SVG, Winterbottom upbeat on Gen3 progress

Shane van Gisbergen and Mark Winterbottom have both given appraisal of Gen3 development.

Both drivers took to the Gen3 Camaro prototype at Symmons Plains on Monday.

The Camaro recently underwent a number of tweaks in a bid to improve driver comfort and visibility.

Van Gisbergen, who won all three races in Tasmania, drove the updated car for the first time last Friday.

Having previously sampled the car in its previous iteration, the points leader liked what he saw.

“The car feels completely different to what I drove [in testing],” he said.

"I’ll miss these cars at this track, but I'm sure next year’s cars will be better.

"The moves that they’re making and the things that they’re doing to Gen3 are all positive.

“It’s not perfect because it’s not set for me; there’s a few people driving it.

“If it was my car, I’d make it a little bit different again.

“The car still has some things we need to keep evolving… changes are happening.

“You want it to be raceable and hard to drive. I think they’re doing all the right things.”

Winterbottom, who is the most experienced driver on the 2022 grid, savoured the chance to sample the updated car.

Supercars engaged a number of current drivers to test the cars, which were in the hands of Garth Tander and Marcos Ambrose at the weekend.

It marked the first drives for Tander and Ambrose, with the latter excited by the ‘old school’ feel of the cars.

Team 18 driver Winterbottom, who debuted during the Project Blueprint era, explained how important driver feedback is as Supercars continues to develop the cars.

“With experience comes a lot of knowledge,” the 2015 champion said.

“The thing I love about this car next year is that it’s a lot more equal.

“Now is the important stage; this is when you want to hop in, give the right feedback.

“I feel my experience is valuable… it’s to benefit the sport and that’s what I'm trying to do.

“You’ve got no hidden agenda to suit you, it’s about what’s good for the sport."

The 2022 season will resume at Albert Park on April 7-10.