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A trio of Dunlop Super2 Series rising stars will be hoping to impress Supercars powerhouse Triple Eight in a young driver test at Queensland Raceway today.
The Brisbane-based squad will run the rule over Kurt Kostecki, Will Brown and Nathan Morcom in a driver evaluation day at the Ipswich circuit.
Kostecki currently drives for his family run team in the second tier Supercars series, while Super2 debutants Brown and Morcom race for Eggleston Motorsport.
Triple Eight will utilise a spare chassis, currently driven by Paul Dumbrell at Eggleston Motorsport, for the test, which will see all three drivers log laps.
Jamie Whincup will be on hand to provide a benchmark for the trio, with rules stipulating that the six-time Supercars champion is only able to complete 10 laps of running.
Team manager Mark Dutton will be on hand to oversee the test.
The opportunity sees Kostecki swap his mechanic role at Triple Eight for a seat in a latest specification Commodore he helped construct last year.
Kostecki made his main game debut last year when he drove for Team 18 as a replacement for the injured Lee Holdsworth.
The 19-year-old is eager to impress his employers with his skills on the track rather than in the garage.
“It is really cool to have someone like Dutto (Mark Dutton) and RD (Roland Dane) trust us behind the wheel of one of their cars, and be possibly someone they may look at to be part of the team in the future,” Kostecki told Speedcafe.com.
“Hopefully we can impress enough that there is a future here not just as a mechanic but as a driver as well.
“It is really cool to get the opportunity. We built this car in the middle of last year, so to be part of that and a year later be testing it is something I have always worked for.”
The test is the latest of a series of accolades for Brown, who won the Australian Formula 4 Championship and Toyota 86 Racing Series last year.
The teenager has caught the attention of many this year having finished 10 of the 13 Super2 Series races inside the top 10 during his rookie year.
Brown is keen to learn as much as he can from the run to assist his Dunlop Super2 Series campaign.
“It is a chance to impress but we will go out there and do the best we can do and make sure we don’t do anything silly,” Brown told Speedcafe.com.
“It will be awesome to have Jamie (Whincup) to benchmark off.
“It (the opportunity) gives us a bit more confidence.
“I’m sure Triple Eight do a lot of stuff different to what we do (at Eggleston Motorsport). There will be a lot of learning which we will take away from the day.”
Meanwhile, reigning Australian Endurance Championship winner Morcom is also enjoying his maiden campaign in touring cars this year.
The 25-year-old GT racing convert believes the test will provide valuable insight and information to progress his learning.
“I’m excited, it will be good to see how they operate,” Morcom told Speedcafe.com.
“I’m keen to see how they work with their changes on the car and their feedback.
“We certainly can learn some benefits for the Dunlop Super2 campaign.
“It will be good to ask as many questions and bounce some information off the team.”
Triple Eight will share the track with current Super2 series leader Todd Hazelwood as he prepares for his Supercars wildcard drive at next weekend’s Coates Hire Ipswich Super Sprint.
