TICKFORD TO INVESTIGATE HEAT PROBLEM

Tickford to investigate heat problem – Image: InSyde Media

Tickford Racing team principal Tim Edwards has revealed the team will investigate the cause of driver Jack Le Brocq’s severe blistering, which occurred during the opening leg of the Bathurst 500.

By DAN McCARTHY

Le Brocq was forced to limp home in the second 250km leg due to the blisters, which emerged from Saturday’s opening race.

The blistering forced Le Brocq to revert to left foot braking midway through the final race of the weekend as his feel for both pedals deteriorated.

The Supercars race winner elected to guide his Tickford Racing Ford Mustang to secure points and retain a straight Mustang.

“It was just a carry-on affect,” Le Brocq told AA. “We blistered the foot yesterday in the race and woke up with blisters on my foot.

“We tried to dress it as best we could to get through (the race), but we didn’t have any luck with it.

“It has just exaggerated today. It just got a whole lot worse.”

Le Brocq finished the second leg in 19th after scoring sixth in the season-opener after electing to safely finish the race with an undamaged Mustang and points.

“I struggled with feeling in my foot,” he explained.

“I couldn’t feel the brake pedal or the throttle in the car that well, that was probably half the issue (with pace).”

“In the end I made the call that it wasn’t worth pushing on.

“We weren’t going to gain much from it and didn’t really trust where I was at with what I was feeling through my foot.

“There was no point fencing the car, got some points and we’ll move on to Sandown.”

Edwards confirmed the cause of the blistering was due to high temperatures within the footwell. An investigation into the matter will begin once the team arrives back at its Campbellfield-base this week

“Just a hot footwell,” Edwards said. “I didn’t even know about it until this morning, he didn’t mention it in the race yesterday.

“He had to reacquaint himself with left foot braking halfway through that race.”

“Unfortunately for a third of the race he didn’t know what to do and he was trying to manage the pain in his foot, until he realised he could use that for the throttle and started left foot braking again. Something he had to work out of himself a few years ago.

Both Le Brocq and Cam Waters debuted new Mustangs at Bathurst, but neither yesterday’s podium winner or third driver James Courtney experienced the same problem.

“We’ll investigate it and see if there is something in it, see if an exhaust is slightly closer to the floor than the other cars, but we will review that and try and figure out why,” said Edwards.

“It is a new car, maybe there is heat shielding that is subtly different or something like that, we’ll review all of that after this weekend.”

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