Scott McLaughlin feels ready to hit the ground running at next week’s official Supercars tyre test following a positive shakedown run at Queensland Raceway.
The highly rated Kiwi piloted the brand new #17 DJR Team Penske Ford FG X chassis he will campaign this season at the Ipswich circuit.
McLaughlin completed the permitted 60km of running without major issues in what was his first meaningful run in a FG X after a brief outing at a ride day last month.
The 23-year-old split his day between focussing on cockpit ergonomics followed by a stint of hot laps towards the end of the shakedown.
DJRTP elected not to run the new Dunlop tyre with track conditions not conducive for understanding the 2017 specification rubber.
The former Garry Rogers Motorsport driver says he feels conformable in the cockpit ahead of next Tuesday’s crucial tyre test.
“I feel really comfy in the car now and I should be able to get and be straight into it at Sydney Motorsport Park on Tuesday,” McLaughlin told Speedcafe.com.
“We focussed half the laps on my ergonomics. I had a few dramas with my throttle pedal as I was just grabbing the throttle under braking but once we sorted that it was good.
“It didn’t really feel too different from the car I drove at the ride day, the chassis was just set up to be more of a race car.
“It is hard to judge where the car is at but the main thing today was to feel comfortable.
“I think I will be able to drive fast pretty quickly at Sydney.”
Meanwhile, McLaughlin’s engineering setup remains unclear with radio duties shared among the team today.
The team has undergone an engineering restructure headlined by the appointment of Triple Eight technical guru Lacroix in the off-season and Ben Croke’s move to a team manager role.
Further changes were confirmed this week with Adam De Borre departing for Prodrive after engineering the #17 DJR Falcon driven by Scott Pye last year.
“I’m not really sure what is happening (on the engineer front),” McLaughlin added.
“It was a mixed bag today but the team will sort that out in the next few weeks.
“As a team we are working together so much it’s almost like we don’t need to have an engineer.
“It has been good. We just need to work out who will speak to me on the radio.”
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