Tasman completes 'vital' test.

Greg Murphy and Jason Richards have completed what the former described as a 'vital' test before heading to their home round of the V8 Supercar Championship at Pukekohe next weekend.

The final Placemakers V8 meeting at the Auckland circuit is home not only to the two Kiwi drivers, but also most of the Tasman Motorsport team, and, as such, it is keen to put on a strong showing at round three of the season. Both drivers completed just over 100 laps of the 3km Winton Motor Raceway in preparation for the event, and Murphy was pleased with the progress that the outing enabled to the team to make.

"This was the first time we've tested both VE Commodores together, as only my car was ready for our first test last month, so it was an extremely vital day for the team," the four-time Pukekohe winner said, "Jason and I were able to back-to-back each other's cars and that's given us some insight into what's going on and where we need to be with each of them if we're to be competitive.

"Pukekohe is an important event for Tasman Motorsport. Last year was the end of a sensational run of success for me personally and it would be a nice start to my career move to this team if we can bring home a result, especially as it is our last time racing there."

Tasman Motorsport team manager Graham Jenkins labelled the test 'productive'.

"We had an extensive list of items to run through the day, testing various programmes including a new development engine, some thermal testing, brakes, even a little aerodynamics amongst other things," he said, "It wasn't a trouble-free day, as we had some issues here and there - we even had an alternator catch fire in Jason's car during the morning warm-up, which set us back until lunch. But, while there were no other teams present to gauge ourselves with, we were happy with the progress made, what we were able to resolve and also learn."

Murphy's car was fitted with the first of the team's newest development Holden Motorsport engines for the test, the second motor for Richards' car ready this week.

"It's only early days in our engine development programme, but both Murph' and Jason were pleased with the new motor - Royce McCort and Neill 'Part' Burns have done a terrific job," Jenkins continued.

Richards admitted that, while he struggled to get through the full programme due to the delayed start, he was encouraged and is looking forward to the annual trip across the Tasman.

"It was frustrating not getting a full day in but, when we actually got out onto the track, we lapped consistently in the 1min 24secs range, and a 24.1 was as quick as I've ever been around Winton - at any test," he said, "I've never had much luck at home while, with four wins, Murph' has owned the place, so I'll be leaning on my team-mate for all his help and advice. I'd like to change my fortunes before we move to Hamilton for the street race next year."

Tasman's enduro driver Mark Noske also gained some valuable seat time, completing a 27-lap stint in his first drive of a VE Commodore ahead of the traditional Sandown and Bathurst endurance races later this year.