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Percat admits to ‘fist pump’ after topping practice

Nick Percat says he celebrated topping today’s second practice session at Winton with ‘a little bit of a fist pump’, following what’s been a tough start to life as a Brad Jones Racing driver.

Nick Percat, Brad Jones Racing Holden

Nick Percat, Brad Jones Racing Holden

Daniel Kalisz / Motorsport Images

While there have been signs of decent car pace across Percat’s first five rounds since joining the team, his season has been largely affected by crashes.

It started with nudging the wall on the first lap of the second race in Adelaide after qualifying strongly, while his Australian Grand Prix weekend ended early when a brake failure pitched him into Lee Holdsworth’s Commodore at Turn 1.

A major rebuild on the #8 Commodore was then followed up with more repairs following the 12-car pile-up in Tasmania.

Percat reckons the hardships of the first part of the season made topping today’s weather-affected second practice session at Winton – by more than a second – all the more special.

“It’s good for BJR, and everyone on car #8 needs a bit of a morale boost,” he said.

“Even though it’s only Practice 2, when I crossed the line it was a little bit of a fist pump because it’s hard to be at top in any session at this level – especially when DJR Team Penske and Triple Eight are going so hard and so quick.

“I think for everyone at BJR and on car #8 it’s a bit of relief, just to get a decent result. It’s the first blip on the radar where we’ve shown the form that we hoped to show in pre-season.”

Even this afternoon the BJR crew were forced into repair action, Percat making contact with the back of Scott Pye’s HSV Racing Commodore during the soaking wet first session.

Having locked up on the way into Turn 1, Percat intentionally spun his car sideways so that the door hit the back of Pye’s car rather than the engine bay.

“I was literally like 100 metres behind him, I put my foot on the brake, the lock lights came on, and I was a passenger,” Percat explained.

“Unfortunately for Scott I knew that the radiator and airbox and everything was way more expensive, so I pitched it sideways and hit him with the driver’s door.

“It probably caused a bit more damage to his car, but it saved my car. I was just a passenger from about the start line.”

Winton, the closest circuit to BJR's Albury base, has been a happy hunting ground for the team in the past, with Tim Slade having won both races there last season.

Percat is now hoping to use his Friday pace as a springboard to keep Slade's winning streak alive.

“The whole team has been excited to get back here since they finished here last year. It’s definitely a good track for us; Fabian Coulthard was super fast here, Jason Bright has won races here, Tim won races here, so it’s one that we’ve been keen to get to and have a good weekend.”

 

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