The Ford fleet made a flying start to the weekend by sweeping the top five in Practice 1.
Blanchard Racing Team driver Aaron Cameron led Thomas Randle (Tickford Racing), Brodie Kostecki (Dick Johnson Racing), Cam Waters (Tickford) and Payne.
The Mustangs have undergone a series of tweaks ahead of the weekend that lower drag, but also shifts the aero balance.
“Certainly, it does feel a little bit different, just with the rear we seem to have,” said Payne of the changes, which included the rear wing being moved higher and rearwards.
“It’s so hard for me because I didn’t test here before. So it’s kind of like, does this feel normal now? Or was that what it was going to be like?
“I definitely feel like it puts us in a bit of a different window. Whether or not it’s going to be good or not, we just have to tune that, we have to do that job ourselves.
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“It’s going to be interesting but hopefully we can have a really good weekend.”
The upgraded parts were trialled by Waters, Kostecki and Grove Racing’s Kai Allen during testing between the most recent round at Ipswich and The Bend.
Kostecki, driving for Ford homologation team DJR, was the driving force behind the changes and gave a positive view of his overall package after Practice 1.
“The car seems to be OK first session, it feels semi-balanced, still got a bit to work on,” he said. “But so far it’s rolled out of the truck great, it’s a credit to everyone at Shell V-Power Racing.”
Second and fourth marked a positive rebound for Tickford, which struggled for speed last time out at Ipswich.
“Obviously it’s very early days, one practice and everyone has different fuel and different tyres,” said Waters, who is joined by Mark Winterbottom in car #6 for the Enduro Cup.
“I feel like we’ve taken a very different car from QR to here. So far it feels pretty good. It’s a shame obviously it rained, it would have been nice to get Frosty’s opinion on the car.”
Primary drivers commanded most of the running in opening practice, with rain arriving as several handed over to their co-drivers for the final moments.
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