A host of Pirtek Enduro Cup co-drivers will have their first laps of the year this morning at the Winton SuperSprint.
The bulk of the teams have entered additional drivers for the 30 minute hit-out that precedes Practice 1 later in the day.
Although additional drivers are permitted during practice at all SuperSprint events, Winton and Queensland Raceway are the only two with a dedicated session.
Those settling into new cars include Nissan Motorsport recruit David Wall, Erebus Motorsport’s Chris Pither and Brad Jones Racing’s Todd Hazelwood.
As previously reported, Hazelwood will cut laps in Tim Blanchard’s CoolDrive Holden, while Macauley Jones is in Nick Percat’s car as BJR works to finalise its enduro line-up.
Other notable additions include four-time Bathurst 1000 winner Greg Murphy, who is set to steer Alex Rullo’s Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport Holden as part of his television duties.
Prodrive had hoped to run its Super2 driver Josh Kean in Cameron Waters’ Monster Ford, but the car will sit out the session as Kean does not have the required Superlicence.
Waters’ co-driver Richie Stanaway is unavailable, as are fellow internationally based drivers Alex Premat (#17 Shell Ford) and Matt Campbell (#97 Red Bull Holden).
Jamie Whincup's co-driver Paul Dumbrell is also absent, ensuring Steven Richards is the only Triple Eight entry for the session.
The additional session will meanwhile see Jack Perkins performing systems checks with James Courtney’s spare car, which was hurriedly built-up to replace the chassis he raced at Barbagallo.
Additional driver practice is scheduled to begin at 10:50am local time ahead of Practice 1 at 12:35pm.
Wet weather is forecast for throughout the day at the rural Victorian venue, adding to the challenge for all drivers.
# | Team Sponsor Name | Primary Driver | Additional Driver |
2 | Mobil 1 HSV Racing | Scott Pye | Warren Luff |
3 | Repair Management Aust Racing | Taz Douglas | |
4 | Drillpro Racing | Macauley Jones | |
5 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | Mark Winterbottom | Dean Canto |
6 | Monster Energy Racing | Cameron Waters | |
7 | carsales Racing | Todd Kelly | Jack Le Brocq |
8 | Freightliner/Alliance Truck Parts | Nick Percat | Macauley Jones |
9 | Erebus Penrite Racing | David Reynolds | Luke Youlden |
12 | Shell V-Power Racing Team | Fabian Coulthard | Tony D'Alberto |
14 | Freightliner Racing | Tim Slade | Ash Walsh |
15 | Sengled Racing | Rick Kelly | David Wall |
17 | Shell V-Power Racing Team | Scott McLaughlin | Tony D'Alberto |
18 | Preston Hire Racing | Lee Holdsworth | Karl Reindler |
19 | TEKNO Woodstock Racing | Will Davison | |
21 | Team CoolDrive | Tim Blanchard | Todd Hazelwood |
22 | Mobil 1 HSV Racing | James Courtney | Jack Perkins |
23 | Nissan Motorsport | Michael Caruso | Dean Fiore |
26 | Loco Energy Drink | Shae Davies | |
31 | Wilson Security Racing GRM | James Golding | |
33 | Wilson Security Racing GRM | Garth Tander | James Golding |
34 | Wilson Security Racing GRM | James Moffat | Richard Muscat |
55 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Chaz Mostert | Steve Owen |
56 | MEGA Racing | Jason Bright | Garry Jacobson |
62 | Repair Management Aust Racing | Alex Rullo | Greg Murphy |
78 | Team Harvey Norman | Simona De Silvestro | David Russell |
88 | Red Bull Holden Racing Australia | Jamie Whincup | |
97 | Red Bull Holden Racing Australia | Shane van Gisbergen | |
99 | Erebus GB Galvanizing Racing | Dale Wood | Chris Pither |
888 | TeamVortex | Craig Lowndes | Steven Richards |
TOTAL | 29 |