Practice starts and installation laps in a freshly-rebuilt car were the focus for Southern Star Truck Centre/Anytime Fitness driver Cameron Hill in practice for Round 3 of the Porsche Wilson Security Carrera Cup Australia at Phillip Island today.
Hill was relieved just to be back on track, after his team collected the re-shelled Porsche 911 in the early hours of Thursday morning. He ended today’s practice running 13th overall after completing both 20-minute sessions on old tyres.
“Today we concentrated on ensuring everything with the car was operating properly after the repair job, and also rehearsing the start procedure to avoid a repeat of the Grand Prix disaster,” Hill said.
“The cars now have launch control, which the category organisers have introduced to preserve the clutches, so it’s something I wanted to get used to.
“The first practice was mainly an installation session, and the second practice was red flagged before we had the chance to set a fast time on a decent set of tyres.
“There is a lot of time to be gained when we use new tyres for qualifying, and I know there are still plenty of improvements for me to make in terms of driving technique.
“The key thing this weekend is seat time – I have the least Porsche racing miles of the entire Carrera Cup field, so it’s important for the team and me to learn as much as we can in every session,” Hill concluded.
Qualifying for Carrera Cup will be held at 11:35 tomorrow morning, followed by the race at 2:15 in the afternoon.