Key questions to be answered after Supercars testing
After nearly three months, Supercars finally roared back into life at the Destination NSW Sydney Test Day.
Through eight hours of testing, we saw fast times, big names up and down the order, crashes and even a fire. That's testing almost to a tee, but the caveat is that we're racing at the same circuit in just a matter of days.
So, what questions still need to be answered after Wednesday's big test?
Who can catch Will Brown?
No one could do it last year, and no one could today either.
Will Brown got his title defence off to an ominous start this afternoon when he laid down a time that put nearly half a second on the field with his last run of the day.
Brown set a 1:30.1027s to finish well clear at the top of the timesheets, and displayed something he didn't show too often in 2024; raw speed.
After putting together an incredibly consistent season that saw him finish on the podium at every event (a 40-year first), if Brown has added genuine pace to his repertoire, it could be a very tall order for the chasing pack.
Fresh off an historic New Zealand Grand Prix victory, the 26-year-old is at the absolute peak of his powers, and it could take something incredibly special to overcome him in 2025.
Can BRT and PremiAir repair damaged cars?
Two of the big stories to come out of the day were two big incidents for Aaron Love and James Golding respectively.
The morning session's sole red flag was waved when Love ran off the road at Turn 2 having just left pit lane following a routine set up change.
The Western Australian suffered a suspected brake failure, pitching him into the wall, with the rear of the CoolDrive Mustang suffering heavy damage.
Golding also suffered a scary incident of his own in the afternoon, when he pulled up in pit lane with his PremiAir Racing Camaro ablaze.
Although the Victorian escaped harm, the rear of the car was heavily damaged by the flames, even though the fire was quickly put out.
Both teams are now scrambling to get the cars repaired for Friday's running at the Thrifty Sydney 500, with opening practice to begin at 1:40pm local time.
BRT have employed the services of Supercars Hall of Famer Jimmy Stone to assist in repairs, whilst Golding himself was pictured on the tools with PremiAir after Session 2 concluded.
Where are Kostecki and DJR really at?
It was a quiet start for Brodie Kostecki in his first official Supercars session for Dick Johnson Racing.
At the end of the day, Kostecki finished 19th in Session 2, whilst new teammate Will Davison was only 0.01s away from breaking into the top 10 in 11th.
Kostecki did 91 laps in the entire day (15th in the field), whilst Davison did 87 total laps to sit 16th on the completed laps chart.
Was it just another quiet, easy day behind the wheel, or was that DJR's maximum? You can bet your bottom dollar it wasn't the latter...
Did anyone really get a handle on the new tyre or fuel churns?
Teams and drivers were coy about when they used the new-for-2025 Soft tyre during the day, so it's tough to make any judgement on where everyone's at, pace-wise.
Still, it pays to be quick, no matter where or when, and Brown did just that. Putting such a margin on the field, it seems Triple Eight pulled the trigger and sent their drivers out on the new rubber.
The other question mark is how quickly teams got up to speed with the new fuel churns. It's a move away from fuel towers, where refuelling is undertaken through a hose.
Every second counts in pit lane, and the teams that got a grip on the fuel churns quickest on Wednesday could be the ones celebrating on the weekend.
Is this really a true form guide?
All teams had different objectives for Wednesday's test, but plenty could still be deduced about their performances. That includes long runs, short runs, outright speed, tyre wear, getting the tyre to work, and even handing laps to co-drivers and co-drive hopefuls.
There was the final-hour Hollywood time from Brown, who we expect to be fighting for glory in 2025. However, there were a number of names, like Ryan Wood, who were quick in the morning and the afternoon.
Kostecki being 19th in Session 2 is a tantalising prospect; how much can DJR deploy on Friday? And, what of the other Ford teams? Will the likes of Chaz Mostert, Cam Waters and Matt Payne be a greater factor than they were on Wednesday?
Brad Jones Racing seems to have reliability sorted, given three of its four cars logged over 100 laps on the day. Bryce Fullwood, Andre Heimgartner and Jaxon Evans were also in the top 10.
Overall, while reliability is simpler to measure, performance is more complicated. With only one day of testing ahead of the 2025 season and limited runs and tyres available, it's hard to get a full understanding, even if everything runs smoothly...
Supercars will return to Sydney Motorsport Park for the opening race of what is set to be the most action-packed season in Supercars history. Race 1 takes place on Friday night, with Race 2 on Saturday night and Race 3 on Sunday afternoon. Tickets for the February 21-23 event are on sale now.
