Drivers notch up nearly 1000km in tyre test

Nick Percat and Will Davison notched up nearly 1000km between them at Wednesday’s tyre test, as Supercars and Dunlop evaluated a potential new tyre for the 2025 season.

Matt Stone Racing driver Percat and Dick Johnson Racing veteran Davison clocked up over 300 laps between them at Queensland Raceway.

The test day helped Supercars and Dunlop gather plenty of useful information to help make best possible choices for next year.

On behalf of Supercars, Percat and Davison ran Dunlop’s current Hard, Soft and Super Soft compounds, as well as the development tyre compound.

The speed of the four compounds was tested over short runs, before drivers ran through 25-lap race runs to evaluate longevity of the grip.

Percat said it was a “privilege” to do the tyre test, which he added was also a useful opportunity to tune up for Townsville.

“We ran lots of different tyre compounds and did a lot of laps on each one,” Percat said.

“Supercars have a very good idea on what direction they want to go in — from the driver side it was actually just quite nice to do five race runs over the day.

“We clocked up a lot of miles — it’s probably the most I have ever done at a test day — but it’s exciting to see where we end up with it.

“It was a bit of a privilege to do the tyre testing for Supercars, but also good preparation for Townsville.”

The day also featured split programs for MSR and DJR, with Cameron Hill completing a Rookie Test, while Anton De Pasquale fine tuned engine parts ahead of upcoming AVL testing.

Hill was joined by newly announced co-driver Cameron Crick, who also cut laps in MSR’s #4 Bendix Chevrolet Camaro.

Supercars General Manager of Motorsport Tim Edwards hinted at "exciting" signs from the tyre test, with the goal to have drivers racing harder for longer.

“We're all about what's the best tyre that we can have for the racing,” Edwards said.

“We need the drivers to be able to push as hard as they can, when the time's right, when they want to overtake somebody. We need a tyre that withstands that pressure that the drivers put on them.

“This is all about improving the show. Dunlop have come to the party with a tyre that they think is going to really help us with that.

“We'll evaluate it with them. But, from what we're led to believe about the tyre and also what we've unearthed already in today's testing, it looks like it could be really exciting for the category moving forward."

The 2024 Repco Supercars Championship will resume at next weekend's NTI Townsville 500.