Ford Performance Racing’s first Car of the Future V8 Supercar has completed an interrupted first outing as part of its two-day shakedown at Winton Motor Raceway.
Driven by Mark Winterbottom, the 2013-specification Ford Falcon undertook two single ‘installation laps’ in the morning followed by a pair of two-lap runs in the early afternoon as the team worked through oil surge issues.
Once the laps were complete, the factory Ford crew took the engine out of the car in order to remove the oil tank, which is located in the engine bay in all COTF vehicles.
The FPR-designed, Pace Innovations-supplied, tank has since been sent back to FPR’s headquarters where it will be opened and assessed before returning to Winton to complete the remainder of the car’s 20 lap shakedown tomorrow.
Winterbottom and Will Davison are scheduled to take turns behind the wheel in the second part of the shakedown as the team simultaneously continues its test program with its three current V8 Supercars Championship entries.
The first of the squad’s COTF ‘manufacturer test’ days will then take place at Winton on September 10, followed by an outing at Sydney Motorsport Park on October 15. It is expected that a second car will be debuted sometime in December.
See below for Speedcafe.com’s video from Winton today, featuring FPR team principal Tim Edwards and driver Mark Winterbottom
