Double top tens for Heimgartner on Saturday in Perth
Brad Jones Racing is buoyed by Andre Heimgartner’s performances on Saturday, with strong qualifying performances.
The two shorter format sprint races netted a double top ten for Heimgartner.
Race 23
50 Laps
Andre Heimgartner (#8 R&J Batteries GR Supra), qualified 6th
Cameron Hill (#14 Statewide Bearings GR Supra) qualified 10th
Macauley Jones (#96 JBS Racing GR Supra) qualified 14th
During the first stint Heimgartner struggled a little for pace and lost a few positions, dropping outside the top 10. However a rapid stop on lap 22, helped him regain a bit of track position and he was able to push off the Safety Car restart late in the race, claiming 8th.
Hill wasn’t comfortable with the car balance during his first stint, opting to take a longer stop for four tyres on Lap 25. He was able to come home in 14th.
Jones was nursing a little bit of damage after some first lap contact on the #96 JBS Racing Supra, he ran longer than his team-mates making his CPS on Lap 30. The team opted to bring him to the garage under the Safety Car to fix the issue and sent him back out. Jones lost a lap for that and finished 23rd.
Race 24
50 Laps
Andre Heimgartner (#8 R&J Batteries GR Supra), qualified 6th
Macauley Jones (#96 JBS Racing GR Supra) qualified 17th
Cameron Hill (#14 Statewide Bearings GR Supra) qualified 20th
Heimgartner had an incredible start, running with the lead group and sitting fourth until the pit stop cycle. He took four tyres on lap 25, which fed him back out in seventh. The Kiwi was pretty happy with the car but believes there’s more to come from the R&J Batteries Supra.
Both Hill and Jones were caught in early battles and had some traffic during their first stint. There’s a bit more work to do on car balance for both #14 and #96.
SUPER2
Super2 drivers Brad Vaughan and Matt Hillyer are looking to find some speed overnight after a tricky Saturday in Perth.
Vaughan (Dare Iced Coffee #80 ZB Commodore) made the Top 5 Shootout and started fifth. He finished the race 6th.
Hillyer (Kangan Institute #2 ZB Commodore) struggled in both Qualifying and the race and crossed the line 16th.
QUOTEBOARD
SUPERCARS
Andre Heimgartner, #8 R&J Batteries Toyota GR Supra
“Good day here in the West. Nice to have a solid finish. We got two top 10 results, seventh in that last one, and qualified sixth for both races. Happy with the progress we made, heading in the direction. We just have to keep going and see if we can improve it slightly tomorrow to get a little further up.”
Cameron Hill, #14 Statewide Bearings Racing Toyota GR Supra
“Not a bad day. We had a good qualifying for the first race, but then we struggled on the super soft tyre. Didn't quite have the car speed we needed in either race. Was a bit loose in the first race and then probably overcompensated. Probably had a bit too much understeer in the second race so learning all the time. We'll go over the data tonight and try put it all together tomorrow.”
Macauley Jones, #96 JBS RacingToyota GR Supra
“Tough day today. Qualifying for the first race wasn’t too bad, we started 14th but we struggled in qualifying for the second race. We lacked pace in both races and had some issues with the brakes in the first one. We’ll go through all the data overnight and hopefully find some speed for tomorrow’s qualifying and race.”
SUPER2
Brad Vaughan #80 Brad Jones Racing ZB Commodore
“Started off well, qualified provisionally 2nd which got us into the Top Five Shootout. Then unfortunately, a slight little mistake at the last corner cost us which saw us starting P5 and then pretty processional race from there, losing a position off the start and finished 6th. So hopefully tomorrow, fresh day, new start, and we can start up the front and have a good race.”
Matthew Hillyer, #2 Brad Jones Racing ZB Commodore
“A bit of a tough day. Didn't quite convert the speed that we had yesterday into qualifying today. Was moving forward in the race and then made a mistake and then ended up just holding on to triangles for the rest of the race. We’ll go again tomorrow and hopefully have a better day.”