Walsh revitalised after rookie test with new engineer

Erebus Motorsport's Ash Walsh heads to his home track this weekend with extra miles under his belt from last week's rookie test day and experience with his new race engineer Richard Harris.

Walsh believes the test day - allocated in addition to the team's single independent test day, for rookie drivers - means he is more confortable in the car and had the opportunity to try out the team's new structure, which will take effect for this week's Coates Hire Ipswich SuperSprint.

"The test day was pretty important for me coming off the back of a couple of bad rounds," Walsh told v8supercars.com.au.

"So it was really important for me, off the back of Townsville to step back, have a look through the setups, get my seat position and the car right and ... just get comfortable, basically."

Walsh was hopeful gains were made and was pleased to be starting a 'new chapter' with Erebus this weekend.

"We really utilised the test day well and I'm excited to have Richie in the role as race engineer. He's a good guy, I get along with him really well. So I think he's going to fill the [race engineer] spot really well."

Harris has been elevated from data engineer to run the #4 Erebus Motorsport E63, with previous engineer and technical director Wes McDougall departing the team.

Harris began with Erebus a year and a half ago, after a stint with the Kelly brothers during the Car of the Future changeover in 2012-13.

"Richard has been my data engineer all year - it had been talked about, even from the start of the year that he was eventually going to step up," Walsh said.

The change allows 2015 Erebus recruit Campbell Little to focus on the bigger picture, after he engineeredWalsh from Winton onwards.

"Campbell is now able to look at the team as a whole, step back, look at where we need to improve and he only has to concentrate on that stuff. So for me, I feel like it frees the team up to work probably how we wanted it to," Walsh said.

"[After testing] I certainly feel like I'm in better stead than I have been the last few rounds. Whether that correlates to anything at the race meeting, we'll soon see.

"I'm reluctant to say how well the test went, but I walked away from the test feeling a hell of a lot more comfortable than I had the last few rounds. I feel like we've made some gains so I'm excited to get out there and see how we go."

McDougall - who has spent a decade with Stone Brothers/Erebus and worked internationally at events including the Spa 24-Hour and Le Mans 24-Hour - departs the team after extended leave for medical reasons.

"After needing surgery (for a congenital heart condition) I had a lot of time to think about my health, career and future. Ultimately the timing was right for me to complete my recovery with a holiday and move on from Erebus," McDougall told v8supercars.com.au.

"Whilst it was a tough decision, I leave proud knowing I helped them achieve some of their goals by overseeing two victories as technical director.

"I wish them all the best for the future I am and excited to discover my next challenge in motorsport."

The team achieved its second race win in the Erebus guise earlier this year in Perth, with Walsh's teammate Will Davison behind the wheel.