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LIVE DIARY: MID-SEASON TEST DAY 2018

1710 J-Dub’s out… How was his day?

“We got a through our whole test program with no mechanical issues and some good quality Queensland weather but I am stuffed now.”

1700 J-Dub is still out there… The sun is beginning to set and the temperature is dropping.

1645 SVG has wrapped for the day – we asked for one line to summarise his day:

“It was a very good day and I think we learnt little bits while refining what we have.”

1630 Although, it is causing some havoc in pit lane…

1600 The sun is starting to set to make for some picturesque photos – who knew QR could be so pretty?!

1300 So, what’s the point of a test day? Dutto seemed to explain it fairly well:

“On a test day, we are testing principals and directions. Testing a component that we can use for tuning and the work range for it. We figure out where we think that particular component is best, not just for today but for all different types of tracks. We’ll know that a certain setup is good for ‘X’ reason so it’s good for some tracks and bad for others. It’s better to make mistakes here, rather than in a rushed environment on a race weekend. As long as you learn, a test is never a mistake.”

1100 Laps, laps and more laps… Is it lunch time yet?

0900 SVG has been practicing his starts… And they’re starting to look good. Look out peeps!

0730 So, besides warming our frozen fingers and toes, what are we actually hoping to achieve today? Dutto told Speedcafe.com:

“Every test is critical but this one in particular because we have now had a few rounds under the belt with the new ZB Commodore and we have found some of its strengths and possible weaknesses.

“Sometimes you have to reevaluate the validity of your tuning tools that possibly gave great rewards on the VF but not as rewarding on the ZB, so you do have to check your toolkit.

“There are some new ideas because we do like to keep developing to move forward, but in the same sense you have to use some of the old tricks. There are still the same fundamentals of the race car.

“We have worked hard to have a few fresh ideas and new directions as well as trying to get that base set-up.”

0700 J-Dub is the first driver to arrive… It’s a miracle!

0615 We’re pumped for our mid-season test day out at Queensland Raceway today. With the new ZB Commodore on track this year, we’ve have a lot of learning to do.