The Team Penske driver arrived in time to buckle in for a passenger hot lap with Cam Waters as he prepares to spend the weekend embedded in the Tickford garage.
Cindric flew into Australia this morning ahead of a whirlwind two weeks that will culminate in a wildcard appearance in the Supercars field at the Adelaide Grand Final.
The son of former Team Penske president Tim was beaming when he jumped out of the Monster Energy Ford, declaring “that was fun” before detailing his big day.
“I came off a 17-hour flight around 9:10am, went to the shop straight away, got a seat fit, grabbed a quick lunch, came here, and I’m in a race car,” Cindric told Speedcafe.
“It’s been a busy day, but I was kind of ready for that, so it’s been good.”
Cindric folded his 191cm frame into the left-hand seat of Waters’ ride – labelling the obvious space issue “standard operating procedure for a tall race car driver”.
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“Of all the times I’ve ridden in the passenger seat, this is the most normal it’s ever felt because I was on the correct side of the car,” he continued.
“It’s always fun doing ride-alongs. I’m sure, for him, that felt slow compared to what he’s doing in practice. The mid-corner speed feels so much more as a passenger than if you’re driving.
“But it’s cool to get the perspective, especially before I go and observe the race weekend.”
Cindric said there’s plenty to learn from Waters and teammate Thomas Randle while observing this weekend.
He’ll have his first drive of the wildcard Mustang during a ride day on Monday, before a two-day test at Tailem Bend during the week.
“I wish I would have gotten to see practice, but I’ll get to see the next two days,” he said.
“I think this will be really important for me to kind of look at it from a bird’s eye view and learn, not just how the team goes about it, but what Cam and Thomas look for out of their cars.
“What are the priorities throughout a race weekend?
“Trying to apply that to how I normally go about things, but also, knowing what it’s going to take to kind of get myself up to speed as quickly as possible so I can go maximise the weekend in Adelaide.”
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