Jayden Ojeda and Simon Hodges are the new champions of the Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour.
The duo produced a stellar performance behind the wheel of the Secure Wealth Advisers BMW M4 to claim a victory they had to wait until the final lap to get.
While it proved to be a nail-biting affair that went right down to the wire from the grandstands, it was just as tense in the team’s garage.
Following an unforgettable victory that saw the duo overcome problems at the start of the weekend, Ojeda believed it was a joint effort that saw them get the victory.
“The whole weekend was chaotic,” Ojeda said.
“From practice two, we were looking for an electrical demon and I call it that because we could not find it for the life of us. So, practice two, three and even qualifying, we were really compromised.
“Then ahead of the race, we finally managed to get it to work as we wanted to and from that first stint, I knew that we had to pace to win the race.
“It became just a matter of getting the car to hold on. Simon jumped in and did an awesome double or triple stint in the middle part of the race, before handing the car over to me in a strong position.
“I just knew what I had to do and I just went out and just really had a crack.”
Of course, like most Bathurst 6 Hour events, there was some late drama to add to the spectacle via a collection of mechanical issues to the BMW and number of safety cars deep into the final stint of the race.
“Close to the end of the race, probably halfway through my final stint, we were managing a gearbox issue, so I was trying to look after that,” Ojeda explained.
“I also got tagged by a lapped car as well, so the steering on the right hand was down – I think I had a fair bit of tow out in the right rear, so across the top, it was a bit sketchy.
“We also weren’t sure also where we were sitting on fuel after the final pit stop, so I had to manage that too and then to cap it all off, we had the low fuel alarm come up a couple of laps from the end, which scared the life out of me because it was not what I was expecting.”
The final curveball Ojeda had to deal with was the late safety cars that brought the field back together and undone all the previous work that he had done in building a healthy buffer.
“Obviously, we had the safety car and I was almost trying to push the safety car down the straight to get him to the line so that we could finish on the safety car, but it was awesome to finish on the green and get it done on racing conditions as well,” Ojeda added.
“Our strategy worked really well – our strategy manager Jack Bellotti smashed it.
“We got CPS (Compulsory Pit Stop) out of the way early enough so that our last stop was just fuel and go, which helped us from a track position – in front of the Russell car and in front of all the others that had to do their compulsory pit stops at the end.
“And we just wanted it to run green the whole way because I kept opening up the gap which was awesome.
“I think I was managing the traffic better than what they were, and I was pulling away further but then the safety car would come out and put them right on my back again.
“It was really nerve-wracking in the end, but I am stoked.”