Fraser impresses in Supercars comeback

Declan Fraser has reminded the Supercars paddock of his talent after finishing second in Practice 2 at the Penrite Oil Sandown 500.

After co-driver Andre Heimgartner finished sixth in the opening practice session, Fraser was only 0.0780s from Scott Pye’s quickest time of the session in Will Brown’s Red Bull Camaro.

The speed of the #8 Camaro continues the trend of a turnaround in form for Brad Jones Racing, after Bryce Fullwood broke through for a podium in the last race in Tasmania.

Whilst Sandown wasn’t expected to be a strong event for the Albury squad, all four Camaros featured inside the top 12 in Practice 2.

Fresh from a tough rookie season in the Supercars Championship with Tickford Racing, Fraser was even entrusted with a qualifying simulation at the end of the practice session.

“I’m pretty stoked to be partnering with Andre obviously, it’s good to get a bit of speed out of the car straight away this weekend,” said the 2022 Super2 champion.

“Sometimes you come to the track and you’ve got speed out of the gate, and sometimes you’re on the back foot, so it’s nice that we’re able to roll out with a quick car.

“We did a race run and it was really consistent and smooth, and then did a qualy sim even though I’m not qualifying, which was nice to get some speed out of it.”

Having been the odd one out after Tickford’s downsizing from four cars to two for 2024, Fraser was left without a full-time ride for this season.

Fraser’s career has diverted to a sportscar route for this season, competing in GT World Challenge Australia in a Triple Eight Mercedes alongside former champion Peter Hackett.

Whilst it has been a race-winning campaign for Fraser, the 24-year-old still believes that his future is in Supercars.

“It’s a little bit disappointing not to be out there, but at the end of the day it is what it is, whatever happened last year is in the rear-view mirror now, and I’m focused on doing the best I can for this team and myself as well," he said.

“The GT has been super beneficial running with Triple Eight, so it’s a bit weird that I’m in a different team now, but the endurance-style stuff has been really good coming into this type of racing now in Supercars, and my main goal is to get back on this grid next year.

Fraser has also enjoyed building his partnership with Heimgartner, with driver ergonomics a surprisingly straightforward consideration for the Mackay resident.

“So far really good, the seat position between Andre and I is actually very similar which I was surprised at, because I have a short upper body and very long legs, normally thinking I’m going to struggle when I get into someone else’s car," Fraser added.

“Turns out he might be a little bit the same, so it worked out all good and I’m feeling pretty comfortable with it all.”

Practice 3 for the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 will begin at 3:40pm AEST.