After turning his first laps in an Australian V8 Supercar, Jesse Love shared his initial impressions as he prepares for his debut in the Series. The young driver will make a one-off start in Supercars’ second tier this weekend with Terry Wyhoon’s Image Racing outfit, following his first test session in the ZB Commodore at Mallala Motorsport Park.
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Fellow NASCAR star Austin Cindric, who’s also spent time in the land down under lately, had noted that the Supercar drives considerably better than he expected, praising its overall downforce. He observed that the car felt lighter, carried more grip, and simply behaved better in every phase. When he compared it to his NASCAR Cup car, he pointed out that the current-generation stock car is far more rigid.
Love echoed the steep learning curve after completing several familiarization runs in the Gen2 machine, using an earlier effort from Jordan Boys as a reference. He said the initial laps showed him just how demanding the car could be, calling it the most physical machine he has ever driven, despite coming from midgets and sprint cars, which already require more strength.
“It’s pretty nuts just how technical everything is. Jordan has given me a really good reference to go off of. It’s kind of weird getting used to the right foot brake; it’s pretty weird getting used to a lot of things, really. But I feel like I should be able to figure it out by the end of the day. It’s definitely unlike anything I’ve ever driven,” Love said at lunchtime, with several laps still left to complete.
As Love expanded on the contrast between his RCR Chevrolet and the Commodore, Love said the most striking differences involved power and power delivery. He pointed out how little throttle a driver can apply while the car is still rotating and emphasized that squaring the car up before committing to the power is essential. The power itself caught his attention as well.
“It feels like I have way more horsepower in this car than I do (in) my Xfinity car. They’re just a lot more crazy than an Xfinity car, and obviously, the braking potential is unreal,” he reviewed.
This year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series winner @jesselovejr1 got his first Supercars laps today in a Holden ZB Commodore at Mallala ahead of his Super2 debut.
Via @speedcafe @avl_motorsport#NASCAR #Supercars #RepcoSC https://t.co/hjVOKcgJaX
— Simon Chapman (@simonchapman_) November 24, 2025
Following Cindric’s lead from his Gen3 cameo, Love committed to mastering right-foot braking rather than reverting to the left-foot technique he uses in the U.S. He vowed not to attempt the left foot at all, avoiding any temptation to rely on it. He said that commitment likely saved him a few times as he managed rear locking throughout the day, and he has no intention of changing his approach.
Still, he knows the low-key laps at Mallala represent a very different level of difficulty compared to what awaits on the streets of Adelaide. He admitted Adelaide “is going to be really hard,” but said he is eager to learn. He added that being competitive will make the experience enjoyable, but if he is not, he expects the weekend to be far less pleasant.
