Murray, Erebus step out of race spotlight in test
Cooper Murray completes rookie test at Winton
Murray joined by co-driver Lochie Dalton for test
Test focused "purely on development," says Barry Ryan
Erebus Motorsport has completed a "really valuable" rookie test for Cooper Murray, who was joined by enduro co-driver Lochie Dalton at Winton Motor Raceway.
Murray rolled out in the #99 TotalEnergies Quartz Camaro his final allocated rookie test day on Tuesday.
Driver and team focused on nailing the set-up of the Erebus Chevrolet, while also handing laps to Dalton in a bid to get the Sydneysider up to speed for the year's longest races.
Crucially, the test allowed Erebus to complete tuning work on the #99 Camaro away from the pressure of a race weekend, having only joined the General Motors data sharing alliance in Darwin last month.
Tuesday's test comes ahead of a series of rookie days for Rylan Gray, Zach Bates, Jackson Walls and Jayden Ojeda after the upcoming Bosch Power Tools Perth Super 440.
"This rookie test day is a great opportunity to take the pressure off the driver and focus purely on development," Erebus CEO Barry Ryan said.
"It gives Cooper the chance to continue building his skills and confidence behind the wheel, while the engineering team can work through different set-up directions without the pressure of a race weekend.”
Murray said: "These rookie test days are really valuable, especially halfway through the season when there are a lot of things we've wanted to try.
"Being at Winton gives us the chance to work through our processes without the pressure of a race weekend, and we learned a lot today that has definitely added to our toolbox heading into the second half of the year.
"It was great to have Lochie here observing everything when he wasn't in the car, it's a great opportunity for him to learn ahead of the Enduros.
"I'm confident having Lochie behind the wheel with me. I think he’s going to do a really good job, so I'm excited."
Dalton added: "It was great to get down to Winton and get comfortable in the TotalEnergies Quartz Camaro.
"There are still a few little things to sort out before the Enduros, but the car feels really good and it was great to be back around the crew."
Murray will resume his campaign in Perth on 31 July-2 August.
