Impressive first drive of the V8 Supertourer car
First V8 Supertourer on the track
In car camera - John Mcintyre, first testing of the G4 Xtreme Supertourer at Hampton Downs in the wet.
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V8SuperTourer: Super Straight out of the box
The first serious test session with the new V8SuperTourer has been an outstanding success from start to finish.
Current and three-time NZV8 champion John McIntyre completed the most laps during a full-on shakedown test of the new V8 race car at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park on Friday 6 May, with fellow two-time NZV8 champion Andy Booth also enjoying a good stint behind the wheel.
In 92 laps on the 2.8km Hampton circuit, the prototype V8SuperTourer didnt miss a beat.
"We had absolutely no major issues with the car, said McIntyre. This is one outstanding race car straight out of the box and weve had a really successful day. The prototype V8SuperTourer has only just been completed and previously had a 15 lap shakedown at very low speed at Hampton Downs last Tuesday."
McIntyre said, despite the very wet conditions early in the test session, it took just a few laps for him to feel very comfortable in the 7-litre V8-powered racer. Within three laps at the most, I felt very confident in the car, confident enough to be reaching speeds of well over 200km/h, sliding the car and getting to grips with its handling.
Between McIntyre and Booth, 92 laps of testing were completed. Various suspension adjustments were trialled to see the cars reactions around the undulating Hampton course.
The chassis and handling is very responsive and able to be fine-tuned to suit conditions and the driver. There was a dry line right at the end just a little damp in places - and our last lap was 1 minute 7.2 seconds and theres definitely a lot more pace yet to come.
From an engineering point of view, the cars power, robustness and ability to dial in to suit each driver will give competitors a lot of confidence in the car.
Among those at the test session were the three main members of the working group behind the new V8SuperTourers series, Garry Pedersen, Wayne Anderson and Mark Petch. Petch commented that they couldnt be happier with how the car performs straight out of the box.
McIntyre adds: We've hit the nail on the head. To take an idea, see it evolve into a CAD drawing, see it constructed and now watch the finished car on the race track its amazing. Its even better than we expected. This is a seriously good race car!
The new V8SuperTourers commence their inaugural seven round race series at Hampton Downs over the weekend of 17 to 19 February 2012. 16 Cars will line up for the first event with further driver and team announcements coming in the next few weeks.
