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Triple Eight decides against F1-style steering wheel

Triple Eight has decided not to use a Formula 1-style steering wheel for this weekend's Sandown 500, after it was trialled by Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes in Friday practice.

The steering wheel of Jamie Whincup, Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden

The steering wheel of Jamie Whincup, Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden

Shane van Gisbergen

The factory Holden squad debuted the radical-looking wheel this morning, it's styling more akin to an open-wheeler or a DTM car than a normal Supercars wheel.

Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes both sampled it across the first two sessions, before returning to the conventional unit for this evening's final hit-out. 

The sister car of Shane van Gisbergen/Garth Tander ran the standard wheel throughout all three sessions.

While the F1-style wheel won't return this weekend, Whincup said the trial was mostly positive, and that it's likely to be trialled again in the future. 

“We have constantly got new parts," said Whincup. "There’s half a dozen new parts on the car most rounds but one of those this weekend is the steering wheel. It’s visible, it’s always cool to talk about. 

"We have been working on it for the last three or four months I’d say, just trying to get something a little bit nicer, the buttons in a better position. 

"Craig had a spin with it this morning so he tested that out; we were a bit worried with not having a bottom and a top whether it would be okay to do the big shuffle. 

"[We] might have to test it out again at [Symmons Plains] as well for the hairpin, but it’s definitely a better thing. 

"We probably won’t run it this weekend but it’s good to get some miles on it."

 

Lowndes added that the wheel is "nice to driver with", but said the challenge was remembering where the buttons were, having become so used to the standard wheel set-up.

"The hardest thing is, because of your muscle memory of the layout of the old wheel, is knowing which button to press and pressing the right one," explained the veteran.

The steering wheel of Jamie Whincup, Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden

The steering wheel of Jamie Whincup, Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden

Photo by: Dirk Klynsmith

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