The crucial AGP lesson Hill took from rookie test

Tuesday’s rookie test at Tailem Bend helped Cameron Hill uncover key lessons about how the Gen3 car works on different tyre compounds.

Matt Stone Racing Camaro driver Hill was joined by Tickford Racing’s Declan Fraser and Penrite Racing’s Matt Payne.

There, the three rookies — along with Hill’s teammate Jack Le Brocq — rolled out at the sweeping Bend circuit, which draws comparisons to Albert Park.

The Beaurepaires Melbourne SuperSprint will be held on Dunlop’s Hard and Super Soft tyre compounds.

It is the first multiple compound event of the new Mustang vs Camaro Gen3 era.

The new cars ran solely on the Softs in Newcastle earlier this month — but two new compounds will offer a new challenge for drivers and teams.

That is compounded by the format — both tyres must be used in the four races, while the compounds are split in qualifying.

Two qualifying sessions will be run on the Super Soft, and two on the Hard compound.

Late in the day, Hill suffered a power steering drama on his #35 Truck Assist Camaro — but by then, he had already gathered crucial intel in preparation for Albert Park.

The March 30-April 2 event is the only round of the 2023 Repco Supercars Championship to feature the Hard tyre.

“It was good to get to Tailem Bend and run on a fast, open circuit for the first time,” Hill said.

“We got a bit of a read on what the car was going to be like through corners at a higher speed and we tried a few different set-up configurations.

“Throughout the day, we also compared different tyre compounds from hards to softs and looked at how the car would respond on those different tyres at the Grand Prix.

“The good thing is the balance was pretty consistent, so we were happy with that.

“After we had our power steering drama, for the rest of the day we focussed on race starts and coming in and out of the box, because that was something that was pretty new to me at Newcastle.

“I definitely feel like we made progress on both of those things and I’m feeling more comfortable ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.”