Teams head into final week of pre-season testing

Supercars teams are in the final stages of pre-season testing before the new season begins at the Thrifty Newcastle 500.

Cars will be on track in just 11 days in Newcastle, which will host its first event since November 2019.

The last fortnight has seen teams complete shakedowns and tests, with all 25 cars sharing Sydney Motorsport Park last Wednesday.

That day proved the last pre-Newcastle running for Brad Jones Racing, which logged the most laps and set the fastest time.

A number of teams will hit the track this week to bed in their cars, with the flexible testing program in full effect.

Each car will be permitted to undertake a shakedown with no limit to kilometres driven on the day.

Cars will not be required to test on the same day as others from the same team.

Red Bull Ampol Racing has split its test across Monday and Tuesday at Queensland Raceway, with Broc Feeney running his #88 Camaro on Monday.

Shane van Gisbergen will test his #97 Red Bull Ampol Camaro on Tuesday, and will share the track with Dick Johnson Racing, Matt Stone Racing and PremiAir Racing.

DJR, MSR and PremiAir Racing tested both cars together for the first time in Sydney, and will do so again on Tuesday.

Winton Motor Raceway will be a hive of activity on Wednesday, with Walkinshaw Andretti United, Tickford Racing, Penrite Racing and Team 18 all on track.

WAU rolled out its new Mustangs for the first time on Wednesday February 15; prior to Sydney, Penrite Racing had split its cars in shakedowns, as had Tickford.

Team 18’s first Gen3 running came at Winton on Friday February 19, with the team encountering a broken gearbox mount on Scott Pye’s car in Sydney.

Tickford also struck trouble in Sydney; Thomas Randle’s car picked up a throttle issue, while James Courtney’s car copped a power steering problem late on.

WAU also suffered a wheel nut issue on Nick Percat’s #2 Mustang late in the Sydney test, although the team wholly satisfied its test day program.

Still, Sydney's test day proved vital for teams to continue the learning curve despite intermittent rain.

“It was definitely good to be here at Sydney Motorsport Park, as we had previously only had the car at Queensland Raceway," PremiAir Racing Team Principal Matt Cook said.

"The characteristics of the tracks are very different and therefore the cars handled very differently and the feedback from the drivers was very different, so it was very beneficial to be here and to do as many laps as we did.

"While it was a interrupted day, it was still a good and productive day, and it was a good opportunity for our team to gel together and work together as we continue our preparations, with plans underway for a final test day for our team next week at Queensland Raceway before it is all eyes forward to Newcastle."

This week's running also coincides with straight line evaluations to validate the current specifications of the new Gen3 Camaro and Mustang.

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.