Bathurst in focus for special Tasmania track test
Bathurst in focus for special Tasmania track test
Two cars will hit the track at Symmons Plains on Monday
Triple Eight Ford, Team 18 Chevrolet to test brakes
Supercars is taking the opportunity to use one of the hardest braking circuits to test new options, with an eye on the Repco Bathurst 1000.
Two cars — Broc Feeney’s Triple Eight Ford and Anton De Pasquale’s Team 18 Chevrolet — will be on track at Symmons Plains on Monday in a braking test.
Before cars travel back across the Bass Strait following the weekend’s Tyrepower Tasmania Super 440, the two cars from Ford and General Motors’ homologation teams will complete additional running at the 2.4km circuit.
Symmons Plains has a ‘high’ brake rating, with Turns 4 and 6 two of the hardest stops on the calendar.
The two cars will run through a series of different brake pads on Monday, with the goal of developing an option to eliminate brake changes in the Repco Bathurst 1000.
Teams often change brake pads during the year's longest race, with brake pad changes compulsory in previous years.
However, Supercars Chief Motorsport Officer Tim Edwards explained that pad changes could become a thing of the past for teams.
"One of the original goals of Gen3 was to be able to do Bathurst without doing a brake change,” Edwards said.
"That's not something that everybody's been able to do over the last three years. Some haven’t changed over the last couple of years, but more do than don't.
“Tasmania is a very hard braking circuit, so it’s perfect for evaluating brakes. It's still a goal to make it so everybody can comfortably do the race without changing brakes.
“So, we're trialing some different brake pads as a potential for, if not for this year, for 2027.”
The 2026 Repco Bathurst 1000 will take place on October 8-11.
