PRACTICE ONE
TIME: 08:55-09:25
CONDITIONS: Patchy cloud, hot
FINISHED: 19th - 1:06.9442
FASTEST: Scott Pye - 1:06.2401
PRACTICE TWO
TIME: 10:05-10:35
CONDITIONS: Patchy cloud, hot
FINISHED: 7th - 1:06.5567
FASTEST: Scott McLaughlin - 1:06.2487
QUALIFYING – RACE 16
TIME: 11:25
CONDITIONS: Patchy cloud, hot
FINISHED: 9th - 1:06.5278
FASTEST: Jamie Whincup - 1:06.1381
RACE 16 / 38 LAPS
TIME: 13:50
CONDITIONS: Mostly sunny, hot
FINISHED: 5th
WINNER: Scott McLaughlin
RECAP
Another good start to the weekend for #8 with Nick sitting comfortably in the top 10 for both morning practice sessions. In the Top 15 qualifying shootout a malfunctioning helmet fan caused some distraction, resulting in a slightly disappointing p9 starting spot. Not to worry because from the start the R&J Batteries Commodore was right on the pace.
The early phase of the race was all about tyre management (with only 5 sets of precious soft tyres all weekend) and of course staying out of trouble – both of which Nick achieved with typical expertise. In on lap 18 from p2 for front and rear tyres on the right hand side of the car only, it was another super-fast BJR pitstop and Nick rejoined in p16.
Armed with fresh rubber and a fast #8 Nick was back in the top 10 in no time, dispatching Coulthard for p6 on lap 26 and De Pasquale for p5 soon after, a position he held to the finish. It was another solid result for BJR, once again proving the pace of the R&J Batteries Commodore with Percat at the helm. Now on to tomorrow and two more races at the Top End!
THE WORD FROM NICK
"A pretty solid day today and a good starting point to build on leading into tomorrow. The team gave me a strong, competitive, car so we just needed to work on our strategy to conserve our tyres to get us through the race. I had strong pace with 15 laps to go and got the maximum out of the car and tyres. Made some solid passes towards the end of the race to move up into P5. Overall a good day for the team, we’ll fine tune overnight and look towards that podium tomorrow."
COMING UP
SUNDAY 23RD AUGUST
10:20-10:30 ACST (10:50-11:00) AEST) | Qualifying – Race 17
10:35-10:45 ACST (11:05-11:10 AEST) | Qualifying – Race 18
12:00 ACST (12:30 AEST) |Race 17 / 38 Laps
14:25 ACST (14:55 AEST) | Race 18 / 38 Laps
