BRT desperate for change
By Thomas Miles
Date posted: 15 October 2024
Blanchard Racing Team (BRT) admits it “can’t continue on this trajectory” after another tough outing at the Bathurst 1000.
In its second attempt at the Great Race with two cars, the best result it could manage was 21st with veterans James Courtney and Jack Perkins.
After a practice crash for rookies Aaron Love and Aaron Cameron battled to 23rd and a lap down.
The first season of running two cars is proving to be tough for BRT, currently sitting last in the teams championship.
The last time the team recorded a top 10 was Courtney’s sixth place in the opener at Wanneroo Raceway 11 races ago.
BRT Team Principal Tim Blanchard was flat after the Great Race was run at Mount Panorama, fearing they have no more changes left in their search for speed.
“It was a big challenge,” he said, not just of the weekend but running the entire season with two cars for the first time.
“We knew it was going to be pretty hard. It kind of started all right, but the past six months have just been a really hard slog and we haven’t really taken the steps forward we were hoping.
“I think we had one session where we had a good pace, and the rest of the weekend we struggled.
“Not really sure why we had that pace because there wasn’t anything that we were doing differently to what everyone else was doing.
“We changed just about everything on the car, we were running out of things to change and nothing seemed to change the feeling that the drivers were getting through the wheels.
“That’s the frustrating part, we’ve thrown a lot at it over the last three or four events and nothing seems to be changing any of the feeling that the drivers are getting.”
Blanchard admitted things cannot carry on like this next year.
“We weren’t fast enough. That’s about it. It was a tough race for a number of reasons,” he said.
“We’ll have to regroup as a team, assess the hows and whys of the weekend, and look to improve at the Gold Coast.
“We can’t continue on this trajectory into 2025, so refocusing and ensuring next season goes differently is paramount.”
Read more from BRT and Courtney in the latest issue of AUTO ACTION.
READ THE LATEST ISSUE OF AUTO ACTION HERE
Don’t forget the print edition of Auto Action available via subscription here. For more of the latest motorsport news, subscribe to AUTO ACTION magazine.
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