A beneficial post-Townsville debrief has spurred Jaxon Evans ahead of this weekend’s Sydney SuperNight.
Evans continues his rookie Repco Supercars Championship season at a familiar venue, Sydney Motorsport Park.
Debriefing the Townsville round last week, Evans identified the need to improve tyre life during the course of a stint and has worked closely with his SCT Motorsport engineering team to find new techniques to quell this.
This was done by utilising onboard footage and data from the three other Brad Jones Racing entries, while Evans used his simulator to build on the driving techniques.
“There was certainly no hiding from the fact I struggled to hold onto my tyres in Townsville,” he said.
“We’ve had a deeper dive into the data and engineering reports to try to get a better understanding on what went wrong or how I can improve.
“I’ve got three team-mates, and I’ve tried to look at as much vision as possible, then picked the good points from what they’re doing in addition to where I need to improve on myself.
“There is tyre degradation in GT racing, but it is a different type. It’s not from straight wheel spin or slipping of the tyre; it’s more aero deg affecting the high-speed corners in a GT car rather than the actual performance from the different types of rubber.
“There is some learning to do in a Supercar. I mean, we do have 600hp and a skinny tyre, but I think I get a little excited on the throttle, which can be really punishing.
“It is always hard to learn from watching something without completing it in action. I have been on the sim a little bit more, just driving to work on techniques because it is the closest thing we get to being behind the wheel.”
Adjusting from GT tyres to the Dunlop rubber used in Supercars continues to be a learning curve, and Sydney adds another new hurdle – night racing.
“I’m excited. I think night racing is super cool,” Evans added. “In the Supercar, there are flames and glowing disc rotors, so I’m looking forward to it.
“From what I understand, the track is well-lit, so that side of things won’t be a challenge, but lower ambient and track temperatures will again broaden my knowledge of a Supercar.
“Sydney is another high deg track. I have been studying onboards and the vision or notes from last year to try to learn as much as I can to prepare as best as possible for what the event holds.
“It’s been a few years since I’ve raced at Sydney, but the last time I drove was at night in the Carrera Cup, and I reflected on that, which made me excited for the event this weekend.”
A high point in Townsville was Evans in qualifying, an area he hopes to build on for the rest of the season, starting in Sydney this weekend.
“There have always been a few little wins each weekend,” he said. “I was pretty confident going into the Saturday in Townsville that we’d be close enough, and we only missed the Top 10 Shootout by a tenth and were three-tenths off pole.
“I was really happy with that performance because there were some driver errors in the lap, but when you’re a rookie trying to string a lap at a daunting place like Townsville I felt like that was a small win for us. I know there’s potential, and it’s about executing now.”
This weekend’s Sydney SuperNight begins with a sole 90-minute practice session at 7.00 pm NZST this evening.
Words & Images: Supplied
