Teams working towards Gen3 set-ups

Gen3 testing is quickly moving into performance-mode as teams continue to shake down their new cars.

As of Tuesday February 14, a total of 15 cars have turned their first laps.

All four Brad Jones Racing Camaros shared Winton Motor Raceway with Tickford Racing and Erebus Motorsport on Tuesday.

Since Blanchard Racing Team rolled out the first Gen3 car on February 1, both Erebus cars have now run, as have both Red Bull Ampol Camaros.

Shell V-Power Racing Team, Penrite Racing, PremiAir Racing and Matt Stone Racing have run a single car each.

By Wednesday, all teams will have tested — Walkinshaw Andretti United will turn its first Ford Mustang laps, with Team 18 to test its new cars on Thursday.

Having put mileage on their cars, teams have quickly moved into performance running and tuning cars to their liking.

For Brodie Kostecki, it’s a step away from the Gen3 prototype, with his new Coca-Cola Camaro beginning to feel like his own.

“It’s definitely exciting to get my first brand-new Supercar,” Kostecki — who tested on Monday — told Supercars.com.

“It drives a lot different to the prototype since teams have put their own set-ups on it.

“It’s been quite fun to drive, so I'm really looking forward to the season launching at Newcastle.

“We’ve been running through procedural things — it’s a brand-new car, new systems.

“We’re trying to learn as fast as possible right before the first round. It ran pretty flawlessly throughout the day.”

Andre Heimgartner, who tested his R&J Batteries Camaro for the first time on Tuesday, will focus on tuning following his first shakedown.

Brodie Kostecki on Monday

“It’s cool — it’s nice to see them from being in the workshop for so long,” Heimgartner told Supercars.com.

“It’s something that we’ve been looking forward to.

“New car, different driving style — everything’s different… today’s about getting comfortable with new procedures.

“Tomorrow, we’ll get into more tuning and make it go faster.”

The more track time drivers get in their cars, the more they understand about what to expect come the first races at the Thrifty Newcastle 500.

Given the lighter, low-downforce package, Tickford’s Thomas Randle — who ran on Monday and Tuesday — expects the racing to be “intense”.

“It’s quite a different beast to what I’ve been used to,” Randle told Supercars.com.

Macauley Jones on Tuesday

“Today’s about making sure reliability’s all good, config stuff, making sure I’m comfortable in the car.

“After that, it’s about getting used to the car… the last time I drove a Gen3 car was at Phillip Island [last April].

“[Racing] is going to be intense, to say the least. It’s quite a wide car, they’re wider than the old car.

“As everyone knows, less aero — a lot harder to drive. A big talking point will be tyre deg.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how everyone rolls out of the truck come Newcastle."

All teams will test at Sydney Motorsport Park on Wednesday February 22.

The 2023 Repco Supercars Championship will commence at the Thrifty Newcastle 500 on March 10-12.

Tickets are on sale on Supercars.com and Ticketek.com.