THE key items on Garry Rogers Motorsport’s agenda for its second and final pre-Bathurst 1000 test day are pitstops and driver changes.
James Moffat, Nathan Herne and the entire GRM crew yesterday got stuck in learning the Gen3 Chevrolet Camaro package in the first of two consecutive days at Winton Motor Raceway.
“First session we didn’t have the ergonomics quite right and I hopped out of the car thinking ‘holy hell the thing is hard to drive’,” Herne told V8 Sleuth.
“Then we fiddled with the pedals a bit and got myself a bit more comfortable and more at home like in my Trans Am, and then it all clicked and the day was off and running.
“I was shocked how sensitive to inputs these cars are and how much tuning you can do as a driver based on the input you give the car. So that was the big learning for me (on Tuesday).”
Pic: Supplied/High Performance Media
Now the focus pivots.
“To really practice driver changes and pitstops and all that sort of stuff we’ve never done before, that’s going to be the interesting stuff to try to nail down and get right,” said Herne.
“They’re very hard to get in and out of, these cars.
“The first time hopping in the car I felt like there were limbs going everywhere. We’ll try to get our head around it. Me and Moff, we practiced a few inside the workshop before we got here.
“They definitely make it look easier on TV, I’ll say that much.”
Herne will be the only driver on Supercars Championship debut out of the 52 taking part in the Repco Bathurst 1000 (October 8-11).
It’s anticipated he will likely qualify Car #34. He does have recent runs at the board at Mount Panorama, having swept the season-opening Trans Am round there.
“Obviously there is still a lot more to get right, coming in midway through the endurance season and also very deep into the normal regular season,” said the 24-year-old.
“It’s going to be an interesting debut to make, for sure.”
Nathan Herne. Pic: Supplied/High Performance Media