PremiAir Racing has enjoyed a productive opening day at The Bend, with Jayden Ojeda topping both main-driver practice sessions as the team worked through an extensive program ahead of the AirTouch 500.
Friday’s running began with a 20-minute untimed session dedicated to bedding in new brake pads. Both cars completed the required running before returning to the garage for pad changes and heading back out to complete the process.
Attention then turned to the first of three 30-minute practice sessions, with the main drivers taking the wheel for Practice 1.
Jayden quickest in opening practiceWith Jayden and Declan behind the wheel, the team used the opening session to work through several set-up options, including rear ride and damper changes.
Both cars returned to the garage several times as the engineers and drivers refined their respective packages before switching focus to the final runs.
With only minutes remaining, Jayden and Declan headed back onto the circuit on green tyres, with enough time for two timed laps each.
Jayden made the most of the opportunity, setting a 1:17.142 to jump to the top of the timesheets and finish Practice 1 in P1.
Declan also improved during the final run, recording a 1:17.648 to finish the session in P9.
Practice 2 was dedicated exclusively to the co-drivers, with David ‘DRuss’ Russell and Nash ‘Flash’ Morris taking over driving duties for the 30-minute session.
Both drivers headed straight onto the circuit when pit lane opened, with the focus firmly on building mileage and preparing for the demands of the weekend’s endurance racing.
The pair completed longer race runs throughout the session, giving the team valuable information on car balance, tyre behaviour and race set-up.
After banking plenty of laps, both cars returned through the garage for a final tyre change before DRuss and Flash headed back out for a late push.
Flash ended the session with a best lap of 1:17.963, while DRuss was just 0.035 seconds behind with a 1:17.998.
It was valuable seat time for both co-drivers, with plenty of laps completed as they continued to familiarise themselves with the cars and the limits of The Bend ahead of the weekend.
The main drivers returned for Friday’s third and final 30-minute practice session, providing the team with one last opportunity to work through its set-up program before turning its attention to the remainder of the AirTouch 500 weekend.
With six minutes remaining, both cars were brought back into the garage for their final changes before Jayden and Declan headed out for one last run.
Jayden again delivered at the end of the session, producing a 1:16.470 to finish Practice 3 at the top of the timesheets.
The lap was more than six-tenths quicker than his Practice 1 benchmark, and he completed an impressive opening day in which he topped both of the main-driver sessions.
Declan recorded a best of 1:17.036 to finish Practice 3 in P16 as work continued on refining the package in his car.
With all three Friday practice sessions now complete, the team will spend the evening reviewing the considerable amount of data gathered across the four drivers and cars.
From bedding brakes first thing in the morning to long-run work, set-up changes, co-driver mileage and late-session qualifying-style runs, it was a busy and productive opening day at The Bend.
The focus now shifts to building on Friday’s learnings as the AirTouch 500 weekend continues.
QUOTEBOARD: AIRTOUCH 500 – Friday 11th September 2026
Jayden Ojeda / David Russell – #31 PremiAir Racing Camaro
Jayden Ojeda
“That’s day one wrapped up here at Tailem Bend, and it’s been a really positive day for us. To finish the day P1 is obviously awesome, and DRuss did a great job too. We made some really good improvements to the car throughout the day, and I got a bit more comfortable as we went, which was nice.
Dave’s done plenty of laps today across Carrera Cup and this, so I think he’s definitely earned a good sleep tonight!
Huge credit to the PremiAir Racing crew as well. It’s been an awesome job by everyone today, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can do across the rest of the weekend.”
David Russell
“It was a really positive day for us on the #31 side of the garage, and I think for the whole team as well. Everyone has put a lot of work and preparation into coming here, so having three positive sessions and finishing the day at the top of the timesheets is a great reward for that effort.
I don’t think we’ve seen the last of the Ford camp or anyone else yet, so no one is getting too excited at this stage. There’s still a long way to go across the weekend.
Jayden did a great job putting it all together, and we’ve just been steadily tuning the car and working through what we need. It’s still early days, but it’s certainly a very positive start for us.”
Declan Fraser / Nash Morris – #777 PremiAir Racing Camaro
Declan Fraser
“It was a bit interesting watching my car go around in an official session with my name still on the side of it, to be honest!
All in all, I think it was a productive day. We went in quite different directions with the setups across the two cars, so we could evaluate a few things and better understand which direction was working best.
The #31 was obviously very strong, so separating the cars in terms of setup gave us good information to work with moving forward.
From here, we’ll keep our heads down and keep working. Sunday is going to be a long race, so the big focus now is making sure we understand the tyre life, keep learning as much as we can and put ourselves in the best possible position heading into qualifying and the race.”
Nash Morris
“It was a good day overall. We got a longer run in during Practice 2, which was useful for getting a feel for the car’s degradation over a stint, and then finished with a shorter performance run at the end.
It’s positive to see the team has good speed at the moment, so we’ll just keep working away and see where we end up as the weekend progresses.
P12 was a decent result for me in my session, especially with some pretty strong co-drivers in the field and a few people running better tyres. We didn’t use any greens, so there’s still more to come, but we always want to be better.”
#FuelledByAmbition
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