More to find at The Bend for BJR
Brad Jones Racing has a strong foundation to build from after three practice sessions at The Bend 500 on Friday.
Two cars finished inside the top ten in the final session of the day with pace in hand for the #14 AlphaTheta Camaro.
Andre Heimgartner drove the #8 R&J Batteries entry to seventh fastest in the afternoon, with a 1:49.7942.
While Bryce Fullwood in the #14 was only two tenths off with a monster second sector time, but was left chasing some time in the first sector.
Co-drivers were given a chance to re-familiarise themselves with their Camaros with a half hour earlier in the day.
Declan Fraser (#8 R&J Batteries Camaro) was fifth fastest in that outing, while Jack Smith in the SCT Motorsport entry only narrowly missed out on a top ten spot.
All co-drivers will get a steer again tomorrow morning at 9:50am ACST/10:20AEST, while qualifying for the main event is slated for 15:05ACTS/15:35AEST.
RESULTS
Practice One
P.13 - Jaxon Evans & Jack Smith, #12 SCT Motorsport Camaro
P.17 - Andre Heimgartner & Declan Fraser, #8 R&J Batteries Camaro
P.23 - Macauley Jones & Jordan Boys, #96 Pizza Hut Racing Camaro
P.26 - Bryce Fullwood & Brad Vaughan, #14 AlphaTheta Racing Camaro
Practice Two (Co- Drivers)
P.5 - Declan Fraser, #8 R&J Batteries Camaro
P.12 - Jack Smith, #12 SCT Motorsport Camaro
P.15 -Brad Vaughan, #14 AlphaTheta Racing Camaro
P.16 - Jordan Boys, #96 Pizza Hut Racing Camaro
Practice Three
P.7 - Andre Heimgartner & Declan Fraser, #8 R&J Batteries Camaro
P.10 - Bryce Fullwood & Brad Vaughan, #14 AlphaTheta Racing Camaro
P.17 - Jaxon Evans & Jack Smith, #12 SCT Motorsport Camaro
P.18 - Macauley Jones & Jordan Boys, #96 Pizza Hut Racing Camaro
SUPERCARS QUOTEBOARD
Andre Heimgartner
Supercars driver, #8 R&J Batteries Camaro
“Today was not too bad. We made some good changes. The car in the last session had speed, which is really positive, so it feels nice. A bit more on the driving, a bit more on the setup, and then we’ll go again tomorrow and see if we get a result. But it’s a nice way to end a Friday with a nice little boost.”
Declan Fraser
Supercars co-driver, #8 R&J Batters Camaro
“A good day. I’m pretty happy with how it all ended up – fifth for me and I think seventh for Andre. Overall, we made some changes that were in a positive direction. Keen to go after it tomorrow.”
Bryce Fullwood
Supercars driver, #14 AlphaTheta Racing Camaro
"Good to get day one here at the in the books with a couple of practice sessions. It was a very sort of broken practice, the first practice session for us having to bed some brakes and stuff like that after the engine issue at the test day and then the rain (in Practice 1). Brad did a good job in the second practice where we really had no idea where the car was for him because I didn’t really get any laps in it myself. We then made some changes and I’m much happier with the car.
"In the last practice, we didn’t phase the tyre very well. I think there’s a bit more performance on the table and I made a couple of mistakes myself, so I think the potential is not too bad. Although I did finish tenth, I’m still nine tenths off Will (Brown), so we have a lot to find.
"I think the field will condense a lot more as the weekend goes on. But a fun day overall, and ready to come back tomorrow, practice, and qualify again, then hopefully we can improve the car a bit more day on day.”
Brad Vaughan
Supercars co-driver, #14 AlphaTheta Racing Camaro
“Today was good. Limited laps for both of us really with the short sessions, but there are no trophies for Friday, so we just go through the procedures and get into tomorrow.
Macauley Jones
Supercars driver, #96 Pizza Hut Racing Camaro
“I think today wasn’t too bad. I feel like we learned a fair bit which is good. I feel like we weren’t too happy with the direction in the morning but felt a heap better in the afternoon. We probably just didn’t get the most out of the green tyre run that we finally got to do in the last session. So yeah, some key positives from the day and a couple of things to work on overnight as well.”
Jordan Boys
Supercars co-driver, #96 Pizza Hut Racing Camaro
“I feel like we didn’t roll out that good, but the guys have worked really well together to get us into a better spot which is a positive for tomorrow."
Jaxon Evans
Supercars driver, #12 SCT Motorsport Camaro
“It wasn’t a bad day actually and I am pretty happy with that last practice session. The green tyre run wasn’t ideal; we didn’t really phase the tyres right, but I feel like we’re heading in the right direction with car balance. It’s good to have Jack back in the car with some speed and hopefully we roll out for another good day of practice and qualifying tomorrow.”
Jack Smith
Supercars co-driver, #12 SCT Motorsport Camaro
“I thought today was pretty productive. I had one run in the car while Jaxon had two. I think we made improvements in all of the sessions and I think we’re not far away from where we need to be with just a couple of little things to fix."