This year saw Jaylyn Robotham step up to the Super2 series after a highly successful run in Super3 that saw him take out last year’s Championship.
His Super2 debut saw mixed results for the young driver who is now looking ahead to 2022.
This was your debut season in Super2, how would you summarise the year?
JR: I knew it was going to be a big step up from Super3 but it was even bigger than I was expecting. After winning Super3 and being consistently up the front in that category, I was pretty confident going into Super2 but the jump was pretty difficult. Honestly, it wasn’t the best season. We had speed at all the rounds but we didn’t really get to showcase it. The competition was really strong, we definitely could have had a better season but we have next year to really prove ourselves and I’m excited for it.
How would you compare your results to the expectations you had at the start of the season?
JR: I think the results were probably what we were expecting. We could have been a bit further up without a couple of the crashes but I’m still pretty happy with the season even if the results weren’t there. I don’t think the results really reflected what we had.
Was there a performance you were particularly proud of, even if the result wasn’t where you wanted it to be?
JR: I was proud of my performance in the first race at the Bathurst 1000. I started 8th and had a couple of battles and made my way up to 5th at one point, which was pretty cool. It was definitely my proudest race, even though I got hit off into the wall towards the end, I was still pretty upbeat about my performance because we were going so well up until that point.
Were there any opportunities this year that you found particularly valuable as a result of working with the Erebus Academy?
JR: It’s been awesome being a part of the Erebus Academy and getting to work alongside the Erebus crew. Wayne has been my engineer for the past two rounds and Brodie even came up to me a few times mid session to give me some advice which was really useful. It’s always been a dream to be aligned with a main game team. If it weren’t for the Erebus Academy, I probably wouldn’t have been able to do the Eseries or evaluate the wildcard car. I’m very grateful.
What was the biggest obstacle you faced this season?
JR: My crash in Townsville was the worst thing for the whole year. It was unfortunate and overcoming the mental side of it was quite hard but I learnt a lot. I had to learn how to overcome the fear and embarrassment of it all and how to bounce back.
Is that something you will take into next year?
JR: Definitely. At this stage, we want to race Super2 again. I’d love to do it again with Terry at Image Racing, the team has been awesome. He’s helped us out a lot and it’s a big family team which is something you don’t always find.