Coulthard: Communication critical at sydney.com SuperTest

Since the introduction of the new generation V8 Supercar, Brad Jones Racing has topped the pre-season test day at Sydney Motorsport Park. To continue that front-running form, a revised engineering team will need to hone its communication over the two days of track time, according to star driver Fabian Coulthard.

The 32-year old kiwi stood out early last season, finishing season opener the Clipsal 500 second in the Championship. He notched up a number of podiums across the year- including third at Sydney Motorsport Park - as well as smashing the lap record at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 in October.

Now, in order to finish further up the order in 2015 and start the year strong, Coulthard and race engineer Phil Keed will need to get new data engineer Tom Wettenhall quickly up to speed.

"Our little car group needs to gel and work out what each other likes," Coulthard told v8supercars.com.au.

"I've got to work with Tom to get the most out of my driving, and he's got to do the best he can at looking at the data and seeing how we can improve and get our #14 car further up."

With teammate Jason Bright's race engineer Andrew Edwards stepping up to run the engineering department, there are changes across all three of the team's cars, as BJR looks to push towards the front and have more consistent results throughout the 2015 season.

"The engineer restructure doesn't just affect me - Brighty has his new engineer, who is my old data engineer [Paul Scalzo] and Dale [Wood] has someone new as well," Coulthard said.

"So as a group we're going to be focusing on that, and with Andrew Edwards overseeing the whole operation now it's going to be a little bit interesting. And for the better - we'll have someone who can lead the group and oversee all three cars, which is something we haven't had in the past."

BJR isn't the only team to undergo changes within its engineering structure, with Prodrive Racing (Australia), Red Bull Racing Australia and Nissan Motorsport making high profile switches.

"Communication is a big thing, any time you can get one part of the deal done it makes the job a whole heap easier," Coulthard said.

"[The SuperTest] is going to be a good experience for Tom, he's new to BJR and now to step up onto my car, I think it's going to be good for the group, it gives everybody a freshen up and I think it'll be a good thing."

Both Coulthard and Bright have proven speedy at the 3.93km Sydney Motorsport Park circuit - with Coulthard standing on the podium after the 200km race last year - and will be looking to maximise testing time across the two days, as well as hunt for that top time in Sunday afternoon's SuperShootout.

"I think everybody will have a go - any time you put your helmet on you try and do the best you can," Coulthard said of the SuperShootout.

It's a one lap dash for glory, and with all V8 Supercars cars on green (new) tyres, Coulthard believes it will give a good indication of how competitors stack up - as long as they all run in the same conditions.

"I feel like our cars have been pretty good there, I feel like we've maybe had a slight advantage from previous years over other teams - especially the first year, our cars were very good around Sydney Motorsport Park. So I think we just go about our business, do what we do."

Another change is the name on the side of the car, with Coulthard happy to welcome Freightliner to the team.

"We did our car launch late last year and I think it looks pretty cool. Having such an iconic brand in Freightliner ... we want to do the best we can at every event for Freightliner and in their new colours."

Can Brad Jones Racing top the testing times for the third consecutive year? Vote now on the official v8supercars.com.au poll.

Tune in to FOX Sports on Sunday for the sydney.com SuperTest, or head to Sydney Motorsport Park - attendance is free for fans across February 7-8.