![\"Supercars](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_7450-copy.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Volante Rosso Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Volante Rosso Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3.<\/p>\n
Supercars rookie Rylan Gray spent the day on the sidelines as his McLaren 720S was plagued with teething trouble on Friday.<\/p>\n
The car sat out Practice 1 in its entirety due to a gear selector failure before a suspension issue popped up in Practice 2.<\/p>\n
Speaking with Speedcafe, team owner Josh Hunt said the car could have continued in Practice 2 but chose not to out of an abundance of caution.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was actually a bit strange,\u201d Hunt explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was one of the shifting mechanisms. Yesterday, it did Track to Town, and obviously a test day last week. Everything was fine, but just overnight that decided it wasn\u2019t happy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe next one, we just had a bit of movement in the suspension arms at the front, which ended up being pretty benign.<\/p>\n
Limited edition Full Credit Papaya Rules & Race Day Sunday merch drops now live! Click here to shop.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWhenever you get something like that on a car that\u2019s pretty fresh to us, we err on the side of caution \u2013 especially here.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked whether the team sought additional practice time, Hunt said it was \u201cthe first thing we did.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think the email went off two minutes into the first session that we didn\u2019t make,\u201d Hunt laughed.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve got a job to protect everybody on track, and the driver line-up that we do have is a good one.<\/p>\n \u201cWe still have two hours of running before we go into qualifying. Unfortunately for us we won\u2019t get running in that last session, but you know, I understand their (the organiser\u2019s) position too.\u201d<\/p>\n The team only took stock of the car two weeks ago and completed a test day at Queensland Raceway in the week leading up to the Bathurst 12 Hour.<\/p>\n As part of the deal, the team has signed a customer racing agreement with McLaren.<\/p>\n \u201cMcLaren has been awesome. They\u2019ve bent over backwards to get us everything that we\u2019ve needed, even to the point of bringing suitcases of parts to the track here, so I can\u2019t thank them enough,\u201d said Hunt.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve missed a bit of running there, I think some of it probably just being a little bit over cautious. It\u2019s a long weekend and we wanna make sure we get to the end.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are pretty lucky we do have one hell of a drive line-up. All four of them are really good, three of them know this place like the back of their hand.\u201d<\/p>\n With its Australian trio relatively experienced despite their age, Hunt isn\u2019t stressed about the lack of laps going into Saturday.<\/p>\n There are two practice sessions scheduled for day two, each an hour long.<\/p>\n If there is one driver who Hunt wants to see in the car as a priority, it\u2019s Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to get JB up to speed. Him as a driver, there are no reservations as to what he can do. It\u2019s just this place, letting him see it, letting him understand it all,\u201d Hunt explained.<\/p>\n \u201cThe beauty is we\u2019ve got plenty of tyres, so we\u2019ve got that up our sleeve. That\u2019ll certainly be taken into account.<\/p>\n \u201cI think at this point, having four happy drivers going into the race is the priority.\u201d<\/p>\n Bathurst 12 Hour \u2013 Schedule, how to watch, entry lists & more<\/a><\/p>\n
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