High mileage, new fuel restrictor key for PremiAir in test
Supercars
30 Sep
PremiAir Camaros log over 900km of Queensland Raceway
Peter Xiberras-owned team scored first Supercars podium at Sandown
New fuel restrictor introduced after Sandown 500
Hundreds of laps and a pit stop practice with the new refuelling restrictor were the headline takeaways for PremiAir Nulon Racing at its crucial pre-Bathurst test day.
PremiAir Nulon Racing saved its final test of 2024 for before the Great Race, with both cars and all four drivers on track at Queensland Raceway on Monday.
The James Golding/David Russell and Tim Slade/Cameron McLeod Camaros logged nearly 900 combined kilometres, or 280 laps, of the 3.1km-long Ipswich circuit.
Pit stop practice, including all-important driver changes, also featured use of the new fuel restrictor, which has been introduced following the recent Penrite Oil Sandown 500.
A larger hose was introduced for Sandown to increase the fuel flow rate, which ultimately put more pressure on driver changes.
After a review, Supercars designed a new 46mm restrictor, replacing the previous 49mm part, which will be integrated into a direct exchange part on top of the fuel tank.
Race Engineer Andrew Gilliam said the new flow rate will complement the time taken for the driver change, but believes it won’t have an overall impact on the flow of the race.
“We had the 49mm restrictor at Sandown but to equalise the field a bit the category has introduced a 46mm restrictor in the cars themselves which should reduce the variability,” Gilliam said.
“It will slow it down a little bit, but it won’t be like it was before Sandown – you will still see very quick flow rates and I think it will only be a small change.
“It may give the drivers a little bit of relief in their driver changes, but I don’t think it will have much of an impact on the race.”
Having secured its maiden podium at Sandown, PremiAir Nulon Racing looms as a dark horse for the Great Race, with Team Manager Stephen Robertson confident his team’s test programme ironed out any kinks.
“The day was split into different parts with some of it about quantifying things we wanted to learn on the car while the rest was spent on our Bathurst enduro preparation,” Robertson said.
“Plenty of pit stop practice with multiple different strategies, fuel dumps with the new restrictors, brake pad changes with discs and lots of driver changes as we looked to both improve on some things we learnt at Sandown while preparing ourselves for the big one.”
PremiAir shared Queensland Raceway on Monday with a Triple Eight Camaro and Blanchard Racing Team Mustang, which undertook engine testing.
