Two-time V8 Supercars champion Marcos Ambrose has admitted he wanted to take part in a test day for Dick Johnson Racing/Team Penske in Queensland this week.
The 38-year-old was initially slated for a period behind the wheel during Thursday’s test run at Queensland Raceway but ended up turning in no laps during the day.
The test day was seen as a perfect chance for Ambrose to get some time behind the wheel following his shock decision just two events into his comeback to the championship to make way for Scott Pye.
At the time, Ambrose revealed he was struggling to get up to speed with the DJR Team Penske Falcon and the quality of the championship and felt Pye could do a better job in the short term.
And it seems his decision has cost him on Thursday with Pye doing all the driving before next weekend’s round in Perth.
“I put my hand up to drive if they wanted me to, but Scott’s going to drive the car in Perth and they wanted to give him the best shot at running well there,” Ambrose told motorsports website Speedcafe.com.
“I would love to have had a drive and seen what the car feels like right now, but I’m good with it.
“I voluntarily stepped aside to help the team move forward and, with one test day and a lot of stuff to run through, you don’t want to be doing driver changes.”
The decision to keep Ambrose out of the driver’s seat means it’s unlikely he’ll be back behind the wheel in a competitive capacity any time soon.
DJR Team Penske managing director Ryan Story made it clear Pye was now the team’s priority.
Ambrose is poised to not feature competitively until the opening endurance race of the year, the Sandown 500, in September.
“We’re not going to have Marcos Ambrose in one week and Scott Pye in the next,” Story said.
“We want to make sure that we’ve got the whole package overall in a better state before we determine when Marcos goes back in as the primary driver.”
Ambrose will head west with the team to Perth but his only driving is set to be a corporate ride day at the Barbagallo circuit on the Monday after the event.
