Tricky conditions in Race 3 hide potential for BJR

The third and final race of the Sydney 500 has brought with it new challenges for the Brad Jones Racing team.

From the stifling heat to the unpredictable rain, it was a difficult day to navigate.

Andre Heimgartner in the R&J Batteries Camaro led home the BJR quartet in 16th in Race 3.

Heimgartner had initial complaints of bent steering in the opening laps, the Kiwi soldiered on and made the most of the conditions.

His stablemate, Bryce Fullwood had gambled on strategy hoping the rain would come earlier than it did. 

The Middy’s Electrical Camaro ran until lap 44 when the crew called Fullwood to the lane as #14 was running low on fuel.

Only a handful of laps later did the rain start to fall in earnest. 

Both Jaxon Evans and Macauley Jones made headway in Race 3 after a tough qualifying session earlier in the day.

The Pizza Hut Racing Camaro reached the chequered flag in 18th and was followed home by the SCT Motorsport entry.

Buoyed by the speed of the cars and performance of all four drivers across the weekend, BJR is optimistic ahead of the second Supercars round at Albert Park.

Supercars heads to Melbourne to support the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix in three weeks (March 13-16).

Super2

Brad Jones Racing's Brad Vaughan put on a show in the second Super2 race of year.

Vaughan claimed his maiden podium with BJR, showcasing his potential in the #80 Dormer HVAC Services Commodore.
 
In an overnight turnaround, both of the BJR Super2 entries had qualifying pace earlier in the day with Vaughan sixth fastest and Cody Gillis setting a lap good enough for 11th.

Vaughan had an incredible race start . Firing off the line, the #80 Dormer HVAC Services ZB Commodore driver was in third by Turn 1.
 
In a remarkable battle for podium positions Vaughan made his way into second in the final few laps. 
 
On the other side of the garage, Cody Gillis’ race was not as enjoyable. 
 
The #9 Budget Petroleum ZB Commodore driver was caught up with steering issues after contact with another driver ultimately bringing him home in 22nd.
 
The Dunlop Super2 Series continues at Round 4 of the Supercars championship in Tasmania on May 9-11.

Supercars quoteboard

Andre Heimgartner
Supercars driver, #8 R&J Batteries Camaro

“Tough day and tough finish to the weekend for us. Overall, there's some big positives from this weekend but we're still obviously learning things which are making a little bit more sense than last year, which is good. I think we're in a stronger position and it's a long year, so looking forward to the rest of the season. We’ll keep chipping away and trying to move forward. Obviously today wasn’t ideal but exciting race nonetheless with the wet.”

Bryce Fullwood
Supercars driver, #14 Brad Jones Racing Camaro

“Really tough day here unfortunately for us in our car. I think the car is quite fast which is really good. We obviously held out as long as we thought we could for the rain. Unfortunately, we needed one more lap and we would have been able to put wets on and it would have been a really different story. Unfortunately, as soon as I dropped off the spike and got back in the fast lane it started raining, which wasn’t ideal. I think there's been a lot of positive this weekend though. The car is making more sense than it has previously, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what we can do with it for the rest of the year.”

Macauley Jones
Supercars driver, #96 Pizza Hut Racing Camaro

“Still need a bit of work with qualifying. It's definitely a weakness of mine at the moment, but I feel like we have a good direction. Race was a tricky one, pretty fun in the wet at the end. Didn't really feel like we had a great car to start with but it really came good towards the end which was a plus. Good to get the first round done and move on to the next one.”

Jaxon Evans
Supercars driver, #12 SCT Motorsport Camaro

“Not a great Sunday. Frustrating. Little mistake on my behalf in qualifying this morning meant we were out in part one, starting 19th. So little bit frustrating that probably not much more car speed in it but, a mistake is never nice when it costs you the chance to have another go in qualifying. The race was a tough one. Just a shocking start on my behalf which meant I dropped to the back of the field. Made up a few places by Turn 2,but really struggled with car balance compared to yesterday in the first stint. We went for a strategy call looking at the weather coming and thought it was going to pay off. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite the way. Came in for the last stop before it rained like everyone else and just struggled to sort of make any inroads from there. So finished 19th. Which isn’t great but that doesn't really dampen our spirits. We leave the first round 13th in the championship which isn't too bad, and plenty to work on so excited for what's to come, and hopefully we've got some good momentum going and everyone can improve as the season goes on.”

Super2 Quoteboard

Cody Gillis
Super2 driver, #9 Budget Petroleum ZB Commodore

“Had a positive start to Sunday, but a tough finish to the day. I think it was really good that we turned the car around overnight and came out firing in quali this morning. Brad was P6 and I was 11th, and we're all within a 10th and a half of each other which is a big improvement from yesterday. Starting off 11th was pretty good. I had a decent start but just got caught up with a bit of contact on lap one, bit of wheel-to-wheel stuff and bent the steering lap one. It was a long and very tough race, just trying to keep it on the track. But we finished. We finished in 22nd right down the back but huge championship points with Brad obviously coming in second on the podium, which was good, which means we were in the right direction with the car. Tassie is a bit of a wait but I’m looking forward to it.”

Brad Vaughan
Super2 driver, #80 Dormer HVAC

“How 24 hours makes a difference! Really good for BJR and for Dormer HVAC Services making it happen to finish 2nd today from second-to-last yesterday, it’s pretty good. Had a lot of pace, almost could have won the race if I got the move done a bit earlier but super happy with the weekend and hopefully we can keep the pace going into Round 2.”