Evans chasing little gains
Brad Jones Racing rookie Jaxon Evans is determined to overcome his tyre troubles at Sydney Motorsport Park this weekend.
Evans felt he “struggled” maintaining rubber in Townsville and ended up outside the top 20 in both 250km races.
Although the races around SMP are around half the distance, the circuit is one of the toughest on the right hand side tyres anywhere in the country.
Post Townsville Evans identified at a debrief the need to improve tyre life.
“There was certainly no hiding from the fact I struggled to hold onto my tyres in Townsville,” said Evans.
“We’ve had a deeper dive into the data and engineering reports to try to get a better understanding on what went wrong or how I can improve.
“I’ve got three team-mates and I’ve tried to look at as much vision as possible, then picked the good points from what they’re doing in addition to where I need to improve on myself.
“It is always hard to learn from watching something without completing it in action. I have been on the sim a little bit more, just driving to work on techniques because it is the closest thing we get to being behind the wheel.
“Sydney is another high deg track. I have been studying onboards and the vision or notes from last year to try to learn as much as I can to prepare as best as possible for what the event holds.”
Evans, who has mainly a massive GT racing background admitted the Dunlop Supercars tyre is vastly different to other compounds he has encountered.
“There is tyre degradation in GT racing, but it is a different type,” the Kiwi explained.
“It’s not from straight wheel spin or slipping of the tyre, it’s more aero deg affecting the high speed corners in a GT car rather than actual performance from the different types of rubber.
“There is some learning to do in a Supercar, I mean we do have 600hp and a skinny tyre, but I think I get a little excited on the throttle, which can be really punishing.
“My understanding of the Dunlop tyre is streaks less than other drivers in this championship and even those in Super2.
“It’s something I need to be better at and try to learn as much as I can, as fast as possible.”
Despite the battles with tyre life, Evans felt he took a massive step forward in qualifying at Townsville.
On Saturday he achieved his first top 15 grid position and described it as a “little win.”
“There have always been a few little wins each weekend,” Evans said.
“I was pretty confident going into the Saturday in Townsville we’d be close enough and we only missed the Top 10 Shootout by a tenth, and three tenths off pole.
“I was really happy with that performance because there were some driver errors in the lap, but when you’re a rookie trying to string a lap at a daunting place like Townsville I felt like that was a small win for us.
“I know there’s potential and it’s about executing now.”
Image: Race Project
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