Winton Motor Raceway looked like an unscheduled Supercars race meeting with all major Victorian-based teams completing testing on Tuesday before heading to the year's biggest event, the Bathurst 1000, next week.
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Border prodigy Dave Reynolds was there with his Erebus teammate Anton DePasquale, Tickford Racing had its three Mustangs doing laps all day, piloted by Chaz Mostert, Cam Waters and Will Davidson, Walkinshaw Andreti, Kelly Bros Nissan, Irwin Tools Racing and Garry Rogers Motorsport were all joined by Albury outfit Brad Jones Racing, who also had all three cars on track.
The teams use the day to test last-minute upgrades and changes to setups, as well as give co-drivers time to get used the cars before they hit the track at Bathurst on Thursday week.
In years past, the Sandown 500 was the first endurance event of the year, about three weeks before Bathurst.
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A change to this year's calendar sees Sandown move to after Bathurst, so getting co-drivers time in cars has become a big priority - especially when heading to a daunting circuit like Mount Panorama, where speeds are high and the concrete walls are close.
A big shunt by a co-driver in practice on Thursday or Friday can ruin a team's chances of winning on Sunday.
The BJR stable of Nick Percat/Tim Blanchard, Tim Slade/Ash Walsh and Macca Jones/Dean Canto were all pushing hard during the day.
"There's a lot to prepare for. On a pre-endurance test day we do brake pad change practice, driver change practice and get a lot of laps done for the co-drivers," chief engineer Julian Stannard said.
"Getting them track time is really important. We also check all the little things like the driver's seat inserts to make sure they're comfortable.
"You don't want any minor distractions during race week."
BJR have been steadily improving throughout the season and they have a few upgrades that they hope will make a difference next week.
"We've got some new aerodynamics that we are testing," Stannard said.
"We know the Winton circuit well, so even though it's very different from Bathurst, we can map any improvements easily.
"We've been trying a few things in the last couple of rounds so coming back to Winton allows us to validate it before we run at Bathurst."
BJR is yet to win the big race, with Brad Jones finishing second three times as a driver, while the team has had numerous podiums but has never stood on the top step.
Stannard feels this could be their year.
"I'm feeling confident. Everyone is making gains and they all feel confident coming into Bathurst, and until you get there and put some laps down, that's when you find out. But at this point - we're feeling pretty good," he added.
