BJR fully focused on Bathurst 1000
Brad Jones Racing has had a challenging start to the Supercars endurance season, but the team will look to regroup ahead of the Bathurst 1000.
Macauley Jones and Jordan Boys led home the BJR crew at The Bend 500 in South Australia, finishing 14th.
The pair had struggled in the opening stint with pace but found their footing and had a strong run to the flag in the Pizza Hut Racing Camaro.
In the #12 SCT Motorsport Camaro Jaxon Evans and Jack Smith had pace in hand during the first 70 or so laps.
They ultimately finished the 102 lap race in 18th.
Co-driver Brad Vaughan had a massive first stint in the #14 AlphaTheta Racing Camaro at his home track.
However the car was a struggle to drive for the young gun and Bryce Fullwood, the #14 saw the flag in 20th.
It was a very difficult day for the R&J Batteries crew with a failing clutch and then damage in the early laps that meant the #8 had to come to the garage for repairs.
The car was fixed and Declan Fraser was on his way but was multiple laps down at that point.
He and Andre Heimgartner finished 27th.
The team at BJR will take the next few weeks to analyse their weekend at The Bend ahead of the Bathurst 1000 next month (October 9-12).
While the team focuses on preparing for the Great Race, the crew will also be preparing to duel it out in the Pirtek Pitstop Challenge finals with both pit crews qualifying.
RESULTS
Warm Up
P.13 - Bryce Fullwood & Brad Vaughan, #14 AlphaTheta Racing Camaro
P.14 - Andre Heimgartner & Declan Fraser, #8 R&J Batteries Camaro
P.24 -Jaxon Evans & Jack Smith, #12 SCT Motorsport Camaro
P.26 - Macauley Jones & Jordan Boys, #96 Pizza Hut Racing Camaro
Race 26
P.14 - Macauley Jones & Jordan Boys, #96 Pizza Hut Racing Camaro
P.18 - Jaxon Evans & Jack Smith, #12 SCT Motorsport Camaro
P.20 - Bryce Fullwood & Brad Vaughan, #14 AlphaTheta Racing Camaro
P.27 - Andre Heimgartner & Declan Fraser, #8 R&J Batteries Camaro
SUPERCARS QUOTEBOARD
Andre Heimgartner
Supercars driver, #8 R&J Batteries Camaro
“A difficult day – it just didn’t go our way. Everything unfortunately went wrong. There were parts that sort of worked, but overall it was a challenging day. Looking forward to Bathurst, though – it’s always a tough event and a lot can happen. We’ll just see how it unfolds. I’m also looking forward to all the different experiences that come with Bathurst; the camping, the crowds and the overall atmosphere. It’s always exciting and we will be optimistic. . "
Declan Fraser
Supercars co-driver, #8 R&J Batteries Camaro
“It was a bit of a rough one for us. We had a clutch problem straight away on the line and then completely lost it as I took off, which made things really difficult. Unfortunately I also got taken out by someone. There were 26 blokes out there, and most did a pretty good job keeping racing room – but there was one guy who didn’t. It’s a bit of a shame, as it bumped Andre out of the top ten in the championship. That makes it really disappointing for us, especially considering he’s just a wild card. That said, we know we had good pace, so moving on to Bathurst, we’ll go out and aim to win it. "
Bryce Fullwood
Supercars driver, #14 AlphaTheta Racing Camaro
"Tough day here for us in car 14. Stemming from qualifying. Obviously, qualified quite out of position, unfortunately. I think we read the weekend a little bit wrong with the car set up, we sort of got a little bit carried away with it going down a bit of a different path. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I think we sort of put the normal stuff back in it, and I think it would have been fine. So a bit of a shame. Was a long day to make not many spots. I had high hopes we could make some spots. Looking forward to Bathurst. I think we've got a bit more experience with this car at Bathurst. Looking forward to seeing what we can do there."
Brad Vaughan
Supercars co-driver, #14 AlphaTheta Racing Camaro
"A little bit of a boring day, to be honest. Not much action on the race track. I made a few spots in the first stint, and then Bryce brought it back home. A little bit difficult to pass when everyone spreads out. Didn't quite have the car speed as well. "
Macauley Jones
Supercars driver, #96 Pizza Hut Racing Camaro
“Not too bad of a race. I actually feel like our car was quite strong today, which is always nice. The race running green was a pretty interesting one – I probably would have thought there’d be more safety cars, or at least one. But I think we did a good job of tuning the car over the race and getting it into a window that was pretty solid. Parts of it were pretty lonely out there, to be honest, so that’s not so bad. Overall, I think we had a decent race car today."
Jordan Boys
Supercars co-driver, #96 Pizza Hut Racing Camaro
“A better day today. I did feel like we were struggling early in the race. I then made some good moves early, but just made a few mistakes which is annoying. Then handed the keys over to Macca, where I felt like he did a really solid job and I am happy with where we got to with in the car at the end. Macca just drove a really solid race and did a really good job. Happy with P14 and looking onto Bathurst."
Jaxon Evans
Supercars driver, #12 SCT Motorsport Camaro
“Not a bad race – but an unfortunate end. I thought Jack did a really good job in the opening stint and I felt like we had some good car speed. I struggled with some braking inconsistency, so that’s probably something to dive into and have a look at. It then all just sort of fell apart for me in the last stint and I’m a little bit disappointed for the guys with that performance. Although we finished not too far from where we started, we still went backwards. There are some positive signs, so we’ll regroup and look forward to the next one at Bathurst. "
Jack Smith
Supercars co-driver, #12 SCT Motorsport Camaro
“Pretty up and down race. I think we had pace at points but it just didn’t quite last. We had a few difficulties and issues as we got deeper into the race. But I feel like we’re not far away – with moments where things were looking positive. Overall, I thought everyone worked pretty well as a team and we can use that come Bathurst."