Chris Vermeulen has had his first taste of V8 Supercar machinery after joining the Britek Motorsport squad for a day of running at Winton Motor Raceway.

The Rizla Suzuki MotoGP ace hit the track at Winton for the first time since 1999 for the test, being given an oversight of the Fujitsu Racing Falcon before sitting beside V8 Supercar star Bright for some hot laps of the three-kilometre circuit.

The winner of this year's French MotoGP then jumped into the driver's seat for eight laps, before returning to the pits for further discussion of the Ford with Bright and Chief Engineer Geoff Slater.

A further eight laps on track followed, with Vermeulen improving his speed to be around 4.5 seconds off the pace Bright had been setting throughout the day.

Bright then climbed back into the driver's seat to give the Vermeulen some extra tuition on getting the most out of the Ford V8 Supercar.

"Just incredible," he said. "The only real thing I can compare with my Suzuki MotoGP motorcycle is the fact that both machines are fast, but from there it's completely different.

"Braking is the biggest surprise. For something that's around nine-times heavier than what I race, the stopping performance is amazing.

"Power from the V8 race engine is also very impressive. I can see why these things are so popular with the drivers and fans alike.

"Vision in the car is very limited to what I'm used to. Being inside and having a rollcage around you, plus the seats and the harnesses is a complete contrast to simply jumping on a bike!