BJR to investigate Heimgartner drop-off

Brad Jones Racing will look into Andre Heimgartner’s sudden pace drop-off in the Townsville finale, following a spirited charge into the top 10.

The #8 R&J Batteries Camaro led BJR’s charge last weekend, finishing ninth and 11th in the two races.

After jumping from 11th to ninth on the opening lap on Sunday, Heimgartner made his second and final stop on lap 58, and by the time the pit cycle had completed on lap 69, the #8 was seventh, 32 seconds from the lead.

However, the Kiwi was then picked off by Wood, Feeney, Hill and Golding, and crossed the line 43 seconds from the win.

It was another head-scratcher for Heimgartner who, disregarding his Taupō win, has an average finish of 13.8.

"Tough day not exactly what we want as a group but some solids from the weekend had two cars in the top 10 on Saturday,” he said.

"Just have a little bit of work to do with the race car.”

Bryce Fullwood charged from 21st to 15th with a three-stop strategy, getting past the ailing James Courtney — who was battling Heimgartner for eighth with 20 laps to go — for 15th with three laps left.

"Not an ideal day for us today. In qualifying really struggled," said Fullwood, who hasn’t finished in the top 10 since placing seventh in Race 1.

"With the new direction we've gone with our cars it is just really tricky to get on top of it and didn't quite nail it.

"And then in the race, we went with the three-stop strategy, which I think worked out not too bad. But just car was really slow in the first stint till we could make a change and then it kind of took off.

"So I think the speed ended up not too bad by the end of the race. Not an ideal weekend, I think for the group in general, but I think there's a few more positives this weekend than we've had for a while so keen for Sydney.”

Next weekend, the season resumes in Sydney, where Heimgartner claimed a Saturday pole and Sunday podium last year.

Tickets for the Sydney round can be purchased via Supercars.com. Live coverage can be found on Foxtel, with live streaming available on Kayo. Highlights will be shown on the Seven Network and 7plus. International viewers can follow all the action on Superview.