Even Holden doyen Roland Dane admits it may take a few rounds before his all-conquering team Red Bull Racing reins in Ford driver Scott McLaughlin's new Mustang.
DJR Team Penske's McLaughlin made an ideal start to his title defence by producing a dream return for the Ford Mustang and clean sweeping the Supercars opening round in Adelaide.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
He has a perfect 300-point championship lead going into the second round at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne in two weeks ahead of RBR's Shane van Gisbergen (258pts) and his teammate, seven-time series champ Jamie Whincup (234pts).
McLaughlin convincingly won both 250km races on Adelaide's tough street circuit in a Mustang that replaced Falcons in all six of Ford's teams this season, their first sighting on the grid since 1990.
RBR have claimed six of the last eight championships but Dane admitted they were playing catch-up after McLaughlin's stunning start.
"It was interesting. It was a solid start to the season (by RBR) but there is a bit to do," he said.
"There is a bit to sort out and hopefully over the next few weekends we can make some inroads.
"We have some work to do."
RBR star van Gisbergen - who finished third in both season-opening races - admitted his team may not make an impact until the fourth round at Phillip Island.
"Phillip Island is going to be the real test for us to see how much we have improved," he said.
"We had some big gains with the car but we didn't have the pace (in Adelaide).
"There are a few areas where we are deficient. We were nowhere (in qualifying) - the cars were very average."
To his credit McLaughlin was getting ahead of himself despite his perfect season start.
"You always hope and believe in your team. I felt we punched above our weight last year (to win title)," he said.
"But re-setting with a new car this year was just what we needed. Still, I walked into this weekend thinking maybe a couple of top fives would be great."
-AAP
