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The freshly unveiled Erebus Motorsport/Boost Mobile wildcard car has been put through its paces for the first time since being crashed at Bathurst in February.
The ZB Commodore started the year with Will Brown, only to clatter the wall hard in the opening practice session of the season.
That triggered an end-of-event chassis switch for Brown, while the crashed car was rebuilt in preparation for Greg Murphy and Richie Stanaway’s cameo effort at the Repco Bathurst 1000.
The car headed to Winton Motor Raceway yesterday, where it was steered by Erebus Academy drivers Jaylyn Robotham and Reef McCarthy.
“We took the opportunity to use the wildcard as part of our driver evaluation day as it was a good chance to run that car for the first time since the rebuild,” said Erebus CEO Barry Ryan.
“We were already confident that everything would run smoothly and there were no problems so it’s nice to have that confidence validated.
“Jay and Reef both did really well, it was a different experience for both of the boys and is part of the learning curve.
“Swapping between their Super2/3 cars and the wildcard was something that they had to manage and something that they’re going to need to know if they want to take that next step.
“It was also great to get our wildcard crew together and back in the garage; they are all very experienced and stepped right back into their roles.”
Robotham and McCarthy combined for 41 laps between them in the ZB, plus a number of outings in their respective Super2 and Super3 Image Racing cars.
Erebus co-driver Jack Perkins was also on hand, able to complete up to 10 laps with special dispensation.
“I could feel noticeable differences between both my Super2 car and the main game car,” Robotham said.
“It was great to drive them back-to-back and see the differences between them; it’s going to be really beneficial for me to make that next step and I hope I’ll get more opportunities like this in the future.”
McCarthy added: “I was nervous before jumping in the car though once I got behind the wheel my nerves settled and I could focus on adapting to the car.
“It was an awesome opportunity to get a feel for these cars and see what will be expected of me, especially since this is where I want to end up in a couple of years.
“It was a great environment, everyone at Erebus kept it nice and casual which made it very easy for us to just do what we needed to do and have some fun out there.”
It’s planned that Murphy and Stanaway will get a chance to drive the #51 before heading to the Mountain for the November 30 to December 5 event.
