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Brad Jones Racing driver Macauley Jones tipping fast and furious Perth SuperSprint

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Aaron KirbyThe West Australian
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Macauley Jones is keen to get racing in Perth.
Camera IconMacauley Jones is keen to get racing in Perth. Credit: Ben Roehlen/Pace Images/Pace Images by Ben Roehlen

There’s been no shortage of action in the opening rounds of the V8 Supercars championship, and Brad Jones Racing driver Macauley Jones has tipped another fast and furious weekend at the Perth SuperSprint.

Gen3’s debut season has been strewn with controversy, fire and carnage, and the stakes only get higher as teams jostle to build an early platform and break away from the competition.

Jones and his team have made a solid start to the year, with his teammate Andre Heimgartner currently fourth in the Drivers’ Championship while the 28-year-old overcame a rocky opening round to pull off two top-10 finishes in Melbourne, including a second career-best seventh.

And he appears full of confidence heading into one of his favourite race weekends with a stunning, new-look golden Camero.

“I really like this track; I think it’s one of the cool tracks that we come to, and there’s a lot of character to it,” he told The West Australian.

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“The crowd loves it over here, and we only get over here once a year, so I think everyone is pretty ready.

“The racing is always pretty exciting with pretty high tyre deg and some really good passing opportunities, so hopefully, that prevails for the weekend ahead.

“There’s definitely a roll-on effect from the last two rounds where it’s been pretty full on, and we’ve been learning the new cars and see what they’re capable of.”

Macauley Jones racing at the Australian Grand Prix.
Camera IconMacauley Jones racing at the Australian Grand Prix. Credit: Ben Roehlen/Pace Images/Pace Images by Ben Roehlen

In his fifth season as a primary driver, the time is ripe for Jones to chase down his maiden podium finish, and he hopes the cooler conditions expected for the weekend can boost the teams’ early-season pace.

“We’re chasing the top 10 and being as consistent as possible,” he said.

“AGP was a pretty strong outing, so hopefully, we continue that form.

“I think the rain will stop (for the weekend), which will be a pretty good thing for us, and cool conditions make cars go faster, so it’s cool for us.”

Macauley Jones will being racing in the all-gold Camero in Perth.
Camera IconMacauley Jones will being racing in the all-gold Camero in Perth. Credit: ISAAC WISHART

With teams still adjusting to the “challenge” of adapting to the new cars, Jones said this weekend could be a trendsetter, sorting out where the cars and competition are at.

“It’s been an interesting (season) to see how mixed up the field is; some of the Ford guys seem to have some trouble with some tyre life stuff, which has been making for some pretty interesting racing,” he said.

“It’s a bit of a hard one to know.

“There will be some chopping and changing when you go from Newcastle, where it’s a tight, short street circuit, to an AGP, which is wide open, really long circuit and long corners and then in this place, you have a mix, of both and I think that will be a good test to see where everyone is at.”

Macauley Jones showed good pace in Melbourne.
Camera IconMacauley Jones showed good pace in Melbourne. Credit: Ben Roehlen/Pace Images/Pace Images by Ben Roehlen

However, the teams have been thrown a curve ball.

They will only be given one 90-minute practice session on Friday evening to prepare for Saturday and Sunday.

“I think if your car’s good out of the start, you’re probably going to be pretty happy about it, but if it’s out of the window and you’re a few stubbies short of a six-pack, you’re going to struggle because you don’t have much time to turn it around,” Jones said.

The action kicks off on Friday evening before a qualifying session and race on Saturday.

The action is doubled on Sunday with back-to-back qualifying shootouts and two races.

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