Ashley Jarvis is riding on a high after picking up his maiden Precision National Sports Sedan Series win at the Hi-Tec Oils Race Winton last weekend.
Despite not picking up a win across the three races, Jarvis was able to keep his Holden Monaro in one piece and out of trouble to pick up podium places on two separate occasions.
After a fifth-place finish in Saturday afternoon’s opening race, the MR Automotive entry took full advantage of the leading pack dropping like flies in race two to find himself in second place behind newcomer Josh Haynes.
An issue for Haynes meant Jarvis was then promoted into pole position for the final race of the weekend, where he was able to hold the position until title contenders Jordan Caruso and Tony Ricciardello made their way past.
The third-place finish was still enough for Jarvis to claim an unexpected outright first-place finish for the weekend.
“It feels mega,” Jarvis said.
“It’s an overwhelming feeling, we knew it would be a battle for the top five if luck went our way and we were knocking on the door but we didn’t expect the round win.
“The guys at MR Automotive Racing supply me with a very reliable car, we don’t have the car speed as Ricciardello, Caruso and Haynes but it finishes races and we continue to develop.
“Going into the last race I knew it wouldn’t take long for the others to catch up, but I really wanted to win that race.
“I nearly lost it all on the second lap trying to make it as big as a gap as I could – damaging a tyre in the process but I just knew I had to finish to take the round win.”
Jarvis and the MR Automotive team have been riding off a high since the Sandown round last year, where a second-place finish behind eventual champion Caruso sparked a new confidence within the team.
“We are riding off a high from the end of last year, we finished second behind Jordan at Sandown but the field was nowhere near as competitive as it is now.
“Moving forward, given the pace we had at Winton, we are still riding on that high and while the outright title is out of the question, we believe we are a top five car now.
“At any particular round, there are six or seven guys who are just behind Ricciardello and Caruso and can pick up the pieces, it’s really competitive.”
There is growing confidence that the good run of results can continue when the series next takes to the Queensland Raceway in August – a familiar hunting ground for Jarvis and the team.
“Queensland Raceway is my home track; I’m based up here and have done hundreds and thousands of laps so im pretty confident we will go well,” Jarvis added.
“We will be doing a bit of testing and car development before then, but even though we haven’t got the fastest car on the grid, I’m confident we can get close to the front.
“Every time I get in the car, we change something and we go faster. It’s a good process.
The next round of the Precision National Sports Sedan Series will take place at the Queensland Raceway as part of the Shannons Trophy Series on 4-6 August.
