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Triple 8 chief engineer Ludo Lacroix said the team was "super happy" with the cars which have been set up for the coming two endurance rounds at Phillip Island and Bathurst.
V8 Supercars champion team Triple 8 stole some thunder from Holden's unveiling of the new Commodore Series II in Melbourne this week.
The Brisbane team rolled out their two cars with the new Series II bodywork at official two-day testing which began on Monday at Queensland Raceway. However, few would have noticed the exterior differences that consists of a new boot lid, a bigger grille and slightly different-shaped headlights.
Jamie Whincups car is the same one he has raced in the last two rounds, but with Series II modifications, while Craig Lowndes' new race car was having its first run. Triple 8 chief engineer Ludo Lacroix said the team was "super happy" with the cars which have been set up for the coming two endurance rounds at Phillip Island and Bathurst.
"Weve done around 400 klicks and not had a single problem because we do a lot of pre-tests at home," he said. "You just get used to making them. We built eight last year and six this year."
The two days of testing also gave the endurance round co-drivers a chance to do some laps. Five-time Bathurst winner Mark Skaife, who will partner Lowndes in the next two rounds, said it was an opportunity to improve his "match fitness".
"Ive never been fitter since retiring, but I needed to brush up on my match fitness," he said. His lap times were equivalent to Lowndes and slightly better than the other side of the garage where Whincup and co-driver Steve Owen concentrated on fine-tuning their driver-change routine.
"Its not quite there, but well get it right," Whincup said. At the other end of the pits, a relaxed and tanned championship leader, James Courtney, was setting scorching times.
"This is only our second test day of the year so we have a lot of set-up changes to get through that we dont normally get a chance to do at a race meeting, so were fairly busy," he said.
"Im not personally feeling any extra pressure. Its harder when you are chasing. I feel like the pressure has been lifted now that Im leading." The V8 Supercars return to racing at Philip Island on September 10-12 after a nine-week mid-season break.
