Johnson and Moffat kick off 2011 campaign in Abu Dhabi.
The first practice session of the 2011 V8 Supercars Championship proved a promising start for the new Jim Beam Racing combination of Steven Johnson (6th fastest) and James Moffat (25th and only 1.3 seconds behind his team mate).
Moffat got his first look at the Yas Marina circuit on a set of test day tyres and was disappointed at being four seconds off the pace.
But the rookie's expression improved by the end of session two when he lost four seconds with his first outing on the Dunlop Sprint Tyre.
"I have been looking forward to getting out and racing here all year," said Moffat.
"The car wasn't fun in the first session, which was pretty much due to the old tyres.
'Running on the sprint tyres made a big difference. But we were conservative on tyre use for the day, and while the car improved, we are probably a little further down than where we should be - but it was a good start"
The Moff ended up with a best time of 1.58.39 for the day
Previous Yas Marina experience and sprint tyres helped stablemate Steven Johnson find some balance as he moved from 19th to 6th fastest in his two practice sessions.
Also being conservative with tyres, Johnson pushed even lap times of 1.57 in the last session to take advantage of gradually improving grip on the circuit.
"I am very happy with where we ended up after the final session," said Junior post practice.
"I made some errors through turns 18 and 19 - as you head underneath the Yas Hotel - but was still in the .57's which is promising.
"Maybe the sprint tyre and our cars are a good combination for this circuit, and it will be interesting to see whether the circuit grips up tomorrow for qualifying - it's something that we will be monitoring very closely'
Johnson was also impressed with Moffats first up session.
"Moff did a great job first up," he said.
"I still remember the first time I raced in this Series full time and it was challenging.
"This weekend marks a new start for both Moff and Jim Beam Racing and we have all worked expectionally hard to prep for this year.
"The Team has done a great job - no doubt about it - and we will take each Event one at a time."
The first practice session of the 2011 V8 Supercars Championship proved a promising start for the new Jim Beam Racing combination of Steven Johnson (6th fastest) and James Moffat (25th and only 1.3 seconds behind his team mate).
Moffat got his first look at the Yas Marina circuit on a set of test day tyres and was disappointed at being four seconds off the pace.
But the rookie's expression improved by the end of session two when he lost four seconds with his first outing on the Dunlop Sprint Tyre.
"I have been looking forward to getting out and racing here all year," said Moffat.
"The car wasn't fun in the first session, which was pretty much due to the old tyres.
'Running on the sprint tyres made a big difference. But we were conservative on tyre use for the day, and while the car improved, we are probably a little further down than where we should be - but it was a good start"
The Moff ended up with a best time of 1.58.39 for the day
Previous Yas Marina experience and sprint tyres helped stablemate Steven Johnson find some balance as he moved from 19th to 6th fastest in his two practice sessions.
Also being conservative with tyres, Johnson pushed even lap times of 1.57 in the last session to take advantage of gradually improving grip on the circuit.
"I am very happy with where we ended up after the final session," said Junior post practice.
"I made some errors through turns 18 and 19 - as you head underneath the Yas Hotel - but was still in the .57's which is promising.
"Maybe the sprint tyre and our cars are a good combination for this circuit, and it will be interesting to see whether the circuit grips up tomorrow for qualifying - it's something that we will be monitoring very closely'
Johnson was also impressed with Moffats first up session.
"Moff did a great job first up," he said.
"I still remember the first time I raced in this Series full time and it was challenging.
"This weekend marks a new start for both Moff and Jim Beam Racing and we have all worked expectionally hard to prep for this year.
"The Team has done a great job - no doubt about it - and we will take each Event one at a time."