Garry Jacobson has performed superbly for Nissan Motorsport in perfect Gold Coast conditions today for the opening race of the Vodafone Gold Coast 600, completing more than half the race in the #15 Castrol Altima.
With no additional practice session this morning, Jacobson was taking to the start of the 102 lap race fresh from 11th on the grid.
Through Qualifying, Kelly had the car in position for the top 10 shootout before just being edged out as the chequered flag flew.
Amid the early jostling after the start, Jacobson was among the group battling for the back end of the top 10 and once adjusting to his race rhythm, personally felt as though he went to another level.
A Safety Car deployment came at the perfect time for Nissan Motorsport to service the #15 with a full tank of fuel and new Dunlops.
The 26-year-old from Shepparton moved the Castrol Racing Nissan inside the top 10 on lap 31 and he pretty well remained there until the team pitted him for the driver swap on lap 60, allowing Rick Kelly to bring the car home to the end.
Kelly was in a battle with Will Davison for many laps before Shane van Gisbergen arrived on the scene in his late race charge. With van Gisbergen on his tail and holding onto the 11th position, Kelly had a steering issue strike the Castrol car down the back straightaway, forcing him into the pits with a handful of laps to go.
Ultimately, Kelly and Jacobson were credited with 23rd position.
Tomorrow, qualifying will take place once again, along with another Top 10 Shootout and a second 300km, 102-lap race.
Coming into this year’s PIRTEK Enduro Cup, Jacobson has picked up support from a number of local businesses in the Shepparton area including Shepparton Motor Museum, Greater Shepparton City Council, along with Challenger Valves, MGA Insurance, FIX Muscle Performance, Thompson Motors and Varapodio Orchards.
In 2018, Garry Jacobson’s program is supported by MEGA Fuels, RABBLE.club, Exedy, Challenger Valves and Actuators, McQuinn Electrical and MGA Insurance Brokers.
“SURF” BOARD – GARRY JACOBSON:
“From a team perspective, today’s result definitely wasn’t what we were capable of. Looking at where we were at the end sitting in 11th position and approaching 10th was a positive to look at for Rick and I.
“From a personal perspective, in terms of my co-driver pace, today it went to another level. It was above and beyond what my pace was yesterday and I feel as competitive as ever.
“Once the first few laps was out of the way, I was just able to get into a rhythm and get back to where my pace truly has been during this campaign and that brings with it a whole heap of confidence and I really want to build on that tomorrow.
“I feel like I am incredibly competitive within this field and can move forward again more tomorrow.
“The end to the race was really unfortunate, but looking at the positives, now that Rick and I have married our driving styles to where they truly should be, I think tomorrow can be a good day.
“Tomorrow is looking dry, we’ll rectify what went wrong this afternoon and I think it is a day to look forward to. We’re really strong together now and want to end this PIRTEK Enduro Cup campaign on a high.”
VODAFONE GOLD COAST 600 SCHEDULE (All times QLD – add 1 Hour for Sydney/Melbourne/Shepparton):
Sunday
10:20-10:40am – Qualifying
11:40am-12:05pm – Top 10 Shootout
2:25pm-4:50pm – Race 2 – 102 Laps
FURTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION:
www.garryjacobson.com
www.megaltd.com.au
http://rabble.club
www.mwmotorsport.com.au
www.facebook.com/garryjacobsonmotorsport/
www.facebook.com/MEGARacing
www.facebook.com/mwmotorsport
https://www.instagram.com/garryjacobson/
https://www.instagram.com/megaracingau/
https://www.instagram.com/mwmotorsport/
