Successful first test for Team BOC
Team BOC has had a successful first day out as a Holden team at today’s official V8 Supercar pre-season test at Winton Motor Raceway.
The team recently announced the switch to Holden from Ford, unveiling its new Walkinshaw Performance-built Holden VE Commodores for drivers Andrew Jones and Cameron McConville at BOC’s Sydney headquarters just a fortnight ago.
Team principal Brad Jones said he was delighted with today’s results; Andrew Jones recording the eighth quickest time, and McConville 16th quickest – both concentrating on race setups for next week’s season opening Clipsal 500 in Adelaide and avoiding the temptation to switch to faster ‘green’ (new) tyres.
“In my entire racing career, I don’t think I’d ever been any more nervous than when we lifted the covers off our cars in Sydney, but after today the nerves are gone and I’m really excited about the year ahead,” Jones said.
“We had a really good run; the cars ran faultlessly, we had great support from Walkinshaw Performance and gained a lot of knowledge. Our race speed was encouraging and I can clearly see where we are going.
“I know the guys were a little disappointed not to put on ‘greens’, but in the mid-section of the day when it’s easier to gauge your competitiveness we were within a tenth or two and in the top eight/top five.
“For a first hit out with Holden it was really encouraging.
”Andrew Jones said he was pleased with his first drive back for Holden after driving Falcons last year.
“We’ve had a good day, a very good day, and I think we can start aiming our goals higher,” Andrew said.
“The car is very different to what we’ve been used to; it responds so well to small changes – changes to the front and rear roll bars and brake bias – and gives you a lot of confidence.
“Our day didn’t start to plan, but working with our engineering group we tuned the car to the rubber. I would have loved to switch to ‘greens’, but we missed the ideal part of the day when it rained. I’m not too disappointed as I was more concerned about learning the car and not setting fastest laps. Given the tyres we used, we were very happy with what we achieved.”
McConville said his day was the reverse of his team-mate’s, but he would also be heading to Adelaide with confidence.
“We started well and probably dropped off a little as the day went, but that’s more an indication of the tyres we used and what changes we made trying to learn the limitations of the new car,” McConville said.
“These cars are incredibly responsive and you can notice even a few small ‘clicks’ on the roll bars – and that’s what you want.”
“I’m very happy with where we are at; we gained a lot of knowledge today, I’m comfortable in the car and working with [engineer] Wally Storey and the Jones Family again and I’m excited heading to Adelaide.”
