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Erebus Motorsport is set to test again between the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 after completing its final track running before the Supercars enduros begin.
Both of the Coca-Cola Camaros were in action in the past 24 hours at Winton, with co-drivers David Russell and Jack Perkins taking the lion’s share of the laps.
Erebus has long been out of sequence relative to its rivals with respect to test days, having planned to hold a Driver Evaluation Day when most were undertaking mid-season testing.
Originally scheduled for late-May, rain saw it postponed until it finally took place on Monday, with both Jay Hanson and Cooper Murray enjoying seat time in the #9 Camaro.
Even with a full ‘VCS Test Day’ used up a day later, Erebus has announced that its final such outing will in fact take place on Tuesday, September 26.
Russell is again driving with championship leader Brodie Kostecki in Car #99 at Sandown and Mount Panorama, the duo having shared a podium and a fourth place in the last two Great Races.
He said of his first Gen3 outing at Winton, “Obviously the cars are very, very different to the last gen[eration] cars that we’ve been used to.
“So, for me, it’s been really good to settle in, feel what the car’s like, and then start to get into those race runs and lower some [lap] times, which we managed to do, so it’s been good.”
Perkins, who is pairing up with Will Brown in Car #9, remarked, “It’s great to get out here for our first Gen3 test day; first day for the co-drivers, effectively, testing these Gen3 cars.
“It went really well. It was nice to work with the team again and the drivers, and we’re very happy with the progress we made, and we just can’t wait now to get to Sandown.”
Erebus is unlikely to be the only team to test between Sandown and Bathurst, with Dick Johnson Racing having days to burn for its wildcard entry.
Thus far, only Kai Allen has driven the #98 Shell V-Power Mustang, with the rest of the Sunshine State-based teams at Queensland Raceway, given Simona De Silvestro’s arrival to Australia has been delayed by surgery.
Allen makes for two Eggleston Motorsport Dunlop Super2 Series drivers to log laps in Gen3 race cars this week, given he is a team-mate of Murray in the second tier.
“This was my first time driving a Gen3 car so it was amazing to get some laps under my belt and see how I go in one,” said Murray, who stayed on at Winton on the Tuesday to test his Eggleston ZB Commodore.
“These opportunities are vital for my career as it gets me in front of a Supercars team and allows me to showcase what I can do and how I operate.
“Working with Will, Brodie, and their engineers was great; there’s no shortage of knowledge and experience in this team. It was definitely a big learning day.”
Hanson commented, “I’m so grateful to get the experience of a full day of Gen3 running because these are the steps I need to take to end up in the main game.
“The Erebus Camaro was a completely different ball game from my Super2 car. From the vision, to the sound, to the way you drive the car, it was completely different experience.
“It was cool to see how the Erebus engineers structure their programs for tests like today and it’s been a real eye-opener into what the main game consists of.”
Both the Repco Supercars Championship and Super2 resume at Sandown from Friday week (September 15).
Brad Jones Racing, Team 18, and the Blanchard Racing Team are testing at Winton today.
