Jayden Ojeda heads to a rookie test day at The Bend Motorsport Park today with his Supercars Finals hopes still very much alive, despite a rollercoaster weekend in Perth.
The 27-year-old PremiAir Racing driver produced one of the drives of the Perth Super 400 on Sunday, charging from 20th on the grid to finish eighth, a recovery that went somewhat unnoticed while the front of the field played out its own drama. It was that kind of weekend for Ojeda and the team: promising practice pace, a qualifying session that didn’t deliver, and then a Sunday that showed exactly what he is capable of.
“It’s all still possible,” Ojeda said of his Finals chances. “The gap to the 10 basically stayed the same, so we’ll see. We’ve got plenty of ideas to trial and test things out, and with the rookie test day today at Tailem Bend, we’ll get straight to work on that.”
Ojeda currently sits 14th in the championship, 132 points behind 10th-placed Jack Le Brocq, the same gap he’s been chipping away at over recent rounds. With the Ryco Enduro Cup to come at The Bend and Bathurst, 300 points are on offer at each of those events, keeping a Finals spot firmly within reach.
Today’s test day gives Ojeda and the PremiAir team a chance to explore the ideas they took out of Perth, on the very circuit that will host the next long-distance race. It’s the kind of preparation that could prove decisive.
Making the opportunity even more significant is the announcement of Ojeda’s Enduro Cup co-driver, experienced campaigner David Russell, a three-time Bathurst podium finisher. The pairing has a neat storyline: last year’s Bathurst 1000 saw Ojeda battle Russell for the lead in difficult conditions before Russell went on to finish third. Now, they line up together.
“Between Woody and myself we led the most laps at the 1000 last year, and to get to the lead I had to pass D-Russ,” Ojeda said. “So it’s nice to be sharing the car with him. That guy’s got so much experience; he’s always a Bathurst specialist and such a good dude to share the car with. I’m looking forward to having his experience on my team.”
With rounds at Ipswich, The Bend and Bathurst still to come, Ojeda remains one good run away from putting real pressure on the top 10. The work starts today at Tailem Bend.
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