Jaxon Evans will experience the new Albert Park layout for the first time on Thursday morning when he enters the track for opening practice for Round 2 of the Repco Supercars Championship.
Following a dramatic solo Supercars Championship debut event at the Bathurst 500, where a foot injury plagued him on Sunday, Evans displayed a competitive pace despite the ailment.
With his foot injury recovered, Evans returns to Albert Park for the first time since 2018 in his championship-winning Porsche Carrera Cup Australia campaign where he won the final race and round of the weekend.
“My foot is basically back to 100 per cent. I got an x-ray and an ultrasound, plus I’ve been working on physio and trainer on actual damage to the foot, which was done in Saturday’s race and was compounded by the heat on Sunday,” he said.
“The burn wasn’t the biggest issue, it was more the damage I had done to the outside of my foot through friction by the way I was heel and toeing in the car.
“That’s a work in progress, and you don’t really know until you’re inside the car driving again.
“The team at Brad Jones Racing have taken some measures inside the cockpit and down in the footwell to try to assist with that by making it more comfortable as well as to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
“It’s been a joint effort from both parties and hopefully the first time is the last it happens.”
Two corners have been removed as part of an updated layout since Evan’s last race at the Melbourne street course, ensuring there will be still fresh aspects to the circuit for Evans.
Also, the lack of pit facilities is not new for Evans having been part of the Porsche Supercup in years gone by, but the idea of practicing, qualifying and racing all in one day will be.
“It’s a big event in terms of Australian motorsport, and it is chaotic just in terms of how the schedule is laid out, but I’m excited to be back as part of the Formula 1 circus and race at a track I know, although the configuration has changed slightly,” said Evans.
“Being a support category, you get used to that stuff. Not only here in the Carrera Cup, but it’s the same with the Supercup internationally as only Formula 1 uses the pit facilities. It is what it is.
“It won’t make too much difference to the racing side of things, and there’s no pit stops. It’s unfortunate that it won’t be open to the fans in a situation out of our control.
“Having the first day of a race weekend so loaded with everything is pretty unusual. We won’t have the time to analyse data as much in between sessions, so hopefully, we roll out of the truck pretty strong. Otherwise, we’re going to have to combine our thinking process and work together as a team.
“This is the strength of a four-car team, as we can head in different set-up directions at the start of the weekend, and hopefully one clicks, so we can gravitate to that.
Since the last event, Evans was part of Supercars’ promotion of the inaugural Taupo event by taking in the sights and attractions of the area – his home country – while also getting his first opportunity to visit the venue in five years.
“I haven’t probably been back to New Zealand for five years before the trip recently,” he added.
“To actually drive from Auckland to Taupo and see the beautiful landscape was awesome. It was cool to take in some sights and activities. The bungee jump wasn’t one I hadn’t done, so it was pretty special to look out over the water there.
“It was exciting to meet the locals as the enthusiasm grows for the event, which I believe will be a great success.”
Albert Park will be the first test for some alterations made to the footwell of Evans’ SCT Motorsport Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. The short, sprint-race format is an outlier compared to the calendar’s other championship rounds.
