Rogers: Testing's Not the Secret Weapon

Many teams that have tested this year have fired at the following event, but Fujitsu GRM team boss Garry Rogers says testing is not the only key to scoring good results.

Rogers admitted he once thought testing didn’t make much difference, but now at least believes it doesn’t do any harm.

“It’s certainly not the secret weapon,” he said.

“You need to be organised, because a lot of people go testing and they end up going driving – you’ve got to make sure you have a proper program.

“So as long as you get the most out of the people who are there – both the workforce and the drivers – it’s a good thing, if you can do it.”

However, Fujitsu Racing GRM’s Scott McLaughlin felt today’s test day would do the team good, especially running at Winton Raceway before the V8 Supercars event at the circuit.

“There are a few improvements at the test day for our cars,” McLaughlin said.

“Test days are so vital – the boys have been saying, you need to use them as much as you can. If you have a bad one, it can be hard to bounce back.

“If we keep plugging away, improvements will come.”

While behind the scenes GRM is making the changeover to Volvos for the 2014 season, on-track the team is still taking wins.

“We’ve got a good package at the moment, good engines – renting the engines from Walkinshaw is helping a bit,” McLaughlin said.

“It’s not like we’re stopping development on those, they’re still good and the chassis is the same, if not better.

“So I guess it’s been a little bit easier than for (Erebus Motorsport V8) and Nissan.”

However, despite the track being testing ground for GRM, McLaughlin will be treating the Winton 360 as if at a venue he has never driven around before.

“You can sometimes get a bit distracted when it’s your home track and not look at the data – but I’ll look at footage and hopefully go well.”

The team’s PIRTEK Enduro Cup co-drivers will briefly participate in the test, though Rogers didn’t feel they needed extra time behind the wheel.

“Really, our co-drivers have done as may laps as these blokes – Greg Ritter has done plenty and can drive; Jack Perkins is driving in the Dunlop Series, and that’s getting him some miles.

“There’s a whole lot of hype around that – if you can drive, you can drive – so shut up and get on with it!”