Heimgartner Claims Magnificent Podium on the Streets of Surfers Paradise
Andre Heimgartner raced to a magnificent podium finish in Race 29 on the streets of Surfers Paradise.
The Brad Jones Racing driver started from sixth on the grid and remained in touch with the front-runners throughout the gruelling 250km contest.
Thanks to a combination of strong pace and smart strategy during his stints, the R&J Batteries Racing driver put himself in the perfect position when a late Safety Car was called.
Heimgartner then had to fend off challengers from behind and even made a move for second place, ultimately crossing the line in third to secure a well-deserved podium.
Jaxon Evans, in the SCT Motorsport entry, was able to consolidate his earlier qualifying performance, bringing the car home in 15th position.
It was a much tougher day for Bryce Fullwood, whose Shure Racing Camaro was caught up in a first-lap incident that resulted in a drive-through penalty. He lost a lap serving the penalty and was unable to recover back into contention.
Macauley Jones in the Pizza Hut Racing car also endured a difficult race, which was effectively over before it began due to a battery issue on the #96 Camaro.
Jones came to pit lane, and although the team was able to fix the problem and send him back out, he too finished a lap down.
Brad Jones Racing now turns its attention to the penultimate round of the Championship at Sandown, taking place from November 14–16.
SUPERCARS RESULTS
Qualifying Race 29
7 - Andre Heimgartner, #8 R&J Batteries Camaro
12 - Bryce Fullwood, #14 Shure Racing Camaro
16 - Jaxon Evans, #12 SCT Motorsport Camaro
23 - Macauley Jones, #96 Pizza Hut Racing Camaro
Top Ten Shootout
6 - Andre Heimgartner, #8 R&J Batteries Camaro
Race 29
3 - Andre Heimgartner, #8 R&J Batteries Camaro
15 - Jaxon Evans, #12 SCT Motorsport Camaro
19 - Macauley Jones, #96 Pizza Hut Racing Camaro
23 - Bryce Fullwood, #14 Shure Racing Camaro
SUPERCARS QUOTEBOARD
Andre Heimgartner
Supercars driver, #8 R&J Batteries Camaro
“Really happy with today. Great to get that result. Car speed was amazing, and just the pit stops from the guys and the strategy from Tony [Woodward, Race Engineer] was on point. So yeah, big relief. It’s been a tough year obviously, not many podiums or very successful outside of the garage so to come through like that's bloody awesome.”
Bryce Fullwood
Supercars driver, #14 Shure Racing Camaro
“Tough day today here Surfers Paradise. Unfortunately, the car's a little bit bent after my crash on Friday which has made it a little bit challenging for us this weekend. We qualified really well in 12th, and then I unfortunately made an error in the race and locked the right front side which is the bent side of the car and hit Will Davison so I'm really sorry to him and his crew. Turned him around and got a pit lane drive through. There wasn't a safety car for us to catch back up. A race to forget for us, but I feel like there was a lot of positives even with a bent car this weekend. So, I'm excited to get it all fixed up and see what we can do at Sandown in a few weeks.”
Macauley Jones
Supercars driver, #96 Pizza Hut Racing Camaro
“Really just struggled this weekend. Sort of missing the mark a little bit there and then the race was disappointing to not even really start it. So having a battery failure which was really sudden. I didn't have any signs of that so that was pretty frustrating. And then sort of just circulated from then on. Not the greatest weekend. I feel like I’ve got a bit to improve on myself for this place.”
Jaxon Evans
Supercars driver, #12 SCT Motorsport Camaro
“It was an alright day. Qualifying felt like we were a bit hard done by the red flag for the timing and sort of session flow but it's no excuse. Then in the race, felt like I was learning on the fly. I obviously hadn't done the race from yesterday so didn't know much about tyre management and things like that, but overall happy to see the checkered flag. Had a bit of a scare halfway through or towards the end when I hit the fence, but thankfully it wasn't too bad. Brought the car home 14th. Awesome to see Car 8 on the podium. Really deserved. Hopefully we can regroup and go again at Sandown.”