Wet Thursday at Mount Panorama doesn't dampen BJR’s spirits
Typical Bathurst weather has played a part in practice running on Thursday at Mount Panorama.
The two hour-long sessions that opened the 1000 were largely uneventful for the Brad Jones Racing team.
Jordan Boys in the Pizza Hut Racing Camaro was the fastest of the BJR co-drivers in the latter session, which saw a number of cars reluctant to run in the tricky wet conditions.
The R&J Batteries Camaro was inside the top ten at the end of the first practice session, with Andre Heimgartner setting a lap good enough for 8th.
The SCT Motorsport Camaro changed their steering rack after an issue in the first practice and then with the variable conditions weren't able to get a decent read on where they sit in the order.
While the Automotive Superstore Camaro of Bryce Fullwood and Brad Vaughan put a big focus on race running in Practice 1.
The rain means that not a lot of today’s running is representative for the rest of the weekend, with drier conditions expected.
After winning the Pirtek Pit Stop Challenge for the sixth time on Wednesday, the BJR crew are looking forward to demonstrating their skills in pitlane this weekend.
Friday’s action begins with Supercars on track for Practice 3 at 10:05 AEDT, before Qualifying later that afternoon (15:15).
Super2
There were minimal laps completed across two practice sessions in Super2 due to red flags and rain at Bathurst.
BJR's Cody Gillis faced a mechanical issue in the first session, parking in pitlane while the team worked on the car - finishing up 18th.
The #9 Bowser Bean ZB Commodore driver finished the second session in 8th while only completing a handful of laps.
Team-mate Brad Vaughan who is on double duties this weekend finished the first session 10th and the second session in 16th.
The weekend continues for the duo on track tomorrow for Race 1 Qualifying at 0900 AEDT.
SUPERCARS RESULTS
Practice 1 - All Drivers
P.8 - Andre Heimgartner & Declan Fraser, #8 R&J Batteries Camaro
P.12 - Macauley Jones & Jordan Boys, #96 Pizza Hut Racing Camaro
P.24 - Bryce Fullwood & Brad Vaughan, #14 Autmotive Superstore Racing Camaro
P.26 - Jaxon Evans & Jack Smith, #12 SCT Motorsport Camaro
Practice 2 - Co-drivers
P.13 - Jordan Boys, #96 Pizza Hut Racing Camaro
P.18 - Declan Fraser, #8 R&J Batteries Camaro
P.20 - Brad Vaughan, #14 Autmotive Superstore Racing Camaro
P.21 - Jack Smith, #12 SCT Motorsport Camaro
SUPERCARS QUOTEBOARD
Andre Heimgartner
Supercars driver, #8 R&J Batteries Camaro
“A good first day here in mixed conditions. I felt comfortable, the car felt free and speedy, so we’ll see where we go from here. Overall a good start to the weekend."
Declan Fraser
Supercars co-driver, #8 R&J Batteries Camaro
“It’s been a pretty good day today. With the damp and risky conditions, it’s really been about being risk-averse and making sure we make it through to the race - that’s the biggest thing. We’ve seen quite a few mistakes in Super2 and even in the main game today. For us, we had a plan, we stuck to it and everything’s tracking along all right. That last session was pretty hectic with the rain at the end but it was a lot of fun. We’ll see how we go tomorrow."
Bryce Fullwood
Supercars driver, #14 Automotive Superstore Racing Camaro
“It’s good to get day one here at Bathurst in the books. The first day of on-track action is all done, and it was great to get that practice session in. Fortunately, Practice One was dry for the co-drivers but it was wet and all over the place for the codrivers. I think we gathered some good information and really focused on race running, so I’m pretty happy. We’ll look to make a few small changes but overall I’m fairly happy with the car out of the box. As the weekend goes on and we start to ramp things up before qualifying, we’ll see how it all comes together – but I think we’re in good shape so far."
Brad Vaughan
Supercars co-driver, #14 Automotive Superstore Racing Camaro
“Had the co-driver session today and unfortunately it was pretty wet, so just focused on some procedural stuff and we will get into it tomorrow. Not really much of a read today. So bring on tomorrow."
Macauley Jones
Supercars driver, #96 Pizza Hut Racing Camaro
“The first day wasn’t too bad for us. I feel like the car in practice was pretty good which is nice. There’s still a lot of momentum to build, but it’s good to get through the first day and have a clean run across the whole BJR outfit. We’ve got a lot of data to look over overnight and we’ll see what the weather does tomorrow. Jordan’s session wasn’t so clear with the wet conditions but there’s still a fair bit to take away from it."
Jordan Boys
Supercars co-driver, #96 Pizza Hut Racing Camaro
“A good first day of running. I was pleased with our pace in the dry. Didn’t get to do much running in the wet, but on day one you’re just trying not to crash the thing. Overall, I’m really happy and looking forward for tomorrow."
Jaxon Evans
Supercars driver, #12 SCT Motorsport Camaro
“It was a bit of a tough day in practice for me. Was struggling with a a steering rack problem. So that hurt the confidence a little bit. But I think generally a couple of the other cars were pretty fast, so we espically didn’t quite get to see the true potential in the second one there with Jack because of the weather. I’m confident that we’ve started the weekend well and can continue to build from here tomorrow."
Jack Smith
Supercars co-driver, #12 SCT Motorsport Camaro
“Our first day was productive enough but a little bit messy. There were lot of variable conditions so it was hard to get the laps right. We’ll go around again tomorrow and hopefully it will be a bit more steady and a lot smoother."
SUPER2 RESULTS
Practice 1
10 - Brad Vaughan, #80 Dormer HVAC Racing ZB Commodore
18 - Cody Gillis, #9 Bowser Bean ZB Commodore
Practice 2
8 - Cody Gillis, #9 Bowser Bean ZB Commodore
16 - Brad Vaughan, #80 Dormer HVAC Racing ZB Commodore
SUPER2 QUOTEBOARD
Cody Gillis
Super2 driver, #9 Bowser Bean ZB Commodore
“A pretty uneventful day. Probably only did a total of 6 or 7 laps. We had a bit of a mechanical issue in the first one and then had off and on rain for the second session. We just didn't really want to take too many risks by running in the wet. A couple other cars in the field aren't looking too good this afternoon. Hopefully it's dry for qualifying and we'll see how we go tomorrow.”
Brad Vaughan
Super2 driver, #80 Dormer HVAC Racing ZB Commodore
“A very odd day here at the mountain with drying and wet conditions all day meant we didn't really get a read on the car. So it's an unknown going into tomorrow, which is a little scary but should be fun.”