Feeney predicts "crazy" Supercars opener

A full field of Gen3 Ford Mustangs and Chevrolet Camaros will debut on the streets of Newcastle next month.

They will do so under a cloud of uncertainty as well with delays to the development process meaning teams have only started testing in the last week.

Some teams are yet to turn a wheel with a Gen3 car yet with the likes of Team 18, Erebus Motorsport, Walkinshaw Andretti United and Brad Jones Racing still completing their first builds.

Triple Eight hit the track for the first time with its race cars today with Shane van Gisbergen and Feeney both shaking down their Camaros at Queensland Raceway.

That was only after a late scramble for the team to prepare the two Camaros, plus a third Camaro fielded by customer team PremiAir Racing, that lasted until the wee hours of this morning.

Having seen the rush to get the cars ready for testing, Feeney reckons there is more madness ahead as the team works through its testing programme ahead of the Newcastle 500.

And he is predicting it will continue once the season starts as well, Feeney expecting the first two races in Newcastle to be "crazy".

"It was pretty exciting this morning driving in," he said of the shakedown.

"We're still working on some comfort for me inside [the car], it's very different to the last couple of cars so we're building up to it. But it's been good so far.

"The next 30 days are going to be crazy to get to Newcastle. I know how hard the team has been working, day and night, to get to this day. And we've still got quite a while to get to the first round.

"I'm looking forward to it; another couple of test days building on today. We're learning as much as we can today to maximise the next couple of days we've got.

"Newcastle is going to be crazy. If you expect it to be the same as normal you're a dreamer. It will be pretty wild.

"We're all looking forward to it because we don't know what to expect. We've got to put a lot of work in eliding up to it, and throughout the year, to make sure we try and stay at the top."

Not only has Triple Eight built its race cars and the customer cars for PremiAir, it has also played the leading role in the development of the Gen3 platform as a whole.

The non-manufacturer specific parts were effectively all designed by T8 on behalf of Supercars, while the team is also the General Motors homologation team.

"This is by far the team's biggest achievement," said T8 managing director Jamie Whincup at the shakedown.

"We've built ventilators, we've built aeroplane parts, we've built race components throughout the world – but to deliver this Gen3 programme and see two cars out on track, it's full credit to everyone in the organisation. I couldn't be prouder."

Whincup said a no holds barred approach to prototype testing meant his drivers were offering up good feedback now they're in their race cars.

"The feedback has been really positive," said Whincup.

"The drivers have been quite critical in the prototype stage, getting the car to a place where they are comfortable. Now we've finally built our own [cars] and they have the chance to make it their own with the seat and ergonomics, they are actually really comfortable.

"We're still working on ergonomics and reliability, but by the end of today, and certainly the next test, we'll start working on making the car quicker."