James Moffat is confident the Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore will better suit his driving style following an encouraging debut at the Sydney Motorsport Park test.
The 32-year-old experienced the newly built VF Commodore for the first time on Tuesday as the Melbourne squad transitions from running Volvo S60s, following the Swedish marque’s withdrawal from the category.
GRM enjoyed a faultless debut of its new chassis for Moffat and team-mate Garth Tander after the team elected against organising a shakedown for its two Commodores.
Having cut only a few laps in an older GRM spec VF Commodore during a Sandown ride day last year, Moffat says he already feels comfortable ahead of next week’s Clipsal 500 season opener.
By his own admission the former Nissan Motorsport driver struggled for consistency in the Volvo S60 last season.
However, Tuesday’s run has left him feeling more settled heading into the new season compared to 2016.
Moffat was impressed by the car’s reliability and the new Walkinshaw engine package.
GRM’s manufacturer switch sees Moffat become the only full-time driver to pilot a Car of the Future Nissan Altima, Volvo S60 and Holden Commodore.
“It felt good straight away and the engine package from Walkinshaw for me was very impressive,” Moffat told Speedcafe.com.
“The way it delivers its power feels like it might suit my style a bit more than the Volvo did, although that was a very powerful unit.
“Ergonomically inside the car it feels a lot different to the Volvo, but I’m comfortable and that is the main thing heading into an event like Clipsal.
“I certainly felt comfortable in it straight away which is a good sign and probably more comfortable than I was in the Volvo at this point last year.
“The cars ran faultlessly all day so from that side of things the guys have done a mega job given the workload they have had in the off season.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can achieve with these cars.”
Moffat also enjoyed working alongside 2007 Supercars champion Tander, who he feels will prove a key influence given his knowledge of the Walkinshaw engines and VF aero package from his time at Walkinshaw Racing.
“Garth is used to the engine and aero package so he has been a good benchmark to bounce some ideas off,” Moffat added.
“The good thing is Garth and I have been giving the same feedback about the car, so for us to be on the same page is good and we can move the cars forward together.
“That wasn’t necessarily the case last year there were two different drivers giving different feedback, so it was quite difficult at times.
“We have some areas of the car that we can definitely improve as there have been some fairly big changes in terms of the aerodynamic package.”
Moffat will jump back behind the wheel at next week’s Clipsal 500 season opener from March 2-5.
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