THE wait is over to see a Gen3 race car in the flesh, with the Blanchard Racing Team releasing the first images of its completed CoolDrive Mustang.
V8 Sleuth was on the ground as Tim Blanchard took the all-new Ford Supercar out on track for the very first time this morning at Winton Motor Raceway.
Following systems checks and promotional running earlier in the day, BRT primary driver Todd Hazelwood kickstarted the afternoon with a slightly longer stint during which he picked up the pace.
That was followed by a 30-lap run with Hazelwood at the wheel, only ending when the car stopped on-track out of fuel.
Lap times recorded by V8 Sleuth hovered in the vicinity of 1m24s/1m25s – still some way off the 1:18.2644s with which Shane van Gisbergen took the Saturday pole position at the 2022 Winton SuperSprint, although performance is clearly not a focus at this early stage for Hazelwood and BRT. It is understood the CoolDrive car did dip into the 1m20/1m21s bracket at some stage.
It was soon after the BRT Mustang was towed back to pitlane that the team revealed its livery to the wider public, becoming the first Supercars team to do so in the Gen3 era.
It’s more or less a similar look to the colours adorned by Tim Slade across seasons 2021-22, but with the CoolDrive blue now applied to the S650 Gen3 Mustang.
“The new BRT001 in its striking CoolDrive Auto Parts colours looks amazing,” said Hazelwood.
“The metallic blue paint really makes the finish of the car look super professional, and it looks fast just sitting still.
“The team here at BRT have done a superb job with the build of this brand new Mustang.
“They have aimed for perfection in every aspect, and when you look closely at the car, you can truly see the attention to detail.
“I’m working harder than ever to ensure the long hours, late nights and commitment this team has made will be rewarded with some great results in 2023.
“I’m sure the Ford fans will love our blue CoolDrive Mustang, and I’m keen to continue with the testing and development program.”
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Added John Blanchard, father of Tim: “The effort that Mirko (De Rosa, race engineer) and the entire crew have put into the build of this new Mustang is incredible, it is a tribute to the flexibility of a single-car operation.
“The build of the new Gen3 car started back September last year, when we started planning and preparing our resources in anticipation.
“We significantly increased our manufacturing capabilities, minimised outside commitments, picked up parts to save time on freight no matter where in the country they were, built as many components in house as possible to minimise reliance on third parties and just worked hard and long hours.
“I am very proud of everyone in our business and team for what they have achieved to get this car on track by February 1 – it has been a real team effort.
“The wider CoolDrive and entire BRT businesses have been heavily involved in a massive collaborative effort, whether it is leveraging our product sourcing and supply chain capabilities, our technical support of the components, or just simply picking up parts to save time on freight.
“CoolDrive has supplied nearly 90 components to the Gen3 build working closely with Supercars.
“It has been imperative that we are transparent with the teams and we are confident that any component available to BRT has been also available to other teams in the same timeframe.
“It’s obviously a very exciting time for Supercars with the introduction of the Gen3 project, which will truly level the playing field for competitors.
“It’s exciting to have Todd behind the wheel of the CoolDrive Mustang for the first time, and we’re looking forward to a big season, paying off the long hours, and the blood, sweat and tears the crew have put into this program to date.”
With today termed a shakedown (albeit with no mileage restrictions), BRT is hoping to return to Winton next week for its first official test day ahead of the February 22 all-in at Sydney Motorsport Park.
