A kép forrása: USAracing
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Shane van Gisbergen, a New Zealand racing driver, commented on his first superspeedway test with the words, „I have never done anything like this before, I am completely new to it!” This year, he will compete in a full season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Kaulig Racing, as well as participating in seven Cup races. However, in order to be able to compete in the national second-tier series at the opening race in Daytona on February 17th, he is required to participate in the ARCA Menards Series race held on the same track and day. NASCAR itself has set this as a kind of qualification test, as SVG has never driven on a larger oval track. The three-time Supercars champion first took to the 2.5-mile track on January 12th during the ARCA collective test. His best lap time was 172.180 mph, placing him 38th out of a field of 52 cars. A few weeks ago, he openly admitted to being nervous about superspeedways and has many questions in his mind. He said, „I still don’t have exact answers” after the test. „Hopefully, in a few weeks, I will know more. During the day, I only completed single laps, I didn’t go for laps in groups of two or three, and most of the time I was at the back of the pack. Even so, it was great to be on the track and feel how the car moves, how sensitive it is to the smallest changes, and so on.” In recent months, SVG has spent a lot of time with virtual superspeedway racing, which, according to his own admission, has been a great help to him, but not in every aspect. „One thing that surprised me were the G-forces. You definitely don’t experience that in the simulator! It’s a great feeling, but obviously, you can’t prepare for it sitting behind a monitor.” As he stands at the threshold of his first full-time NASCAR season, he does not have unrealistic expectations of himself. „I’m trying to prepare well. Everything depends on this, and the results will come. There will surely be difficulties and accidents, but I will learn and improve week by week, which will result in natural development. I think I will do well on the road courses, I feel more comfortable there. But when it comes to ovals, I have no idea where I will be. I am open to the challenge.” On the first day of the ARCA test, Jake Finch won with the fastest lap of 184.132 mph, followed by Toni Breidinger in second place with a fastest lap of 183.989 mph. Among the field, Marco Andretti also made his presence felt, finishing the session in fifth place with a lap time of 182.371 mph.
