner Racing, Tim Slade – Holden Commodore VF 45: 1:29.5273 (+00.75)
12. carsales Racing, Todd Kelly – Nissan Altima 35: 1:29.5816 (+00.80)
13. Mobil 1 HSV Racing, James Courtney – Holden Commodore VF 46: 1:29.5817 (+00.80)
14. MEGA Racing, Jason Bright – Ford Falcon FG/X 46: 1:29.6436 (+00.86)
15. Wilson Security Racing GRM, Garth Tander – Holden Commodore VF 35: 1:29.8112 (+01.03)
16. Red Bull Holden Racing Aust, Jamie Whincup – Holden Commodore VF 49: 1:29.8778 (+01.10)
17. The Bottle-O Racing Team, Mark Winterbottom – Ford Falcon FG/X 40: 1:29.9139 (+01.13)
18. Team Harvey Norman, Simona De Silvestro – Nissan Altima 54: 1:29.9204 (+01.14)
19. Mobil 1 HSV Racing, Scott Pye – Holden Commodore VF 45: 1:29.9296 (+01.15)
20. Team Clipsal, Nick Percat – Holden Commodore VF 22: 1:29.9426 (+01.16)
21. Monster Energy Racing, Cameron Waters – Ford Falcon FG/X 40: 1:30.0321 (+01.25)
22. Nissan Motorsport, Michael Caruso – Nissan Altima 40: 1:30.8025 (+02.02)
23. LD Motorsport, Alex Rullo – Holden Commodore VF 39: 1:30.9119 (+02.13)
24. TeamVortex, Craig Lowndes – Holden Commodore VF 41: 1:31.1363 (+02.36)
25. LD Motorsport, Matthew Chahda – Holden Commodore VF 47: 1:31.1405 (+02.36)
26. Wilson Security Racing GRM, James Moffat – Holden Commodore VF 40: 1:31.6116 (+02.83)
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