Gordon Shedden is confident he is yet to extract the maximum performance from his Leopard Racing Team WRT Volkswagen Golf GTi after the opening TCR International Series practice session at the Dubai Autodrome.
Shedden, deputising for Rob Huff as the latter manages his commitments in the World Touring Car Championship event at Macau, posted the tenth fastest time in the opening session, though had run as high as third.
The three-time British Touring Car Champion admitted the half-hour of running had been targeted towards acquainting himself with his new machinery and learning its quirks, rather than chasing outright performance.
“It’s just about understanding what makes it tick and it was important to just try and do some laps in that session and almost try and work out what doesn’t work, as much as what does.” said Shedden.
“There is definitely more in it, it’s just trying to use the time wisely in practice to find out what’s going to help us later on today and tomorrow in the race trim.”
Despite temperatures soaring into the high twenties in Dubai this weekend, Shedden said that, once inside the Volkswagen Golf GTi and on-circuit, he barely noticed the searing heat.
“[The circuit is] really sandy, off line it’s very dusty but it’s good and it’s the same for everybody. It’s hot out there, but once you’re in the car you almost don’t notice it, it’s just once you’re out of the car you realize how hot it is.”
Shedden admits that he still needs to find the limit with the machinery in some corners, commenting that the tyres give less response than the Dunlop compounds he is accustomed to in the UK.
“There’s not a lot of feel from the tyres, but it’s a different compound. That’s the thing – it’s just understanding where the limit is in the different types of corners. It’s a good starting point, I think.” he said.
“I think we need to do a few more laps, there’s just a bit more that we need to do. Maybe in the session we’ll tweak it a bit more just to try and get that first feel of what it might feel like on new tyres and qualifying trim. We’ll give it a go and see!”