**Sunday, 7 July… or JLB Day.**
The team wasn’t going to let Jack’s 32nd birthday pass quietly. As soon as he arrived at the track, coffee in hand, he was cornered and serenaded in the garage, followed by a post-brekky dessert of chocolate cake.
Come qualifying time, both the #9 and #1 cars continued to lead the Chev charge, with Jack ending the session 4th fastest and Brodie in 7th.
During the Top Ten Shootout, the Mustangs were looking strong once again. James Courtney set the pace from his provisional P10 before Jack took to the track. His 1:14.2467 lap pipped Courtney, but with Mustangs of Cam Waters, Thomas Randle, and Will Davison still to come, the team was on edge. Both Randle and Davison missed, but Waters looked on the pace, just missing the pole by 0.0016 of a second and delivering Jack his second pole position of his career, his first for Erebus, and all on his birthday!
Brodie’s 1:14.5158 lap would see him start from grid position 9 for Race 14.
Come race time, unfortunately, neither of the boys could make the most of their start. Jack dropped 3 places back into 4th by the first corner and Brodie lost 4.
Jack then lost 4th on lap 6 after a heart-in-the-mouth scuffle with Davison and Payne, while Brodie sat in 13th.
By lap 24, Brodie had moved up to 10th when he pitted, rejoining 19th. Jack followed suit on lap 26, rejoining in P14.
By lap 42, ahead of their second stops, Jack had moved up to 3rd and Brodie into 9th.
At exactly the halfway mark, they were sitting P1 and P6—both having only stopped once, while Payne and Mostert had completed 2 of their predicted 3 stops.
Jack and engineer Tom elected to let Waters go on lap 38 to conserve his fading tires, while Brodie sat in 9th.
With 32 laps to go, Jack was passed by Payne and came straight in to pit, rejoining in 20th.
Once the final round of stops had worked themselves out, with 18 laps to go, Jack was sitting 4th and Brodie in 17th.
With third-place getter Mostert 8 seconds up the road, Jack crossed the line in 4th for his best finish of the season (and the first Camaro home), while Brodie crossed the line 18th.
All in all, it was a day filled with a lot of promise that didn’t quite deliver but with so many positives to take from the weekend. With a super quick turnaround now to SMP, we’re looking forward to continuing the momentum in the night races!