The day opened with back-to-back qualifying sessions at 9.00am: 12 minutes to set the grid for today’s Race 6, followed immediately by an eight-minute dash for tomorrow’s Race 7.
The closing moments of Race 6 were thrown into disarray for almost half of the field – including PremiAir Racing – when what was essentially a traffic jam prevented them from completing a second flying lap. As a result, the #31 (Jayden Ojeda) and #777 (Declan Fraser) PremiAir Racing Camaros would qualify P15 and P19 for Race 6.
Team Principal Roland Dane, seen in a heated discussion with Supercars General Manager of Motorsport Tim Edwards on the broadcast, said the congestion stemmed from a “failure to recognise the special circumstances of this circuit.” See the quote board below for his comments.
There was barely time to reset before Race 7 qualifying began, with Ojeda securing P13 for Sunday’s finale, while Fraser locked in P20.
After such a busy morning, the team turned their attentions to Race 6, which was scheduled for 5.35pm but ultimately delayed to 5.59pm due to earlier F1 disruptions.
Both drivers launched strongly, but Ojeda was turned around at turn one and left facing the wrong way. He quickly recovered and began clawing back positions, while Fraser was able to navigate the opening-lap carnage cleanly to rise to P17.
The first safety car was deployed on lap three, with Ojeda up to P21 and Fraser P16. Racing then resumed on lap six, but only briefly – another safety car was called when the #55 was fired into the turn five wall. Fraser was forced to take evasive action as a result, making contact in the process with the #11, but thankfully both cars were able to continue on.
As the bunched field prepared for the second restart on lap nine, Fraser sat P15 and Ojeda P18. With so much time lost under yellow conditions, the race went time-certain, ending after 15 laps instead of the scheduled 19.
The closing laps were a wild dash to the flag, as contact and close calls occurred throughout the pack. Amidst the chaos, the PremiAir Racing drivers held their nerve – Ojeda charged to P14, while Fraser held P15 until the final lap, crossing the line P16. Post-race penalties for another competitor then elevated them to P13 and P15, respectively.
QUOTEBOARD: MELBOURNE SUPERSPRINT AT THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX – SATURDAY 7 MARCH 2026
Roland Dane – PremiAir Racing Team Principal – on the qualifying situation
“Those second runs should not have been counted, because it has to be fair on everyone,” Dane told Kayo Sports after Race 6 qualifying.
“Everyone has got to have a fair crack, and they didn’t. The second half of the field was severely compromised, you have to push out more or less in order, it is the longest pit lane that we go to – all past the F1 pits you’re 40km/h – we’ve a long lap, plus the whole sequence of cars coming out.
“The lead cars have got a huge advantage on that out lap because (those in the second half are) waiting for everyone to stream out onto the track before you can go.
“It culminates that you’re touch and go on this time to do two runs. The people in the second half of the field were almost totally screwed, but the first half of the field get away with it because they’re up the front of the grid.
“I mean, I’ve lived at the front of the grid longer than anyone in the championship, mate, and I know how it works; living down here, I can tell you it’s not brilliant from that point of view.
“Now, it was extended by two minutes, which serves well at every circuit, probably, other than this. But it is a failure to recognise the special circumstances of this circuit.”
Jayden “Juice” Ojeda – #31 PremiAir Racing Camaro
“It was a shame we missed the second run in the first qualifying session — a few of us misjudged the timing there, which was frustrating. In the second qualifying, we actually had a really strong start to the lap, but I underdrove the final sector and left a bit on the table. That probably comes down to experience, especially after missing out on running in proper qualifying trim on Thursday.
Still, we were in the fight, which set us up for this afternoon’s race. I got a really good start, but unfortunately got caught up in a racing incident at Turn 1 and ended up facing the wrong way in the gravel. It’s one of those things that can happen in this category, especially here with sprint racing.
Luckily, the safety car brought us back into the pack and we were able to get back into the fight and work our way forward again. To recover and finish strongly after that was a solid result, considering how the race started.”
Declan Fraser – #777 PremiAir Racing Camaro
“It’s been a bit of a mixed day for us. We started early this morning with a couple of VIP hot laps, which was a cool way to kick things off, and then it was straight into qualifying. The car felt pretty strong from the start, but qualifying didn’t quite come together the way we wanted and that put us further back than we should have been.
In the race, the car had solid pace and we were able to work our way forward, but the restarts probably caught me out a bit — that’s something I need to improve on. With how chaotic the race was, it was about keeping it clean, staying out of trouble and taking opportunities where we could.
To come through and make up ground was a decent result all things considered, but there’s definitely more in it for us. We’ll go through everything tonight, tidy up the weak spots and come back tomorrow ready to go again.
I’ll get the elbows back out and make sure we’re right in the fight.”
Stay in the loop with PremiAir Racing all weekend long! Get live race coverage and exclusive team updates via our WhatsApp Channel, proudly powered by Air & Allied Sales.
👉 Join now: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaEGGiJ2kNFlJu5eeo1H
For more information on PremiAir Racing, please visit www.premiairracing.com or follow the team on its social media platforms at www.facebook.com/PremiAirRacing/, www.instagram.com/premiair_racing/, www.linkedin.com/company/premiairracing/ and www.x.com/premiairracing