Top-five finish for Heimgartner in Gold Coast Saturday downpour
Andre Heimgartner capitalised on his second-row start in the Saturday race on the Gold Coast with a top-five finish.
Heimgartner put in an incredible lap in the Shootout and then led the Brad Jones Racing contingent home in the wet race.
Sunday is a fresh start, with Qualifying kicking off the action at 11:20am AEST and similar conditions predicted for tomorrow.
Race 31
85 Laps
Andre Heimgartner (#8 R&J Batteries GR Supra) qualified 4th in the Top Ten Shootout
Macauley Jones (#96 Automotive Superstore GR Supra) started 15th
Cameron Hill (#14 Dare Racing GR Supra) started 19th
The rain hit just before the pitlane opened, with a torrential downpour soaking the circuit. The race was started under the Safety Car.
Heimgartner did an amazing job in the conditions to come home in 5th. He had very good car pace through the latter part of the race but struggled a bit in the first stint.
Jones unfortunately had a cross-threaded wheel nut in his first stop, which cost him significant time. He was then given 10 seconds’ worth of penalties for exceeding track limits. However, he was still able to run a clean race and finish in 16th.
Hill also suffered his fair share of dramas, having to serve a 15 second penalty during the race. He had radio dramas from his first stint, which made communication with the team difficult.
Similar conditions are expected for tomorrow, with rain predicted for the race in the afternoon.
QUOTEBOARD
SUPERCARS
Andre Heimgartner, #8 R&J Batteries Toyota GR Supra
“Solid in the shootout and was P4, so that was really good. First couple rows got a good start. First stint we just struggled a little bit for pace, but second stint the car sort of lit up and we figured out how to tune it a bit and it was good so it clawed back a bit of our deficit. But the damage was done in the first stint so we just climbed our way back up the fifth. So solid day, happy with that. But just need to work on optimising the wet car.”
Cameron Hill, #14 Dare Racing Toyota GR Supra
“It was really sketchy at the start of the race. Like the spray was terrible. Probably the worst it's been in the last recent times of wet races. That was pretty scary. Got tangled up with JLB unfortunately and I copped a penalty which put us a fairway behind the eight ball. But the car was actually very speedy and we caught back up and made some spots. But then for some reason I didn't have any speed in that final stint, so I need to understand why. But, the car was pretty good so we'll see what tomorrow's weather brings.”
Macauley Jones, #96 Automotive Superstore Toyota GR Supra
“My day was okay. I felt like we had pretty good potential today. In the wet the balance was really solid. Got a penalty for some kerb strikes which is a little bit annoying, but all in all, I think our pace is reasonably solid.”
ons are expected for tomorrow, with rain predicted for the race in the afternoon.