Sprint Gas Racing shakedown new Holden

Jason Richard’s new Sprint Gas Racing Holden had its first track time today completing a 20 lap shakedown at Winton Raceway.
The debut of the VE Commodore at Sandown this weekend, for the fifth round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, means that for the first time this season Sprint Gas Racing will have both of its 2008 cars on track.

Greg Murphy’s Holden was debuted at the recent Hamilton round. Richards’ car was started in late March, was being painted during the weekend of the Perth round and put together in record time.

A team of eight people put in exhaustive hours to ensure the car was ready for this weekend’s Sandown round. Once returned from the paint shop it took 17 days to build in preparation for today’s shakedown.

At Winton this afternoon, the team completed 20 laps. The purpose of today’s shakedown was to ensure the car is race ready and prepared for the rigours of V8 racing.

“I’m pretty happy to have the new car, it’s been a long time coming,” Jason Richards said.

“It’s pretty different to what I have driven so far, it’s like learning to drive a V8 all over again. The potential is amazing.

“The test today went without a hitch, it was a perfect day. I think it bodes well for the future.

“From this event onwards Murph and I can compare data, try new things and get the cars tuned sooner rather than later.

“The first four rounds of the season have been frustrating, but for us the season proper starts now.

“We’ve got 10 rounds to prove ourselves and show everyone what we’re capable of. There’s a lot of work to do, it won’t be easy but it’s definitely exciting.”